Page 14 - AsianOil Week 24

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Haiphong, or a 3,000-MW plant in the Mekong hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Armando Zam-
Delta province of Long An. ora, the head of the national hydrocarbons reg-
The government added that the plants could ulator ANH, said last week that the government
use LNG imported from the US or elsewhere. It had invited companies to submit proposals and
suggested that a plant in Haiphong could start hoped to sign deals by September or October.
generating power at some point between 2025 Fracking could help the country replenish its
and 2030. reserves and increase production.
The LNG industry is hoping that the market In Argentina, Shell and its local partner, state-
will have rebalanced by this point, with excess owned YPF, suspended operations last week at
supply being absorbed and demand rising again. the Bajada de Añelo block in Vaca Muerta, one of
Currently, the global oversupply of LNG contin- the world’s largest shale formations. They did so
ues to weigh on the market and depress prices. in response to seismic activity in Neuquén Prov-
The US Energy Information Administration ince, near the Andes. No other fields have been
(EIA) has predicted that exports of US LNG will affected, but other licence areas in Vaca Muerta
have dropped by 60% in July from their peak in have seen production fall this year as a result of
January. shrinking demand stemming from the corona-
Meanwhile, Total’s president of gas, renew- virus pandemic.
ables and power, Philippe Sauquet, has warned Meanwhile, Bahamas Petroleum Co. (BPC)
that the cancellation of a growing number of car- continues to expand its regional footprint
goes scheduled for loading this summer should through acquisitions. The company has taken
serve as a warning that new LNG projects will control of Columbus Energy, an independent
not automatically be profitable. operator that is working to develop onshore
Not that all LNG exporters in the US have fields in Trinidad and Suriname. These assets,
been deterred. On June 15, US regulators together with ongoing projects in The Baha-
approved Venture Global LNG’s request to pro- mas and Uruguay, will turn BPC into an oil
ceed with limited site preparation for its pro- and gas “champion” focusing on the Caribbean
posed Plaquemines LNG terminal in Louisiana. and Atlantic margin, the company said in a
The company said it was planning to start early statement.
construction work on Plaquemines in mid-2020 Elsewhere in the region, Guyana has reported
before achieving financial close on the project that its second cargo of oil exports fetched
late this year. Construction is also currently around $35mn, or $20mn less than its first cargo,
under way on Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass which went to market in February. These reve-
LNG project, also in Louisiana. nues brought the sovereign wealth fund’s balance
up to nearly $95mn, according to government
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping officials in Georgetown.
the global LNG sector then please click here for
NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click
Latin America’s unconventional concerns here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor.
Two Latin American states are taking a close
look at unconventional oil and gas developments Middle Eastern malaise
this week. Last week, focus was on the much anticipated
Colombia appears to be gearing up to award OPEC+ meeting to consider and agree oil pro-
contracts for pilot projects that will involve duction cuts beyond the end of June. The dust

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 18•June•2020