Page 13 - FSUOGM Week 49 2019

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM
Gazprom improves offering at ESP
RUSSIA
Gapzrom faces stiff competion in Europe from LNG.
RUSSIA’S Gazprom announced on December 3 it would launch within-day gas deliveries at its electronic sales platform (ESP), as it looks to offer its European customers more flexible sup- ply options.
The ESP, which offers Russian gas to buy- ers in daily auctions on top of deliveries under long-term contracts, has sold almost 16bn cubic metres of gas since its start-up in September last year. Until now Gazprom has offered gas for delivery on a day-ahead, balance-of-month ahead, months-ahead and quarters-ahead basis.
“The platform now offers a new standardised commercial product,” said Gazprom’s export arm in a statement. “The framework agreement now includes a description of deal procedures as well as nomination procedures for products within delivery period ‘within day,’” it said.
Gazprom is also providing the opportunity for buyers to sign framework agreements for contracts running until January 2022. Till now, the current limit on contract length has been one
calendar year. This paves the way for the offer of longer delivery periods, including season-ahead and year-ahead.
In addition, the company said it had abolished a gas restriction of 1 bcm for contract obligations within one commercial framework agreement. It has also simplified the transaction conformation process, cutting the amount of paperwork.
“The electronic sales platform of Gazprom Export has proven to be an effective and reliable trading tool,” Gazprom Export head Elena Bur- mistrova said. “We believe that market interest in our platform will increase as a result of our latest innovations.”
Gazprom has seen stiff competition in Europe this year from a new wave of new LNG supply that has flooded the market. The company has used its ESP to target customers unwilling or unable to buy Russian gas under long-term con- tracts, that might otherwise buy LNG instead. According to Gazprom Export, 1.36 bcm of gas was sold on the platform in November.™
Poland’s PGNiG to develop gas in western Ukraine
UKRAINE
PGNiG already supplies gas to Ukraine.
POLISH gas firm PGNiG has penned a deal with Ukraine’s ERU Management Services on joint development of gas in western Ukraine.
The pair have agreed on joint exploration and production at an unspecified licence area in Ukraine’s Lviv region bordering Poland, accord- ing to a PGNiG statement on December 9. They plan to drill an exploration well with a depth of up to 2,500 metres and undertake geophysical surveys to determine additional drilling sites. Work will begin as soon as necessary approvals and permits are received.
Ukraine is looking to attract more foreign investment to its gas industry, in order to boost production and cut imports. The government has held a series of licensing rounds over the past year, inviting domestic and foreign operators to drill for gas across the country, with mixed success.
Ukraine’s largest gas fields are found in the east, but there are also some smaller deposits located in its western regions.
“We have good reasons to believe the region has strong production potential, similar to the Przemysl deposit, which is the biggest natural gas deposit in Poland,” PGNiG president Piotr Wozniak said, commenting on the deal. “Our
experience and know-how gained from operat- ing the field for over 60 years will certainly be of use in Ukraine.”
Przemysl is situated in south-eastern Poland, forming part of the Carpathian oil and gas basin which also extends into western Ukraine. It pro- duces around 0.5bn cubic metres of gas per year.
PGNiG already supplies gas to ERU Manage- ment Services’ parent group Energy Resources of Ukraine (ERU), a US-backed private firm focused on energy investment and trading in Ukraine.
“Since we established a business relationship with our Polish partner four years ago, we have noticed a positive shift in the investment climate in Ukraine and we are ready to take advantage of it to jointly invest in and expand upstream operations,” ERU director Dale Perry said. “We consider it the first of the many opportunities the Ukrainian energy sector has to offer in the coming years.”
In August PGNiG made headlines by resell- ing a first batch of US LNG to ERU, brought ashore at the Swinoujscie import terminal in northern Poland. The pair intend to ramp up shipments of LNG to Ukraine in the years ahead.™
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