Page 15 - AsianOil Week 02 2023

AsianOil NEWS IN BRIEF AsianOil

China ups its imports of rare China to revive oil and gas exploration talks American nation's president said on
with the Philippines in areas of the South
Thursday.
Arctic blends ahead of EU oil China Sea that are not in dispute. discoveries in the last decade, has offered 14
Guyana, home to one of the largest oil
The court gave no explanation for why
product ban in February the ruling came 14 years after a petition offshore exploration blocks under its latest
global auction round.
was filed. China and the Philippines have
China has increased its imports of rare sparred for decades over sovereignty and Indian companies can bid in the auction,
Arctic blends of Russian crude oil in the natural resources in the South China Sea, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said on
lead-up to an EU ban on Russian petroleum which led to a landmark arbitration case in Thursday.
products set to take effect on February 5, 2016 won by Manila. "Apart from the auction, we are
Bloomberg reports. Efforts to find a legally viable way to discussing government-to-government
According to data from oil-flow tracking work together on energy exploration have partnership in a number of areas including
companies Vortexa and Kpler, Beijing began repeatedly hit walls. exploration," Ali told Reuters when asked
purchasing Arctic crude, specifically Arco, The previous Philippine government in if Guyana would offer blocks to Indian
in November 2022. Deliveries of this and June last year abandoned the latest attempt, companies through direct negotiations.
other types of crude, such as Varandey and citing constitutional constraints and issues India is the world's third-biggest oil
Novy Port, are scheduled for January and of sovereignty. importer and consumer, buying over 84%
February. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos of the oil it needs from overseas. Indian
The purchases are seen as a rerouting of Jr, ahead of a visit to China last week, said companies are scouting for acreage overseas
Russian supplies internationally, as well as his country must find a way to exploit its and want to secure oil supplies through
a shift away from Middle Eastern imports untapped energy reserves in its exclusive long-term deals.
for China. The move comes as China's daily economic zone, even without China's India and Guyana have formed two
crude and condensate imports hit their expertise. technical groups to look into details of
second-highest level on record last month, China claims jurisdiction over almost bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbon
according to Kpler. the entire South China Sea, and the risk of sector, including oil supplies to India under
Lead oil analyst with Vienna-based Kpler energy activities being disrupted has made long-term deals, Ali said, after a meeting
Viktor Katona said: "Russia's Arctic grades it tricky for the Philippines to find foreign with Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh
were among the Europe-oriented streams partners, despite an arbitration court Puri.
that since December 5 have to find new clarifying what Manila's entitlements were. Details would be finalized during a visit
homes elsewhere, and in all of those cases, Its Supreme Court on Tuesday voided by Guyana's Vice President, H.E. Bharrat
it's pretty much an India and China split." what was a deal between state-run Jagdeo, to India in February 2023, according
The increased imports of Arctic oil come Philippines National Oil Company, China to an Indian government statement issued
after Western sanctions prompted Russia, National Offshore Oil Corp and Vietnam after the meeting between Puri and Ali.
once Europe's biggest supplier, to divert Oil and Gas Corporation covering a 142,886 India is diversifying its crude import
its energy exports to Asian markets, with square kilometer (55,169 square mile) area sources and in 2021 imported Guyanese
China becoming the top buyer of Russian of the sea. Liza crude. Refiners in India, however, have
oil. It ruled it was illegal because the not imported Guyanese crude since then
constitution stipulates the Philippines as alternative cheaper grades have been
state must control and supervise activities available from elsewhere.
Philippines' supreme court and companies involved must be majority barrels per day (bpd) of oil and aims to
Guyana currently produces 340,000
Philippine-owned.
voids 2005 South China Sea oil raise it to 1.64 million bpd by the end of the
decade.
& gas deal Guyana eyes offshore oil, gas India Ltd ENGI.NS signed an agreement
At the government meeting, Engineers
The Supreme Court in the Philippines on blocks award to Indian firms in to provide consultancy for a 300-megawatt
Tuesday declared the country's 2005 energy combined cycle power plant of state-run
exploration agreement with Chinese and govt deals Guyana Power and Gas Inc. in the South
Vietnamese firms was illegal, ruling that the American nation.
constitution does not allow foreign entities Guyana is looking at awarding oil and gas
to exploit natural resources. exploration blocks to Indian companies as
The decision, on an agreement that part of a broader hydrocarbon cooperation
expired in 2008, could complicate efforts by it is negotiating with India, the South

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