Page 13 - GLNG Week 01 2021

GLNG AUSTRAL ASIA GLNG

Eni shelves Australian asset sale

INVESTMENT ITALIAN major Eni has reportedly put its sale of Woollybutt field offshore Western Australia in
natural gas assets in Australia on hold after fail- the WA-25-L permit while also clarifying that
ing to attract bids of sufficient value. decommissioning of Blacktip must occur before
Although Eni is understood to have valued its title expiry.
Australian assets at around $1bn, Reuters quoted The federal government has been increasing
two unnamed sources on January 5 as saying that its scrutiny of the offshore decommissioning
the offers it had received were “well below” the segment following the liquidation of Northern
company’s expectations. Oil and Gas Australia (NOGA) in February
Eni’s Australian assets While Eni declined to comment on market 2020. One of NOGA’s subsidiaries had bought
include a 10.99% stake speculation, a spokesman said: “Eni confirms into petroleum titles in the Timor Sea, which
in Darwin LNG and the its strategy of rationalisation of its production it exploited through the Northern Endeavour
plant’s feedstock field portfolio, which will only become effective when floating production storage and offtake (FPSO)
Bayu-Undan. conditions are met for the assets concerned to be vessel. The situation forced the state to take con-
adequately valued.” trol of the facility’s operations.
Eni’s assets include a 10.99% stake in Darwin Australian Resources, Water and Northern
LNG and the plant’s feedstock field Bayu-Undan, Australia Minister Keith Pitt revealed on Decem-
as well as 100% of the producing Blacktip field ber 14 that the government had opted to decom-
offshore the Northern Territory and attached mission Northern Endeavour.
Yelcherr processing plant. Although the directions do not impose new
The Italian major also owns stakes in four obligations on Eni, they improve the govern-
exploration licences, including the Joint ment’s legal position in case of non-compliance.
Petroleum Development Area in the Timor Similar pressures are believed to have
Sea and the undeveloped Evans Shoal gas encouraged ExxonMobil to shelve its $2.5bn
field, which could be a potential backfill for sale of Gippsland Basin assets in the Bass Strait.
Darwin LNG. The company announced in late November that
Reuters’ sources added that Eni had expected it would no longer seek to sell the 50-year-old
binding bids by the end of November. However, assets following an “extensive market evalu-
a prospective sale has become more complicated ation”. However, Credit Suisse suggested that
after the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and looming decommissioning liabilities and
Environmental Management Authority (NOP- heightened federal scrutiny of offshore deals
SEMA) directed the major to decommission the were likely deterrents.™
EUROPE

First LNG tanker arrives

at Croatia’s Krk terminal

PROJECTS & THE first tanker carrying LNG arrived at Cro- of transhipment of LNG from the tanker to the
COMPANIES atia’s new floating LNG (FLNG) terminal at [floating storage regasification unit] FSRU ship
Omisalj on the island of Krk on January 1. LNG CROATIA has begun, and the procedure
The terminal, with annual import capacity is expected to last until January 3, 2021, after
of 2.6bn cubic metres, is a strategic project for which the tanker Tristar Ruby will leave the ter-
Croatia, as it will improve security of supply minal area and special purpose ports,” said the
both for itself and for other countries in the statement. “This activity started the commercial
region by helping to lessen reliance on Russian operation of the terminal, in accordance with the
gas. planned deadlines.”
The delivery of the first LNG cargo, from the After the delivery by the Tristar Ruby tanker,
US, marks that start of commercial operations at the LNG is being converted back to natural gas
the terminal, LNG Hrvatska said in a statement. then transported to buyers through pipelines.
It follows a month of pilot operations and comes The terminal it connects to the national gas
after years of delays since the project was first transport system through the newly built Omis-
proposed over 20 years ago. alj-Zlobin pipeline.
“[On January 1] in the morning, the first The capacity of the terminal has been filled,
LNG transport tanker, Tristar Ruby, arrived at leased by foreign and domestic companies for
the LNG terminal, and successfully moored in the next three years. Around 80% of its capac-
the special purpose port of the LNG terminal. ity has been leased until 2027, and around 50%
After testing and security checks, the process until 2035.™

Week 01 08•January•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13