Page 7 - AsianOil Week 15

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Indraprastha Gas, for example, has reportedly shut two-thirds of its CNG retail pumps.
The nationwide 21-day lockdown was orig- inally slated to be lifted on April 14, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opted to extend it until May 3.
While Modi has acknowledged the eco- nomic impact of the lockdown, he said the benefits outweigh the cost. The president said: “We will have to keep a close and strict watch on the places which run the risk of becoming hot-spots. The creation of new hot-spots will further challenge our hard work and penance.”
Commenting on the extended lockdown, global energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said: “India’s gas demand has been severely affected, primarily across the transport and industrial sectors. As a notoriously price-sensi- tive market, low oil prices are also a competitive threat to gas. High inventories are resulting in refiners further reducing margins for oil prod- ucts to compete with gas, leading to downside risk on the LNG demand outlook.”
It added that the forecast decline in LNG demand from India, the world’s fourth-largest importer, was “bad news for the already over- supplied LNG market”.™
ONGC delays FPSO charter extension
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
INDIA’S state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has delayed extending the charter contract for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that is set to expire on April 19.
Malaysian service provider Bumi Armada said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia this week that the Indian major had delayed the Armada Ster- ling FPSO contract extension owing to the coun- try’s ongoing lockdown. Bumi Armada owns a 49% less-one-share interest in Shapoorji Pallonji Bumi Armada Offshore Private Ltd (SPBAOPL) joint venture, which operates the vessel. India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Oil and Gas owns the remain- ing stake in the company.
“According to ONGC, approval for formalisa- tion of the contract extension has been delayed due to the [coronavirus] COVID-19 lockdown in India,” Bumi Armada said.
Bumi Armada said ONGC had recently noti- fied SPBAOPL of its intention to extend the char- ter hire from April 20.
ONGC signed a seven-year contract in August 2011 for the 50,000 barrel per day (bpd) Armada Sterling FPSO to operate in the D1 field around 200 km off the coast of Mumbai. The contract came with six one-year extension options.
The D1 oilfield, which is situated in 85-90 metres of water, includes the D1-4, D1-12, D1-14 and D1-2/5 blocks.
The Indian government implemented a 21-day nationwide lockdown on March 25 that was originally slated to be lifted on April 14. However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opted to extend it until May 3.
Th enhanced quarantine measures have already begun taking a toll on ONGC’s offshore operations, with the company’s workers being forced to work for weeks longer than expected.
ONGC’s 4,500 offshore employees are supposed to work in 14-day rotations, but some shifts are now set to last more than 50 days owing to the company’s inability to send replacements.
Indian newswire PTI quoted ONGC chairman and managing director Shashi Shanker on April 14 as saying the lockdown meant replacement crew members could not reach the company’s base in Mumbai, which it uses to send staff by helicopter to its off- shore facilities.
“Due to COVID-19 lockdown, many of these men and women working offshore have completed 28-35 days duty compared to usual 14-day shift duty and are contin- uing to perform a duty,” he was quoted as saying. “Due to dedicated efforts of offshore personnel, oil and gas production has been maintained from offshore, and drilling operations are also continuing.”™
Week 15 16•April•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7