Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 35

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Platform at Iran’s South
Pars gas field.

group has said that the country’s hydrocarbon Job cuts hit North America’s oil industry
sector may be able to attract hundreds of millions Further job cuts have been reported in recent
of dollars from private companies before the end days to be looming for oil and gas producers with
of 2020. According to Francisco José Lloreda, the operations in North America. (See: Energy sector
president of the Colombian Petroleum Associa- job cuts loom in North America and beyond, page
tion (ACP), private investors are willing to make 9)
about $715mn available for the development of This comes as producers on the continent
oil and gas projects. This funding could play a continue to struggle to bounce back from the
crucial role in the revival of the hydrocarbon sec- severe industry downturn that began in March
tor and help jump-start the country’s economy, and was compounded by the spread of coro-
Lloreda said last week. navirus (COVID-19). Demand is picking up
and crude prices have stabilised recently, but
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping they remain unfavourably low, and market
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click conditions are still relatively challenging for
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor. producers.
Over the past week, it emerged that Norway’s
Drilling, discoveries and deals in the Mid- Equinor is set to cut jobs “significantly” in the US
dle East and Canada – as well as in the UK. An Equinor
Iran announced this week that local firm Pet- spokesman told Reuters that employee numbers
ropars would soon begin drilling at South Pars in these countries would be cut by around 20%,
Phase 11, the project that was awarded to French while contractor numbers would be reduced by
super-major Total and China’s CNPC under an around 50%.
integrated petroleum contract (IPC). The part- Equinor will also not drill any new
ners withdrew from the project in August 2018 unconventional wells in the US this year,
and October 2019 respectively, leaving Petropars according to the spokesman. The company
to go it alone. With Iran determined to press has acreage in the Marcellus and Bakken
ahead with projects to raise oil and gas produc- formations. It is one of numerous producers
tion capacity, drilling is now set to begin by the scaling back its shale operations in response
end of the autumn at SP11, with gas expected to to the downturn.
reach onshore facilities in the next 12 months. Separately, leading independent US shale
On the other side of the Gulf, Saudi Ara- players Pioneer Natural Resources and Parsley
mco has reported the discovery of two new oil Energy were reported to be planning to cut staff
and gas fields in the north-east of the country. numbers in the coming days.
Though they are comparatively miniscule by On top of the ongoing challenges related to
Saudi standards, the finds offer a ‘good news’ the industry downturn, energy sector players
story for Aramco during what has so far been an in the US Gulf of Mexico and on the Gulf Coast
incredibly challenging year. The company will have had to contend with disruption – and in
now carry out further appraisal work to establish some cases damage – caused by Hurricane Laura
reserve levels and development plans. last week.
Following the announcement of a handful Over the last few days, operations were
of deals between US firms and the Iraq govern- being restored across oil platforms in the
ment last week, Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) Gulf, refineries and LNG export terminals,
has been provided with details about Baghdad’s among other facilities. (See: US LNG exports
plans for the Thi Qar project under discussion bouncing back after Hurricane Laura disrup-
with Chevron. tions, page 13) On August 31, it was reported
that a US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping site in Louisiana, West Hackberry, had sus-
the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click tained “considerable damage” as a result of
here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor. the storm.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 03•September•2020