Page 10 - DMEA Week 39 2022

DMEA REFINING & FUELS DMEA

It is slated to serve the domestic market, turning construction contract worth $6.4bn for the pro-
out gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG, residual fuel ject in 2014. That contract called for the plant
oil and asphalt that comply with European emis- to be completed by 2018, but the Iraqi govern-
sions standards. When it reaches full capacity, ment’s uncertain finances caused the project
its production will allow Iraq to cut petroleum to proceed more slowly than anticipated. The
product imports by approximately 60%. original deadline then slipped further behind
Officials in Baghdad began floating plans as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
for the refinery some time ago and awarded a demic and the decline in oil prices that it trig-
consortium led by Hyundai (South Korea) a gered. ™

QatarEnergy names TotalEnergies

as first foreign partner for NFS

MIDDLE EAST QATARENERGY has named TotalEnergies
(France) as its first foreign partner in the North
Field South (NFS) expansion project, which
aims to lift Qatar’s LNG exports by 16mn tonnes
per year (tpy) by increasing output at the off-
shore North field.
The two companies formalised the deal on
September 24 with the signing of an agreement
that gives the French major a 9.375% working
interest in NFS, according to a statement from
Total Energies. This leaves 15.625% of total
equity available for assignment to other foreign
partners, since QatarEnergy intends to retain
75% of the project, the statement said.
The Qatari company has not named any
other prospective partners. It said in a separate
statement on September 24 that it would make
an announcement on its next selections for the
NFS project “in due course.”
NFS is the second phase of an ongoing effort
to boost output at North, the Qatari section of
a massive offshore gas field in the Persian Gulf.
(The Iranian section, which lies on the other
side of the maritime boundary between the
two countries, is known as South Pars.) It will NFE and NFS will lift the North field’s LNG output to 126mn tpy (Image: TotalEnergies)
involve the installation of five new production
platforms, the drilling of 50 new wells and TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Shell will run
the laying of new pipelines to link the field to until 2054, while those with ConocoPhillips and
onshore facilities. The pipelines will bring gas to Eni will expire in 2049.
two new LNG trains with a production capacity While QatarEnergy has not provided any
of 8mn tpy each. indication about its preferred partners for NFS,
TotalEnergies also has a 6.25% stake in the each of the remaining four NFE participants are
first phase of the expansion programme, which believed to be in the running.
is known as North Field East (NFE). (The other The French giant’s holdings in NFE and NFS
foreign partners are ConocoPhillips of the US, will entitle it to an additional 3.5mn tpy of LNG
Eni of Italy, ExxonMobil of the US and Shell of production by 2028. These volumes will help the
the UK.) Together, the NFS and NFE schemes company achieve its aim of bringing the share of
aim to boost gas production at North so as to gas in its total sales volumes up to 50% by 2030,
bring Qatar’s LNG production capacity up to TotalEnergies said in its statement.
126mn tpy, a rise of 48mn tpy or 61.5% on cur- TotalEnergies has also stressed that it intends
rent levels of 78mn tpy. to minimise the emissions intensity of the pro-
As with NFS, TotalEnergies was named as ject. This will be achieved via the capture and
the first IOC partner for NFE, while deals were sequestration of native carbon dioxide from gas
also signed for that project with Shell, Exxon- production and via the use of renewable energy
Mobil, ConocoPhillips and Eni. The JVs with sources to power the LNG plant, it said.

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 29•September•2022