Page 15 - EurOil Week 16 2022

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

Turkey’s Botas ‘obtains Latvia to halt Russian gas minister is expected to sign a legally and
financially non-binding memorandum
$400mn loan from two local imports as of 2023, set to of understanding (MoU) with the
Estonian minister of economic affairs and
banks’ build LNG terminal communications and the Finnish minister of
economic affairs and employment with the
Turkey’s government-run natural gas importer The Latvian government has effectively agreed aim of deepening co-operation on this project.
Botas has obtained a $400mn short-term to halt imports of Russian natural gas as of
loan from two unnamed Turkish banks, January 1, 2023, the country’s economics
anonymous sources told Bloomberg on April minister has said, Azerbaijan’s Socar denies
21. Amendments by the Ministry of
On April 20, Bloomberg quoted unnamed Economics, supported by the government, reports of potential purchase
sources as saying that Deutsche Bank have yet to be deliberated by the Latvian
(Frankfurt/DBK) was in the final stage of talks parliament, the Saeima. of Serbia’s NIS
to extend a €1bn five-year loan to Botas under Vitenbergs, the minister, described this
a guarantee that would be provided by the decision as a ‘historic event’ for strengthening The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (Socar)
Turkish Treasury. Latvia’s energy security and independence. has denied speculation that it is interested
In January, sources told Bloomberg Vitenbergs says that the first step for Latvia in buying a controlling stake in Serbian oil
that Botas was seeking a $2bn loan to pay to opt out of using Russia’s natural gas is to company Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS),
upcoming debts to suppliers, including agree with Finland and Estonia that Latvia Azernews reported on April 13.
Russia’s Gazprom (Moscow/GAZP). will be able to receive additional gas from the NIS’ future is uncertain after the sanctions
Since November, the Turkish central bank Paldiski terminal until it builds its own gas imposed by western countries on Russian
has sold USD amounting to $18bn to state- terminal. companies. GazpromNeft owns 51% of NIS,
owned enterprises, mainly Botas. The government has also decided that the while Serbian government is the company’s
construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) other shareholder.
terminal in Latvia is in the strategic interests Earlier Demostat reported that Socar had
Morocco signs pipeline of the country. been in contact with the majority owner of
NIS, the Russian state company GazpromNeft,
Building an LNG terminal would
maintenance deal with also ensure that it is also appealing for as well as the government of Serbia on a
potential transaction.
neighbouring countries to use the Incukalns
Spain’s Maetel ahead of storage facility, the ministry says.
Chair of the Saeima Economy,
reverse flow deliveries Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Poland moots ban on LPG
Policy Commission Krisjanis Feldmans has
Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons said that terminals located in Klaipeda and imports from Russia
and Minerals (ONHYM) has reportedly Paldiski are not a ‘tactical structure and are
signed a maintenance agreement with Spanish quite expensive’ solutions. Poland will add LPG to the list of banned
firm Maetel for the country’s part of the For example, the Klaipeda terminal costs energy imports from Russia by the end of the
Medgas pipeline, before the Algeria-sourced around €50-60mn per year, he pointed out. year, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said
gas is pumped from Spain to Morocco via the The Ministry of Economics has been on April 14.
Maghreb gas pipeline. tasked with performing updated calculations Morawiecki thus deflected a question
The agreement to manage the maintenance of the benefits of the installation. “Indicatively, about the government-backing majority in
and safety of the Moroccan part of the gas it could be even twice as beneficial as the the parliament rejecting a proposal by the
pipeline was initially discussed in February. Paldiski or Klaipeda terminal. Of course, it’s opposition-held Senate to ban LPG imports
Maetel has already started work on the also more beneficial than building a terminal right away, together with coal.
project, according to Africa Intelligence. in Skulte,” Feldmans said. The PM said that preparations must be
Morocco is currently preparing to receive The best known of the previously made to implement an LPG import ban and

the first shipments of natural gas from the announced projects in Latvia is the idea of an that the government was working on them
international market. LNG terminal at Skulte. as part of the wider plan to end imports of
Gas-processing units in Spain and in the Vitenbergs said that the terminal might be Russian energy commodities by the end of the
Moroccan part of the Medgas pipeline will constructed by the end of 2023 or beginning year.
be used to re-convert gas and transport it to of 2024. By May 31, the Economics Ministry Polish LPG consumption was 2.34mn
Morocco via reverse flow technology. is expected to present an assessment of the tonnes in 2020, out of which 530,000 tonnes
Morocco faces a gas shortage after terminal’s potential location, benefits and was domestic production. Of the remaining
neighbour Algeria ceased pumping to Europe costs. 2.04mn tonnes, Russia supplied 65%, or
through The so-called Maghreb Pipeline that For a short-term solution, Latvia will 1.33mn tonnes.
passes through Morocco in October 2021. work with Estonia and Finland to implement Other source countries were Sweden,
The country is seeking to compensate the LNG terminal project in Paldiski, as Lithuania, Belarus – Russia’s ally, which is also
for Algerian gas supplies, by accelerating it is the only way to ensure additional gas on the radar for boycotts and government-
investments in gas exploration. supplies to the region already this season. The level sanctions – and Kazakhstan.
government has authorised Vitenbergs to hold The LPG sector in Poland believes that
talks on the project with Estonia and Finland. boosting the utilisation of LPG terminals in
As a first step, the Latvian economics Gdansk, Gdynia, and Szczecin – Poland’s

Week 16 22•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P15