Page 8 - AsianOil Week 12 2022

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Petronas signs offshore exploration PSCs,

Shell kicks off new Gumusut-Kakap phase

PROJECTS & MALAYSIA’S Petronas announced on March 23 the contracts on behalf of the company.
COMPANIES that it had signed several new production-shar- Petronas noted that it was committed to
ing contracts (PSCs) covering offshore explora- reducing carbon emissions from its operations
tion blocks that had been awarded during the and that it would seek to use technologies includ-
Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021. ing carbon capture and storage (CCS) to do so.
The company said it had signed the PSC for Indeed, the company has signed a series of agree-
Block SB412 offshore Sabah along with PTTEP ments with various other oil and gas players over
HK Offshore and SapuraOMV Upstream. It recent months covering collaboration on CCS
signed the PSCs for ultra-deepwater Blocks 2W development.
and X along with its Petronas Carigali subsidiary Shell put out its own statement on March 23,
and Shell units Sabah Shell Petroleum and Shell describing the signing of those PSCs it was par-
Sabah Selatan. And it signed the PSC for Block ticipating in as “another growth milestone” for
SK439/SK440 offshore Sarawak alongside Sar- the company in Malaysia. The super-major said
awak Shell and Petroleum Sarawak Exploration it had also signed joint operating agreements
& Production. (JOAs) for the 2W, X and SK439/SK440 blocks.
“The reduction in global exploration drill- In the same statement, Shell said it had started
ing over the past two years has pressured the work on Phase 3 of the Gumusut-Kakap devel-
industry to resolve current supply shortages. opment. Its Sabah Shell Petroleum unit is the
As global economies have started to recover operator of Gumusut-Kakap semi-submersible
post-pandemic, the industry needs to ensure floating production system (FPS) offshore Sabah.
exploration activities continue to sustain Phase 3 will involve the drilling of four wells –
production,” Petronas’ senior vice president two production wells and two water injection
of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), wells – that will be tied back to the FPS. First oil
Mohamed Firouz Asnan, stated upon signing from the tieback project is anticipated this year.™
EAST ASIA

China’s Sinopec reportedly

suspending Russian project talks

POLICY CHINA’S state-controlled Sinopec Group has According to one of Reuters’ sources, Sino-
reportedly suspended talks on a petrochemical pec suspended talks after Sibur minority share-
investment and gas marketing venture in Rus- holder and board member Gennady Timchenko
sia. This follows a call for caution by the Chinese was sanctioned by the West. The companies had
government as sanctions mount over the inva- reportedly been in the middle of site selection for
sion of Ukraine. the new project.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reu- Sinopec also reportedly suspended talks
Sinopec has a 40% ters reported on March 25 that the move puts the over a gas marketing venture with Russian LNG
stake in the Amur gas brakes on what could potentially be a $500mn producer Novatek, a source told Reuters, link-
chemical complex and investment in Russia. Beijing has refused to ing the move to concerns that Sberbank, one of
had been considering condemn Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and has Novatek’s shareholders, is on the latest US sanc-
investing in a similar voiced its opposition to the sanctions against tions list.
new project. Russia, but if Sinopec’s move is confirmed, it According to the sources, China’s three state-
would illustrate the risk of Western-led sanctions owned energy giants – Sinopec, China National
even to China. Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and China National
Sinopec had been considering investing in a Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) – have been
project similar to the Amur gas chemical com- assessing the impact of the sanctions on their
plex alongside Russian petrochemical major multi-billion-dollar investments in Russia.
Sibur. Sinopec is a 40% shareholder in the “Companies will rigidly follow Beijing’s for-
Amur complex, which is due to come online eign policy in this crisis,” an executive at a state
in 2024, while Sibur owns the remaining 60%. oil company told Reuters. “There’s no room
The Chinese company also owns a 10% stake whatsoever for companies to take any initiatives
in Sibur. in terms of new investment.”™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 12 25•March•2022