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greener, more efficient energy economy.” activities than in renewables during the period,
In other news, Germany’s Uniper revealed projecting its total exploration and production
last week that it had teamed up with UAE-based spend at €8bn. But this only represents €1.6bn
Neutral Fuels to provide maritime biofuels in in annual investment, compared with €2.4bn in
Fujairah, a major hub for bunkering in the Gulf 2019 and €2.6bn per year in its earlier 2018-2020
region. The pair will blend very low sulphur fuel strategic plan.
oil (VLSFO) supplied by Uniper’s marine fuel Instead of targeting growth, Repsol’s focus
unit Uniper Energy DMCC (UED) with Neutral will also move to maintaining oil and gas output.
Fuels’ biofuel. This will create a fuel that com- It projects average production at 650,000 barrels
plies with International Maritime Organisation of oil equivalent per day (boepd) over the period,
(IMO) standards. which is the same as its forecast for 2020.
The announcement comes as the IMO looks Italian gas grid operator Snam also
to strengthen requirements for vessel energy announced a new strategy this week, similarly Naftogaz has
efficiency and impose tougher carbon intensity setting clean energy as a cornerstone of its invest-
reduction requirements. These new rules will ment plans. The main focus will be hydrogen said it will invest
likely spur more shipowners to seek out biofuels. production and transportation. $40mn in its first

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping year of work on
the downstream sector of Africa and the Middle East, Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
then please click here for NewsBase’s DMEA Monitor. NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor . the Ukrainian
Black Sea shelf.
EurOil: European climate goals FSU: Ukraine’s Black Sea ops
Spanish energy firm Repsol has unveiled its Ukraine’s government has granted state-owned
2021-2025 strategic plan, announcing it would gas supplier Naftogaz a 30-year licence to explore
cut back on upstream investment in order to and develop a section of the Black Sea, without
plough more money into renewables. Repsol’s a tender.
plans mirror those of other climate-conscious oil The country’s Cabinet of Ministers approved
and gas companies in Europe such as BP, which a resolution clearing Naftogaz for the project on
is likewise seeking to pour billions into clean November 25, with Natural Resources Minister
energy in the coming years at the expense of its Roman Abramovsky proposing that the com-
traditionally core oil and gas business. pany could partner with international investors.
The company aims to invest a total of €18.3bn Naftogaz has been lobbying for access to the
($21.8bn) in 2021-2025, of which €5.5bn will be Black Sea shelf to help it expand production and
spent on growing its low-carbon business. It reduce Ukraine’s need for imported gas, but
also announced a new organisational structure, authorities previously wanted to find offshore
in which low-carbon energy will be one of four developers through an auction.
main segments. The others are industrial, con- Ukraine’s subsoil service held a contest
sisting of refining, trading and wholesale and for rights to 9,500 square km of the Black Sea,
gas trading; customer, which includes mobility, known as the Dolphin contract area, last year.
retail and energy solutions; and upstream. A London-based company called Trident
The plan is to expand Repsol’s renewable Resources with no past experience of oil and gas
energy generation capacity by 500 MW each exploration was selected as the winner. But the
year between 2020 and 2025, up to 7.5 GW, and government cancelled the award the following
then double it to 15 GW by 2030. month, saying it wanted an investor with experi-
Achieving these targets will require €1.4bn in ence and technical capability.
annual investments by 2025, or eight times more The auction had been due to be restaged, with
than Repsol spent on renewables last year. But investors given more time to submit their bids,
the company also expects to generate eight times but this plan was put on hold in light of the coro-
more in EBITDA from the business in five years’ navirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
time, or €331mn. Naftogaz has said it will invest $40mn in its
Repsol will still invest more in upstream first year of work on the Ukrainian Black Sea

Week 48 02•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7