Page 13 - Euroil Week 38 2019

EurOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
EurOil
from three offshore licences in Ireland as Irish opportunities “have been and are likely to continue to be much longer-term and
the expense of maintaining the licences
will be redirected to lower risk, nearer term opportunities in its core areas elsewhere.”
September 24 2019
Hurricanelaunchesdrilling off Shetland
London-listed Hurricane Energy has begun drilling an exploration well at the Warwick West prospect off the UK’s Shetland Islands.
The 204/30-bA well is being drilled by the Transocean Leader semi-submersible, it said on September 25. It is Hurricane’s third well in its ongoing drilling campaign in the Greater Warwick area. Its first well at the Warwick Deep prospect came up dry, but its second
at Lincoln Crestal struck oil. The company will develop Lincoln Crestal using a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit at the nearby Lancaster field.
Hurricane has a 50% interest in the Greater Warwick Area, with Spirit Energy holding the remaining interest.
September 24 2019
Pura Vida enters Poland
Australia’s Pura Vida has completed the acquisition of stakes in two unconventional oil and gas plays in Poland, the company announced on September 24.
The company has earned a 35% interest in the Gora and Nowa Sol under a deal
with their UK operator Gemini Resources. Under the deal, it has promised to spend A$6.15mn ($4.2mn) on work programmes to demonstrate the commerciality of two unconventional plays within the concessions.
Pura Vida currently operates off the coast
of Africa, whereas Gora and Nowa Sol are Gemini’s only assets.
September 24 2019
Romania moves to re-
liberalise electricity and
gasmarkets
Romania’s government has submitted to the European Commission (EC) the procedures and the calendar for the liberalisation of the natural gas and electricity markets, less than one year after it regulated the residential market with emergency decree (OUG) 114/2019, Economica.net reported.
The regulations were initially enforced by the government in December 2018 (effective spring 2019) for a period of three years, until spring 2022.
The government sent letters with this end to the European Commission, after the EC warned of infringement measures in the case of the natural gas market.
Under the circumstances on the spot electricity market, the instant liberalisation would result in a significant rise of the
end user prices — but the government has drafted a calendar that stipulates a transition period of more than one year. The natural gas prices for residential consumers are unlikely to rise, given the regional trends.
At the end of 2018 when the government passed OUG 114, both markets were fully liberalised (for residential and industrial users), even if only a small number of residential users had undergone the process of migrating to the free market.
Under OUG 114, the price of natural
gas sold to residential users was regulated and the electricity producers (particularly Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica) were compelled to sell electricity at regulated, low prices to the household segment.
Under the mechanisms pledged to the European Commission, the government will gradually return to the liberalisation process, but this is not going to happen overnight.
The regulated natural gas prices will be maintained until the end of March 2020, while the transition process will be longer on the electricity market: until June 2021 (instead of February 2022 as envisaged under OUG 114). During the transition period on the electricity market, Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica will gradually reduce the volumes of electricity delivered at regulated prices.
bne IntelliNews, September 26 2019
Wood wins service deal at Equinor gas field
UK oilfield services group Wood has secured brownfield modification services work at Norwegian Equinor’s Martin Linge oil and gas field, currently under development.
The award falls under an existing framework the two companies have had
in place since 2016, under which Wood works as Martin Linge’s main contractor for maintenance, repairs and modifications.
Martin Linge is situated in the northern North Sea in waters 115 metres deep. It is due on stream in early 2020. The project comprises a fixed integrated wellhead, production and accommodation platform, operated remotely from an onshore control centre, and a floating storage and offloading vessel. It will pump its gas via a new pipeline connected with existing infrastructure to the St Fergus plant in Scotland.
“We look forward to working on the Martin Linge development – one of the most advanced installations on the NCS,” Wood’s senior vice president for Norway, Lars Fredrik Bakke, said in a statement.
September 18 2019
Week 38 26•September•2019
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