Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 15

EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil
Ascent signs LoI for litigation funding
SLOVENIA
Ascent is preparing
to sue Slovenian authorities for delays to permitting.
THE oil and gas company Ascent Resources said on April 9 it received a letter of intent for up to €3mn of potential litigation funding in Slovenia.
In 2019 Ascent Resources said it was prepar- ing to sue Slovenia for €50mn in damages caused by authorities’ refusal to grant a permit for the use of hydraulic fracturing, needed to boost pro- duction at the Petisovci gas field in the country’s northeast.
“Further to the announcements on June 14 2019 and July 16 2019 regarding potential legal claims for damages against Slovenia, the com- pany announces it has received a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) from a specialist litigation funding partner,” Ascent Resources said in a statement.
The LOI provides the company with up to €3mn of funding for a legal claim in Slovenia on a non-recourse basis which means it would not
be repayable by the company in the event of a failed legal claim with an element of gain share by the funder.
This is expected to cover all the costs of pur- suing a claim.
Ascent Resources said its new board intends to make a decision regarding its strategy in Slo- venia and consequently its need for the proposed litigation funding post meetings with key rela- tionships in country which are being scheduled, subject to coronavirus related European travel restrictions.
The funding partner is aware of this and has agreed to extend the LOI validity until after the restrictions have been lifted to enable these meetings, it said.
In February Ascent Resources said it will re-focus its business to positive production growth including reviewing opportunities out- side Slovenia to diversify its asset base.™
PERFORMANCE
European refiners react to fuel demand collapse
EUROPE
REFINERIES across Europe have brought for- ward planned maintenance or simply shut down following the collapse in fuel demand over the past month. Conversely, other refineries have postponed work because of the difficulty in bringing workers together because of the coro- navirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Some have also managed to stave off closure as low oil prices have supported their margins.
Royal Dutch Shell announced on April 8 it would launch major maintenance at the 404,000 barrel per day (bpd) Pernis refinery in the Neth- erlands in mid-April, over two weeks earlier than previously scheduled, according to Reuters. This will entail the temporarily closure of the refin- ery – Europe’s largest – for almost two months, according to the original plan.
Shell said it would take precautionary meas- ures during the turnaround to keep workers at a safe distance, adding that it had managed to almost halve the number of employees on site.
Meanwhile, Gunvor recently decided to postpone the start of planned work at its 88,000 bpd refinery in Rotterdam, owing to problems securing the workforce needed. This delay also means that one of the plant’s two crude distilla- tion units (CDU) that shut down in November
for economic reasons will remain offline. It had been slated to resume operations after the maintenance.
German refiners have been stung particular badly by the plunge in fuel consumption. The 301,000 bpd Miro refinery in Karlsruhe, whose shareholders include Rosneft, Shell, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66, is operating at only two-thirds of its capacity.
The 68,000 bpd Burghausen refinery is also understood to have lowered its output, with Austrian OMV having shifted its downstream production in favour of petrochemicals because of weak demand for jet fuel. BP, meanwhile has reduced throughput at its 82,000 bpd Lingen refinery, while its 265,000 bpd Gelsenkirchen refinery is offline for maintenance until the mid- dle of May.
Bayernoil’s 90,000 bpd Neustadt refinery recently resumed operations after maintenance having run behind schedule, with the delay likely connected with low fuel demand. Klesch’s Heide refinery is so far continuing production as usual.
Shell is yet to comment on operations at its 310,000 bpd Rhineland refinery, but the com- pany has said it will lower its global throughput to 80-84% capacity. The Anglo-Dutch major
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