Page 11 - MEOG Week 42
P. 11
MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG
Petronas considers its
position in Iraq’s Gharraf
IRAQ MALAYSIAN state oil firm Petronas is review- with OPEC+ cuts, Baghdad noted “natural
ing its position in the Gharraf oilfield in Iraq’s decline” at Gharraf as a result of cancelled orders
southern Dhi Qar Province as margins have and limited storage.
been squeezed by low oil prices. The company’s Petronas (45%) operates Gharraf in consor-
CEO, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz, made the tium with Japan’s Inpex (30%) and Iraq’s state-
admission during the online Energy Intelligence owned North Oil Co. (NOC). The partners
Forum last week. agreed a revised development plan with the
He said: “Under the $40 per barrel scenario, Ministry of Oil (MoO) in April.
I’d be the first to admit that under all possible The so-called Final Development Plan, which
lenses we’ve had to trigger a review of our intent was approved by Baghdad, will increase capac-
to stay on in Gharraf … I can only say: watch this ity from the current level of around 90,000 bpd
space.” to 230,000 bpd. The plateau is unchanged from
Tengku Muhammad Taufik added: “We are that mandated by the original technical service
in consultation with the host authorities to see contract (TSC) in 2009 but the target date for its
whether the economics [of Gharraf] can be achievement was pushed back to Q4 2020, from
improved, but of course, over and above that, we 2017. The CEO said: “If we can make [Gharraf]
need to make sure it makes sense from a sustain- better, cleaner, we’ll still pursue it.”
ability lens as well.” In 2018, US services firm BakerHughes GE
The field in southern Iraq was shut in March won a contract from Iraq’s South Gas Co. (SGC)
because of coronavirus (COVID-19), and to implement a flare gas recovery project at the
returned to production at a rate of 50,000 barrels Nassiriya and Gharraf oilfields and install a 2bn
per day (bpd) in late July. cubic metre per year NGL plant – scheduled for
Meanwhile, reporting its non-compliance completion in 2021.
Focus on Chevron as Delek removes veto
ISRAEL ISRAEL’S Delek Drilling last week removed its acquired the assets held by Noble Energy follow-
veto on preventing supply contracts from being ing the completion of a $5bn takeover.
signed by other members of the consortium Chevron and Delek are opposed to a deal
developing the Tamar gas field. agreed between the other Tamar partners and
The announcement was made by the coun- the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) to reduce the price
try’s Competition Commissioner, Michal Halp- the utility pays for its gas from the $6.30 agreed
erin, who had previously threatened Delek’s in 2012 to $3.7-4.4 per million British thermal
management with personal sanctions if they did units (mmBtu). The companies are concerned
not remove the veto. about competition between Tamar and Levia-
The move appears to have been mainly sym- than, though it is worth noting that IEC acquired
bolic, as Delek’s right to veto contractual dealings a spot supply of Leviathan when supplies from
by its Tamar partners would only have come into Tamar were halted amid the ongoing dispute.
force once the company had fulfilled its obliga- Speaking to Israel’s Globes online, govern-
tion to reduce its rights in Tamar to comply with ment sources said: “Delek Drilling needs to sell
anti-monopoly regulations and allow it to main- its holding in Tamar by the end of 2021, and
tain its participation in the Leviathan gas field. will presumably prefer not to wait until the last
Delek is compelled to divest its Tamar stake by minute, so that it sees itself as a very temporary
the end of 2021. player.
Stakes in Tamar are held by Delek (22%), For Noble Energy/Chevron on the other
Chevron (25%), Isramco (28.75%), Tamar hand, relinquishing the veto right is a drama, and
Petroleum (16.75%), Dor Gas (4%) and Everest so it is important that both Noble Energy and
(3.5%), while the Leviathan consortium is com- Delek should understand that the Competition
prised of Delek (45.33%), Chevron (39.66%) and Authority has no intention of conceding on this
Ratio Oil Exploration (15%). matter.”
However, the move will win favour with the Production from Leviathan is expected to
Competition Commission and puts the spotlight peak at 1.2bn cubic feet (34mn cubic metres)
firmly on US major Chevron, which recently per day.
Week 42 21•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
