Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 42

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In Mozambique, the central bank has publicised alternatives, as it continues to transition towards
details of its plan to set up a new sovereign wealth renewable energies.
fund for future earnings from natural gas and Relying on foreign supplies of power inevita-
LNG projects. According to officials in Maputo, bly raises some serious questions about national
the government could deposit as much as $96bn energy security, given rising tensions along trade
worth of revenue into the fund. routes in the South China Sea as well as market
In Somalia, a new government agency is volatility that can result in a seesawing of energy
working to ensure that all regions of the country prices.
are represented within its governing structures. By lifting a moratorium on exploration drill-
Last week, the Somali Petroleum Authority ing and seismic data acquisition in waters that
(SPA) appointed six independent directors to both China and the Philippines claim, which
its board, including one representative of the Manila has dubbed the West Philippine Sea
federal government as a whole and one repre- (WPS), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
sentative for each of the country’s five individual hopes to kill two birds with one stone.
states. “[Duterte] has approved the recommen- Manila has
Meanwhile, the World Bank has offered dation of the Department of Energy [DOE] to
Sudan’s transitional government a grant of lift the suspension of petroleum activities and lifted a six-year
$200mn to support efforts to reform the econ- the resumption of petroleum exploration in moratorium on
omy, including the energy sector. The reform the WPS,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi told
agenda includes liberalisation measures that will reporters on October 15. exploration in
tie domestic fuel prices to world market levels. Cusi said China National Offshore Oil
The grant will be supplemented with another Corp. (CNOOC) as well as state-run Philippine disputed waters
$200mn from Sudan’s partner states, working National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC)
through the Sudan Transition Support Trust. and privately owned Udenna Energy and PXP of the South
Energy stood to gain immediately from the ban China Sea
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping being lifted.
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for “We need to explore, so we may address the
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor. country’s energy security,” Cusi said. He added:
“The lifting of the moratorium was arrived at in
Asia: Philippines lifts moratorium good faith and with full regard to the ongoing
The Philippines has lifted a six-year moratorium negotiations between the Philippines and China,
on exploration in disputed waters of the South and Forum Ltd and CNOOC.”
China Sea in response to growing concerns over
the country’s future energy security. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
The country relies heavily on the giant Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
Malampaya offshore natural gas field to power NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor.
several thermal power plants (TPPs) on the
main island of Luzon. However, with the field DMEA: Qatar begins LNG buyers’ push
expected to begin running dry over the next few Qatar has embarked on a push to find more buy-
years, the government has begun signing off on ers for its LNG, striking a deal last week to secure
the development of LNG import capacity. 25 years of storage and redelivery capacity at the
This will eventually see the country become UK’s Grain LNG terminal starting in mid-2025.
heavily reliant on foreign supplies of the fuel, National gas exporter Qatar Petroleum (QP)
given local opposition to coal-fired power said its affiliate would subscribe to up to 7.2mn
generation and the lack of nuclear-powered tonnes per year (tpy) of capacity at the site.

Week 42 22•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9