Page 5 - GLNG Week 24 2021

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG

The interest in participating in North Field partners, which had been hoping for a renewal
East comes despite relatively low returns from or extension of existing contracts. It seems,
the project, the news service noted. Sources however, that IOCs will still be able to partici-
from three of the companies involved in the pate in Qatar’s LNG industry.
process told Reuters that QP had offered inter-
national bidders returns of around 8-10% on Gallaf bids
their investment, down from around 15-20% Meanwhile, Qatar’s North Oil Co. (NOC) joint
returns for participants in Qatar’s early LNG venture between QP and TotalEnergies is set
facilities. to announce the winners of work on the third
The results of the bidding process are not phase of its billion-dollar Gallaf project to main-
expected to be announced before September, tain oil production from Qatar’s largest oilfield,
according to two of the sources. the offshore Al-Shaheen asset.
It is worth noting that reports emerged Speaking to Upstream this week, several
around a month ago that QP was also in talks sources said that letters of intent (LoIs) have
with state-owned Chinese companies including been signed with engineering, procurement
PetroChina and Sinopec over equity stakes in and construction (EPC) contractors from South
the NFE project. This comes as China remains Korea, Vietnam, Norway and Italy for work on It is worth noting
on course to become the world’s largest LNG wellhead platforms, a new processing platform
importer, but has seen trade relations worsen and subsea flowlines. that reports
with Australia – a major supplier of the super- One of the sources said that Gallaf phase emerged around
chilled fuel. Indeed, Sinopec and QP struck a three includes a 30,000-tonne processing
10-year supply deal in March, and reports of the platform, including a deck weighing around a month ago that
talks signal a growing co-operation between 20,000 tonnes and a jacket of some 10,000
China and Qatar on LNG. tonnes. QP was also in
However, with the IOCs also now bidding TotalEnergies entered the field in July 2017
to participate in NFE, it seems that Qatar has when QP had failed to reach a mutually accept- talks with state-
not fully turned away from Western majors able new agreement with the long-standing owned Chinese
yet either, despite saying recently that it would incumbent, Denmark’s Maersk Oil. The French
not renew contracts with its current partners firm instead took a 30% stake alongside QP in companies.
in the Qatargas 1 LNG plant. The 25-year con- NOC, and pledged investment of $3.5bn over
tract with partners including ExxonMobil and the first five years of the 25-year agreement to
TotalEnergies expires next year, and QP will maintain and potentially increase output from
become the project’s sole owner once it comes the complex field.
to an end. Renewed development work has been in
The decision was seen as another signal of progress since, and at 592,000 barrels per day
Qatar’s growing confidence in its abilities to (bpd) in 2019, the last year for which data is
develop and operate liquefaction capacity. It available, accounting for around half of Qatar’s
also came as a surprise to QP’s international oil production.™

Week 24 18•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5