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EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Hungary signs historic gas deal with Shell

HUNGARY HUNGARY will buy 250mn cubic metres of cuts. Before the 2014 elections, the government
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Royal Dutch has ordered a mandatory fixing of utility prices,
The gas deal is Shell from next year, according to a historic which were left unchanged even as global market
Hungary’s first with a agreement reached on Friday, local media writes prices continued to go downward.
Western partner. on September 4. This is the first long-term LNG Szijjarto said Hungary wanted to increase the
purchase agreement with a Western energy com- share of LNG in its energy portfolio as its price
pany in Hungary’s history, said Minister of For- has fallen below that of piped natural gas.
eign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto at a press Hungary covers 80-90% of its gas needs from
conference. Russia. It has recently agreed with Gazprom
On Friday, state-owned electricity company on the delivery of 4.2 bcm of gas in the twelve
MVM signed a six-year deal with Shell on the months from October 2020. Talks are reported
delivery of 250 mcm of LNG from the Krk termi- to have begun on deliveries after 2021.
nal in Croatia, which is to start operating in 2021. Hungary has established interconnectors
In June, MVM’s Croatian subsidiary MFGK Cro- with six out of seven countries to allow the pur-
atia tied down 1bn cubic metre capacity annually chase of gas through as many routes as possible,
for seven years at the Krk terminal. Szijjarto said. This is in line with the govern-
This means that 10% of the country’s natural ment’s policies to diversify its energy purchases
gas requirements will be met from the Krk termi- and reduce dependence on gas coming from
nal until the end of 2027, Russia.
The LNG will be delivered to Hungary via the Shell is one of the pioneers of the LNG sector,
Hungary-Croatia gas pipeline after regasification with over 50 years of experience in the produc-
The contract has been concluded at a com- tion, trade, storage and transport of LNG, said
petitive price that will enable the protection of Shell’s global executive vice-president Istvan
the results of the state-ordered public utility Kapitany. ™

PERFORMANCE

EnQuest sees weaker H1 numbers,

says output is on track

UK NORTH Sea-focused EnQuest blamed weaker said he was “not disappointed” about hav-
numbers in the first half on the oil price collapse, ing to shut down production at several
Its full-year output but has said it is on track to meet its production assets in response to low prices. It closed
guidance is unchanged target for the year. its Heather and Thistle platform in October
at 57,000-63,000 The London-listed firm swung to a pre-tax last year after a fire and equipment problems
boepd. loss of $373.4mn in the six-month period, from a respectively. The company decided earlier
$38.7mn profit a year before. Revenues slumped this year to keep them offline, given market
48% to $439.4mn, from $815.4mn, on the back conditions.
of weaker prices. The Alma-Galia fields stopped flowing oil at
Crude oil revenues came to $375.5mn, the end of June and EnQuest expects to call time
compared with $761.9mn a year earlier, while on the Dons fields as well in the second quarter
revenues from the sale of gas and condensate of 2021.
dropped to $27.6mn from $79.9mn. EnQuest has also made steep cuts to spend-
However, production averaged 66,055 bar- ing, making some 530 North Sea workers
rels of oil equivalent per day in the period, only redundant.
slightly down from 68,548 boepd in the first “Key for us is ensuring we manage in a diffi-
half of 2019. Its full-year guidance remains cult low-price environment,” Bseisu explained.
unchanged at 57,000-63,000 boepd. “In terms of the assets we’ve taken over in the
Weighing down on output in the second half past, we have increased their production lives
will be planned maintenance shutdowns, pro- significantly and they are now being decommis-
duction ceasing at the Alma/Galia fields in June, sioned,” he continued. “It’s a natural cycle. We
lower-than-expected flows from the Dons fields take assets, extend their lives, reduce their costs
and natural decline, the company said. and carbon footprint, invest in them, then aban-
Speaking to investors, CEO Amjad Bseisu don them.” ™

Week 36 10•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15