Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 47 2020

NorthAmOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) NorthAmOil

NRG: Forward momentum

Various oil and gas plans around the world are moving forward despite

ongoing uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic and oversupply jitters

NRG WELCOME to the latest edition of NewsBase’s LNG-to-power projects in Vietnam.
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of All these separate moves appear to point to
international editors provide you with a snap- expectations of more oil and gas activity globally
shot of some of the key issues affecting their as the industry looks ahead to 2021.
regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s
Picks to your inbox every week for free. Just sign Africa: Nigeria – PIB and production costs
up here. Concerns about production costs and key legis-
Lingering uncertainty over the impact of the lation are in the headlines this week in Nigeria.
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on energy Last week, though, the speaker of the House
demand is not stopping various oil and gas ini- of Representatives, the lower house of the
tiatives from cautiously moving forward. Over National Assembly, hinted that the timeline for
the past week, Norway launched its 25th frontier finalising the long-awaited (and oft-delayed) PIB
licensing round, aimed at driving forward explora- might extend beyond the first quarter of 2021.
tion in relatively unexplored regions. According to Femi Gbajabiamila, the leader of
Meanwhile, buyers have emerged for stakes President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progres-
in various oil projects. Russian state oil company sives Congress (APC) faction, the lower house
Rosneft appears to have finally succeeded in will be able to pass the bill within six months.
attracting a foreign partner to its flagship Vostok Gbajabiamila also expressed some concerns
Oil project in the Arctic, agreeing to sell a 10% about the current version of the bill, saying:
stake in the venture to Trafigura. And in Iraq, “[The] PIB as it is does not allow Nigeria to com-
two state-owned Chinese firms are reported to pete favourably in the global market ... We need
have shown an interest in acquiring ExxonMo- to look at [the details of the bill].”
bil’s 34.7% stake in the supergiant West Qurna-1 Meanwhile, the head of National Petroleum
oilfield. Positive news has also come from else- Investment Management Services (NAPIMS),
where in the Middle East, with the Abu Dhabi a corporate service unit of Nigerian National
National Oil Company (ADNOC) announcing Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), had his own take
it has found 24bn barrels of oil across one uncon- on the measures needed to ensure the country’s
ventional and one conventional discovery. competitiveness. Speaking at a virtual indus-
Elsewhere, two separate memoranda of try conference last week, Group general man-
understanding (MoUs) have been signed for ager Bala Wunti called on NNPC to reduce its

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 26•November•2020