Page 6 - AfrOil Week 41

AfrOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) AfrOil

NRG: Countervailing forces

Oil prices and energy demand are under pressure on both sides
from storms and COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as climate concerns

COMMENTARY WELCOME to the latest edition of NewsBase’s however, climate concerns will continue to raise
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of questions about the future of fossil fuels.
international editors provide you with a snap- These concerns have been evident over the last
shot of some of the key issues affecting their week, despite indications that Saudi Arabia was
regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s looking to raise crude output. They could lead to
Picks to your inbox every week for free. Just sign the cancellation of Denmark’s latest offshore licens-
up here. ing round, and they have led US-based NextDec-
World crude oil prices went up last week, as ade to include a carbon neutrality goal in its plans
Hurricane Delta forced the temporary closure of for the Rio Grande LNG terminal.
offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mex-
ico. However, they began sinking again on Monday, Asia: Indonesia aims to lift production
partly because Gulf production was resuming and Indonesia’s upstream regulator SKK Migas has
partly because of the reported restart of Libya’s larg- said it is working with several contractors with
est oilfield. licences due to expire in 2022 to help them meet
Likewise, global energy demand has been their work commitments despite the coronavi-
buffeted by both bearish and bullish forces. On rus (COVID-19) pandemic.
the one hand, recent increases in the rate of coro- The acting head of SKK Migas’ programme
navirus (COVID-19) infections, along with new and communication division, Susana Kurni-
lockdowns in a number of countries, indicate asih, said the health crisis had delayed explo-
that oil and gas consumption is not likely to reach ration and enhance oil recovery (EOR) work
pre-pandemic levels in the immediate future. But across 13 blocks. “SKK Migas and contractors
on the other hand, renewed economic activity has are reviewing the new schedule, adjusted for the
pushed consumption up from the lows reported COVID-19 pandemic and oil prices,” Indone-
in the spring and does not appear to be headed for sian language media outlet Kontan quoted her
another plunge in the near term. In the long run, as saying on October 9.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 14•October•2020