Page 15 - EurOil Week 29

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Net4Gas scales back gas link plans

CZECH REPUBLIC CZECH gas grid operator Net4Gas has scaled receive regulatory support. The EU had earlier
back plans for new gas links with Austria and funded studies on both pipelines.
Net4Gas failed to get Poland, after failing to get EU financial support. “The current 10-year plan does not expect
the projects on the EU’s The company’s Stork II pipeline was due to the BACI and STORK II projects in their earlier
latest PCI list. become operational in 2023, pumping up to planned form, mainly because they are not at the
13.7mn cubic metres per day (5bn cubic metres moment included in the European list of projects
per year) of gas in the direction of the Czech of common interest,” Net4Gas said in a statement
Republic and 19.6 mcm per day in the direction to Reuters.
of Poland. Net4Gas was also looking to build an Net4Gas operates over 3,800 km of pipelines
18 mcm per day bidirectional pipeline connect- in the Czech Republic and shares cross-border
ing the Czech Republic with Austria, known as infrastructure with Germany, Poland and Slova-
BACI, by 2024. kia. It handles predominantly Russian gas, arriv-
However, Net4Gas has excluded both pro- ing in Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline that
jects in its 2021-2030 development programme runs under the Baltic Sea to northern Germany.
published this month. It may build smaller-sized The company has recently been investing in
interconnections instead, depending on the extra infrastructure to boost flows from Ger-
results of capacity auctions scheduled for 2021. many, in preparation of the launch of the Nord
The operator has also pushed back the launch Stream 2 pipeline. Like the first Nord Stream,
of these potential pipelines, to 2027-28 for the Nord Stream 2 will also pump up to 55 bcm per
Polish link and 2026 for the connection with year of Russian gas. It is due on stream in early
Austria. 2021, a year behind schedule because of permit-
Net4Gas was unable to get either STORK II ting delays in Denmark and US sanctions.
or BACI on the EU’s projects of common interest Net4Gas is a 50:50 joint venture between Alli-
(PCIs) list, which can gain access to grants from anz Infrastructure Czech HoldCo II and Cana-
the bloc’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and da’s OMERS pension plan. ™
INVESTMENT

Claren to sell onshore Romanian gas field

ROMANIA CANADIAN junior Claren Energy has struck in the country. The government has put in place
a deal to sell the onshore Bobocu gas field restrictions on where gas can be sold and for
in Romania to Dutch firm Lalea Energy, it how much, and has increased the industry’s tax
announced on July 20. burden.
Under a share purchase agreement signed by These issues have prevented OMV Petrom
the pair, Laleu will become the 100% owner of and ExxonMobil from taking a final investment
the field’s production licence by buying Claren’s decision (FID) on the Neptun Deep gas project
wholly owned subsidiary Claren Operations, in the Black Sea, which is targeting up to 84bn
pending the usual approvals. It will fulfil Claren’s cubic metres of gas.
remaining contractual obligations at the project, Romania’s government published draft
committing to launching gas production within amendments to its offshore law in September
two years. last year – a move that was welcomed by inves-
Claren did not say how much the deal was tors. But the changes, which include a reduction
worth, but it did say that it would receive an over- in supplementary taxes, are yet to be finalised.
riding royalty of 5% on the gas that is produced Romania had been aspiring to become a net
at Bobocu. exporter of gas by the early 2020s. But given
“We are pleased with Lalea’s commitment delays at Neptun Deep and other Black Sea pro-
to develop the Bobocu gas field; Claren and its jects, OMV Petrom warns that the country could
shareholders will be able to participate in the end up importing 40% of its gas needs by 2030.
upside of any gas production via our overrid- “Gas is a transition fuel, necessary for Roma-
ing royalty,” Claren CEO Henry Aldorf said in nia to comply with the Green Deal,” the Aus-
a statement. tro-Hungarian firm’s financial director, Alina
Bobocu was found in Romania’s eastern Popa, said in a webinar in late June. “Gas is a
Buzau County in the 1980s, but Claren and transition fuel, necessary for Romania to com-
its former state Zeta Petroleum did not begin ply with the Green Deal. Now probably more
appraising the field until late 2016. Claren than ever, we need these resources. We need to
bought Zeta’s 60% stake last year. amend the offshore law, in order to make the
Romanian gas producers have complained Romanian tax regime competitive, stable and
recently about the stifling investment climate predictable.”™

Week 29 23•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15