Page 14 - Euroil Week 04 2020

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NEWS IN BRIEF
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Bulgaria to cut gas imports from Russia to 50% of entire consumption at end- 2020
Bulgaria will reduce its imports of natural gas from Russia to 50% of its total consumption by the end of 2020, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on January 28 during a visit to the US.
Currently, the country is completely dependent on Moscow for its gas, which gives Russia a strong tool with which to influence the country’s politics.
According to Petkova, of the 3bn cubic metres of the country’s total gas consumption, the country will start securing half via imports from Azerbaijan and from liquified natural gas (LNG), news outlet Dnevnik reported.
Among Petkova’s meetings in the US are with representatives of the latter’s LNG industry.
Among the steps that are supposed to secure diversification of Bulgaria’s gas deliveries is the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB). Earlier in January, Petkova said this should be completed by October this year.
The interconnector will have a length of
182km, of which 151km will be across Bulgarian territory. Its capacity is planned to be 3 bcm. Bulgaria and Greece signed a delayed final investment decision (FID) on building the interconnector in December 2015.
bne IntelliNews, January 28 2020
New oil minister named in Norway
Norwegian government has appointed Tina Bru as the country’s new Minister of Petroleum and Energy, replacing Sylvi Listhaug.
Listhaug has only been in the office for a month. Her appointment to the minister of petroleum role was made in December 2019. Before that, she had held a position in Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care Services.
Listhaug, a member of the Progress Party, was dismissed from her role at the petroleum ministry last Friday, January 24, 2020, following her party’s decision to leave the coalition government. Bru, a member of the Conservative Party, was appointed to the role on the same day.
Commenting on her appointment, Tina Bru, the new minister, said: “I am very much looking forward to taking on the duties of Minister of Petroleum and Energy. After serving on the
Energy and Environment Committee for six years, it will be exciting to lead the ministry
that manages our shared energy resources. The petroleum industry is Norway’s most important industry, and I live in a county that employs several thousand people in the industry. I am also very much looking forward to working with renewable energy, which will play an important role in the transition to a low-emission society.”
According to Reuters, in 2018, Bru, who
sits on parliament’s energy and environment committee, convinced the ruling Conservatives to allow the country’s $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund to invest in unlisted renewables projects such as solar parks and wind farms.
The Norwegian government has recently awarded 69 production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf to 28 oil and gas companies as part of the Award in Pre-Defined Areas 2019 (APA 2019). Of the 69 production licences, 13 are in the Barents Sea, 23 are in the Norwegian Sea, and 33 are in the North Sea.
The biggest winners in the latest licensing round were Equinor, Var Energi, and Aker BP with 23, 17, and 15 awarded licenses, respectively.
January 28 2020
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Week 04 30•January•2020