Page 14 - EurOil Week 23 2022

EurOil POLICY EurOil

Saudi Arabia ready to ramp oil supply

to offset Russian losses: press

SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI Arabia has indicated to its Western allies prices,” one person briefed on Saudi Arabia’s
it is preparing to ramp up oil supply in the event thinking told the FT.
There are signals of a of a substantial drop in Russian flow as a result The kingdom believes that while the oil mar-
possible rapprochement of sanctions, the Financial Times reported on ket is tight and this has led to high prices, there
in US-Saudi ties. June 2. are no genuine shortages, sources told the news-
The EU is set to reduce imports of Russian oil paper. But this could change as the post-coro-
and oil product supplies by around 90% by the navirus (COVID-19) economic recovery picks
end of the year under an embargo that has been up pace, particularly as major cities in China
adopted in its sixth set of sanctions. And the bloc reopen.
has also agreed with the UK to bar the insurance Relations between Saudi Arabia and the US
of ships that carry Russian oil within six months. have been tense recently, over the kingdom’s war
Western countries have put pressure on Saudi in Yemen and human rights abuses. But several
Arabia in recent months to ramp up supply to visits in recent weeks by a high-level US delega-
replace Russian oil and reduce prices, but so far tion, including White House co-ordinator for
the kingdom has resisted such calls. In their latest Middle East policy Brett McGurk and White
monthly meeting, however, Saudi Arabia and its House Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein have
OPEC+ allies agreed to boost output by 648,000 sought to achieve a rapprochement.
barrels per day (bpd) in July and by a similar These efforts have borne some fruit, with
amount in August, signalling that they are will- Saudi Arabia agreeing to shift its tone in order
ing to capitalise on Russia’s loss of market share. to calm prices, and offer reassurances that it will
“Saudi Arabia is aware of the risks and that ramp up oil supply if the supply crunch gets too
it is not in their interests to lose control of oil severe. ™

ENERGY TRANSITION

ONE-Dyas gets nod for North Sea’s first

gas field powered only by wind

NETHERLANDS DUTCH gas supplier ONE-Dyas has been van Stevenick said in a statement. “The transition
granted a permit to develop what will be the first to 100% renewable energy takes time. Natural
The field is on track gas field in the North Sea to be powered only gas will still be part of the energy mix in the com-
to start production in with wind energy, the company reported on ing decades. As long as natural gas is still needed
2024. June 2. to heat our homes, it is our job to make sure it is
By powering their facilities with renewa- as clean, affordable and reliable as possible.”
ble energy, North Sea operators can reduce the First gas from NO5-A is targeted for 2024.
emissions associated with their production, The project is situated in the so-called GEMS
helping to improve their sustainability metrics area, north of the Ems estuary, where ONE-
to make them more appealing to investors and Dyas said it was actively exploring the potential
customers. But typically operators’ development of other gas fields that could in the future receive
plans have included back-up on-site gas gener- permits for development.
ators that can be switched on if intermittent ONE-Dyas noted that it had been in frequent
renewable supply fails. consultation with stakeholders on NO5-A’s
ONE-Dyas’ platform at the NO5-A field, development since 2018, providing input for an
situated 20 km north of the Friesian islands of “extensive” environmental impact report. This
Borkum, Rottumerplaat and Schiermonnikoog, report examined the impact on the environ-
will depend solely on power delivered from the ment, nature and the surroundings, it said, and
nearby Riffgat wind farm, the company said. It led to various adjustments to the project plan to
has secured permits for the development from limit the impact.
the Dutch economy ministry, it said. The Netherlands’ Commission for Environ-
“Project N05-A and the energy transition go mental Assessment in mid-February cleared the
hand in hand,” ONE-Dyas CEO Chris de Ruyter project. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 10•June•2022