Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 16 2022

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

ConocoPhillips challenges permit

for Santos’ Pikka project

ALASKA CONOCOPHILLIPS is appealing against a land property of the KRU lessees”.
use permit issued by the state government of Alaska has given ConocoPhillips until May
Alaska in a move that could block development 18 to file additional information, while Oil
of Santos’ $3bn Pikka oil project on the state’s Search has until June 7 to respond. A request by
North Slope. ConocoPhillips to place a hold on the land use
The Pikka project is located next to Cono- permit while the appeal is being considered was
coPhillips’ Kuparuk River Unit (KRU) oilfield denied.
and developing it requires access to Kuparuk’s The road use dispute has complicated Santos’
roads. However, Pikka developer Oil Search, plans to sell its 51% position in Pikka, which is
which Santos acquired last year for $6.2bn, has the largest new oil project in Alaska in decades.
been unable to reach an agreement with Cono- ConocoPhillips had earlier engaged in discus-
coPhillips on fees to gain access to the roads. (See sions with Oil Search on purchasing a stake in
NorthAmOil Week 14) Pikka and is still viewed as a likely bidder in any
ConocoPhillips had proposed a fee of $95mn sale.
for long-term use of the roads, but Oil Search In its quarterly report, released on April 21,
rejected this. The company then applied to the Santos said the project’s Phase 1 has been granted
state for a permit to access the roads, which was all major environmental and regulatory approv-
granted on March 29 by the Alaskan Department als and remained on track for a final investment
of Natural Resources (DNR) until the two com- decision (FID) by the summer. The company
panies reach a deal on road use. has insisted that the dispute is not slowing down
According to a letter from ConocoPhil- either work on Pikka or efforts to sell its stake
lips dated April 5 and reviewed by Reuters, in it.
the company is challenging the permit on the The project could produce 80,000 barrels per
grounds that the DNR “improperly granted” day (bpd) in its first phase, with potential for fur-
Oil Search access to “roads that are the private ther expansion.™

Woodfibre LNG prepares for construction

BRITISH CONSTRUCTION preparations are mov- to be supplied with around 260mn cubic feet
COLUMBIA ing ahead for the Woodfibre LNG project in (7.4mn cubic metres) per day. The facility will
Squamish, British Columbia. Woodfibre LNG, also have storage capacity of 250,000 cubic
the Canadian subsidiary of Singapore’s Pacific metres. LNG will be shipped from the terminal
Energy, has announced it has issued a notice to Asia to help replace coal-fired electricity gen-
to proceed to contractor McDermott Inter- eration with gas. Once there, it is anticipated to
national, covering site preparation for the result in emissions reductions of 3.5mn tpy of
project. carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent.
Major construction on the terminal is now The Woodfibre terminal will be powered by
expected to begin in 2023, with Woodfibre LNG renewable hydroelectricity. The company says
anticipating the project reaching substantial it will be the lowest-emission LNG export facil-
completion in 2027. The company was originally ity in the world when completed. BC has strict
targeting a mid-2020 construction start for the provincial targets for reducing greenhouse gas
CAD1.6bn ($1.3bn) facility but was forced to (GHG) emissions, requiring fuel to be produced
revise its timeline and secure a five-year exten- at a lower carbon intensity than most terminals
sion owing to delays caused by the coronavirus elsewhere in the world.
(COVID-19) pandemic. Woodfibre has offtake agreements with BP
McDermott is planning to use NetZero Mod- covering the majority of the plant’s output, at
ular LNG technology to build the facility, which 1.5mn tpy.
provides pathways for achieving net-zero emis- The company’s progress comes as BC pre-
sions from both brownfield and greenfield LNG pares to become an LNG exporter. Shell is cur-
projects. rently building the considerably larger LNG
Upon completion, the terminal will export Canada project in Kitimat, on the province’s
2.1mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG produced northern Pacific Coast. Shipments from LNG
using feedstock gas from the Montney shale play Canada, whose first phase will have a capacity of
over a 40-year period. The terminal is expected 14mn tpy, are due to begin in 2025.™

Week 16 21•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9