Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 05 2021

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Europe: Equinor raises Sverdrup bar once despite disruptions stemming from the corona-
more virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Output at Norway’s flagship Johan Sverdrup oil Alexandre Trevia Leite, the global head of
project is poised to reach 535,000 barrels per day international trade at Petrobras, said that his
by mid-year, according to operator Equinor, or company had been able to weather the drop in
around 100,000 bpd more than it was initially demand from China, which is typically a major
projected to flow at peak rate. purchaser of Brazilian grades. “In 2020 alone,
we managed to sell and create 14 new custom-
FSU: Novatek goes down hydrogen path ers specifically for [production from] Búzios,”
While hydrogen energy is still in its infancy, he said.
the EU and many of its members have pub-
lished strategies for developing the fuel as a MEOG: Sales and supplies
means of decarbonising certain industries. Over the past week in the Middle East head-
Russia, Europe’s biggest oil and gas supplier, has lines have focused on share and asset sales as
looked at these developments, and the rising of well as agreements for the supply of oil and
renewables across the continent, mostly with gas.
trepidation. The most prominent of these was a statement
by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed
GLNG: Repairs in Australia, proposal aban- bin Salman (MbS) that further sales of shares
doned in US in national oil company (NOC) Saudi Aramco
LNG-related setbacks have been reported in would be forthcoming in future years in order
both the US and Australia in recent days. In the to bolster the Public Investment Fund (PIF),
US, NextDecade announced that following an which is spearheading the Kingdom’s economic
evaluation of its proposed Galveston Bay LNG overhaul.
site in Texas, it had determined that the location
was not suitable for development of an LNG ter- NorthAmOil: News of abandoned
minal. As a result, the company is withdrawing megamerger emerges amid earnings season
its proposal to build the project. Oil and gas giants ExxonMobil and Chevron
In Australia, meanwhile, Chevron said its held preliminary talks to discuss a potential
Wheatstone LNG plant was operating below merger last year, it has emerged. The talks have
capacity while repairs are carried out on an inlet since been abandoned, according to two separate
separator. reports by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters,
but they are seen as illustrative of the challenges
Latin America: Successes and setbacks even the largest oil companies were facing fol-
This week’s LatAmOil looks at several South lowing the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19)
American oil producers – including Colombia pandemic.
and Brazil, both of which succeeded in attracting According to one of the sources cited by
new customers last year. Reuters, the talks were serious enough for
Representatives of Colombia’s national oil legal documents involving certain aspects
company (NOC) Ecopetrol and its Brazilian of the merger discussions to be drafted. The
counterpart Petrobras said last week at a con- Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, cited sources
ference hosted by Argus Media that they had as acknowledging the possibility of the talks
managed to raise crude export volumes in 2020, being revived in the future.™

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