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sale of the Marlim cluster, a group of deepwater to kick off work to expand production capacity at
oil and gas fields in the Campos basin. The four the super-giant offshore Safaniyah field. Tender
fields within the group are currently producing documents have been issued to the company’s
about 217,000 barrels per day of crude oil and pool of contractors that are signatories of long-
more than 3.6mn cubic metres per day of gas, term agreement (LTA) contracts with Aramco,
according to a company statement. ahead of an anticipated award in the first quarter
The NOC said last week that it intended of 2021.
to stay on as operator of the licence area
but was looking to unload half of its 100% If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
stake. Meanwhile, Houston-based Welli- the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click
gence Energy Analytics described Marlim here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor.
as “the biggest acquisition opportunity”
in the region and speculated that the sale North America: Asset sale and bankruptcy
might draw bids from major international The shale industry has been prominent in North
oil companies (IOCs). American oil and gas developments in recent
Meanwhile, Suriname’s NOC Staatsolie is days, with notable news including a reported
gearing up to offer eight shallow-water off- asset sale and a bankruptcy.
shore blocks to foreign investors. The com- On November 13, Reuters reported that Den-
pany said last week that it was on track to ver-based Ovintiv was seeking to sell its assets in
launch a new bidding round on November the Eagle Ford shale, citing several people famil- Hurricane Delta
16. The winners of the auctions will be able to iar with the matter.
negotiate contracts that provide for the collec- The company – which was previously based was the latest in
tion of new 3D seismic data from the blocks in in Calgary and known as Encana – bought its
the first phase of exploration. Eagle Ford assets in 2014 from Freeport-Mc- a series of storms
In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez MoRan for $3.1bn. According to one of Reuters’ that forced
Obrador has said his government is ready to sources, the assets could fetch around $600-
issue the last permit needed for Sempra Energy 700mn. The plan to sell the assets is reported to the evacuation
to make a final investment decision (FID) on be at an early stage.
the Energía Costa Azul (ECA) project. He also The difference in the assets’ original of manned
stated, though, that the company would have to prices and what they could fetch now illus-
commit to helping Mexico City dispose of excess trates how much more challenging the platforms in the
gas supplies to receive the permit. operating environment is now – when even Gulf of Mexico
before this year’s downturn, shale drill-
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping ers were already struggling. Some are now
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click seeking to boost their performance and pay
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor. down debt, including through asset sales.
Indeed, Ovintiv is estimated to have debt of
Mideast: Attacks and contracts $7.1bn that a sale of the Eagle Ford assets
ADNOC, the UAE’s national oil company could help pay down.
(NOC), announced progress on several initia- Other shale drillers, meanwhile, have found
tives last week and also struck deals on new pro- themselves forced into bankruptcy protection.
jects, using the platform of the annual ADIPEC This has also played out in recent days once again
event to spread the word of its successes. in recent days, with Gulfport Energy announc-
The state-run oil firm continues to supplement ing that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
its core business of oil and gas production as it protection.
increases activities throughout the value chain, The company said on November 14 that it
and this strategy was exemplified by progress in had entered into a restructuring support agree-
the upstream, midstream and services sectors. ment, with over 95% of its revolving credit facil-
Meanwhile, the company is ramping up efforts to ity lenders and certain noteholders. The plan is
improve its environmental stewardship through aimed at strengthening Gulfport’s balance sheet,
carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). “significantly” reducing its funded debt and low-
In Saudi Arabia, oil facilities at Jazan, which is ering operating costs, it stated.
located near the border with Yemen, came under The company said that after it completes the
attack from Houthis. While the attack was ulti- restructuring process, it will have eliminated
mately foiled, it resulted in a fire, although there roughly $1.25bn in funded debt. Gulfport Ener-
were no casualties. Jazan has been an area of gy’s debts came to about $2.5bn as of September
concern for Saudi Aramco over the past year or 30, according to a filing with the US Bankruptcy
so, having come under attack previously, while Court for the Southern District of Texas.
issues with the refinery and terminal have also
posed their own problems. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
The news wasn’t all bad in Saudi Arabia the North American oil and gas sector then please click
though, as Aramco is reported to be preparing here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor.™

P22 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 19•November•2020