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Nigeria has had much more success in develop- their expertise, the partners hope to finally take
ing small-scale modular refineries, which avoid the Brassay project forward after years of delay.
many of the political and logistical pitfalls that Over in Ireland, Providence Resources hopes
large-scale plants face. finally to attract a farm-in partner at the Barry-
roe field, Ireland’s largest offshore oil discovery.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping It continues to hold talks with SpotOn Energy,
the downstream sector of Africa and the Middle East, which is leading a consortium that also com-
then please click here for NewsBase’s DMEA Monitor. prises a number of major oilfield services firms.
These firms will gain equity stakes in the project
European deal-making in lieu of payment for their services, helping to
There has been a flurry of new deals announced keep development costs down.
in Europe over the past week. Providence has struggled to find a farm-in
France’s Total has closed the sale of a group partner for the field, with two deals collapsing US LNG exports
of UK North Sea assets to Neo Energy, backed in 2015 and 2018. Ireland’s investment climate are being
by Norwegian private equity HitecVision. The is hardly conducive to its efforts, with the new
transaction was completed on schedule, despite coalition government looking to ban the issue forecast to rise
Oman’s Petrogas dropping out as a joint buyer of new oil and gas licences on environmental
alongside Neo in May. grounds. in August
When first announced in summer 2019, the
deal was valued at $635mn. But Total is likely If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
to have received much less after renegotiating Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
terms with Neo to account for the collapse in oil NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor.
and gas prices this year.
The French major is on a divestment drive, FSU production setbacks
looking to weed out non-core, lower-margin Russian gas producer Novatek saw its interna-
assets in its portfolio. And it appears to have tional sales of natural gas plunge 32% year on
fast-tracked disposal plans in response to the year in the second quarter, underscoring the
COVID-19 pandemic. Last week it also clinched impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global
a deal to sell the 180,000 bpd Lindsey oil refinery demand. The company’s overseas shipments
in north-east England to a local player, and it is came to only 2.5bn cubic metres in the three-
also reported to be mulling the sale of a North month period, down from 3.65 bcm a year ear-
Sea natural gas pipeline. lier. Its domestic sales were also down, though
Meanwhile, Norway’s Equinor has agreed to much less significantly, dropping to 14.4 bcm
sell 41% of the Brassay heavy oilfield east of the from 15.1 bcm.
Shetlands to UK producer EnQuest. Like Total, The slump in international sales stemmed
it too is looking to clean up its portfolio, although chiefly from a fall in the amount of LNG that
it will retain a further 41% interest in the project. Novatek was able to buy from its Yamal LNG
EnQuest and Equinor both have experience in joint venture with France’s Total and China’s
developing heavy crude deposits. By combining CNPC and Silk Road Fund.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 06•August•2020