Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 35 2019
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He added: “There are a number of manufac- turing facilities and mines that don’t have natu- ral gas access. There’s a much larger opportunity set down there on a relative basis to the United States.”
Stabilis is planning to obtain its feedstock gas from the Nueva Era pipeline, built by a joint venture between Grupo CLISA and Tex- as-based Howard Energy Partners. The link
carries gas from the Eagle Ford shale to power plants in the Monterrey area and has excess capacity available for customers such as Stabilis.
The company is also hoping to benefit from the fact that under certain cross-border market conditions, the LNG sold by tanker truck in Mexico can fetch a higher price in Mexico than it would in the US, though it remains cheaper than diesel south of the border.
Bahamian NOC seen preparing for exploration drilling in 2020
BAHAMAS
THE national oil company (NOC) of the Bahamas has reportedly made arrangements to launch an offshore exploration drilling pro- gramme next year.
Officials in Nassau said last week that Baha- mas Petroleum Co. (BPC) had found a rig and a logistics contractor. The company recently struck several agreements with Seadrill, a Ber- muda-registered deepwater drilling operator, for the use of a drillship during the exploration campaign, they explained. They also stated that BPC had signed a contract with US-based Halli- burton, which will provide drilling plans, equip- ment, tools and support services.
BPC has not revealed the value of these con- tracts; nor has it said whether it wants to ally itself with a foreign partner for offshore drilling.
But it has said it is due to spud its first explo- ration well at a cost of around $50mn sometime in 2019. (Indeed, it must do so or risk incurring penalties, such as the relinquishment of up to 50% of its stake in offshore licence areas, under the terms of its licence.)
It has also said it intends to take this step
even if it has not found a major partner or stra- tegic foreign investor such as ExxonMobil or Chevron.
The two US giants are already active else- where in the Caribbean area. Chevron has been active in Venezuela for decades, and its upstream subsidiaries are carrying out explora- tion and development projects at fields in Mex- ico, Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and Argentina. ExxonMobil, meanwhile, recently found oil at the Stabroek block offshore Guyana and is also involved in upstream initiatives in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.
Bahamian officials are optimistic about BPC’s chances of finding natural gas or crude oil in commercially viable quantities. They have pointed to widespread reports of oil and gas seeps in various locations around the Caribbean Sea. These reports have led the governments of Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica and other member states of the Caribbean Community (CARI- COM) to draw up plans for exploration drilling, seismic work and other activities in the offshore zone.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 35 04•September•2019
