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industry amounted to $11.89bn, which was the EU financial support it was hoping for. The
less than half of a full-year forecast of $32.09bn company’s Stork II pipeline was due to become
and prompted SKK Migas to lower the target to operational in 2023, pumping up 13.7 mcm per
$19.91bn. day of gas in the direction of the Czech Republic
The country was already struggling to attract and 19.6 mcm per day in the direction of Poland.
investment to its upstream, owing to political Net4Gas was also looking to build an 18 mcm
uncertainty and a history of bureaucracy, before per day bidirectional pipeline connecting the
the pandemic, which will only make that task Czech Republic with Austria, known as BACI,
harder. With yet another hurdle in Jakarta’s by 2024.
path, the government’s goal of boosting national However, Net4Gas has excluded both pro-
oil production to 1mn bpd by 2030 is once more jects in its 2021-2030 development programme
in doubt. published this month. It may build smaller-sized
interconnections instead, depending on the
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping results of capacity auctions scheduled for 2021.
the Asia’s oil and gas sector, then please click here for The operator has also pushed back the launch
NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor. of these potential pipelines, to 2027-28 for the
Polish link and 2026 for the connection with
Europe: Nord Stream 2 faces more pain Austria.
The US has moved closer to imposing Net4Gas attributes these decisions to its
tougher sanctions on Russia’s embattled failure to get either project on the EU’s list of
Nord Stream 2 project. US Secretary of State projects of common interest (PCIs), which can
Mike Pompeo announced last week that his gain access to grants from the bloc’s Connecting
department would remove an exemption Europe Facility (CEF). Under its new president,
protecting the pipeline from a US sanctions Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commis-
package introduced in 2017. At the same sion has taken a tougher stance against fossil
time, another sanctions bill is making its fuels. This shift in policy was reflected in the
way through US Congress. fact that the EC’s latest PCI proposals presented
There is bipartisan support for additional in November included far fewer new gas infra-
sanctions in both legislative houses. Although he structure projects.
has been reluctant to impose broader sanctions
against Russia in the past, US President Donald If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Trump has been unambiguous in his opposition Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
to Nord Stream 2. NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor.
However, the consensus is that any new
sanctions will arrive too late to thwart the pro- FSU: Gazprom maintains dividends
ject, which is now all but 6% complete. Russia is Russia’s Gazprom is maintaining its 40% div-
expected to resume construction in the coming idend policy for this year, it has said, despite
weeks, with two of its own pipelaying vessels cur- booking its first quarterly loss since 2015 in the
rently on standby off the German coast. first quarter.
In the Czech Republic, gas grid operator Gazprom suffered as a result of low prices, a
Net4Gas has scaled back plans for new gas links collapse in European sales because of coronavi-
with Austria and Poland after failing to secure rus lockdowns and ruble devaluation. It will face

Week 29 22•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9