Page 12 - MEOG Week 01 2023

MEOG NEWS IN BRIEF MEOG

POLICY feet per day to increase the proportion of The previous six-month extension was
the contribution of the local product and taken “based on the recommendation of
Jordan sets price for Risha achieve security of supply. Energy and reduce the Lebanese Petroleum Administration”
and would “create an acceptable level of
dependence on imports, according to what
gas sales was included in the strategic plan for the competition among international oil and gas
energy sector in Jordan, and with the aim of
companies,” the energy ministry said at the
A recent study published by the Ministry of marketing the additional quantities produced time.
Energy and Mineral Resources confirmed that from the Risha gas field. But a source with knowledge of the process
the government set the selling price of gas Last month, the government announced said the first extension was granted because
produced from the Risha field between $3 (the the purchase of the Al-Rishah power station there had been no applications.
minimum per million British thermal units) for 550,000 dinars, which achieves annual Lebanese officials, bankers and the
and $6 (the upper limit). savings of more than two million dinars. powerful Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah
The ministry explained in a study it This was after a temporary halt to the say oil and gas exploration will pull the
published entitled Study of the activity of station’s work after the end of the operational country of a three-year economic collapse
distributing compressed natural gas (CNG) life of the Risha power station (the only place that has pushed eight out of ten residents into
and liquefied natural gas (LNG) that these where the gas produced from the Risha gas poverty.
prices were set, provided that the price is field is used). But those hopes have been slow to
calculated on the basis of the total value, and And the Ministry of Energy announced materialise.
according to what is used in calculating the at the end of last year the discovery of two Lebanon’s first licensing round in 2017
price of Egyptian gas. new wells in the Risha field, and that its plan saw a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni
In the last price published by the ministry, during the current year includes drilling 5 and Russia’s Novatek win bids to explore two
the sale price of Risha gas to the private or 6 new wells to raise the daily production offshore blocs known as Blocs 4 and 9.
sector this month is $5.081 per million units, amount to about 45-50 cubic meters. They did not find a commercially viable
including the special tax. ALGHAD amount of hydrocarbons in Bloc 4, off the
According to the study prepared by the coast of Beirut. Planned drilling in the
auditing company “Al-Moayar for Auditing Lebanon extends bid southern Bloc 9 was postponed.
Accounts”, the special tax on natural gas Novatek pulled out of the consortium in
amounting to 7% is added according to the deadline again September amid concerns about sanctions on
decision of the Council of Ministers. Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a source
The study showed that, accordingly, the Lebanon has again extended the deadline for with close knowledge of the withdrawal told
company is currently working on exploiting applications to explore for hydrocarbons in Reuters.
the current production capacities, which have eight offshore blocks, the energy ministry said REUTERS
exceeded the quantities sold, by searching on Friday.
for alternatives to marketing gas and The deadline had already been extended British insurer issues
bypassing the single buyer. compressing and/ several times, most recently from June until
or liquefying it, in addition to continuing to Dec. 15. warning about Venezuelan
generate electricity through the generating Lebanon’s energy ministry said that
units currently in place. caretaker minister Walid Fayyad had pushed it gold payments
According to the study, the National back again to June 30, 2023 without detailing
Petroleum Company assumes responsibility way. Iran is thought to be smuggling gold out
for the exploration, drilling and production Lebanon formally delineated its maritime of Venezuela to finance the Lebanese
of natural gas in a concession area in the border with Israel in October after years of Shi’ite Islamist movement Hezbollah in a
Risha gas field, as the company’s strategic U.S.-mediated talks. It had hoped this would circumvention of US sanctions, according to
plan for the years 2020-2030 aims to reach pave the way for an influx of bids for oil and insurance company Lloyds Marine, as cited by
a production capacity of 200 million cubic gas exploration in its waters. Iran International.

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