Page 7 - NorthAmOil Week 27
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NorthAmOil                                         NRG                                           NorthAmOil










































                         A bill announcing new sanctions is making its  and state banks have agreed to lend to Total’s
                         way through US Congress, but both Germany  Mozambique LNG project.
                         and the EU have said they will consider counter-  Four Japanese private banks – MUFG Bank,
                         ing US actions with measures of their own.  Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and
                            Russian producers are banding together to  Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank – will provide
                         share technology and expertise to develop hard-  most of the debt funding for the project, and
                         to-recover oil, which is anticipated to account  the state-owned Japan Bank for International
                         for an increasing share of the country’s output  Cooperation (JBIC) will supply $3bn in loans.
                         over the coming decades. Gazprom Neft has just  The African Development Bank (AfDB) will also
                         signed a deal with Zarubezhneft on joint extrac-  support the project, the report said. The report in
                         tion of hard-to-recover reserves in Western Sibe-  the Nikkei indicated that the money would sup-
                         ria, less than a week after announcing a similar  port Total’s Mozambique LNG project, in which
                         partnership with Lukoil and Tatneft for projects  Mitsui and JOGMEC together hold a 20% stake.
                         in the Volga-Urals area.               Japan’s confirmation of the involvement of
                            Elsewhere, Uzbekistan is pushing ahead with  its commercial banks as well as the state-owned
                         the revamp of its refining sector, hiring South  JBIC is a good sign that Total will be able to
                         Korea’s  SK  Engineering  & Construction  to  secure all its financing by the end of 2020.
                         undertake front-end engineering design (FEED)   In June, Total said it had reached an agree-
                         work for a $500mn upgrade of the Bukhara oil  ment with a group that included 20 lenders for
                         refinery. Last month work also commenced on a  the first phase of senior debt funding of $14.4bn.
                         similar project at the Ferghana refinery, Uzbeki-  Other banks named included Standard Bank
                         stan’s other main oil processing plant.   Group, Societe Generale and Rand Merchant
                            Tashkent’s goal is to produce more vehicle  Bank.
                         and jet fuels, of higher quality, to help reduce   As well as Total’s $20bn Mozambique LNG
                         its imports and make fuel shortages a thing of  project, which aims to produce 12mn tpy of
                         the past. But the unanswered question is how  LNG, ExxonMobil is developing the 7.6mn tpy
                         Uzbekistan will procure enough crude to run its  Rovuma project in the African country. How-
                         refineries at full capacity.         ever, only Total is close to FID, with Exxon delay-
                                                              ing any decision until 2021.
                         If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping   Even though Japan’s LNG imports fell by
                         the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then   8.8% y/y in April to 5.13mn tonnes, because of
                         please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor .  the impact of COVID-19, LNG imports are of
                                                              long-term strategic importance to the country’s
                         Japan invests big in African LNG     energy sector.
                         Japan has announced a $14.4bn investment drive
                         by some of the country’s leading energy develop-  If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
                         ers and financiers in Mozambique’s LNG poten-  the global LNG sector then please click here for
                         tial, strongly suggesting that a group of private   NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor.



       Week 27   09•July•2020                   www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P7
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