Page 10 - MEOG Week 43
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MEOG PoLiCy MEOG
US grants new sanctions waiver for Rhum
iran
THE US has renewed a sanctions waiver for the Rhum gas project in the UK North Sea that is part-owned by Iran’s national oil company, its London-based partner Serica Energy confirmed on October 24.
The renewal, provided by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), allows “certain US and US-owned or controlled entities and also non-US entities to continue providing goods, services and support to Rhum” until February 28, 2021.
The waiver was first granted a year ago after US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran, following his decision to pull Washington out of the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal. The waiver had been due to expire at the end of October. The extension enables Serica to continue operations at the Rhum field unaf- fected, the company said.
“The receipt of the renewed and extended licence and assurance is an excellent outcome which protects this valuable British asset,” Ser- ica CEO Mitch Flegg commented, thanking UK authorities for their support.
Rhum was the third largest source of gas
production on the UK continental shelf in the second quarter, according to Flegg, flowing at a rate of 28,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Serica owns a 50% stake in the project which it acquired from BP in November last year. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) owns the remaining half, but its revenues from this share go into an escrow account in London that Tehran cannot access.
Rhum’s development has been marred by NIOC’s involvement in the project. BP had to halt production in 2010 after the EU and UK introduced new sanctions on NIOC.
It was only cleared by UK authorities to resume operations three years later. The UK major deferred investment at the site last year after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal and announced plans to bring sanctions on Iran back into force.
The BP-led Shah Deniz gas field in Azer- baijan, in which NIOC’s Swiss-based subsid- iary NICO has a 10% stake, has also secured a sanctions waiver from the US. Iranian funds are likewise deposited in an escrow account in the Cayman Islands.
ProJeCts & ComPanies
ADNOC keeps up Ghasha momentum
Uae
A week after Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) awarded a 5% stake in the massive Ghasha ultra-sour gas concession to Lukoil, pro- gress on the development is heating up.
Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) understands from sources close to proceedings that contrac- tors are preparing bids for the four main engi- neering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages for offshore and onshore work in the concession. The four packages cover the Ghasha and Hail fields, which are joined in the wider Ghasha concession by the Dalma, Mubarraz, Nasr and SARB fields. The Shuweihat field was also recently added.
This follows the news last week, as reported by Middle East Energy Digest (MEED), that contractor TechnipFMC is preparing to begin front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on the Dalma field.
Earlier this month, Upstream reported that local firm National Petroleum Construction Co. (NPCC) and UK-listed Petrofac were well placed to win offshore and onshore EPC contracts respectively for Dalma, with the deals thought to be worth a combined $1.5bn.
The report suggested that bidders for the onshore work also included China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp. (CPECC) and consortia of Italy’s Saipem and Ath- ens-based Consolidated Contractors Co. (CCC) and another of Canada’s SNC Lavalin with local firm Target Engineering.
Other offshore bidders were thought to include US-based McDermott International, Saipem and Petrofac.
The offshore work is understood to cover three new wellhead platforms, modifications to and the removal of existing topsides as well as the installation tieback infrastructure to Arzanah Island.
The wider Ghasha concession is seen as con- taining hundreds of billions of cubic metres of gas, with Dalma alone envisaged generating pro- duction of 3.1-3.6 bcm per year of gas by early next decade.
ADNOC owns a 55% stake in the Ghasha concession, with Italy’s Eni (25%), Germany’s Wintershall (10%), Abu Dhabi government-af- filiated and Vienna-based OMV (5%) and Lukoil holding the remainder.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 43 29•October•2019
