Page 14 - EurOil Week 18 2022

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

decision last week to cut gas supplies to According to RIA Novosti, Vladimir discount to Brent is expected to remain
Bulgaria and Poland. Energy giant Gazprom Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the high and volatile, reflecting the challenging
says the two countries failed to pay their bills Federation Council’s international affairs geopolitical context.
in April. committee, said on May 4 that if the European The indicator refining margin soared from
“We will call for immediate sanctions Union bans the importation of Russian crude, $2.8 per barrel in Q1 last year to $18.3 – but
on Russian oil and gas. This is the next, and its member states will simply buy Russian OMV Petrom said that the (undisclosed)
urgent, and absolute step,” Polish Climate barrels from third countries. actual margin for its refineries may differ
and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa They will have to pay more for the crude, significantly due to different crude slate,
said. “We already have coal. Now it’s time for though, since they cannot import it indirectly, product yield and operating conditions.
oil, and [the]second step is for gas. The best he added. In turn, higher crude costs will The company’s hydrocarbon production
option is take them all together.” drive up prices for food and gasoline in fell by 12.7% y/y due to the sale of production
The EU has hit Russian officials, oligarchs, Europe, he said. assets in Kazakhstan in the second quarter
banks, companies and other organisations Dzhabarov was speaking as EU energy of last year (resulting in a decline of 6,200
with rafts of sanctions since Moscow ordered ministers continued to debate proposals for barrels of oil equivalent per day compared to
an invasion of Ukraine in February. The phasing out Russian oil supplies in stages over the first quarter of last year), the transfer of
commission is working on a sixth round of the next six months. 40 marginal deposits of onshore oil and gas
measures, possibly including oil restrictions, to Dacian Petroleum in the fourth quarter of
and could announce them this week. last year (resulting in a decline of 1,000 boepd
The measures would have to be approved compared to the first quarter of last year) and
by the member countries, which could take UPSTREAM the sharp natural decline in the main deposits
several days. in Romania.
In a move last week branded in Europe as OMV Petrom tripled its For 2022, OMV Petrom aims at containing
“blackmail,” Russian energy giant Gazprom the decline at around 7% y/y in Romania,
cut supplies to Bulgaria and Poland. It came profit in the first quarter excluding portfolio optimisation.
after Russian President Vladimir Putin said The refinery utilisation rate is estimated
that “unfriendly” countries must start paying Although it produced 13% less crude oil and to be above 95% (2021: 97%). Total refined
for gas in rubles, Russia’s currency. natural gas, Romanian oil and gas group product sales are forecast to be broadly similar
Bulgaria and Poland have refused to do so, OMV Petrom reported a record net profit of to the previous year (2021: 5.3mn tonnes).
like most EU countries. More Gazprom bills RON1.75bn (€350mn ) in the first quarter of
are due on May 20, and the bloc is wary that 2022, three times larger compared to the same
Russia might turn off more taps then. Russia period last year.
rejects the claims of blackmail. The company’s sales revenues rose nearly MIDSTREAM
2.5 times to RON11.9bn.
The operational results, corrected for Bulgargaz approves seven
Russian senator says the special items and inventory holding offers from three new
effects (CCS effects) surged by 3.4 times to
embargo will lead EU RON1.79bn. suppliers for gas deliveries
The surge in energy prices was behind the
countries to buy Russian oil company’s highest-ever quarterly earnings: the Bulgaria’s state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz
realised crude oil price surged by 58% to $80.3
via third parties per barrel as the price of Urals oil rose by 50% said it has approved seven offers from three
to $90.2 per barrel (bbl).
suppliers for delivery of natural gas in May
A Russian legislator has said that he expects For the full year 2022, OMV Petrom to substitute for the stopped deliveries from
Europe to continue buying crude oil from expects the average Brent oil price to be Russia’s Gazprom.
Russia even if it imposes an embargo on around $95 per barrel (previous guidance $75 Gazprom decided on April 26 to stop
imports. per barrel; 2021: $71 per barrel). Urals average delivering gas to Bulgaria as of April 27, after

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