Page 5 - GLNG Week 22

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Corp. (NNPC) is talking about bringing its pro- domestic producers.
duction costs down to $10 per barrel on average Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor
by 2021. Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group managing said last week that it was essential for the country
director, noted that costs were running as high to lean on gas-fired power generation as it transi-
as $35.97 per barrel at some fields. tions to a greener economy.
Taylor’s comments came following an update
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping to the Australian Energy Statistics, which showed
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for that renewable energy sources accounted for
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor . 21% of the country’s power generation in 2019.
Gas-fired power generation represented 20.5%
Spot prices spiral in Asia of the national total.
The global oversupply of LNG and the destruc- Taylor said: “Gas is flexible and provides the
tion of Asian demand amid the coronavirus dispatchable capacity we increasingly need to
(COVID-19) pandemic have sent spot prices balance intermittent renewables and deliver a
spiralling for a second week. (See: Asian LNG secure, reliable and affordable electricity system
prices slump once more, page 11) to power our homes, businesses and industries.”
Spot cargoes for July delivery to East Asia He added: “This has never been more impor-
fell to $1.85 per mmBtu ($52.39 per 1,000 tant – particularly as we begin our recovery from
cubic metres), Reuters reported on June 1. The the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is
newswire pointed to the number of cargoes on why the Australian government believes a gas-
the market this week, coupled with depressed fired recovery will drive jobs and economic
industrial demand for gas around the world, as growth.”
behind the $0.07 per mmBtu ($1.98 per 1,000
cubic metre) decline. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas has it is Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
“optimising” its production of LNG in response NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor .
to weaker prices and demand.
The company told Reuters this week that South African fuel rationing
challenges relating to the ongoing COVID- Many markets are reeling in excess fuel supply
19 pandemic meant that it needed to optimise as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. But
production volume in line with the market South Africa has had to ration diesel following
slowdown. a fast recovery in demand as the country’s lock-
Malaysia’s exports of LNG are expected to down is eased.
drop to 1.5-1.64mn tonnes in May, the newswire Only two of South Africa’s six refineries are
quoted unnamed industry sources as saying last operating normally, with most refining capacity
week. This would represent a nearly two-year having been shut down in response to a collapse
low in terms monthly export volumes, down in demand. Opposition politicians blame the
from the 1.92mn tonnes the country exported government for failing to ensure a sufficient
in April. stockpile of fuel.
The news comes after Petronas announced Meanwhile, Egypt has unveiled a new strat-
last month that it would cut its 2020 capital egy that aims to realise $19bn in new petro-
expenditure budget by 21% and its operating chemical projects by 2035. The country is set
expenditure 12%. for a rapid growth in demand for petrochemical
With the international gas market tanking, products as its population boom continues. The
the region’s largest gas exporter – Australia – has government is eager to see domestic resources
begun turning its attention to ways it can prop up used to meet this demand, rather than imports.

Week 22 05•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P5