Page 15 - FSUOGM Week 32

FSUOGM PIPELINE & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Russia, Argentina moving ahead

with joint pipe production plan

RUSSIA RUSSIA and Argentina are moving forward with in November 2019 and have named Italy’s Riz-
plans for joint production of steel pipes for oil zani de Eccher as their engineering, procure-
The plant will be built and gas projects, according to an Argentinian ment and construction (EPC) contractor.
in Siberia's Surgut area. diplomat. According to previous reports, Severstal and
Ricardo Lagorio, Argentina’s ambassador Tenaris revealed plans to team up for a pipe pro-
to Moscow, told Sputnik earlier this week that duction scheme in February 2019. The parties
Tenaris, an international company that was have set up a joint venture for this purpose, with
founded in Argentina, and Russia’s Severstal the Russian company taking a 51% stake and its
were working together to build a new welded partner retaining the other 49%. They will invest
pipe plant in Western Siberia. The facility is $240mn in the project.
slated to begin production next year, he said. Paolo Rocca, the chairman and CEO of
“Tenaris and Severstal will build a welded Tenaris, said last year that co-operation with
pipe plant to produce Oil Country Tubular Russia would benefit his company. “We are
Goods pipe products in Siberia’s Surgut area … very pleased to form this partnership today
The plant will launch production in 2021, but with Severstal,” he commented. “By combining
will reach full capacity in 2024,” Lagorio said in our respective strengths and our commitment
an interview. to industrial excellence, we believe that we can
He did not give a specific date or reveal the support the Russian and CIS oil and gas industry
facility’s initial production capacity. Tenaris had with a world-class and very competitive alterna-
said last year that the plant would take two years tive for high quality OCTG products and ser-
to build and would eventually be able to turn out vices. As in all our operations around the world,
300,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of pipes, enough we seek to deliver solutions that help to make
to cover 15-20% of total demand in Russia. The customer operations more efficient and cost-ef-
companies began levelling the site of the facility fective.” ™

Ukrainian gas storage levels

rapidly increase in August

UKRAINE THE utilisation of gas storage facilities in The opening of the full-scale virtual reversal
Ukraine has increased rapidly in the first days of of gas from Slovakia has allowed traders to
European gas storage August, Kommersant reports. fill Ukrainian storages with Russian gas that
utilisation currently On 5 August, 114mmcm of gas was added to is being transmitted through Ukrainian ter-
stands at 87%. the storage, with the total amount of gas stored ritory without having to send gas physically
there reaching 22.7bcm (capacity is 31bcm). The from Slovakia and incur additional transport
Ukrainian infrastructure operator forecasts that costs of $20-30/kcm.
26.5bcm of gas will be in storage by October -- “We think that the utilisation of gas storage
the highest level since 2008. facilities in Ukraine and elsewhere might sup-
Europe is suffering from a gas glut partly port European demand for Gazprom’s gas in
caused by Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Russia’s Gaz- 3Q20. At the same time, we note that filling up
prom building up large stores of gas last winter in storage facilities further might delay the normal-
anticipation of the end of the Ukrainian gas tran- isation of the European gas market, which would
sit deal that would have resulted in shortages in continue to keep gas prices at relatively low lev-
winter. Consequently both companies pumped els,” VTBC said.
a lot of gas into storage to deal with emergancies, “Separately, we note that the European TTF
but a new deal was signed at the last minute. An spot price has added 37% MTD and currently
extremely mild winter has made the over supply stands at $87/kcm. The sharp acceleration in fill-
problem worse. ing gas storages in Ukraine could be one of the
Today there are very high levels of gas reasons for this short-term hike, together with
storage elsewhere in Europe (at 87%), while the overall increase in gas demand as a result of
Ukrainian facilities are very cheap to use the anticipated warmer weather in August in the
($10/kcm for the pump in and out cycle). region,” VTBC added. ™

Week 32 12•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15