Page 14 - MEOG Week 33

MEOG NRG MEOG

sign of reversing the decline in its crude out- established footprint in MENA and South Asia
put and may see production drop from the cur- and a combined revenue of $2.4bn.
rent level of 100,000-200,000 bpd to near zero.
As recently as 2019, Venezuelan yields still If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
stood at 650,000 bpd. However, US sanctions, the Middle East oil and gas sector then please click
deteriorating infrastructure and the fall in here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor.
global energy demand have wreaked havoc on
the sector. Forward momentum on both projects and
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s National Assembly, diversification in North America
which is dominated by parties that oppose the Differing approaches to the energy transition
socialist government led by President Nico- mean that there is momentum on both oil pro-
las Maduro, has launched an investigation of a jects and diversification efforts among North
recent oil spill off the coast of Falcón state. MPs American oil and gas companies.
have requested information from the national On August 14, the US government
oil company (NOC) PdVSA and other state-run approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow project
institutions for details on the incident, which in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
appears to be related to maintenance work at the (NPR-A). The US Bureau of Land Manage-
El Palito refinery. Opposition legislators say the ment (BLM) published a final Environmental
spill happened because heavy rainfall caused the Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, saying
146,000 bpd plant’s oxidation ponds to overflow. it could produce more than 160,000 barrels
In other news, Argentina’s YPF has reported per day (bpd) of oil over the next 30 years.
that its financial and operational performance If constructed, Willow will be the west-
suffered in the second quarter of 2020 as a result ernmost development on the North Slope.
of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Its approval comes as the administration
state-owned firm said it had incurred a loss of of US President Donald Trump continues
ARS85bn ($1.17bn) in the April-June period, its broader push to spur oil development in
down by 154.8% on the loss of ARS33.36bn Alaska. Within days of Willow being author-
($458.7mn) reported in the same period of 2019. ised, the US Department of the Interior (DoI)
approved a sweeping plan to allow oil leasing
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click (ANWR) entire 1.56mn acre (6,313 square
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor. km) coastal plain. The area has been off-limits
to oil drilling for decades, and authorisation of
Iranian contract awards continue as output drilling there will run into high levels of oppo-
increases sition from environmental and conservation
Iran this week announced the award of 13 con- groups.
tracts with 14 local companies for field develop- But despite strong support for oil devel-
ment projects that are expected to increase the opment from the Trump administration, a
country’s crude production capacity by more number of major producers are diversifying
than 180,000 barrels per day once complete. beyond oil, likely encouraged by ongoing
A signing ceremony was held on August crude price volatility. A prominent example
17, during which the National Iranian Oil Co. of this recently has been Chevron, which said
(NIOC) said that the deals were for the sec- last week that it was investing in nuclear fusion
ond phase of a plan to maintain and increase start-up Zap Energy. The super-major joins
production capacity. Of the 13 projects for Italy’s Eni and Norway’s Equinor in backing
which contracts were signed, 10 have already nuclear fusion start-ups to reduce their carbon
implemented their first phase, reaching 25% footprint.
completion. The announcement came shortly after
Meanwhile, three new wells were com- Chevron also unveiled a plan to build 500
pleted at South Pars Phase 22, raising output megawatts (MW) of renewable energy plants
from the overall SP 22-24 project by 200mn to power some of its operations in the US’ Per-
cubic feet (5.7mn cubic metres) per day. mian Basin and overseas. The plants will be
SP22-24 had been earmarked to produce a developed under a four-year agreement with
combined 18.6bn cubic metres per year by Algonquin Power and Utilities, and appear to
March 20, 2019, but a lack of foreign currency mark a new level of engagement with renew-
after the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal ables for Chevron. At the same time, though,
derailed these ambitions. the super-major continues to move forward
M&A activity continued to rebound as with oil projects, with the Wall Street Journal
the UAE’s Senaat and other minority share- reporting on August 17 that Chevron is in
holders of the National Petroleum Construc- talks over an investment in an Iraqi oilfield.
tion Co. (NPCC) submitted a bid to merge
the firm with the National Marine Dredging If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Co. (NMDC). The deal would create a new the North American oil and gas sector then please click
regional EPC major, which already has an here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 33 19•August•2020