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Second phase of development underway at Libya’s Faregh gas field
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LIByA’S National Oil Corp. (NOC) said last week that one of its subsidiaries, Waha Oil Co. (WOC), had successfully launched the second phase of development work at the Faregh natu- ral gas field.
In a statement, NOC said that WOC had commissioned the project after wrapping up tests of all equipment at the field – namely, gas compressors, gas filtration and drying systems, pipeline systems, surface equipment and remote controls, along with other backup equipment. These tests have shown that the field’s seven wells are capable of turning out 150mn cubic metres per day of gas and 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate, in line with the company’s expec- tations, it explained.
WOC’s next step will be to conduct a series of laboratory tests to confirm that gas from Far- egh meets the relevant specifications, the com- pany said. Once the gas passes these tests, it can be loaded into a 110-km pipeline that will link Faregh to Intisar, a field also known as 103A that is under the control of Zueitina Oil Co. (ZOC),
and then transferred to a pipeline for transport to the coast.
NOC said earlier this year that it expected Faregh’s production capacity to reach 150 mcm per day in November. Last week, it added that the field was likely to see output rise even higher in the near term. WOC intends to tie its eighth well, known as BB-11, into the existing produc- tion complex after it can replace the valve system at the wellhead and begin purifying the gases extracted there, the statement said. This will push yields up by about 30 mcm per day for gas and 5,000 bpd for condensate, it noted.
Mustafa Sanalla, the chairman of NOC, said that the second phase of the Faregh project would help meet the needs of Libyan businesses and other major domestic consumers. “In addi- tion to increasing gas production capacity in general, the importance of this project lies in supplying power plants to help resolve the elec- tricity shortage, as well as supplying methanol and fertiliser plants in Marsa el-Brega,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
inVestment
Aramco fires starter’s pistol on $1.7tn IPO
middle east
SAuDI Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) is set to value the company at $1.6-1.7tn accord- ing to an announcement by the state oil firm this weekend, with the final price to be revealed on December 5. The company’s domestic roadshow began on November 17 and the bookbuilding will continue until November 28 for retail inves- tors, and December 4 for institutional investors.
up to 0.5% of the company, or $8.5bn, has been set aside for retail investors, based on the aforementioned valuation.
Despite mention in the prospectus of shares being made available to foreign, non-uS individ- uals, an addendum suggests that it will be open only to domestic entities and individuals.
The prospectus, which was published a week ago, said that non-resident, non-Saudi nationals would be able to acquire shares via swap deals with people authorised by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the Saudi central bank.
Private investors buying shares who hold them for a period of six months after trading begins will receive bonus shares up to a total of
100 shares.
The government of Saudi Arabia has under-
taken to impose a temporary moratorium on the sale of additional shares to the public for a six-month period after trading begins. However, this ban does not apply to the sale of equity stakes to state-owned sovereign wealth funds or stra- tegic investors. Aramco has also committed not to engage in share dilutions during the first six months of trading.
Interestingly, no local or international bank is underwriting the issuance.
For its part, the Saudi government has been reported to have “strongly encouraged” wealthy Saudi merchant families to participate in the IPO and has instructed local banks to offer lenient credit terms to borrowers willing to participate in the offering.
The proceeds of the Aramco IPO are thought to be the cornerstone of Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman’s (MBS) economic diversification strategy for the kingdom’s economy away from its oil dependency.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 46 21•November•2019
