Page 16 - DMEA Week 42

DMEA TRANSPORT DMEA

Pirates seize LNG tanker from

Punta Europe LNG terminal

EQUATORIAL AN LNG tanker has been seized by pirates off the able to depart from Punta Europa at the sched-
GUINEA coast of Equatorial Guinea, according to Dryad uled time.
Global, a UK-based maritime security firm. It was not immediately clear where the pirates
Methane Princess is Dryad Global reported at the weekend that intended to take the vessel, which has a capacity
one of 20 ships seized pirates had boarded the vessel, known as the of 138,000 cubic metres. As of press time, mar-
by privates in the Gulf Methane Princess, on the morning of October itime tracking websites were reporting that the
of Guinea this year. 17. The attack occurred while the tanker was Methane Princess had sailed south-west after
anchored at the Punta Europe LNG export ter- leaving Punta Europa and could no longer be
minal, shortly after the termination of loading monitored. The tanker had been due to arrive in
operations, it said. South Africa on October 28.
The company noted that all of the crewmem- The Methane Princess is one of 20 ships
bers on board the ship had been able to retreat seized by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea since the
to safety after the sounding of the alarm. Only beginning of 2020, according to Dryad Global.
one of these workers had sustained any injuries, It also noted that the incidence of piracy tends to
it said. increase during the last few months of the year.
It also stated, though, that the pirates had “Incident volumes have historically increased
taken two Filipino nationals who were on the between September and December as maritime
jetty near the ship hostage. One of these hostages conditions improve,” it said.
jumped off the vessel and into the water before The firm also pointed out that there had been
being rescued, it said, while the other was not some year-on-year shifts on this front in the
able to escape. region. “Despite larger numbers of kidnapped
Equatoguinean authorities responded personnel across the first half of 2020 [in the
quickly to the incident, sending several naval Gulf of Guinea], the current trend indicates that
vessels to the LNG terminal within the first incidents of kidnapping and numbers of kid-
hour after the pirates boarded the ship. How- napped personnel are tracking below the same
ever, no shots were fired, and the pirates were time period in 2019,” it said. ™

Aramco reportedly discussing

pipeline deal with BlackRock

SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI Aramco is reported to be in talks with capacity from 5mn to 7mn barrels per day (bpd).
BlackRock and other investors regarding a deal The deal is believed to be similar in structure
The proposed deal to lease out and rent back a stake in its pipeline to the 40% stake Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
could be worth $10bn. business. (ADNOC) leased in subsidiary ADNOC Oil
Last week, Reuters quoted unnamed com- Pipelines to BlackRock and KKR in mid-2019
pany sources as saying that the effort, known for $4.9bn. This was followed by the June agree-
internally as ‘Project Seek’, remains in the initial ment to lease 49% of the ADNOC Gas Pipe-
stages, with no formal agreement yet in place. lines subsidiary to a consortium for $10.1bn as
While the deal has been in the works for ADNOC continues its successful monetisation
much for the year, Middle East Oil & Gas of state-owned assets and infrastructure.
(MEOG) reported last week that appetite for an Following on from its success in Abu Dhabi,
agreement under previously discussed terms is BlackRock is understood to have joined the
understood to have diminished somewhat amid Aramco talks and Reuters sources said that it is
concerns from the Ministry of Energy, with fur- joined in discussions by Brookfield Asset Man-
ther due diligence deemed necessary. agement, which was part of the consortium
The proposed $10bn deal was being negoti- that acquired a stake in ADNOC Gas Pipelines,
ated between Aramco and a group of local banks while JP Morgan and Japan’s MUFG were hired
believed to include Al-Ahli NCB, Al Rajhi and to advise on the deal.
Riyad, which would cover a period of up to 25 One source said: “There’s more work to be
years. Under this proposal, Aramco would have done. No buyers have been lined up, but there
paid a set tariff for use of the infrastructure, are talks,” adding that the deal could be financed
which includes the massive East-West Pipeline through a syndicated loan and a bond issuance
that is currently being upgraded to increase linked to revenue from the assets. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 22•October•2020