Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 26

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NEWS IN BRIEF
LatAmOil
UPSTREAM
Talos completes third
appraisal well at Mexico’s
Zama field
TALOS Energy reported last week that it had completed its third and nal appraisal well at Zama, a section of Block 7 in Mexico’s o shore Sureste Basin.
In a statement, it said it had drilled the Zama-3 shaft at a site located 2.41 km from Zama-1, the rst well sunk at the eld. e com- pany will now evaluate the data and samples col- lected from four sections of the reservoir in order to determine the size of the eld.
Both Zama-1 and Zama-2 exceeded expec- tations, and Zama-3 may lead Talos and its part- ners to raise the reserve estimate to the higher end of its pre-appraisal figure of 400-800mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
YPF completes acquisition
of Aguada del Chanar block
from IEASA
Argentina’s national oil company (NOC) YPF said last week that it had completed the acqui- sition of Aguada del Chanar, a contract area in Neuquen, from Integracion Energetica Argen- tina SA (IEASA).
In a filing with the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, it reported that it had paid more than $95mn for a 100% stake in the block, together with all associated assets and facilities. e block includes the Bosque Chanar and Loma Colorado elds, where YPF hopes to nd conventional and unconventional reserves of oil.
e project will complement the NOC’s other initiatives in Neuquen, which is home to the Vaca Muerta shale basin.
Colombia names winners of 2019 bidding round
Colombia’s government has wrapped up its 2019 bidding round by awarding 10 of the 11 blocks on o er to foreign and domestic investors.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency announced the results of the bidding last week, saying it was ready to negotiate royalty-and-tax contracts with the winners. It stated that the only o shore block available, Guajira-10, had gone to the national oil company (NOC) Eco- petrol.As for onshore blocks, Ecopetrol’s Hocol subsidiary won Cordillera-9 and also teamed up with GeoPark Colombia for three contract
areas within Llanos Orientales (Blocks, 86, 87 and 104). Frontera Energy Colombia took Lla- nos Orientales-99, while Llanos Orientales-85 and Middle Magdalena Valley-24 went to Gran Tierra Energy Colombia.
Additionally, Parex Resources Colombia was awarded Llanos Orientales-94 and Upper Mag- dalena Valley-25.
ese projects are set to generate up to $1.5bn in revenue for the Colombian government. Meanwhile, GeoPark was awarded the right of rst refusal for a 100% working interest in the 11th eld, known as Lower Little Magdalena Valley-22. e company has until July 9 to decide whether it will exercise this right or pass the site on to the runner-up, Frontera.
MIDSTREAM
Riverstone, other investors
commit $205mn to Aleph
Midstream of Argentina
Riverstone Energy said in a statement that it had secured the capital needed to proceed with plans to invest in Aleph Midstream, an Argentinian company established to provide transportation and processing services for oil and gas elds in the Vaca Muerta shale basin.
According to the statement, Riverstone and other investors have committed $205mn to the deal. Funds a liated with Riverstone have pledged to provide $103mn, while the Southern Cross Group has put forward $54mn and Vista Oil & Gas $45mn. The remaining $3mn will come from the management teams of Vista and Aleph.
The investors are set to make these funds available for the next 24 months. Once they nalise arrangements, Aleph will be able to start covering the costs of building new infrastructure networks capable of providing gathering, pro- cessing and evacuation services to oil and gas producers working in Vaca Muerta.
Its rst customer will be Vista, which intends to use the network for production from the Bajad del Palo Oeste block. e parties have already signed a dollar-denominated contract that pro- vides for services to begin in January 2020.
DOWNSTREAM
Redacted sections of Pemex
report on Dos Bocas identify
“severe” air quality risks
Mexico’s national oil company (NOC) Pemex has said that the planned Dos Bocas re nery
could have a “severe” impact on air quality in surrounding areas, according to Reuters.
e news agency reported last week that it had been able to view an unredacted version of the environmental report that Pemex drew up on the project.
e redacted version, which was made pub- lic earlier this month, o ered a positive view of the scheme. It acknowledged moderate risks but said that the environmental hazards posed by the plant could be “controlled, mitigated or compensated.”
By contrast, the unredacted version stated that the Dos Bocas re nery was likely to have a severely negative impact on air quality in the area, even though it will not generate emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides or sulphur dioxides in quantities that surpass Mexican legal limits.
PdVSA retooling synthcrude facility to serve Asian clients
Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) PdVSA is reportedly revamping Petropiar, a synthetic crude facility, to serve buyers in Asia rather than the US.
Reuters said last week that it had viewed internal documents outlining the company’s decision to start blending a mixture of light and extra-heavy crudes into a heavy grade known as Merey that is favoured by Asian re ners.
PdVSA built Petropiar through a joint ven- ture with Chevron, and the partners were pro- ducing up to 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) of synthetic crude prior to the imposition of new US sanctions in early 2019.
PETROCHEMICALS
YPFB negotiating with
Russian company on urea,
ammonia production
A senior Bolivian government o cial said last week that the national oil company (NOC) YPFB might sign a contract with Akron, a Rus- sian fertiliser producer, next month.
In an interview with the Sputnik news agency, Juan Ramon Quintana, the minister of the presi- dency, said that the two companies were in nego- tiations on a joint venture that would see Bolivia supplying natural gas to Akron.
e Russian company intends to use the gas to manufacture urea and ammonia in Brazil, he said. It has also agreed to provide YPFB with technical expertise for the purpose of develop- ing urea and ammonia production facilities in Bolivia, he added.
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Week 26 03•July•2019