Page 16 - AsianOil Week 21

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Elsewhere in the world, Qatar has reiterated its commitment to increasing its LNG produc- tion significantly in the coming years despite the current oversupply in the market.
Indeed, Qatari Minister of Energy Saad al-Kaabi, who is also the CEO of Qatar Petro- leum (QP), said that if there is capacity for the country to grow its LNG output beyond the planned 126mn tonnes per year (tpy), it may commit to this in the coming years.
Meanwhile, few developments illustrate the short-term impact of recent developments on demand more clearly than the growing number of cancellations for cargoes that were scheduled for loading at US terminals. Bloomberg has estimated that the number of US cargoes sched- uled for July loading that have been cancelled could be as high as 35-45, which would mark an increase compared to June.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the global LNG sector then please click here for NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor.
Latin America’s hopes rising
Several Latin American countries appear to be optimistic about the future of oil and gas, despite the shocks the industry has suffered over the last two months.
Omar Gutierrez, the governor of the oil-pro- ducing Neuquen province in Argentina, has praised the government’s decision to introduce an artificially high domestic price floor, calling it “a great stimulus for investment, production and
especially for the protection of jobs. Some indus- try observers believe that the new policy will do little to bring production back up to pre-pan- demic levels, though.
In Brazil, Royal Dutch Shell has begun drill- ing at Saturn, a new block in the offshore Santos Basin. The super-major remains upbeat about the potential of the pre-salt zone but believes Brazilian projects will have to fight hard to attract investment in the future.
Guyana, meanwhile, has named all 35 of the companies that have bid for the right to market the government’s share of oil from Liza, a field within the offshore Stabroek block. It has also said it will seek help from experts in evaluating bidders.
Jaguar E&P, an independent Mexican opera- tor, has drawn attention to “under-drilled” areas along the Gulf coast and in the northern parts of the country. According to Warren Levy, the company’s CEO, the northern Burgos Basin is particularly attractive because of its proximity to the US Permian basin.
In other news, Colombian officials are work- ing to address private companies’ concerns about high oil pipeline tariffs.
A representative of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) has said that the government may take the unprecedented step of intervening in the tariff regime, which is under the control of Ecopetrol’s Cenit subsidiary.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 21 28•May•2020