Page 14 - AsianOil Week 23

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production remained steady in the month of feet (25mn cubic metres) per day of natural gas
April, even as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged according to federal data.
world energy markets. According to the state oil Among those shutting in some of their out-
and gas regulator, known as ANP, output levels put was BP, which reduced production at its
reached 2.9mn bpd in April, down by just 0.5% Thunder Horse, Atlantis and Na Kika platforms.
on the previous month and up by 13.6% on April Royal Dutch Shell said on June 8 that its produc-
2019. tion had been unaffected by the storm, but that
Argentina, for its part, is looking to expand it would resume drilling activity and redeploy
its future production capacity. The government nonessential workers that had been evacuated
of Neuquén province is reportedly preparing from the region.
to launch a tender for Loma Amarilla Norte, a Murphy Oil also said on June 8 that it was
block within the Vaca Muerta shale formation. beginning to return workers to offshore facilities.
Provincial authorities had hoped to offer the Onshore, meanwhile, the active oil and gas
site to investors earlier this year but postponed rig count has continued to fall and dropped to
the sale, citing unfavourable market conditions. 284 in the week up to June 5 – marking a thir-
Vaca Muerta fields have seen production levels teenth straight week of declines. This compares
decline since April, when the national oil com- with 793 active oil and gas rigs reported in the
pany (NOC) YPF reined in upstream operations first week of March.
at Loma Campana and other sites. Oil rigs have accounted for the majority of the
At the same time, Ecuador is facing some decline, falling by 476 over this period, while the
short-term setbacks, owing to continued prob- gas rig count fell by 33.
lems with the SOTE oil pipeline system. Offi- Also last week, data emerged showing how
cials in Quito have declared force majeure on robust energy trade within North America was
Petroecuador’s production operations, and the in 2019. The US Energy Information Admin-
NOC is building a bypass link in a bid to improve istration (EIA) reported on June 5 that Canada
conditions. was the largest source of US energy imports last
If you’d like to read more about the key events year, and was second only behind Mexico as a
shaping Latin America’s oil and gas sector, then destination for US energy exports.
please click here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Citing data from the US Census Bureau, the
Monitor. EIA said that energy accounted for $85bn or 27%
of the value of all US imports from Canada in
Offshore disruptions as North American on- 2019. Meanwhile, the US exported $23bn worth
shore rigs fall of energy to Canada last year, accounting for
Oil producers in the US Gulf of Mexico were pre- around 8% of all US exports to Canada. This
paring to resume disrupted operations this week, was the second highest level ever recorded, after
after Tropical Storm Cristobal passed through 2014.
the region, bringing high winds and heavy rains. If you’d like to read more about the key events
Offshore producers were reported to have shaping the North American oil and gas sector,
evacuated 188 Gulf facilities, and shut in 635,000 then please click here for NewsBase’s NorthAm-
barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 878mn cubic Oil Monitor.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 11•June•2020