Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 44 2020

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Africa: Forward momentum Asia: CNOOC’s gas pledge
In North Africa, Libya continues to report oil China’s state-run CNOOC Ltd has pledged to
production up following the signing of a cease- boost natural gas’ share of its overall production
fire agreement. According to Mustafa Sanalla, by 2035 after announcing weaker third-quarter
the head of National Oil Corp. (NOC), output results on the back of falling crude oil prices.
levels reached 800,000 barrels per day last week “The step towards 1mn barrels requires a
and could climb to 1.3mn bpd in early 2021. work leap, so there will be risks and obstacles,
Also in Libya, Germany’s Wintershall Dea because what is being done is not business as
has set up a new joint venture with NOC. It has usual,” Indonesian language media outlet Kom-
transferred its operatorship of two licence areas pas quoted him as saying during a November 2
in the Sirte Basin to the venture, which will be webinar.
known as Sarir Oil Operations (SOO). Winter- Soetjipto said the regulator would work with
shall signed exploration and production-sharing contractors to help improve their risk man-
agreements (EPSAs) for the blocks in December agement and compliance and said SKK Migas
2019 but has not been able to start development would serve as “a bridge” to help developers meet The COVID-19
operations yet. their organisational goals.
Offshore South Africa, France’s Total and its SKK Migas internal supervisor Taslim Yunus pandemic has
partners have discovered sizeable gas condensate said: “Developing the upstream oil and gas hit oil and gas
reserves at Luiperd, a field within Block 11B/12B industry with good governance and interna-
in the Outeniqua Basin. This marks the second tional standards is one of the keys to attracting contractors hard
hydrocarbon find at the block following Brul- investors to a sector that has high business risk.”
padda, which confirmed the existence of major The officials’ comments come, however, as
hydrocarbon reserves in the region. Indonesian oil and gas production continued to
On the legal front, Mozambique has wrapped slide in the third quarter on the back of depressed
up a review of the laws governing oil and gas energy prices, demand and investor interest.
infrastructure. The review led the government Oil and gas lifting edged down 0.4% year on
to issue a new decree to supplement the exist- year to 1.69mn barrels of oil equivalent per day
ing legislation in advance of the construction (boepd) in the three months to September 30,
and completion of new LNG plants and associ- SKK Migas data showed last week. Oil produc-
ated production, transportation and processing tion amounted to 706,000 bpd, which was down
infrastructure. from the 745,000 bpd recorded in the same
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Department of Petro- period of 2019.
leum Resources (DPR) confirmed last week that The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has
it had not yet wrapped up the marginal fields hit oil and gas contractors hard, as global quar-
licensing round. Paul Osu, the head of DPR’s antine measures have depressed energy demand.
public affairs department, informed the local SKK Migas said in October it was working with
press that the process of bidding for the 57 sites several contractors with licences due to expire
involved in the heavily subscribed auctions was in 2022 to help them meet their work commit-
ongoing. He was responding to reports that DPR ments despite the health crisis. SKK Migas’ act-
had already finished reviewing the bids received ing head of communications, Susana Kurniasih,
by September 15 and would reveal the results of said exploration and enhance oil recovery (EOR)
the contest soon. work had been delayed across 13 blocks.

If you’d like to read more about the key events If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
shaping Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
here for NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor. NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor.

Week 44 05•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9