Page 19 - FSUOGM Week 31

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Novatek progresses North-Russky project

NOVATEK RUSSIA’S Novatek has reported progress at the growing its international LNG business, with a
North-Russky fields in Western Siberia – its larg- raft of new export projects at various stages of
The North-Russkoye est upstream project designated for domestic gas development. Following the collapse in global
and East-Tazovskoye supply. gas prices triggered by the COVID-19 crisis,
fields are due to In a statement on August 3, the private gas though, Novatek’s domestic business has pro-
produce 7.7 bcm producer said it had launched pilot production vided relief from international volatility.
per year of gas at full at gas condensate layers at the North-Russkoye Commenting on the latest development,
capacity. and East-Tazovskoye fields. Production from the Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson said the domes-
pair is due to reach 7.7bn cubic metres (bcm) of tic market had “proved very stable as compared
gas and 1mn tonnes of condensate per year. to international markets in recent months.”
The company announced first gas at “Moreover, the additional volumes of gas
North-Russkoye in December, stating at the time condensate will ensure full utilisation of our
that the field alone would produce 5.7 bcm of gas processing facilities,” he said.
and 700,000 of condensate annually. While international gas prices slumped in the
The two other deposits in the North-Russky second quarter, prices in Russia grew, thanks to
cluster – Dorogovskoye and Kharbeyskoye a 1.4% bump in regulated wholesale gas tariffs.
– are due on stream sometime in 2020 and Novatek still earned a 2.4 times greater net-
2021, Novatek said last year. Together they are back on international sales than on domestic
expected to yield 13 bcm per year of gas at full ones, CFO Mark Gyetvay told analysts in an
capacity, all of which will be sold domestically. earnings call. But this represented the smallest
Novatek has in recent years focused on ratio on record, he said. ™

NEWS IN BRIEF

RUSSIA Burenye, which was the guarantor for This is the last phase before the
RUB15bn worth of loans and leasing commissioning of the investment, which is
New contractors of guarantees for the newcoming contractor. the first real alternative for Moldova to total
Previous reports claimed that Gazprom's
dependence on natural gas supplies from
Russia's Gazprom plan is to unite all of its largest contractors Russia.
under a single company, Stroygazprom.
The annual transport capacity is about
supported by Rotenbergs 1.5bn cubic metres of natural gas, in line
with Moldova’s total consumption.
The new large drilling and servicing Surgutneftegas swings to The tests will last a few days and
contractor of Russia's gas giant Gazprom, commercial operations are possible
RusGasBurenye (RGB), is supported by RUB437bn RAS net profit in afterwards.
credit guarantees of Gazprom Burenye, RBC However, at this moment there is no
business portal reports on August 3 citing the Jan-Jun commercial contract for bringing Romanian
audits of the Federal Tax Service. gas to Moldova since no auction has been
Gazprom Burenye is controlled Arcady Russian oil and gas company Surgutneftegas held in this sense.
Rotenberg and his son Igor Rotenberg, posted a net profit of RUB436.872bn The segment of the pipeline on Moldovan
stoligarchs in the Kremlin's inner cicle, and is in January–June against a net loss of territory, Ungheni-Chisinau, has been built
one of the largest recipients of state contracts. RUB37.93bn in the same period of 2019, and will be operated by Vestmoldtransgaz,
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Gazprom as calculated under Russian Accounting a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transgaz
has been consolidating its contractors and Standards (RAS), the company said on July 31. registered in Moldova for this project.
reportedly eyed buying Gazprom Burenye. Revenue decreased 38% to RUB493bn The full length of the pipeline is 120 km,
Most recent reports suggest that Gazprom rubles, while other incomes doubled to and the gas will be delivered through three
has acquired another of its main contractors, RUB1.33 trillion. delivery stations: two in Chisinau and one in
Stroytransneftegaz (STNG), from billionaire The cost of the company’s liquid assets Ungheni..
businessman Gennady Timchenko for stood at RUB3.311 trillion as of the end of
$700mn. June. CENTRAL ASIA & SOUTH
RGB was founded by Ilkam
Muhametshin, who used to be in the EASTERN EUROPE CAUCASUS
top management of oil servicing major
Schlumberger, as well as Norwegian Resman. Transgaz starts testing Azerbaijan warns of weaker
The company had only RUB1.4bn ($19mn)
revenues in 2018, jumping to RUB9.3bn Romania-Moldova pipeline budget because of COVID-19
in 2019 on hive contracts received from
Gazprom. In spring 2020 RGB was also Romania's natural gas transport system Azerbaijan’s Finance Minister Samir Sharifov
included in the state-compiled systemic operator Transgaz has started technical tests has said that government’s coffers are expected
companies list. on the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline to see a decrease in income due to the spread of
Reportedly, RGB was rapidly developing that will facilitate exports of Romanian natural coronavirus (COVID-19) across the economy,
with the help from Rotenberg's Gazprom gas to Moldova. APA reported on August 4.

Week 31 05•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P19