Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 34 2019

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e Saudi rm is aiming to raise global re ning capacity to 8-10mn bpd by 2030, with expansion focused on major Asian consumers of the king- dom’s crude.
Downstream investment projects in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan are at various stages of execution, while Aramco’s US subsidiary Motiva Enterprises last week signed a deal to acquire the Flint Hills Resources Chemical Plant nearby its Port Arthur Re nery in the US state of Louisiana and the rm is in talks to acquire 20% of India’s Reliance Indus- tries Ltd’s (RIL) oil-to-chemicals business for around $15bn.
Most of Aramco’s current 4.9mn bpd capac- ity is produced through JVs, with around 2-3mn bpd of the total envisaged being converted to
petrochemicals, to add to the 17mn tpy of pet- rochemicals already produced.
Gross and net refining capacity stood at 4.9mn bpd and 3.1mn bpd respectively at the end of 2018. e two gures were anticipated to increase to 5.6mn bpd and 3.7mn bpd by the end of this year.
Aramco’s owned and affiliated refineries absorbed 38% of the company’s crude last year, providing a significant hedge against the oil market uctuations of the past few years.
Crude supply agreements have been a cen- tral feature of the company’s international investment projects, and the prospectus noted that Saudi oil had accounted for some 68% of the feedstock absorbed by its international re neries. ™
ARGENTINA
Equinor, YPF eye CAN 100 block
Observers of Argentina’s oil and gas sector have focused on Vaca Muerta in recent years, calling the shale formation the country’s most promising new frontiers. But some companies – including Norway’s Equinor, formerly known as Statoil – are also showing interest in conven- tional o shore projects than in unconventional onshore plays.
Equinor reported in a statement last week that it had concluded a preliminary agreement with YPF, Argentina’s national oil company (NOC), on the establishment of a joint venture to explore the CAN 100 block. It said the docu- ment provided for the Norwegian company to transfer half of its 100% stake in the block to YPF for this purpose but did not reveal the nancial terms of the deal.
YPF already holds a licence for the field, which covers an area of 15,000 square km within the North Argentinian Basin. It began a four-year exploration programme there when it acquired the licence in May of this year.
If negotiations with the NOC lead to a nal agreement, Equinor will be able to expand its operations in Argentina’s offshore zone. The Norwegian rm paired up with YPF during the
last o shore bidding round to sign a contract for work at the CAN 102 and CAN 114 blocks, both of which lie within the North Argentinian Basin.
Tim Dodson, Equinor’s executive vice presi- dent for exploration, said the preliminary accord served to highlight his organisation’s good rela- tionship with YPF. “We are delighted with this opportunity to continue and expand our close partnership with YPF in Argentina. Currently, we are partners in two o shore blocks in the same area, and we are jointly exploring onshore opportunities in the Vaca Muerta formation in Neuquen Province. We are looking forward to [collaborating] closely with YPF on this new exploration opportunity,” he was quoted as say- ing in a company statement.
Daniel Gonzalez, the CEO of YPF, also expressed satisfaction with the deal, saying that his company would bene t from Equinor’s involvement. “We have a strong relationship with Equinor based on mutual trust built on the development of exploration and unconventional projects,”hesaid.“ isnewagreementdeepens our bond with Equinor and allows us to learn from their undisputed experience in o shore projects worldwide.” ™
Equinor
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