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the Somali Petroleum Authority (SPA) appointed “[Duterte] has approved the recommen-
six independent directors to its board, including dation of the Department of Energy [DOE] to
one representative of the federal government as a lift the suspension of petroleum activities and
whole and one representative for each of the coun- the resumption of petroleum exploration in
try’s five individual states. the WPS,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi told
Meanwhile, the World Bank has offered Sudan’s reporters on October 15.
transitional government a grant of $200mn to sup- Cusi said China National Offshore Oil
port efforts to reform the economy, including the Corp. (CNOOC) as well as state-run Philippine
energy sector. The reform agenda includes liberal- National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC)
isation measures that will tie domestic fuel prices and privately owned Udenna Energy and PXP
to world market levels. The grant will be supple- Energy stood to gain immediately from the ban
mented with another $200mn from Sudan’s part- being lifted.
ner states, working through the Sudan Transition “We need to explore, so we may address the
Support Trust. country’s energy security,” Cusi said. He added:
“The lifting of the moratorium was arrived at in
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping good faith and with full regard to the ongoing
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for negotiations between the Philippines and China,
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor . and Forum Ltd and CNOOC.”

Asia: Philippines lifts moratorium in dis- If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
puted waters Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
The Philippines has lifted a six-year moratorium NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor .
on exploration in disputed waters of the South
China Sea in response to growing concerns over DMEA: Qatar begins LNG buyers’ push
the country’s future energy security. Qatar has embarked on a push to find more buy-
The country relies heavily on the giant ers for its LNG, striking a deal last week to secure
Malampaya offshore natural gas field to power 25 years of storage and redelivery capacity at the
several thermal power plants (TPPs) on the UK’s Grain LNG terminal starting in mid-2025.
main island of Luzon. However, with the field National gas exporter Qatar Petroleum (QP)
expected to begin running dry over the next few said its affiliate would subscribe to up to 7.2mn
years, the government has begun signing off on tonnes per year (tpy) of capacity at the site.
the development of LNG import capacity. Grain LNG, situated on the Isle of Grain off
This will eventually see the country become Kent, is able to store and supply enough gas to
heavily reliant on foreign supplies of the fuel, meet at least 25% of UK gas demand. QP is also a
given local opposition to coal-fired power gen- 67.5% shareholder in another UK LNG terminal
eration and the lack of nuclear-powered alter- at South Hook.
natives, as it continues to transition towards QP’s capacity reservation comes as it embarks
renewable energies. on a major expansion project at the offshore
Relying on foreign supplies of power inevita- North Field, the source of the country’s LNG.
bly raises some serious questions about national The first phase, North Field East (NFE), will raise
energy security, given rising tensions along trade output from the current 77mn tpy to 110mn tpy
routes in the South China Sea as well as market by 2025, while the second, North Field South
volatility that can result in a seesawing of energy (NFS), will expand it to 126mn tpy by the late
prices. 2020s. Qatar, already the world’s biggest LNG
By lifting a moratorium on exploration drill- producer, has said it may pursue additional
ing and seismic data acquisition in waters that expansion phases at a later stage.
both China and the Philippines claim, which A record $65bn of final investment decisions
Manila has dubbed the West Philippine Sea (FIDs) were taken on LNG export projects glob-
(WPS), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ally last year, but the number still sits at zero for
hopes to kill two birds with one stone. 2020, as a result of market uncertainty. Qatar’s

Week 42 22•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P5