Page 15 - FSUOGM Week 07 2021

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Kazakhstan awards FEED work for

gas separation plant

KAZAKHSTAN KAZAKHSTAN’S national oil company (NOC) plant with UCC last August, and a pre-FEED
KazMunayGas (KMG) has awarded a front-end study was completed earlier.
The plant will provide engineering and design (FEED) contract to Tengiz is undergoing a massive expansion
ethane feedstock Japan’s JGC for a gas separation plant near the project, expected to lift its average oil produc-
for petrochemical giant Tengiz oilfield. tion to roughly 780,000 barrels per day (bpd)
production. The plant will handle some 957mn cubic feet and also increase its gas extraction. Even before
per day (9.9bn cubic metres per year) of gas from the COVID-19 crisis began, the project was
an adjacent facility belonging to Tengizchevroil encountering problems. Its completion date
(TCO), the Chevron-led consortium developing was pushed back by a year until 2023, and its
Tengiz. It will strip ethane from the gas for use as cost had ballooned from $37bn to over $45bn,
petrochemical feedstock. as of late 2019.
Kazakhstan’s United Chemical Co. (UCC) is Further delays and cost overruns are very
developing a complex nearby to produce some likely given the disruptions caused by the pan-
1.25mn tonnes per year (tpy) of polyethylene demic. The Tengiz site saw a number of out-
(PE). It had partnered with Austria’s Borealis for breaks last year, resulting in quarantines and
the project, but the latter pulled out of the mul- evacuations. The project was put on track last
ti-billion dollar venture in May last year, citing September, only for another outbreak to occur in
the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- December. Quarantine and distancing measures
demic. A final investment decision (FID) on the remain in place, with some 317 people currently
complex is still pending. undergoing treatment or under medical supervi-
TCO reached an initial deal on the separation sion at the site, according to the Kazakh press. ™

NEWS IN BRIEF

RUSSIA weather over the region, but which should implementing the project together with
quickly warm this week, BCS GM analysts Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch
Gazprom boosts gas note. Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.
In December 2020 BCS Global Markets
Germany agreed to allow Fortuna to
exports to Germany by 48% "enthusiastically confirmed" a Buy call build the pipeline until June, Denmark
on Gazprom. The analysts noted that
expects work in its waters to be completed
in February Gazprom's exports are recovering faster by May.
than expected after a tough year, with
Russian natural gas major Gazprom European exports seen returning to normal
increased its exports to Germany by 48% by 2023. Rosneft cuts costs to $2.6
year on year in February, Interfax reported,
attributing the jump in exports to cold per barrel: CEO
weather in the region. Vessel Fortuna resumes
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Russian oil major Rosneft reduced
Gazprom has previously boosted its gas Nord Stream 2 building after production costs to $2.6 per barrel of oil
exports to Europe by 41.5% y/y in the first equivalent in October–December, CEO Igor
15 days of January 2021 to 9.1bn cubic storm Sechin said on February 12.
metres, the second-best reading ever. "We can proudly say today that we
Even though a sharp rise in German The pipelaying vessel Fortuna has resumed have not only managed to cope with the
exports was anticipated due to cold building Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline after challenges of 2020 but to demonstrate
weather, the news is positive for Gazprom, a pause caused by storm, ship positioning ability to work in difficult conditions of
"underlining just how much the European service ShipTracking said on February 15. unpreceded low prices," Sechin said.
gas market has improved in the last three The Nord Stream-2 project envisages He also said that Rosneft's production
months," BCS Global Markets analysts construction of two lines of a natural costs in 2020 amounted to $2.8 per barrel
commented on February 14. gas pipeline with an annual capacity of due to cost efficiency measures taken by the
Gazprom’s sales to the countries of up to 55bn cubic metres, running from company.
Central Europe are expected to be strong the Russian shore to Germany under the
in the month due to the onset of very cold Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom is

Week 07 17•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15