Page 10 - EurOil Week 48 2021

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Serbia agrees gas price with

Russia for next six months

SERBIA SERBIA will continue to buy Russian gas at She called the deal a “great gesture of friendship
a price of $270 per 1,000 cubic metres for the and partnership” from Russia.
Serbia has a close next six months, President Aleksandar Vucic Speaking on Pink Television, Brnabic said
political relationship announced after a meeting with Russian Presi- that the price of $270 per 1,000 cubic metres is
with Russia. dent Vladimir Putin on November 25. approximately four times lower than the price
Serbia imports almost all of the natural gas paid by some other countries.
it consumes from Gazprom, but its current deal “This is in line with our policy and vision
with the Russian gas company was due to expire that Serbia is moving towards the European
at the end of the year. The price agreed for the Union, but is also strengthening and develop-
coming six months remains at the level under the ing ties with Russia, the United States, China,
current contract, even though prices have soared Turkey and other countries,” the Prime Min-
recently. ister said.
Putin and Vucic also discussed a long-term The six-month period will take Vucic’s rul-
gas supply agreement, but terms have not been ing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) past the
finalised yet. parliamentary and presidential elections due to
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Novem- take place in April. At the meeting Putin wished
ber 26 that agreement represents “great security” Vucic success in the elections. He also reiterated
for Serbian citizens, who “will not have to think Moscow’s support for Serbia on the Kosovo
about developments in the world energy sector”. issue™

INVESTMENT

Neptune owners reportedly mull sale

UK THE owners of leading North Sea player Nep- an earnings call earlier this month.
tune Energy are considering a sale of the busi- Neptune works off the coast of the UK, Nor-
Neptune also reported ness, sources told Bloomberg on November 14, way and the Netherlands, and also has interests
progress at the Seagull with the hope of raising as much as $5bn. in Germany, Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia.
project. Sources said that advisors to the company’s According to its website, it flows an average of
private equity backers, Carlyle Group and CVC just over 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day
Capital Partners, had requested takeover bids (boepd). A merger with Harbour would have
from interested parties next month. Delibera- established the North Sea’s largest independent
tions continue and Neptune’s owners could still operator with a market capitalisation as large as
decide against a divestment. They could instead $10bn.
decide to list the company.
The news comes after Neptune was reported Progress at Seagull
by Bloomberg in September to be evaluating a Neptune also reported progress on November
potential merger with rival Harbour. Rothschild, 25 at the Seagull project in the UK North Sea. Its
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase have been contractor TechnipFMC has finished installing
hired to help it choose options. a 250-te manifold, a pull-in and a 17-km con-
Neptune was established in 2015 by former trol umbilical to connect the manifold with BP’s
Centrica CEO Sam Laidlaw, with funding sup- ETAP platform. It also installed a wye structure
port coming from Carlyle and CVC. While a and carried out associated operations.
listing is understood to be under consideration, Seagull is slated to come online in late 2021
IPOs have been relatively rare in the energy sec- and produce 50,000 boepd at its plateau rate.
tor. Increases in valuations have lagged behind TechnipFMC started work on its subsea infra-
growth in oil and gas prices, in part because of structure in September last year, and develop-
uncertainty about future oil and gas demand ment drilling kicked off in January this year.
during the energy transition. The high-pressure, high-temperature Seagull
“We are going to need to see that those multi- field is operated by Neptune with a 35% interest,
ples improve, and that will probably take several while BP controls 50% and Japan’s JAPEX has
quarters of cash flows, improved dividends and 15%. The group signed off on development in
improved investor confidence,” Laidlaw said in March 2019. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 01•December•2021