Page 8 - AfrOil Week 33

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“The Waitsia Gas Project Stage 2 in the Mid West the facility will soon begin production of gaso-
is an exception to the policy. Once sanctioned, it line compliant with Euro-V emissions standards,
will provide urgently needed jobs, royalties and following the completion of maintenance and
economic stimulus for the region and the state,” upgrade work.
he said. Elsewhere in the region, Tupras, Turkey’s
Waitsia, considered to be one of the country’s largest company by turnover, swung to a net
largest onshore discoveries in the last four dec- loss of TRY185mn in Q2 from a net profit of
ades, is estimated to produce 1.5mn tonnes per TRY870mn a year ago, according to a stock
year (tpy) of LNG over seven years. exchange filing. The loss in the quarter was
Traditional offshore LNG projects, which are mainly the result of the sharp drop in Brent
already required to ring-fence 15% of their feed- crude oil prices and capacity reductions amid
stock production the local market, will not be lower demand brought on by the coronavirus
affected by the changes. McGowan added: “For (COVID-19) pandemic, Seker Invest says.
the domestic gas policy to work, the market also
needs to know how much gas is available to it, If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
and when the gas is available. We’ve listened to the downstream sector of Africa and the Middle East,
WA industry’s calls for this transparency and the then please click here for NewsBase’s DMEA Monitor.
amended policy will ensure it happens.”
Europe: T ensions escalate in Eastern Med
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Tensions have been escalating between
Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for Greece and Turkey over drilling in contested
NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor. waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the
French government has been bolstering Paris’
DMEA: Refinery developments military presence in the region in recent days.
This week’s DMEA covers several developments This comes after Turkey sent a seismic
in the refining sector. research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters
Japan’s JGC announced last week that it had between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus
been awarded a $3.75bn contract to build new to explore for potential offshore gas and oil
refining facilities on land adjacent to the existing reserves, spurred by similar discoveries in other
210,000 barrel per day (bpd) Shuaiba refinery parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece
outside Basra in southern Iraq. The company claims that part of the area falls within its own
said that it had received a lump sum engineer- continental shelf and has demanded that the
ing, procurement, construction and commis- ships withdraw, but Turkey insists that it is enti-
sioning (EPCC) contract covering a 34,500 bpd tled to conduct research in those waters.
fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, a 55,000 bpd On August 17, Turkey’s state-owned TPAO
vacuum distillation unit and a 40,000 bpd diesel extended the drilling schedule for its Yavuz
desulphurisation unit. drillship offshore Cyprus to mid-September in
Meanwhile, Tehran Oil Refinery’s managing a move that appears set to ramp up tensions in
director Hamed Aramanfar has announced that the region further.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 33 19•August•2020