Page 18 - Euroil Week 21 2020

EurOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
EurOil
Companies sign up to UK
Humber decarbonisation
project
Phillips 66 of the US, Germany’s Uniper
and Vitol-owned VPI have entered into a memorandum of understanding to co-develop Humber Zero, a large-scale decarbonisation project in the UK.
Initially, Humber Zero will decarbonize 8mn tonnes per year of CO2 emissions, with the potential to target 30mn tpy of CO2 emissions from the wider Humber Cluster to the west of Immingham. This
is in line with the U.K. government’s 2050 NetZero objectives and will position the Humber at the forefront of the UK’s zero- carbon economy.
Humber Zero has already secured support from Innovate U.K. and intends
to be operational by the mid-2020s.
It is the most effective means of rapidly reducing the region’s industrial emissions, through the decarbonisation of Phillips
66’s Humber refinery and the power plant, VPI Immingham, which serves it. Post combustion capture on two of the three existing generators at VPI Immingham and selected processing units at the Humber refinery, will be combined with the development of a hydrogen hub producing green and blue hydrogen* to serve the third generator and local industry.
Turnaround at Germany’s
Heide refinery delayed until
late summer
German refiner Klesch will postpone scheduled turnaround work at its refinery near Hamburg until late summer because of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a spokesperson has said.
The 90,000 barrel per day Raffinerie Heide refinery was due to undergo maintenance in June, but the work “will now take place in the late summer of 2020,” the representative said.
Klesch said at the end of April it had optimised production at the refinery
in response to lower demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak. “We are able to reoptimise our operations in order to divert products and feedstocks away from low-demand products and channel them towards the production of other, less impacted products,” the spokesperson
said. The plant has also diverted gasoline- blending ethanol to sell it as a standalone product on the back of increased demand for cleaning and hygiene products.
The Heide refinery is a key jet fuel supplier to the nearby Hamburg airport.
Serbia’s oil firm NIS to cut 2019 dividend by 32.1%
Serbian oil company NIS, under the majority control of Russia’s Gazprom Neft, intends to cut its full-year dividend by 32.1% to RSD27.14 ($0.2539) per share, it said in a statement.
NIS, one of the biggest contributors to Serbia’s budget, managed a profit of RSD17.7bn for 2019, but its profits were 30% lower following an overhaul of its main refinery in Pancevo.
For the first quarter of 2020, it reported a loss of RSD1.1bn dinars as it faces
the challenge of weakened oil markets
and a collapse in fuel demand following lockdown travel restrictions to contain the novel coronavirus.
Some companies have axed dividends
to preserve cash, but there is an industry- wide reluctance to deter investors, who were already worried about financial exposure to fossil fuel for climate reasons before the coronavirus emerged as a threat.
NIS operates two refineries, plus oilfields in Serbia, Bosnia, Romania and Angola.
Construction of Slovak- Polish gas link suspended
After two years of construction work on a Slovak-Polish gas pipeline link, the work has been stopped as a result of one of the three construction companies leaving
the site, according to the investor, Slovak semi-state company Eustream the Slovak News Agency (SNA) reported on May 22.
The construction of the 100-kilometre pipeline started in 2018 and was planned to be completed in 2021. The gas pipeline is supposed to connect Polish gas hub Strachocin in Podkarpatske Vojvodstvo with Slovak compressor facility Velke Kapusany.
According to Slovak television Markiza, the new management of the construction company laid off its workers due to Eustream’s failure to pay €2mn for work performed.
However, Eustream spokesman Pavol Kubik claimed Eustream has paid all the
constructor’s invoices as contracted, and said the company will complete the link as planned.
“For all work performed, we paid the supplier invoices in full and on time, even well before the due date,” said Kubik, adding that Eustream expects that his issue will be resolved as soon as possible and the contractor will observe the contract.
Archer secures North Sea contract with TAQA
Oil services provider Archer has secured a formal contract award for the provision of a modular drilling unit and associated services from TAQA.
Last December Archer signed a letter of intent with an unnamed operator for the provision of drilling services using the modular drilling rig Archer Topaz.
The LOI was for a firm contract period of two years and three months, with options for an additional seven months of work following the initial contract period.
In an update on May 22, Archer said that the rig had been contracted by
TAQA to perform a twenty-one well plug and abandonment campaign for the oil company’s Northern North Sea Cormorant Alpha platform.
The integrated P&A service delivery
will include services provided by Archer’s Engineering, Rentals, Oiltools and Wireline divisions.
It will also require Archer to manage and deliver cementing, swarf and re-injection services from third-party providers.
The Archer Topaz is estimated to mobilise to Cormorant Alpha in the second half of 2021 following the removal of the existing Cormorant Alpha integral derrick equipment set, and reactivation activities on the platform by Archer’s Engineering division.
“We are delighted with the award of this contract which secures the rig work until late 2023”, said Dag Skindlo, Archer’s CEO.
OMV cleared for North Sea drilling
Austria’s OMV has been given the greenlight from Norwegian authorities to drill an appraisal well in the Norwegian Sea.
It received offshore safety approval for the use of a rig, the Island Innovator, from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), and a permit to drill well 6506/11-12 S from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA).
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Week 21 28•May•2020