Page 16 - DMEA Week 01

DMEA
NEWS IN BRIEF
DMEA
Equatorial Guinea to convert
methanol plant to modular
refinery
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea (MMH) is ordering the dismantling of the methanol plant owned by the Atlantic Methanol Production Company LLC (AMPCO) at the Punta Europa Gas Complex on Bioko Island, calling instead for a modular refinery.
“The Punta Europa complex is the crown jewel in Equatorial Guinea’s gas processing infrastructure and is central to our long-term plans for gas monetisation. However, due to a lack of investment in the Alba field and the methanol plant, a modular refinery would
be a more productive project for that space,” said Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons.
MMH has commissioned a feasibility study to convert the methanol plant at Punta Europa. The methanol plant is a component of the larger Punta Europa gas processing facility owned by Marathon Oil and its partners. Marathon Oil Company holds 45% shares in the methanol plant.
As part of the country’s new Gas Mega Hub project – which aims to provide additional gas supply to processing facilities both onshore and offshore – new investment in the Punta Europa complex is needed.
The plant is currently supplied by Marathon Oil’s Alba field, which has seen declining production. The first phase of the gas mega hub project is to implement a new gas supply agreement signed between the MMH and Noble Energy, operator of the Aseng and Alen fields in Block I/O. Gas will be supplied to the Punta Europa gas complex, which includes the Malabo power station, AMPCO methanol plant and the Equatorial Guinea LNG plant. The agreement, combined with new subsea pipelines linking the Aseng, Alen and Alba fields, will replace some of the gas production lost as the Alba field declines.
Even as the Alba field declines, however, Noble Energy, Kosmos Energy and Trident Energy have made major discoveries after an aggressive 2019 work programme.
“New investment is what is needed to continue to drive Equatorial Guinea forward. We are very pleased to be working with companies like Noble Energy, Kosmos Energy and Trident Energy, which remain committed to strong work programmes and new opportunities for growth,” the Minister said.
An expected direct investment of a minimum of $1.4bn – a firm $1.2bn and a contingent forecast of$273mn predicted for
2020 – is associated with the drilling of two wells and the continuous development of six existing wells in Equatorial Guinea in 2020.
January 7 2020
PETROCHEMICALS
Saudi plant to cut polymers production
The scheduled shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s 400,000 barrel per day PetroRabigh refinery at the end of February will restrict its production of downstream polymers, Argus reported on January 8.
The refinery on Saudi Arabia’s west
coast will undertake maintenance between February 24 and April 9. The polymer units will be affected for around the same period as the refinery shutdown.
Petrorabigh operates a 700,000 tonne per year polypropylene unit, a 600,000 tpy linear low-density polyethylene/high-density PE (HDPE) swing line, a 300,000 tpy HDPE unit and a 160,000 tpy low-density polyethylene unit.
PetroRabigh is a joint venture between state-owned Saudi Aramco and Japanese trading house Sumitomo.
January 8 2020
FUELS
Total,Sonangoltosellfuels in Angola
Angolan state oil and fuel company Sonangol and France’s Total have started marketing activities for oil products following the approval of the deal by the Regulatory Competition Authority (ARC), according to a Total statement.
This new stage follows approval, as required by the ARC, of the incorporation of Total Joint Marketing & Services Angola, SA, held in equal shares by the Sonangol and Total groups.
This development will initially result in the distribution of fuels and lubricants and their sale to companies and individuals, through a network of filling stations under the “Total” brand, the first of which was inaugurated in Luanda, in December 2018.
Sonangol offers the joint venture 45 existing filling stations, located in urban areas along the main roads in 10 coastal provinces and the centre of the country and the French
group contributes with the financial resources necessary to meet the objectives of the partners, who plan to double the number of filling stations within five years and develop the sale of lubricants.
Total has been present in Angola since 1953, where it employs approximately 1,500 workers in several business areas: exploration, production, gas, renewables, marketing and services, as well as trade and shipping.
December 26 2019
NNPC to expand stake in GTL plant
Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC said on December 27 it would raise its stake in a Chevron-operated gas-to-liquid refinery to 60% as part of the resolution of a cost dispute with the US oil major.
NNPC currently has a 20% share in the plant some 100 km southeast of Lagos.
Chevron has not commented on the transfer. The company is looking to shed some Nigerian assets anyway in order to focus more on US production.
The 33,000 barrel per day plant produces synthetic diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha from natural gas using technology from South Africa’s Sasol. It cost around $10bn to build, four times the original estimate, and its launch in mid-2014 was years late.
December 27 2019
Egyptianfuelpricesleft unchanged
Egyptian domestic fuel prices were left unchanged on January 12, at a second meeting under an IMF-backed pricing mechanism linking energy prices to international markets, the petroleum ministry said in a statement.
Prices were cut marginally in October after the government raised them steeply over the previous three years to cover the cost of fuel on international markets, according to Reuters.
The price of 95-octane fuel was kept at 8.75 Egyptian pounds ($0.5472) a litre, 92-octane fuel at 7.75 pounds a litre and 80-octane fuel at 6.50 pounds a litre. The price of fuel oil
for industrial use was held steady at 4,250 Egyptian pounds a tonne.
“This is in light of ... the rise in the price of Brent crude in international markets from October to December,” the oil ministry statement said.
January 2 2020
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Week 01 11•January•2020