Page 14 - EurOil Week 49

EurOil POLICY EurOil

Albania’s Albpetrol offers two natural

gas fields under concession

ALBANIA ALBANIA’S state-owned Albpetrol has invited The very small amount of gas it does produce is
companies to express interest in concession in the southern part of the country and is sup-
Albania produces agreements for two natural gas fields in the coun- plied to the oil refining industry.
only limited amounts try’s southwest. Albania sees an opportunity to give gas a key
of gas, but with the Companies can apply for Povelca and Fra- role in its energy mix in the recent completion of
launch of the Trans- kulla gas fields in the Fier region, which are the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which runs across
Adriatic Pipeline, the under Albetrol’s administration. Winning appli- the country carrying gas from Azerbaijan. The
government wants to cants will be able to sign petroleum agreements government has launched a gasification pro-
expand the role of gas with Albpetrol to develop the blocks. gramme and wants to establish gas-fired power
in its energy mix. The deadline for sending letters of interest generation, and this could incentivise develop-
is March 5 2021, Albetrol said in a notice on its ment of its domestic gas resources.
website. The country’s largest oil producer is Chi-
Albania, one of the oldest oil producers in nese-owned Bankers Petroleum, whose main
Europe, contains some 220mn barrels of oil and field is the Patos Marinza deposit. Bankers suf-
5.7bn cubic metres of gas in proven and proba- fered some disruptions to its operations this year
ble reserves, according to government estimates. as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, halting
National oil output peaked at 2.25mn tonnes output for an entire month in late May.
(45,000 barrels per day) but is now less than half Albpetrol was due to be privatised but the
this amount. The country produces only limited government put the plan on hold in 2015, follow-
amounts of gas and it lacks a national gas grid. ing the slump in oil prices the previous year.™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Conoco kicks off Tor

redevelopment

NORWAY CONOCOPHILLIPS has kicked off production Norwegian authorities. Conoco has said it is
at the Tor-2 redevelopment off Norway, its local looking to recover an extra 60-70mn barrels of
Tor was closed down arm reported on December 3. oil equivalent (boe) from the field’s reservoirs,
in 2015 when its Tor-2 is a redevelopment of the Tor oil and which lie 3,200 metres below the seabed.
infrastructure reached gas field, which was on stream from 1978 until Investments in the project are estimated at
theh end of its working 2015, when its infrastructure reached the end NOK6.4bn ($730mn), and Conoco estimates
life. of its working life. Its relaunch comes only 12 the field has a Brent cost of supply of under $30
months after Conoco’s plan of development per barrel.
for the project was approved by the Norwegian The US major operates Tor with a 30.7%
authorities. interest, while Total has 48.2%, Eni subsidiary
“Having produced the Tor field for 37 years, Var Energi has 10.8%, Norway’s Equinor has
we are proud to continue to extend development 6.6% and Norway’s Petoro has 3.7%.
enabling expected production lifetime beyond Conoco is the only US major left in Norway
60 years,” the US major said in a statement. following the departure of Chevron in 2018 and
Tor-2 is among several development oppor- ExxonMobil the following year. The Greater
tunities in the Greater Ekofisk Area. It entails the Ekofisk Area in the North Sea is its main focus,
construction of two new subsea templates with where it already produces from the Ekofisk, Eld-
eight production well slots, connected to Cono- fisk and Embla fields.
co’s Ekofisk complex, situated 13 km south-east. The company and its Polish partner PGNiG
Two of the wells are already flowing. recently announced a “substantial” gas discovery
At its shutdown, only 20% of Tor’s resources in the Norwegian Dea, with an estimated size of
in place had been exploited, according to the up to almost 190mn of recoverable boe. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 49 10•December•2020