Page 13 - EurOil Week 22

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Turkey cuts Russian gas supplies

further in March

TURKEY TURKEY steeply cut its imports of Russian gas competitive than Gazprom’s supplies, some of
in March, data published from Turkish energy which are indexed to oil prices with a time lag.
Gazprom has struggled regulator EMRA shows, continuing a trend that All of Russia’s supplies to Turkey are oil-in-
to defend its market began last year. dexed, making LNG a far more attractive option
share in Europe over Russia’s Gazprom sold 389.7mn cubic metres at present. The steep decline in oil prices that
the past year. of gas to Turkey in March, marking a 72% year- occurred in March should feed into Gazprom’s
on-year decline. It consequently lost its position supply contracts within the next six months,
as the country’s top supplier, with its share of the however, making its gas more competitive again.
Turkish market shrinking to 9.9%, from 32.6% Turkey’s overall gas imports fell by 8.3% y/y
a year earlier. in March to 3.94bn cubic metres. This decline
Replacing Russia was Azerbaijan, which was caused by general economic weakness, the
ramped up supplies by 19.6% to 924.3 mcm, impact on demand of urban lockdowns imposed
giving it a 19.6% share of the market. Turkey’s towards the end of the month, and a drop in gas-
LNG imports from the US soared fourfold to 370 fired power generation.
mcm. The country also doubled LNG shipments Besides Russian supplies, Turkey also reduced
from Qatar to 786.2 mcm, and unlike a year ago, imports from Algeria by 25.3% to 540 mcm,
also bought super-cooled gas from Cameroon from Iran by 33% to 558 mcm and from Nigeria
and Egypt, with supplies totalling 97 mcm and by 14.3% to 389.7 mcm. In Iran’s case, volumes
92.3 mcm respectively. were affected by a cross-border pipeline being
Gazprom has struggled to defend its market taken out of action in late March by an explo-
share in Europe over the past year from rival sion, which Turkish officials say was caused by
LNG suppliers. The collapse in global LNG Kurdish PKK terrorists. Iran has complained to
spot prices has in some cases made LNG more Turkey about its failure to repair the pipeline. ™

Sonatrach raises stake in

Medgaz pipeline to 51%

ALGERIA ALGERIA’S national oil company (NOC) October to buy out CEPSA’s stake in Medgaz.
Sonatrach has become the majority shareholder That deal raised the former company’s holding
Sonatrach has become in Medgaz, the operator of a natural gas pipe- in the pipeline operator up by 34.05% from the
the majority shareholder line across the bed of the Mediterranean Sea, previous level of 14.95%.
in the Medgaz pipeline. through its acquisition of a stake in the link from Sonatrach did not disclose the financial terms
CEPSA (Spain). of the deal. But it did go on to say that it intended
Sonatrach confirmed the purchase in a state- to work with Naturgy to move forward with the
ment dated May 31, saying that it had arranged expansion of the Medgaz system in 2021. The
to buy 19.1% of CEPSA’s stake in Medgaz, equiv- pipeline’s capacity is due to rise from 8.3bn cubic
alent to 8.04% of total equity in the pipeline. This metres per year to 10.2 bcm per year following
purchase brought Sonatrach’s holdings in Med- the construction of a fourth turbo-compressor
gaz up from 42.96% to 51%, it explained. unit for the Beni-Saf gas compression station in
“With this acquisition, Sonatrach becomes Algeria, it stated.
a 51% shareholder in the new shareholding Medgaz is the operator of a 24-inch (610-
of Medgaz with its historic partner Naturgy mm) pipeline that follows a 210-km route across
[Spain] at 49% and thus strengthens its position the floor of the Mediterranean from Beni-Saf,
as a major and reliable supplier of Algerian gas Algeria, to Almería, Spain. On the Algerian side,
to importing customers to Europe, in particular the Medgaz system is connected to the terminus
the Iberian Peninsula through the Medgaz gas of a domestic conduit that carries gas from Hassi
pipeline,” the company said. R’Mel and other fields. On the Spanish side, it is
Naturgy and Sonatrach had agreed last connected to the Almería-Albacete line. ™

Week 22 04•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13