Page 13 - EurOil Week 36 2022

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

US Steel Kosice shuts one of with a minority cabinet with uncertain from Italy will begin on October 1 and will
A recent coalition crisis has left Slovakia
continue until the first quarter of 2023. It will
its blast furnaces amid energy prospects of passing measures to combat the fill 10% of the capacity of Slovakia’s gas storage
energy crisis.
facilities.
crisis SPP and according to the CEO of SPP Richard
Transit capacities were already secured by
US Steel has shut down a blast furnace at SOCAR and TPAO to search for oil Prokypcak, Slovakia has now resolved its gas
its Kosice Plant in eastern Slovakia, causing capacity needs for the upcoming winter as it
a temporary reduction in output. The US in Turkey braces for the full halt of gas imports from
company said the shut down was not directly Russia.
because of the market situation but admits The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Heger also stressed that Slovakia is well
that it is hard to plan energy-intensive (SOCAR), together with the Turkish Turkish connected through pipeline infrastructure to
production amid the current inflation. Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), will search neighbouring countries, including to Poland,
“I can confirm we have begun a planned for oil deposits in the Batman province in which brings Norwegian gas from the north,
halt of the blast furnace VP2”, US Steel Southeast Anatolia, a region in southern and to Croatia’s LNG terminal in the south.
spokesperson Jan Baca was quoted as saying Turkey on the border with Syria, according to
by Aktuality.sk, adding the halt will last 60 the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak.
days. “Governor of Batman province Ekrem Bulgaria to vote for
The company is also trying to lower the Janalp met with SOCAR and TPAO officials
number of employees and introduced a Zekiullah Karimli and Hamza Oguzhan derogation from EU
motivation scheme which offers 12-14-times and was informed about the oil exploration
the average of the monthly wage for activities that the companies will carry out in sanctions to buy fuel from
employees who decide to leave, depending this region,” according to the report. Karimli
how long they have been with the company. said during the meeting that the companies Lukoil
US Steel has reportedly been trying to intend to carry out “very important drilling
offload the plant, something that it has tried work” in Batman as part of an agreement Bulgaria’s caretaker government led by
on and off since buying the former VSZ plant signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey at the Prime Minister Gulub Donev will approve a
in 2000 after it suffered a financial crisis Istanbul oil summit in March 2022. “We will derogation from EU sanctions in order to be
because of rampant mismanagement and be happy to find oil in the course of ongoing able to purchase fuel from Russian Lukoil, a
fraud. drilling operations in this region. Our joint draft document published on the website of
The labour union has been considering a oil exploration activities will further deepen the finance ministry showed.
strike as the collective bargaining agreement cooperation between the two countries,” The country was allowed to keep buying
for the years 2020-2024 has not yet been Karimli added. oil from Russia for two years so that it can
amended. The union has demanded the Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip get enough time for the Lukoil Neftochim
company maintain the current 35.5hr weekly Erdogan stated that Azerbaijan and Turkey refinery to adjust its equipment to produce
workload and give a €80 increase in monthly have rich knowledge and experience, so they fuels from liquified natural gas.
wages. US Steel wants to increase the weekly can take joint steps in the field of drilling, The derogation is needed as many state
workload to 37.5 hours and increase monthly during an official visit to the Azerbaijani city institutions have contracts where Lukoil is
wages by €30. of Shusha on June 15, 2021. He said that he either a contractor or supplier of fuels.
Baca said that US Steel Kosice is still discussed this issue with Azerbaijani President If these contracts are terminated, that
meeting their clients’ demands but called on Ilham Aliyev, who expressed readiness to would leave the country without fuel.
the European Commission and the Slovak work in this direction. SOCAR has been Lukoil Neftochim is Bulgaria’s sole oil
government to take more action. “Energy investing and collaborating with the Turkish refinery and is the main supplier of fuel for
intensive industry needs to know conditions Petroleum Corporation since 1994. many of the retail petrol chains in the country.
under which it can operate in the upcoming
months”, said Baca, adding that it is “very
difficult to plan and secure operations of Slovakia signs deal to bring LNG Canada’s Trillion dispatching
industrial plants”.
Last month, Slovakia’s only aluminium from Italy rig to SASB gas field offshore
plant Slovalco announced it will completely
shut down for the upcoming year, citing sky- Slovakia has signed a deal to bring LNG from Turkey
high energy prices. Italy, which could fill 10% of its reserves.
According to the recent study by the The deal between the Slovak state-owned Canada’s Trillion Energy International has
National Bank of Slovakia, nearly half of the energy supplier Slovensky plynarensky issued an update on the status of the Uranus
Slovak energy-intensive firms will lose profits priemysl (SPP) and Amercian ExxonMobile Rig mobilisation to the SASB gas field in the
and 41% will be in red numbers if energy was signed during Thursday’s visit of Slovak Black Sea, offshore Turkey.
prices go up by half. premier Eduard Heger to Italy, which The Uranus Rig was scheduled to depart
The Slovak economy has a significant included a meeting with outgoing premier for SASB on September 8 and arrive on
share of energy-intensive production, making Mario Draghi. September 11, the company said.
these particularly vulnerable to increases in “Slovakia has not been wasting time Trillion CEO Arthur Halleran said: “As
energy prices, forcing them to translate this during the last months and has been securing Trillion is now able to sell its natural gas
into higher pricing to their clients, projects sufficient amounts of gas”, Heger was quoted production for US$30.68/mcf; and with the
the study. as saying by Slovak media. The supplies news today of Russia shutting off all natural

Week 36 10•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13