Page 11 - EurOil Week 05 2021
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EurOil                                        INVESTMENT                                              EurOil


       KNOC eyes North Sea retreat





        SOUTH KOREA      SOUTH Korean state firm KNOC is consider-  to Premier. But that deal was axed in July, amid
                         ing a withdrawal from the North Sea in order  creditor pressure over Premier’s mounting debt
       KNOC has seen its debt   to clear some of its debts, Reuters reported last  pile. The company is due to complete a merger
       ratio explode in recent   week.                        with North Sea counterpart Chrysaor in the near
       years.              The company is looking to sell all or part of its  future.
                         North Sea division Dana Petroleum, which has   Premier said in November that it was nearing
                         stakes in a number of oil and gas fields in UK,  a final investment decision at GTA’s Tolmount
                         Dutch and Danish waters, Reuters said. Dana  East gas discovery, with “final negotiations”
                         kicked off a process in January to divest a 10%  underway with contractors.
                         stake in the Greater Tolmount Area (GTA) in the   KNOC acquired Aberdeen-based Dana
                         UK, and all of its operations in the Netherlands  in 2010 for $2.9bn including debt. It is one of
                         and Denmark. This sale is part of a “strategic  a number of major oil companies seeking to
                         review,” a document seen by the news agency  scale back their presence in the North Sea right
                         stated.                              now. Japan’s Marubeni is seeking a buyer for its
                           Oil and gas production from the assets is fore-  non-operated stake in the Montrose-Arbroath
                         cast to reach 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per  area, while ExxonMobil is in exclusive talks to
                         day (boepd) by 2025, according to the document.  offload its UK assets to private equity-backed
                         Dutch bank ING has been enlisted to handle the  Neo Energy. The pair aim to sign a sales deal in
                         sales process.                       the current quarter.
                           The main Tolmount field in the Premier   KNOC’s debt ratio has exploded in recent
                         Oil-operated GTA is on track for first gas in the  years, climbing from 453% in 2015 to 3,021%
                         second quarter of 2021 and will produce up to  in 2019 and then to an estimated 7,240% by July
                         50,000 boepd at peak. Premier and Dana each  2020. KNOC’s efforts to reduce its debt ratio to
                         own 50% shares in the project.       a previously stated target of 500% via restructur-
                           KNOC has been trying to offload Dana’s stake  ing have floundered in the face of the global eco-
                         in the project for several years. In early 2020 it  nomic downturn triggered by the coronavirus
                         agreed on the scaled-down sale of 25% in GTA  (COVID-19) pandemic.™


                                                   PERFORMANCE


       CNG use soars in Poland




        POLAND           COMPRESSED natural gas (CNG) has seen a  largest ever LNG sales contract.
                         surge in popularity as a vehicle fuel in Poland,   PGNiG also secured authorisation to pro-
       PGNiG saw a 31%   state-owned gas supplier PGNiG has said, point-  vide LNG bunkering services at three more
       increase in CNG sales   ing to its cost and environmental benefits com-  Polish ports last year, bringing the total to five. It
       at its filling stations in   pared to more conventional fuels.  refuelled its first ship in Szczecin in north-west
       2020.               PGNiG recorded a 31% increase in CNG sales  Poland in November.
                         at its filling stations in 2020, despite demand for   Poland’s sole LNG terminal currently imports
                         most vehicle fuels contracting greatly in the year  up to 5bn cubic metres per year of gas but its
                         as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) travel  capacity is due to be expanded to 8.3 bcm by
                         restrictions. Nearly every second bus sold in  2024. The country has plans for a second termi-
                         Poland during the year was CNG-powered, the  nal in Gdansk, and is constructing new pipelines
                         company said. Some 165 CNG-fuelled buses  to bring gas from Norway and Lithuania. This
                         arrived on the streets in 2020, bringing the total  will enable it to expand gas use, while simulta-
                         to almost 800.                       neously weaning itself off Russian supplies once
                           PGNiG is pushing to expand the role of nat-  PGNiG’s long-term contract with Gazprom
                         ural gas in the Polish economy, taking advantage  expires at the end of 2022. ™
                         of new gas import options set to become avail-
                         able in the coming years. The company is also
                         working to expand LNG use in industry and in
                         marine and heavy road transport.
                           In December, it opened an LNG regasifica-
                         tion unit that will provide fuel for a major electric
                         car battery plant near Wroclaw due to be erected
                         by South Korea’s LG Chem. It is contracted to
                         supply 19,000 tonnes of LNG via trucks to the
                         site over the next five years, hailing the deal as its



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