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tonnes of oil more to Belarus in February, according to previous media reports. Safmar planned to supply 750,000 tonnes of oil to Belarus in January, but the plan was reduced to 500,000 tonnes because the country started importing feedstock from third countries, including Norway.
Belarus faces a severe shortage of Russian oil for its two refineries – major money- spinners for the economy – as Moscow halted crude supplies to Belarus on January 1 after a contract expired, and the two countries are in negotiations over a new agreement.
Minsk said later in January that it had secured a temporary limited solution on shipment from Gutseriev’s company Safmar, without paying a premium. In past years Belarus bought oil on terms similar to those for Russian independent refineries, which involved a small premium.
On January 24, Lukashenko pledged to purchase crude oil “in America, Saudi Arabia and the UAE” following Moscow’s refusal to deliver oil to the post-Soviet nation in 2020 on Minsk’s terms.
In February, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pledged to siphon off Russia’s transit oil from the Russia-
EU oil pipeline Druzhba, if Moscow fails
to supply the “necessary volume” of oil
in February. The pipeline splits into two routes in Belarus - a northern leg runs to Poland and Germany, and a southern leg to Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
bne IntelliNews, March 2 2020
CENTRAL ASIA & SOUTH CAUSASUS
SGC to be full open by autumn 2020
Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov met with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Kurt Donnelly on February 27 to announce a push to finish the so-called Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), APA reported.
The US is fully supportive of Azeri efforts to become a counterpole to Russian imports of gas to Europe. However, the recent Trump administration has cooled off in its overall interest in the project so as not to irk Moscow.
The minister said the gas corridor is nearing
its final stages, with it expected to be fully completed before winter 2020.
The minister said: “The US has shown its commitment to both the South Gas Corridor and all regional and global energy projects initiated by Azerbaijan.”
The sides discussed the expansion of the SGC to the Balkans, something countries including Ukraine have been open to, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated.
The SGC project envisages the transportation of gas produced by the pipeline to Turkey and Europe within the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field operation in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
The SGC project comprises the Shah Deniz-2 project, the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) built in Turkey, the main pipeline of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to the south of Italy through the bottom of Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea components.
Previous estimations for SCG completion have suggested a $45bn price tag.
Earlier on February 25, Azerbaijan announced it was in another set of discussions with Turkmenistan over the creation of a new joint venture project.
Turkmenistan wants to connect its oil and gas fields to those of Azerbaijan as means to add further revenue to its ailing economy but now has to face off with Iran, who has been opposed to any bid to route a pipe around its territory.
February 27 2020
Kazakhstan to cut oil
exports via Ust-Luga in
March
Kazakhstan plans to cut its oil exports via the Baltic port of Ust-Luga in Russia by a quarter in March due to ongoing struggles dealing with a domestic crude contamination crisis, Reuters reported citing three trading sources.
Exports to China were suspended in January owing to high oil content of organic chlorides – chemicals used to boost recovery
at oilfields that can cause damage to refining equipment if not removed. The tainted supplies had come from CNPC-Aktobemunaigas,
a Chinese venture working in the western Aktobe region. CNPC-Aktobemunaigas
was cut off from the national pipeline grid
earlier in January after the contamination was discovered. The company was forced to cut oil output due to the contamination.
Kazakhstan, the second largest ex-Soviet oil producer, moves 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) via Russian ports. It planned to send 800,000 tonnes of oil via Ust-Luga in March, but the volume has now been reduced to 600,000 tonnes, the traders said.
The reduced level still exceeds shipments made in February recorded at 500,000 tonnes but stands below the 700,000 tonnes shipped in January. Kazakhstan has suspended pipeline flows to China.
bne IntelliNews, March 2 2020
Uzbek gas exports down 9.4% y/y in 2019
Uzbekistan exported 13.5bn cubic metres (cm) of natural gas in 2019, down by 9.4% y/y, Fergana news agency reported on March 3.
The decline is in line with Uzbekistan’s long-term goals of cutting gas exports and relying on natural gas for producing finished products, including fuels. Uzbekistan’s ongoing construction of a $3.7bn gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, set to be launched in 2020, is one example of a project that will consume much of Uzbekistan’s own gas output. Uzbekistan’s natural gas production in 2019 stood at 59.5bn cm. Uzbek authorities are hoping to fully discontinue gas supplies abroad by 2025.
Among importers of Uzbek gas, Russia bought 6.8bn cm, accounting for over 45%
of Uzbekistan’s total gas exports, the report said. China’s imports of Uzbek gas made up 5.1bn cm, or 37.2% of total Uzbek gas exports. Moreover, China’s imports of Uzbek gas fell by 35% y/y in 2019.
Kazakhstan was the third largest importer of Uzbek gas at 2.2bn cm, followed by Tajikistan (140mn cm) and Kyrgyzstan (36.2mn cm).
Russia bought Uzbek gas at an average price of $145.76 per 1,000 cm in 2019, while China paid $182.25 per 1,000 cm. Kazakhstan purchased Uzbek gas for $198.2 per 1,000 cm.
Uzbek gas export revenues to the state budget amounted to $2.2bn.
The Central Asian nation’s proven natural gas reserves stand at 1.1tn cm with estimates of unproven reserves at 5tn cm.
bne IntelliNews, March 2 2020
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Week 09 04•March•2020