Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 44 2020

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MEOG: Pipeline headlines the rise in the US ahead of this week’s presi-
In the Middle East this week, headlines were dential election, with activity rebounding from
grabbed by two pipeline explosions – one lows seen earlier this year during the worst of
an attack, the other apparently an accident the industry downturn. (See: Uncertainty for
– and border talks between quarrelling oil and gas as US awaits election result, page 9)
neighbours. Data published by consultancy Rystad Energy
The Kurdistan Regional Government this week showed that North American fracking
(KRG) in Erbil stated over the weekend that it likely peaked in October at around 780 started
had halted oil exports following an attack on a jobs. This is backed up by the Baker Hughes rig The uptick in
pipeline carrying crude to the Turkish border count, which shows both oil rig and horizontal
and onwards to the port of Ceyhan. The PKK rig counts gradually rising since mid-August. activity has also
group claimed responsibility for the attack on Rystad noted that an election win by Dem- been helped
the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has a theo- ocratic candidate Joe Biden may ultimately
retical throughput capacity of 1.6mn barrels per lead to a ban on fracking on federal land. While by oil prices
day, but had been operating at around 500,000- such land only accounts for a small proportion
600,000 bpd. Meanwhile, international firms of fracking activity, and any policy changes stabilising in the
developing assets in the Kurdistan region pro- are unlikely to be immediate, the consultancy
vided updates on their projects in the semi-au- nonetheless expects more stringent action in third quarter of
tonomous region. response to climate change concerns from a 2020.
In southern Iraq, a gas pipeline exploded Biden administration.
near the city of Samawa, killing three and injur- The uptick in activity has also been helped by
ing more than 50. There have been no reports of oil prices stabilising in the third quarter of 2020,
foul play and the local authorities assured that but Rystad noted that many operators had also
supplies would not be interrupted. fast-tracked permitting processes on federal
To the West, the second round of United acreage in the Permian and Denver-Julesburg
Nations-observed talks between Israel and Leb- (DJ) basins this year.
anon ended in tension, with the latter demand- Biden, for his part, has sought to point
ing that a much larger area be considered as part out that he would not ban fracking outright
of the talks. The talks were originally meant to – except potentially on federal land. The US
cover an 854 square km triangle of disputed has established itself as a leading producer and
territory, but Lebanese negotiators said that an major exporter of energy, and media reported
additional 1,460 square km area further south, this week that there was a broad consensus
that had previously been undisputed, must be among analysts that a Biden win would not
included in negotiations. This area includes Isra- change this.
el’s Karish gas field and Block 72, for which a bid Meanwhile, the earnings season is underway,
round was launched in June. and a series of net losses are being announced,
illustrating the challenging market oil and gas
If you’d like to read more about the key events companies are currently navigating. (See: Chev-
shaping the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then ron, ExxonMobil report third-quarter losses, page
please click here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor . 12) Among the companies declaring net losses
in recent days are super-majors ExxonMobil and
NorthAmOil: Drilling, fracking picks up Chevron, as well as independents ConocoPhil-
Drilling and hydraulic fracturing has been on lips and Diamondback Energy.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 06•November•2020