Page 11 - AsianOil Week 37 2022

AsianOil SOUTH ASIA AsianOil

Putin still hopeful on Russian-backed

pipeline in Pakistan

PIPELINES & RUSSIA could still deliver pipeline gas supplies around a quarter of financing set to come from
TRANSPORT to Pakistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin Moscow. But unprecedented sanctions against
said on September 15, according to the Russian Russia that have been imposed in response to its
The pipeline would state-owned RIA news agency. invasion of Ukraine have raised fresh concerns
carry regasified LNG to The president was referring to a 2015 agree- that the project can come into fruition.
north Pakistan. ment the two sides reached in 2015 to build a Putin met with Pakistani Prime Minister
1,110-km pipeline that would bring regasified Shehbaz Sharif on September 15 at the Shang-
LNG from the south to the north of Pakistan. hai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in
Running between Karachi on the Arabian Sea Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
coast to power plants in the north-eastern “The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s
province of Punjab, the pipeline would have commitment to work closely with Russia to
a capacity of 12.4bn cubic metres per year, further expand and strengthen co-operation
potentially increasing to 16 bcm at a later stage. between the two countries across all areas of
The North-South pipeline project was due mutual benefit, including food security, trade
to be kicked off in 2020, but after Russia had & investment, energy, defence and security,” a
to replace the entity participating in it because statement from Sharif’s office said.
it was targeted by Western sanctions. As it The two sides agreed to hold another meet-
currently stands, the project is anticipated to ing of the Inter-Governmental Commission in
involve Russia’s Eurasian Pipeline Consor- Islamabad at an early date.
tium, steel pipe-maker TMK, and the Opera- The North-South pipeline would be able to
tional Services Centre run by Russia’s energy channel imported Russian LNG from the coun-
ministry. try’s Yamal LNG and Sakhalin LNG projects,
Capital investment requirements are set to which have lost some of their European custom-
be somewhere between $1.5bn, according to ers in recent months as a result of fallout from
Russia, and $3.5bn, according to Pakistan, with the war.™

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Indonesia's Medco eyes involvement

in Abadi LNG

PIPELINES & INDONESIA’S Medco Energi has expressed an “The president has ordered me and the state-
TRANSPORT interest in joining a government consortium that owned enterprises minister to prioritise the
is considering the acquisition of Shell’s 35% stake Masela gas project,” he told lawmakers.
Shell is understood to in the Abadi LNG project off the country’s coast, Inpex is targeting a final investment decision
have been searching for local media have reported. (FID) on the project in the latter half of this dec-
a buyer for some time. “If it’s economically viable, then yes, we are ade. There is still some uncertainty about where
definitely interested. But not as an operator, only the 9.5mn tonne per year (tpy) Abadi LNG plant
a minority shareholder, for the learning process,” would be located, but Bahlil said the president
Medco Energi president director Hilmi Panigoro believed that the town of Saumlaki in the Tanim-
told Kontan.co.id. bar Islands was the right site, as basic infrastruc-
Shell was reported to be considering its exit ture is already available there.
from the Masela block containing the large Pertamina CEO Nicke Widyawati revealed
Abadi gas field in the summer of 2020. The field his company’s interest in the project earlier this
is operated by Japan’s Inpex, which has a 65% month, noting that it might soon start due dili-
interest. gence. But he cautioned that an investment deci-
Indonesia’s investment minister, Bahlil sion would depend on whether the development
Lahadalia, confirmed to Parliament earlier this is deemed commercially feasible.
month that Shell wanted to divest from the In August, it was reported that Japan
$20bn project, noting that a consortium of state- had offered to give Indonesia a loan to pur-
owned Pertamina, the Indonesia Investment chase Shell’s interest, following bilateral talks
Authority (INA) sovereign wealth fund and between the two countries’ governments in late
other companies could take its share. July. ™

Week 37 19•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11