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to boost the company’s overall capacity to more than 34mn tpy when it comes online. Construc- tion of the unit, which was handled by JGC and SHI, began in 2015.
The company’s first FLNG vessel, the 1.2mn tpy PFLNG Satu, is installed at the Kebabangan gas field in 70-200 metres of water. It also lies off- shore Kota Kinabalu.
The state major has also said it is open to building a third such vessel if it is commercially viable. In a separate interview with Bernama, Petronas CEO Adnan Zainal Abidin said the company could sign off on an additional unit as
long as the size and gas composition of the target reservoir justified it.
“The FLNG vessel can also be built near shore [to develop an onshore reservoir] especially in politically sensitive countries. In case there is a need to move out, you can have the plant moved away,” he told the newswire. He added that the company’s experience in developing the first two facilities meant that a third FLNG unit would be cheaper.
“Whenever we find gas, we have the option to monetise it. So this gives us a new play to remain relevant in the LNG market,” he said.
EAST ASIA
ESPO boosts capacity by 10%
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT
THE Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, Russia’s main channel for oil exports to Asia, has had its capacity enlarged by 10% fol- lowing the commissioning of three new pump- ing stations.
ESPO-1, the pipeline’s first section that runs between Taishet in the Irkutsk region to Skovo- rodino, near the Chinese border, is now capable of flowing 80mn tonnes (1.6mn barrels per day) of Eastern Siberian crude. Its previous capacity was 1.45mn bpd. The expansion should enable Russia to diversify its oil exports further and spur development of its Eastern Siberian reserves.
“It’s a question of Russia’s energy security,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at a launch ceremony for the new pumping stations on November 27. “This infrastructure allows us to diversify deliveries of Russian energy resources to new markets of the Asia-Pacific region. Experts forecast the region to develop at a greater pace than other regions, so it’s important for us to develop infrastructure in this direction.”
ESPO-1 connects at Skovorodino with ESPO-2, which can carry up to 1mn bpd of oil to the Pacific Ocean port of Kozmino. A 600,000-bpd spur also runs from Skovorodino to Mohe in China.
Novak insisted the expansion would have no impact on Russia’s commitments under the OPEC+ agreement on output cuts.
“Regarding our relationship with OPEC and non-OPEC, we analyse overall production and not export directions,” he explained. “Devel- opment of east and west infrastructure is in accordance with our oil industry development programme. In Western Siberia output has been declining for the past several years, while new regions are being developed such as east and north Siberia, where production is on the rise. So overall, the balance is maintained.”
The largest buyer of ESPO crude is China, with the grade particularly popular among that coun- try’s independent refiners. ESPO’s main suppliers are Russia’s state-owned Rosneft and private pro- ducers Irkutsk Oil and Surgutneftegaz.
Week 48 04•December•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7
