Page 14 - NorthAmOil Week 33 2021

NorthAmOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) NorthAmOil
NewsBase’s Roundup Global (NRG)
GLOBAL
WELCOME to NewsBase’s Roundup Global (NRG), in which the reader is invited to join our team of international editors, who provide a snapshot of some of the key issues affecting their regional beats. We hope you will like NRG’s new concise format, but by clicking on the headline link for each section the full text will be available as before.
AfrOil: Buhari signs PIB into law
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which establishes a new legal regime for the country’s oil and gas industry, into law. Femi Adesina, a spokesman for Buhari, reported that the presi- dent took this step on August 16, while observ- ing a five-day quarantine following his return from a visit to London on August 13.
Asian Oil: Woodside, BHP to merge
Australia’s largest independent Woodside Petro- leum has announced its planned merger with BHP Petroleum, the upstream arm of leading Australian miner BHP. Woodside said on August 17 that the two companies had entered into a merger commitment to combine their respec- tive oil and gas portfolios via an all-scrip deal. Woodside noted the combined company would be one of the world’s 10 largest independent producers.
DMEA: Imports and gas deals
In this week’s DMEA, we look at Nigeria’s cost of product imports and Aramco’s plans to top its recent oil pipelines deal. Reports emerged this week suggesting that Saudi Aramco is seek- ing to significantly improve upon the $12.4bn it achieved with its oil pipelines when it inks a similar deal focused on its network of gas con- duits. Sources close to proceedings were quoted by Reuters as saying that the company has a tar- get of raising at least $17bn when it leases out a stake in the anticipated Aramco Gas Pipelines Co. (AGPC).
EurOil: UK unveils hydrogen strategy
The UK government unveiled its hydrogen strategy this week following recent delays. The strategy commits the country to developing 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030. However, the government said further details on market mechanisms and carbon intensity definitions to support hydrogen development would not be released until 2022.
FSUOGM: Rosneft’s Q2 profit boost
Russia’s state-run Rosneft has posted a 55% quarter-on-quarter jump in its April-June net profit, with the company attributing the rebound
to stronger international oil prices. The oil major said on August 13 that its second-quarter profit amounted to RUB233bn ($3.18bn), up from RUB149bn ($2.03bn) in the January-March period.
GLNG: Australia-China LNG record
Australian LNG exports to China have risen to record highs despite ongoing trade tensions between the two countries. A monthly report from consultancy EnergyQuest, which cited customs data, said Australia had supplied a record 30.7mn tonnes of LNG to China in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. This marks a 7.3% increase year on year (y/y) in shipments and means that China has overtaken Japan as Austral- ia’s largest buyer of LNG for the first time.
LatAmOil: Guyana seeks oversight
Irfaan Ali, the president of Guyana, said last week that his administration intended to estab- lish a new government agency to oversee the country’s fledgling oil industry before the end of the year.
In a public address, Ali indicated that the agency would be known as the Petroleum Com- mission. The new body will be responsible for oversight of oil and gas projects, as well as reve- nue from hydrocarbon sales.
MEOG: EDO’s debt raise and Iraqi drilling
In this week’s MEOG, we look at a major debt raise by Oman’s newest state energy firm and Iraq’s latest drilling campaign. State-owned Energy Development Oman (EDO) this week announced that it raised $2.5bn worth of debt in its first financing since its establishment last year.
The company will use the funds to cover the state’s financial requirements relating to Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) stake in Block 6 – the Sultanate’s largest concession – which has now been transferred to EDO. Block 6 operations are estimated to cost Muscat $5-6bn per year.
NorthAmOil: Industry groups file lawsuit
US oil industry groups have filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Joe Biden for halting oil and gas lease sales on federal land and in federal waters.
Biden had pledged as part of his election cam- paign to stop issuing new federal drilling leases, and the auctions were suspended earlier this year while the US Department of the Interior (DoI) carried out a review of the entire federal leasing programme.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 33 19•August•2021