Page 12 - MEOG Week 24

MEOG nr G MEOG

NRG: Looking beyond

the crisis

Welcome to the sixth edition of NewsBase’s Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team
of international editors provide you with a snapshot of some of the key issues affecting

their regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s Picks to your inbox every week for

free. Just sign up here

nrG OIL benchmarks have lost ground over the the world. The company is currently devoting
past week, with Brent dipping back under $40 50% of its cash flow to human resources, he said
per barrel amid growing fears of a second coro- during the webinar.
navirus (COVID-19) wave following a fresh Concerns about cost have also emerged in
outbreak in Beijing. But prices have also been Mozambique. According to audits ordered by
supported by signs of recovering fuel demand the Mozambican government in 2019, South
and OPEC+ producers complying with agreed Africa’s Sasol appears to have overstated its
production cuts. recoverable costs for operations in Inhambane
With market conditions changing so rapidly, State by around $100mn. This indicates that the
the main focus of governments and companies company may have skimped on tax payments
remains their short-term response. But some for 2017 and 2018, according to the state press
are also beginning to look ahead to a post-cri- agency.
sis world, adopting new strategies for cleaner In North Africa, Algeria is working to adapt
energy, drawing up plans to build up import its natural gas marketing strategy to take account
capacity and signing off on new upstream of increased competition. Mohamed Arkab, the
investments. Minister of Energy, stated last week that the
national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach was
Cost containment in africa determined to “remain the preferred supplier”
Africa’s largest oil producer has turned the spot- of gas to Europe. Existing pipeline connections
light on cost containment. will help the company achieve this goal, he said.
Mele Kyari, the head of state-owned Nigerian Meanwhile, both Liberia and Nigeria are
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), said during addressing issues related to local content. The
a webinar last week that his company was work- Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA)
ing to reduce its production costs to $10 per is encouraging domestic operators to participate
barrel or less, down from the current estimated in the country’s first offshore licensing round,
level of $21 per barrel. One reason why NNPC while the Nigerian Content Development and
is struggling, he asserted, is that it is facing an Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is promoting local
“impossible” situation in which some of its part- investment in the oil-refining industry.
ners are reporting costs of as much as $93 per
barrel. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Kyari also drew attention to NNPC’s person- Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
nel costs, which he described as the highest in NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2020