Page 17 - EurOil Week 45 2022

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

Slovenia to sign deal to 2.600 meters depth, is suitable for safe and
permanent CO2 storage.
purchase natural gas from Carlyle, EBRD reportedly seek Carbon Injection Well in Norway
Transocean’s Offshore Drilling Rig to Drill
Algeria strategic partner for Romanian the successful conclusion of the drilling
“Northern Lights can now announce
Slovenia will sign a natural gas purchase offshore gas project operations that commenced in August 2022
agreement with Algeria next week, news with a CO2 injection well as a sidetrack to
agency STA cited Prime Minister Robert The shareholders of Black Sea Oil&GAS the initial exploration well. In addition, a
Golob as saying on November 8. (BSOG) – which has already started new contingent CO2 injection well has been
Slovenian ex-infrastructure minister Jernej producing natural gas in Romania’s offshore drilled,” the company said.
Vrtovec announced in March that Slovenia area – are reportedly seeking a strategic Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director at
planned to import natural gas from north partner to join or even take over the project, Northern Lights said: “We are pleased to
African countries, like Algeria and Morocco, according to Profit.ro. announce that the preliminary results from
via Italy to reduce its dependence on Russian It is not immediately clear whether the two the drilling operations have confirmed a
gas following the war in Ukraine partners seek to entirely dispose of one or reservoir storage capacity sufficient for phase
The deal will be signed during a visit by both of their stakes, or if an additional partner 1 and 2 of Northern Lights’ project, with
the foreign and infrastructure ministers to is needed. at least 5 million tonnes CO2 per annum.
Algiers. Carlyle investment fund – which owns To utilize this capacity, we will need to drill
“The agreement has been finalised and 70% of BSOG – and the European Bank for additional injection wells. The completion of
initialled,” Golob was cited as saying. Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) these first drilling operations is an important
have asked Romania’s authorities, most step in the right direction”
likely the national mineral resources agency The wells have been drilled using
Turkey has started paying for (NAMR), the energy market regulator and Transocean’s semi-submersible drilling
rig Transocean Enabler. Operations were
ANRE and possibly the finance ministry, to
some Russian gas in rubles create a “data room” for their Midia Natural managed by Equinor on behalf of Northern
Gas Development (MGD) project, Profit.ro
Lights JV as operator.
says energy minister reported. by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies. The
Northern Lights is a joint venture created
The project is designed to generate 1bn
Turkey has commenced paying for some cubic metres of gas per year. project is designed to mitigate emissions and
its natural gas from Russia in rubles, While avoiding disclosing the nature remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez told of the deal envisaged — a partnership or a by creating the first cross-border, open-
broadcaster TRT Haber on November 8. sale — the shareholders reportedly asked source carbon dioxide transport and storage
The share of local currency payments in their business partners, Engie and Transgaz, infrastructure network in Europe.
energy trade with Russia would increase in to allow third parties controlled access to
coming months, he added. Most international otherwise confidential documents such as
energy deals are settled in dollars or euros. bilateral contracts. Finder farms out North Sea
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is BSOG’s shareholders are the Carlyle Group
seen as already campaigning for a re-election and the EBRD. The Carlyle Group, through its interests
bid, with national polls due next June. But Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP)
his efforts are hampered by a crisis-ridden, fund, acquired the company in August 2015, The Australian oil and gas company Finder
fragile economy short on FX reserves. Russian and the EBRD became a minority shareholder has entered into three farm-out transactions
counterpart Vladimir Putin is regarded as in November 2017. to assign to Dana Petroleum interests in three
keen on seeing fellow strongman Erdogan re- offshore blocks in the central North Sea in the
elected. As well as accepting gas bill payments UK.
in rubles, Putin could meet Turkey’s request Drilling finished at Northern Dana Petroleum will acquire a 40% interest
for a discount on delivered gas and delays on in each of P2527, P2528, and P2530. Finder
gas debt payments. Lights CO2 storage project off will retain a 60% interest and operatorship in
Putin, meanwhile, has proposed forming each of the licenses.
a Russian natural gas hub in Turkey. Donmez Norway “Finder’s retaining a 60% interest allows
told TRT Haber that Ankara would put for secondary farm-outs to secure funding for
forward a roadmap towards achieving the Drilling operations have been completed at wells whilst still retaining meaningful levels of
hub by the end of this year and might hold a the Northern Lights project in the Norwegian participation in any discovery,” Finder said.
conference for suppliers and buyers. part of the North Sea for a CO2 injection well Damon Neaves, Finder CEO said: “Dana
The Russian leader has said gas prices and a contingent injection well within CO2 Petroleum’s like-minded exploration strategy,
could be set at the hub rather than in Russia. storage license EL001. development, and production capabilities,
However, to make the hub work, it would Northern Lights partners said Thursday as well as ownership of proximal North Sea
be necessary to persuade some European that preliminary results confirmed the storage infrastructure, makes them a partner of choice
countries to take deliveries of Russian gas via capacity of at least 5 million tonnes CO2 per for Finder and demonstrates the significant
the Turkish facility—and the European Union, annum. potential for further value-accretive deals
previously reliant on Russia for around 40% The wells are located in the North Sea from our ILX strategy. We are very pleased
of its gas needs, is attempting to wean itself off approximately 70 kilometers west of Bergen, to build on our existing partnership with
Russian energy entirely following Moscow’s Norway, within the EL001 license that was Dana. These three deals represent a significant
invasion of Ukraine in February. awarded to Northern Lights in January 2019. expansion of our mutual aspirations in the
Putin has said he believes some European In 2020, Northern Lights drilled the first North Sea, with a focus on prospectivity
countries could be convinced to sign CO2 exploration well that confirmed that around the giant Buzzard Oil Field.
contracts. the reservoir in the Johansen formation, at

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