Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 22

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Corp. (NNPC) is talking about bringing its pro- Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor
duction costs down to $10 per barrel on average said last week that it was essential for the country
by 2021. Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group managing to lean on gas-fired power generation as it transi-
director, noted that costs were running as high tions to a greener economy.
as $35.97 per barrel at some fields. Taylor’s comments came following an update
to the Australian Energy Statistics, which showed
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping that renewable energy sources accounted for
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for 21% of the country’s power generation in 2019.
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor . Gas-fired power generation represented 20.5%
of the national total.
Spot prices spiral in Asia Taylor said: “Gas is flexible and provides the
The global oversupply of LNG and the destruc- dispatchable capacity we increasingly need to
tion of Asian demand amid the coronavirus balance intermittent renewables and deliver a
(COVID-19) pandemic have sent spot prices secure, reliable and affordable electricity system
spiralling for a second week. to power our homes, businesses and industries.”
Spot cargoes for July delivery to East Asia He added: “This has never been more impor-
fell to $1.85 per mmBtu ($52.39 per 1,000 tant – particularly as we begin our recovery from
cubic metres), Reuters reported on June 1. The the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is
newswire pointed to the number of cargoes on why the Australian government believes a gas-
the market this week, coupled with depressed fired recovery will drive jobs and economic
industrial demand for gas around the world, as growth.”
behind the $0.07 per mmBtu ($1.98 per 1,000
cubic metre) decline.
Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas has it is If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
“optimising” its production of LNG in response Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
to weaker prices and demand. NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor .
The company told Reuters this week that
challenges relating to the ongoing COVID- South African fuel rationing
19 pandemic meant that it needed to optimise Many markets are reeling in excess fuel supply
production volume in line with the market as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. But
slowdown. South Africa has had to ration diesel following
Malaysia’s exports of LNG are expected to a fast recovery in demand as the country’s lock-
drop to 1.5-1.64mn tonnes in May, the newswire down is eased.
quoted unnamed industry sources as saying last Only two of South Africa’s six refineries are
week. This would represent a nearly two-year operating normally, with most refining capacity
low in terms monthly export volumes, down having been shut down in response to a collapse
from the 1.92mn tonnes the country exported in demand. Opposition politicians blame the
in April. government for failing to ensure a sufficient
The news comes after Petronas announced stockpile of fuel.
last month that it would cut its 2020 capital Meanwhile, Egypt has unveiled a new strat-
expenditure budget by 21% and its operating egy that aims to realise $19bn in new petro-
expenditure 12%. chemical projects by 2035. The country is set
With the international gas market tanking, for a rapid growth in demand for petrochemical
the region’s largest gas exporter – Australia – has products as its population boom continues. The
begun turning its attention to ways it can prop up government is eager to see domestic resources
domestic producers. used to meet this demand, rather than imports.

Week 22 04•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P5