Page 7 - GLNG Week 02 2021

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book value. It also puts Vostok Oil’s overall value the super-major said that as Prelude is a mul-
at $70bn, exceeding Rosneft’s entire market cap- ti-decade project, its focus in on sustained per-
italisation of $62bn. formance over the long term.
However, Shell has backed out of other FLNG
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping projects, as have other producers, likely deterred
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please by having witnessed the challenges at Prelude.
click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor .
Latin America: Bolivian opportunities
GLNG: Ups and downs in Australia UK-based Echo Energy has signed a co-opera-
LNG-related news from Australia has been tion agreement with Bolivia’s GTL International,
mixed in recent days. (See: Ups and downs for a subsidiary of UruboCorp.
LNG in Australia, page 9) Chevron said last The two companies have pledged to work
week that an inspection of Train 1 at its Gorgon together to promote, identify and develop new
LNG project in Western Australia had resulted opportunities in the South American country’s
in weld quality issues being identified. These are hydrocarbon and renewable energy sectors.
similar to the weld quality issues that kept Train They have also agreed to grant each other a six-
2 at Gorgon offline for months in 2020, and are month period of exclusivity.
likely to take at least several weeks to repair. So far, Echo has not said whether it is inter-
The discovery has raised expectations that ested in any specific projects in Bolivia. However,
Train 3 will also have similar issues that will need it has said it believes changing conditions in that
to be dealt with once Train 1 is returned to ser- country have served to open up a “window of
vice. Chevron has not said how long it expects to opportunity” for new investments. Additionally,
take to carry out repairs on Train 1. it has highlighted UruboCorp’s experience in the
The faulty welds affect propane heat exchang- local energy sector, saying it hoped to benefit
ers – also known as kettles – that are used in the from its association with the Bolivian company.
liquefaction process. The Australian Financial Changing conditions may also be a factor in
Review reported that all of the kettles across EIG Energy Partners’ decision to sell a 27.5%
Gorgon’s three trains were manufactured by the stake in TBG, the operator of the Brazilian sec-
same company in South Korea. tion of GASBOL, a pipeline built to pump Boliv-
The prolonged outage at Train 1 comes as ian natural gas to the Brazilian market, for an
LNG spot prices in Northeast Asia have risen on unspecified sum. GASBOL has been operating
seasonal winter demand and some supply short- below capacity for some time, as Brazil has been
ages. But the impact of the outages at Gorgon is importing less Bolivian fuel.
somewhat limited by Chevron only taking one The sale is not indicative of any loss of interest
train at a time offline for maintenance. in the Brazilian gas sector on EIG’s part, how-
Royal Dutch Shell, meanwhile, had more ever. The US-based investment fund said in a
positive news to report as it returned its giant press release announcing the sale that it wanted
Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) project to service. to expand its involvement in Brazilian gas pro-
The facility – the largest floating structure ever jects and hoped to work with Fluxys to achieve
built – had been offline for around a year owing this goal.
to a technical disruption to its diesel genera-
tors, which illustrates the complexity of FLNG If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
technology. the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click
Analysts have said that the remote location here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor .
of the Prelude facility, 475 km off Australia’s west
coast, as well as restrictions related to the corona- MEOG: Saudi takes charge as Iran contin-
virus (COVID-19) pandemic have complicated ues output push
Shell’s efforts to restart operations. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia has signalled to the oil market that

Week 02 15•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7