Page 8 - MEOG Week 40

MEOG PIPeLInes & transPort MEOG
Jordan announces September imports as Iraqi flows stabilise
JorDan
JORDAn’S energy minister announced this week that the hashemite kingdom imported a total of 204,000 barrels of oil from Iraq during September under a new contract.
Minister hala Zawati signed a memoran- dum of understanding (MoU) with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Minister of Oil Thamir Ghadhban in February. This stated the intent for 10,000 barrels per day of Iraqi crude to be trucked to Jordan’s Petroleum Refinery Co. at Zarqa.
In early September, the first batch of Iraqi crude left Kirkuk.
Deliveries were uninterrupted on October 1 and 2 amid, but major social unrest in Iraq meant that shipments were not received the fol- lowing two days. Zawati added that a delivery was received on October 5 and that cargoes are anticipated to continue stably.
Zawati said previously the bilateral deal includes that the flows cover around 7% of Jor- dan’s current demand, buying the oil at a $16
per barrel discount to Brent in order to cover the transport and deviation in specifications. In return, Iraqi goods exported through Aqaba port will receive preferential rates.
A tender was launched following the signing of the MoU, with Jordanian firm Burj Al hayat Transport and Trading Co. declared the winner and receiving a deal to truck a total of 500,000 tonnes (3.67mn barrels) of crude from Kirkuk.
Preliminary work to develop the 1mn-bpd, $5bn Basra-Aqaba pipeline is thought to be near- ing with Iraqi Ministry of Oil (MoO) spokesper- son Assem Jihad saying in July that “investment offers from international companies” were under evaluation on the bases of establishing “the pipeline in return for a percentage that will be deductedforeachexportedbarrel”.
This follows trips to Iraq earlier this year by Zawati and Jordan’s King Abdullah, with bilateral energy relations revealed to have been high on the agenda. The King’s visit was the first by the monarch since 2008.™
FInanCe & InVestment
Lebanon courts international investors
Lebanon
LEBAnESE Prime Minister Saad hariri spoke to state media during a visit to Abu Dhabi this week and outlined various sectors into which Beirut is trying to attract investment, with oil and gas unsurprisingly coming high up on the list.
In town to attend the to attend the second UAE-Lebanon Investment Forum, hariri told WAM he hoped that the forum would help to attract Emirati investment to Lebanon, with a specific focus on food, infrastructure, oil and gas, and renewables.
he said: “We are going to discuss with the officials how Lebanon can help meet the objec- tives of food security strategy in the UAE.”
According to WAM, hariri’s entourage joined him in the UAE to present various invest- ment opportunities in oil and gas sector, with significant discussions to also be held in regard to renewable energy.
Meanwhile, in Beirut, the British Trade Envoy toLebanonLordRichardRisbysaidthattheUK would facilitate the import of Lebanese products, according to the national news Agency.
Ridby spoke ot British intent to increase co-operation between the two countries. “Leb- anon can benefit much from UK’s expertise and training sessions in technology,” he said, adding
that British companies were interested in invest- ing in the country’s oil and gas sector.
“We hope that Shell and BP can participate in Lebanon’s second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration,” he said, though consid- ering the muted interest so far in the Lebanese offshore, there is little that suggests such bids are likely to be forthcoming, though the East Med’s propensity to be gas-bearing would certainly fit with Shell’s wider strategy.
Beirut’s efforts to increase international involvement in its energy sector were high- lighted by the signing in late September of a co-operation agreement with the Cypriot government.
Lebanese Water and Energy Minister nada Boustani was quoted by Elnashra on September 26 as saying: “We encourage linking Lebanon with neighbouring countries by signing agree- ments in infrastructure, technical cooperation andexchangeinexpertise.”
She added that drilling would begin of the country’s the first offshore well in Block 4 by the end of the year.
Lebanon’s second offshore licensing round covering five blocks remains open until January 2020.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 40 08•October•2019