Page 8 - FSUOGM Week 44

FSUOGM NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) FSUOGM

Balancing optimism with caution

This week saw a number of optimistic upstream announcements,

but with COVID-19 cases on the rise in North America and Europe

there is cause for concern for the sector’s short-term outlook

COMMENTARY WELCOME to the latest edition of NewsBase’s Still, there is good reason to be cautious about
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of the outlook as a rising tide of coronavirus (COVID-
international editors provide you with a snap- 19) cases in North America and Europe threatens
shot of some of the key issues affecting their to further dampen the global economy, energy
regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s demand and prices.
Picks to your inbox every week for free. Just sign
up here. AfrOil: Forward momentum
There was good news in the upstream this week In North Africa, Libya continues to report oil
as several positive announcements were made production up following the signing of a cease-
across a number of regions regarding production, fire agreement. According to Mustafa Sanalla,
reserves and activity. the head of National Oil Corp. (NOC), output
Libya has not only announced rising produc- levels reached 800,000 barrels per day last week
tion levels but also a new upstream joint venture and could climb to 1.3mn bpd in early 2021.
with Wintershall Dea. South Africa, meanwhile, Also in Libya, Germany’s Wintershall Dea has
has seen the discovery of sizeable offshore gas con- set up a new joint venture with NOC. It has trans-
densate reserves. ferred its operatorship of two licence areas in the
Indonesia has announced plans to work directly Sirte Basin to the venture, which will be known as
with developers to help optimise their production Sarir Oil Operations (SOO). Wintershall signed
operations in a bid to reach the country’s 2030 out- exploration and production-sharing agreements
put targets. (EPSAs) for the blocks in December 2019 but has
Kazakhstan has launched the country’s first ever not been able to start development operations yet.
online upstream auction as the government strives Offshore South Africa, France’s Total and its
to attract oil and gas investment. partners have announced the discovery of sizeable
ExxonMobil has raised the reserve estimate for gas condensate reserves at Luiperd, a field within
its Stabroek block offshore Guyana, while at the Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin. This marks
same time entering talks with the government over the second hydrocarbon find at the block follow-
a gas supply deal. ing Brulpadda, which confirmed the existence of
Drilling and hydraulic fracturing activity are on the major hydrocarbon reserves in the region.
rise in North America, with started jobs and rig counts On the legal front, Mozambique has wrapped
both rebounding from lows seen earlier this year. up a review of the laws governing oil and gas

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 04•November•2020