Page 11 - DMEA Week 03 2021

DMEA NRG DMEA

Block 58. Total and Apache also found oil in the North America: Keystone XL on the chop-
first three wells drilled within their licence area: ping block
Maka Central-1, Sapakara West-1 and Kwask- The future of the planned Keystone XL pipeline
wasi-1. The partners’ next target will be the Bon- appears to have been decided this week. US Pres-
boni section of the block. ident-elect Joe Biden included plans to cancel
the pipeline’s presidential permit via an execu-
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping tive order among his list of immediate priorities,
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click published on his administration’s transition web-
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor . site ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
The move is not surprising, given that for-
MEOG: H2 and climate on the agenda mer US President Barack Obama, under whom
While concerns about the long-term demand Biden served as vice president, had previously
for oil have fallen from the headlines following rejected the pipeline before it was approved by
the upside shock of Saudi Arabia’s decision to outgoing President Donald Trump. In addition,
cut production for February and March, gov- Biden is moving swiftly to undo some of the
ernments in the Middle East are taking steps to Trump administration’s decisions, which “do not
shore up long-term energy strategies that main- serve the US national interest” according to the
tain their relevance as other countries reduce incoming government. Joe Biden
their reliance on oil and gas. Keystone XL’s developer, TC Energy, was not
With regional powerhouse Riyadh announc- ready to give up on the project until the end, and reportedly
ing NEOM’s highly publicised The Line ini- unveiled a plan earlier this week for the pipeline
tiative, the UAE and Qatar have followed by to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- indicated plans
making their own statements of intent. Abu sions if it is put into service, targeted for 2023.
Dhabi unveiled the Abu Dhabi Hydrogen The company said net zero emissions would to cancel the
Alliance (ADHA), comprised of state oil firm be achieved by buying renewable energy from Keystone XL
ADNOC, investment company Mubadala and electricity providers, and purchasing renewable
holding firm ADQ. energy credits or carbon offsets where direct pipeline’s
This announcement followed the signing of a access to renewable power is not available.
wide-ranging collaboration deal between Japan TC Energy also pledged that additional presidential
and the UAE to jointly explore opportunities and renewable sources would be developed along the
uses for fuel ammonia and carbon recycling with pipeline’s route by 2030, phasing out any poten- permit via an
Tokyo looking to source supplies of blue ammo- tial need for renewable credits or carbon offsets. executive order
nia for use in its power sector. Biden has a long-term goal of putting the US
The urgency for acting on the climate front on the path towards net zero emissions by 2050, on his first day in
has not escaped Qatar whose NOC Qatar Petro- and in the immediate term, he will be focused
leum launched a new sustainability strategy last on driving an economic recovery following the office.
week that aims to reduce the emissions intensity coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. TC Energy
of its operations by 2030. hoped that Keystone XL’s job creation potential,
Meanwhile, contracting appears to be resum- combined with these new environmental goals,
ing in Saudi Arabia as Aramco has issued tender would help to sway Biden in his stance on the
documents to its onshore LTA cohort for main- pipeline.
tenance and upgrade work at the vital Abqaiq However, the project had become such a con-
plant which handles up to 7mn bpd of oil. troversial one, having served as a lightning rod for
The news follows the cancellation of tenders environmental protests for over a decade. Thus it
for major expansion work at the Berri and Mar- may have been expected that TC Energy’s last-
jan oilfields as well as slowing start-up at the flag- ditch efforts would fail to change Biden’s mind.
ship Jafurah unconventional gas field.
If you’d like to read more about the key events If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
shaping the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then the North American oil and gas sector then please click
please click here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor . here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor .™

Week 03 21•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11