Page 15 - EurOil Week 21 2021

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

Turkey ranked world’s company’s CFO Przemyslaw Waclawski transform the North West into a clean energy
hub supporting jobs and economic growth for
said, according to the state newswire PAP.
seventh largest natural gas also led to gas prices soaring worldwide years to come.”
The colder-than-average first quarter

consumer last year and in Europe on top of the recovery
in global spot gas prices, which began
Turkey’s natural gas consumption rose in August. European spot prices for gas Serica has difficulties at
to 47.7bn cubic metres (bcm) in 2020, have recently risen to $350/mcm and the Columbus field
making the country the world’s seventh forward curve has been pushed up 30%
largest gas consumer, state-run news higher for 2022 and 20% higher for 2023. Serica Energy, a UK-based oil and gas
service Anadolu Agency has reported, PGNiG recorded a 6% y/y increase company focusing on the North Sea, has hit a
citing data from business group GAZBIR. in the volume of gas sales in January- snag with its Columbus development well and
Consumption increased by 6.5% last March, to nearly 11.3bn cubic meters. will have to re-drill it, which will cost an extra
year from 2019. While the wholesale segment and the £3mn ($4.23mn).
The US was top-ranked, consuming 863 Ukrainian market suffered falls in The company spudded the well in mid-
bcm in 2020, followed by Canada at 132.4 sales volumes, retail and sales via the March, using the Maersk Resilient jack-up
bcm, Japan at 112.1 bcm and Germany at Polish power exchange TGE grew. Also, drilling rig. The plan was to drill the offshore
89.3 bcm. The UK and Italy’s consumption PGNiG’s German company, PST, had a well to a total depth of 17,600ft and including
volumes were 73.3 bcm and 70.9 bcm, good first quarter, making up for weaker a 5,600ft horizontal section. The drilling
respectively. performance elsewhere. operation was expected to take around 70 days.
Turkey’s natural gas imports stood at 48 Revenues gained 5.8% y/y to Serica on May 25 said that the well, as
bcm. Russia was the top supplier of gas to PLN14.55bn, PGNiG also said. Ebitda planned, had been drilled to a total measured
Turkey last year, sending 16.2 bcm. Some came in at PLN3.39bn, an expansion of depth of 17,600 ft, and that a 5,900 ft
30% of Turkish gas imports were in the 63.3% y/y. horizontal section had been drilled through
form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG The positive Q1 results came despite the reservoir formations of the upper Forties,
arrived from countries including the US, PGNiG’s increasing imports to cover a encountering a sequence of sands and shales,
Qatar, Norway, Algeria and Nigeria. spike in demand during the cold snap. in line with pre-drill expectations.
Households’ natural gas consumption At the same time, imports from Russia However, while the drilling went as
showed a 7% y/y increase in 2020, moving diminished - albeit slightly - and the expected, the company encountered problems
up to 15.4 bcm, with the average household increased demand was covered by with the installation of sand screens.
consumption totalling 964 cm. The average purchases from Western European hubs. It said: “The well requires sand screens
annual gas bill faced by a household was Poland plans to wean itself off Russian to be installed to prevent fine particles from
Turkish lira (TRY) 1,990 (€193). gas altogether by the end of 2022, the year being produced; difficulties were encountered
Natural gas consumption at combined Warsaw’s long-term supply contract with while running the screens and it was
gas power plants increased by 21% in 2020, the Russian gas giant Gazprom expires and ultimately not possible to install them. As a
while industrial gas consumption rose by also the year when the Baltic Pipe from result, the reservoir section of the well will
3%. Norway is set to begin operations. be side-tracked and re-drilled, using data
Households accounted for 32.3% of PGNiG’s stock gained 0.47% to PLN6.43 collected during initial drilling to optimize
all natural gas consumed, power plants in afternoon trading on the Warsaw Stock its trajectory and avoid the difficulties
28.6% and the industrial sector 26.7%. The Exchange on May 20. Year-to-date, the encountered running the screens in the
remainder was used by the services sector company’s share price has grown 15.99%. original well.”
and other institutions. PGNiG’s market cap is PLN37.1bn. According to Serica, the additional
There were 17.5mn natural gas operations are expected to take around 3-4
subscribers in Turkey in 2020. weeks at a net cost to Serica of around £3mn
Investments in the country’s natural gas Oil refinery secures £7.2mn ($4.23mn).
distribution sector reached TRY1.2bn in The Columbus development area is
the year. hydrogen furnace grant located 35 km northeast of Shell’s Shearwater
production platform and will be drained by
Essar Oil UK has secured £7.2mn in a single producing well tied into the existing
Cold snap boosts results government funding to build a hydrogen Arran to Shearwater pipeline.
furnace at its Stanlow refinery in Cheshire.
When the production reaches the
of Poland’s oil and gas its crude distillation unit, which will be able to Shearwater platform, the gas and liquids
The company will install a new furnace in
will be separated, and the gas exported via
company PGNiG in Q1 run on 100% hydrogen fuel. the SEGAL line to St Fergus and the liquids
It is believed to become the UK’s first
through the Forties Pipeline System to
Poland’s listed oil and gas exploration and refinery-based furnace able to be fuelled Cruden Bay.
production company PGNiG posted a net entirely by hydrogen.
profit of PLN1.75bn (€390mn) in the first With the help of the new system, the
quarter, marking a jump of 124.3% y/y, the refinery, which supplies nearly 16% of all road Scottish port seeks
company said on May 20. transport fuels used in the UK, will be able
The spike in net profit is a result of the to cut its annual carbon dioxide emissions by hydrogen hub status
cold winter, which drove gas sales higher 11%.
in January-March, the company said. Essar Chief Operating Officer Jon Barden Plans are advancing for the development
“That translated to volumes of gas that commented: “The funding from BEIS is an of a hydrogen hub and transshipment
[PGNiG] sold and distributed and was endorsement of the steps we’re taking, as port in northern Scotland. The terms of a
the key influence on financial results,” the well as a signal of the government’s intent to memorandum of understanding between

Week 21 27•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15