Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 04 2021

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Kazakhstan planning second

online oil and gas auction

KAZAKHSTAN KAZAKHSTAN is planning a second at an initial price of KZT83mn, Zhanatan covers
online auction for oil and gas assets follow- 391 square kilometres.
A previous round ing the success of its first online tender in Three other oilfields on offer — Biikzhal,
ending in December December. South Kaskyrbulak and Pribrezhnoye — are
was hailed as a The second round will offer five idle oil- located in Atyrau Region and are significantly
success. fields and 10 blocks spanning nine tracts in smaller in size.
Aktyubinsk Region and three blocks in Atyrau Several of the blocks on offer require addi-
Region. tional exploration works to confirm the presence
They include the Karatyube field in of hydrocarbons. They include Aralsky 4, which
Aktyubinsk Region, which the Energy Min- has an area of over 3,300 square kilometres in the
istry expects will receive the strongest interest dried seabed of the Aral Sea.
from potential bidders. The initial price tag Another large block, Aschibulak, is being
for the licence will be set at over Kazakhstani offered without a small part of the block, which
tenge (KZT) 492mn (€961,000). The field has has been excluded as it hosts the Zhaksymay Oil-
been idle for over 12 years after the deposit was field - currently under exploration by KazInRuss
mostly depleted by previous operators. The Trading.
block also includes neighbouring zones as the Another block, covering 1,600 square kilo-
whole licence area covers around 3,800 square metres in in the Karaganda and Kyzylordinskaya
kilometres. The winner of the licence will have to Regions is reasonably depleted, with Russian oil
engage in a major clean-up effort as over 30 idled producer Lukoil looking for a buyer for its 50%
wells are reportedly slowly leaking oil at various stake in field operator Turgai Petroleum.
locations. Participants must submit applications by
The second-largest deposit on offer is Zhana- 25 March. The online bidding will start on 23
tan, similarly located in Aktyubinsk Region. Set April.™

PERFORMANCE

Gasoline prices spike again in Russia

RUSSIA WHOLESALE gasoline prices in Russia have oil companies to boost their reserves.
spiked this month as lower export duties and The price spike will hit independent fuel
Russia has been higher international prices have encouraged retailers hardest, just as a similar growth did
steadily easing customs suppliers to send more volumes abroad. during the summer, on the back of a fast-
duties on oil products, The price of AI-92 grade gasoline reached er-than-anticipated growth in fuel demand
and demand in Europe RUB53,400 ($705) per tonne on the St Peters- after coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were
has risen. burg International Mercantile Exchange eased. At that time, the Russian Fuel Union com-
(SPIMEX) on January 21. This marks the high- plained that wholesale gas prices had reached
est price in over a year and is close to an historic parity with pumps prices and in some regions
high. AI-95 sold for over RUB54,000 per tonne had even surpassed them.
on the same day. Despite volatility in Russia’s wholesale
Russia has been steadily easing customs fuels market this year, pump prices have been
duties on crude oil and oil products each year stable because of the so-called damper mech-
under a long-term tax reform plan, making anism in taxation. This mechanism was intro-
exports more attractive. European gasoline duced following a surge in pump prices in
prices have also firmed since the start of the year. 2018 and requires that fuel suppliers pay extra
Russia’s energy ministry projects that some into the budget when domestic oil products
2.6mn tonnes of gasoline will be sold on the are higher than export netbacks. Conversely,
domestic market this year, which is 100,000 they can collect a subsidy when the situation
tonnes less than the same month last year. But it is reversed.
insists the situation is “under control,” Kommer- This situation puts the squeeze on independ-
sant reported, noting that supply would “fully ent fuel retailers, while integrated players are
meet” demand. However, the ministry called on large enough to absorb the impact. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 27•January•2021