Page 12 - Euroil Week 08 2020

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil
UK services firm wins $129mn in North Sea work from CNOOC
UK
It is a five-year extension of a contract
UKenergyservicesfirmASCOhaslandedadeal worth over GBP100mn ($129mn) with China’s CNOOC for North Sea work, it said in a message on February 26.
ASCO is set to provide a range of logistics, materials management, waste and marine gas oil supply services at CNOOC’s assets in the central North Sea. The five-year deal extends a previous contract the company has had since 2006, with options for a further six years. ASCO will deliver the services from its supply base in Peterhead as well as from Aberdeen and Scrabster.
“We are delighted to extend this long-stand- ing partnership. Early in the negotiations we recognised the need to work collaboratively and drive a culture of innovation and efficiency to deliver a strong and sustainable contract, pro- tecting jobs and providing opportunities for the
nextgeneration,”ASCOCEOPeterFrancesaid. “We are looking forward to supporting CNOOC Petroleum Europe Limited for many more years and delivering on our two fundamental obses- sionsofsafetyandserviceexcellence.”
ASCO reported a 30% growth in adjusted core earnings (Ebitda) in the first half of 2019. France said at the time the company continued to be “squeezed tight” on pricing by customers, but hoped that rates would return to a more “suitable” level. The company has forecast a “return to growth”, after booking GBP48.2mn in pre-tax losses in 2018 and GBP53.3mn for the previous year.
CNOOC is one of the largest producers on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), accounting for over 25% of its total oil output. Its key oper- ated assets are the Buzzard, Golden Eagle and Scott platforms. ™
Hungarian oil beats
upped guidance despite
unfavourable environment
Hungarian oil and gas giant MOL said that Ebitda, cleared of one-off effects and adjusted for current cost of supply (CCS), reached $2.44bn in 2019, over the upgraded guidance of $2.4bn, according to the earnings report released on February 21.
Downstream CCS Ebitda declined
13% to $866mn in 2019 and by 21% y/y
to $191mn in Q3 as both refining and petrochemical margins were weaker at the end of last year. Motor fuel demand growth remained very strong in the region in 2019, meaning a 3.4% increase that supported the segment. Exploration and Production remained the key cash generator of MOL Group, providing a massive, nearly $700mn simplified free cash flow in 2019.
As in previous years, Consumer Services was the “star performer” in 2019, Ebitda
of the segment increased by 24% in Q4, bringing full-year Ebitda to $471mn.
The segment achieved several important milestones, including the non-fuel margin generation reaching 30% of the total margin by the end of the year.
“We delivered robust financial results in
NEWS IN BRIEF
2019, even slightly ahead of our upgraded Ebitda guidance despite a weaker external environment. We also achieved important milestones along our 2030 transformation journey. We agreed to acquire major upstream assets in Azerbaijan, we have reached 50% completion at our flagship polyol project, while our Consumer Services business had another record-breaking year,” chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi said in the report.
MOL put 2020 clean CCS Ebitda around $2.5bn, in the middle of a $2.4-2.6bn guidance range it issued in an investor presentation in November. The company forecasts investments of $1.9bn-2.1bn, including $0.7bn-0.8bn on strategic projects.
It expects upstream production around 120 mboepd. In its Downstream segment it expects to progress with strategic projects and Consumer Services is on track for another record-breaking year.
bne IntelliNews, February 21 2020
Cairn gains rig safety nod ahead of North Sea well
Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given its consent to Capricorn Norge for
exploration drilling in the North Sea, using the Island Innovator drilling rig.
The safety authority said on Monday that its consent to Capricorn Norge, a subsidiary of Cairn Energy, applies to the well 35/8-7 S at a prospect named Duncan.
The well is located in production license 880 and 248 J in block 35/8 in the North Sea offshore Norway. Water depth at the site is about 371 meters.
Capricorn Norge is the operator of License 880, which contains the Duncan prospect, holding a 60% interest.
Operations are expected to begin in March or April 2020 and last from 42 to 60 days.
The Island Drilling-owned Island Innovator is a 6th generation semi- submersible drilling rig of a Global Maritime GM4000 type, built by the COSCO Shipyard in China in 2012. The rig was designed to operate in water depths up to 1200 meters on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and world wide harsh environments.
Island Drilling and Capricorn signed the contract for the Island Innovator rig back in November 2019. The two companies agreed that the rig would drill one well on the Duncan prospect and two optional wells.
bne IntelliNews, February 21 2020
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Week 08 27•February•2020