Page 19 - FSUOGM Week 02 2023

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Russia’s Lukoil sells its Italian ISAB

refinery

RUSSIA LEADING Russian privately owned oil major from US company ExxonMobil.
Lukoil has sold its Italian refinery to a group of The ISAB plant in Italy directly employs
A Trafigura-backed firms led by Cypriot private equity firm G.O.I. around 1,000 people and is located in an eco-
company has bought Energy and backed by Swiss-based trading nomically depressed region in southern Italy.
the asset. house, Trafigura, it was reported on January 10. The deal is set to close in March and is worth an
This marks the company's first significant estimated €1.5bn, Euractiv reports. However, the
asset sale since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last deal is subject to approval from the Italian gov-
year and the imposition of sanctions by Western ernment under its "golden power" regulations,
countries. which reserve the right to block or impose con-
In the past, Lukoil had been an active buyer ditions on deals involving strategically impor-
of Western assets, but these overseas holdings tant companies. The government has stated that
became problematic following the imposition of it will demand commitments to converting the
sanctions. However, the sale of the ISAB plant plant to green energy and industrial revitaliza-
in Sicily, which refines 320,000 barrels per day tion, as well as guarantees on jobs.
(bpd) of crude oil and accounts for a fifth of Ita- Trafigura will not be taking a stake in the
ly's refining capacity, represents a partial success plant, but will be providing some financing and
in a climate of asset confiscations by both Russia handling crude oil supplies and refined product
and the West. output. This marks an expansion for the trading
In contrast Germany has confiscated state- house into the refining sector and follows a sim-
owned oil major Rosneft’s stake in the German ilar deal with Prax in 2021 for a refinery in the
refinery Schwedt and state-owned gas behe- UK. Trafigura already holds a 3% stake in Italian
moth Gazprom’s German subsidiary, Gazprom refiner, Saras, an indirect stake in India's Nayara
Germania’s assets. For its part Russia has forcibly refinery, and runs two small refineries via sub-
taken over of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas complex sidiary Puma Energy. ™

Azerbaijan plans to start production of

deep-lying gas at the ACG block in the

Caspian in 2024

AZERBAIJAN GAS production within the framework of the experience of our activities in oil fields suggests
"deep-gas" project at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli that the reserves far exceed initial estimates as
Aliyev said 2.6 trillion (ACG) block of fields will begin in 2024, said drilling progresses, as new technologies are
cubic metres is the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an inter- applied, and the gas industry of Azerbaijan will
minimum potential. view with local media on 10 January. supply its resources to international markets for
"We expect additional production [of gas] at least 100 years, i.e. as technology develops,
from the Shah Deniz field and from other fields. there will be more opportunities to produce
For example, this year, if everything goes accord- more. 2.6 trillion cubic metres is the minimum
ing to plan, production from the Absheron field proven level of our potential," Aliyev said.
should begin. And next year, again, if there are Earlier it was reported that the deep-gas reserves
no force majeure obstacles, we expect gas pro- at ACG are currently projected at 300 bcm.
duction from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block The contract for the development of the
of fields, the so-called deep gas". We plan to start Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli fields
production in 2024," Aliyev said was signed on September 20, 1994, and entered
He added that Azerbaijan has a great poten- into force on December 12 of the same year. This
tial for hydrocarbons. "The proven resources of agreement expires in 2024. However, on Septem-
Azerbaijan are known, I have voiced them many ber 14, 2017, a new contract for the development
times – 2.6 trillion cubic meters (of gas). But I of the ACG block, calculated until 2050, was
am sure that it will be much more because the signed in Baku. ™

Week 02 11•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P19