Page 17 - AsianOil Week 47

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said: “Thank goodness the gas plan is being North America: Pipeline, production moves
implemented, because if you don’t stop this level It has been a busy news week for the Canadi-
of decline [in gas production], it will continue an oil and gas industry. TC Energy announced
to decline.” that it had signed a deal paving the way for a
potential investment in Keystone XL, Imperial
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Oil unveiled spending and output plans and
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click more details of the country’s path to net-zero
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emerged.
TC Energy said on November 17 that it had signed
MEOG: Middle East stays busy with con- a definitive agreement with Natural Law Energy (NLE),
tracts, M&A and finds a group that comprises several First Nations. The deal
The Middle East oil and gas sector has remained allows NLE to invest up to CAD1bn ($764mn) in the
busy over the past week with new contract Keystone XL project – a cross-border pipeline that would
awards, M&A interest and large discoveries all carry oil from Alberta’s oil sands to the US. TC Energy
announced. said similar deals could be struck with indigenous groups
The biggest news came unsurprisingly from along the pipeline’s route in both the US and Canada. Imperial Oil said
Saudi Arabia, where state oil firm Saudi Aramco The move comes as TC Energy prepares
has launched a new contracting pool for brown- for US President-elect Joe Biden to take office. in its virtual
field oil and gas projects and plant upgrades. There are fears that Biden could revoke the pro-
Aramco prequalified seven companies and one ject’s presidential permit, which would stop it investor day
consortium to bid exclusively on the work on a from being built, so the company will be keen to
long-term agreement (LTA) basis similar to the demonstrate how Keystone XL aligns with Bid- presentation
existing contracts offering automatic prequal- en’s ‘Build Back Better’ agenda. that it would
ification for offshore EPCI work. While new Separately, Imperial Oil said in its virtual
companies have entered Aramco’s ‘rig of trust’, investor day presentation that it would raise raise capital
Hyundai, Saipem and TehcnipFMC are all now capital expenditure and production in 2021
represented in both pools. despite ongoing market volatility related to the expenditure and
Meanwhile in Iraq, two state-owned Chi- coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Imperial –
nese firms are reported to have shown an inter- which is majority-owned by ExxonMobil and is production in
est in acquiring ExxonMobil’s 34.7% stake in one of Canada’s top four producers – is intending 2021.
the supergiant West Qurna-1 oilfield, with the to spend CAD1.2bn ($916mn) in 2021, which
US firm thought to have grown tired of issues would mark a rise of 33% on 2020. The com-
with developing the asset and the small returns pany is targeting a production increase of 5% to
on offer. Such a move would further emphasise 415,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
Iraq’s pivot towards Asia as Western firms bail These updates have come against the back-
out, citing challenging operating conditions and drop of Canada taking another step down the
low returns on investment. path to decarbonisation. Canadian Prime Min-
With ADNOC dominating recent news flow, ister Justin Trudeau unveiled further details
it was not out of character that the UAE’s state of how he intends to achieve net zero by 2050.
oil firm made the headlines again this week with Trudeau’s Liberal Party has tabled a bill that
the announcement of 24bn barrels of oil found would require the Canadian government to set
across one unconventional and one conven- new targets – and a plan on how to achieve those
tional discovery. targets – every five years between 2030 and 2050.

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.v

Week 47 26•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17