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altogether at any point, after Western Australia’s
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and
Safety approved Chevron’s plan to stagger the
shutdown of the trains. Under this plan, Chev-
ron will shut Train 1 in early October and Train
3 in January 2021 for inspections and any neces-
sary maintenance. The super-major said Train 2
remained on track to restart in early September.
According to two Singapore-based LNG
traders cited by Reuters, Chevron has informed
Gorgon customers that it can supply them from
the Wheatstone and North West Shelf LNG
plants instead while work on the trains is being
carried out.
In Central America, meanwhile, Sempra
Energy may be facing additional hurdles as it
attempts to obtain an export permit for its pro-
posed Energia Costa Azul project in Mexico.
According to an August 21 Reuters report that
cited sources familiar with the matter, the Mex-
ican government has asked Sempra’s unit in the
country, IEnova, to commit to another facility
in the Port of Topolobampo before it grants the
permit for Energia Costa Azul.
Media have been unable to confirm any
further details, but it is believed that the Ener-
gia Costa Azul, which would be the first export
permit of its kind for a private company in Mex-
ico, could still be issued promptly. Nonetheless,
the report suggests that the path forward is not
entirely straightforward for Sempra.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
the global LNG sector then please click here for
NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor.

Latin America: Corruption considerations its investigation of a deadly clash between police-
Questions about corruption have come to the men and indigenous protesters at the Bretana
forefront in Latin America’s oil and gas sector oilfield earlier this month. The probe appears to
over the past week. be making enough progress that the demonstra-
In Mexico, Emilio Lozoya, the former head tors are willing to let PeruPetro, the national oil
of national oil company (NOC) Pemex, has and gas regulator, resume shipments through the
claimed that three former Mexican presidents Northern Oil Pipeline (ONP). For its part, Petro-
and various lawmakers and aides may have been Tal (Canada), the operator of Bretana, hopes to
involved in vote-fixing, bribes and other illegal resume production before the end of the month.
acts. Meanwhile, Loyoza himself is also facing Meanwhile, Argentina’s Energy Secretary
corruption charges. Sergio Lanziani has stepped down from his
In Brazil, prosecutors have accused two peo- post at the request of Production Minister Mat-
ple of obtaining confidential market information ias Kulfas. Dario Martinez, a legislator from
from state-run Petrobras to benefit Denmark’s the hydrocarbon-rich Neuquen Province, has
AP Moller-Maersk, a major player in the global been named as Lanziani’s replacement. His first
shipping industry. In a statement, judicial offi- task will be to address the harsh impact that the
cials alleged that Viggo Andersen, a former coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on
Maersk executive who was based in Brazil, Argentina’s oil and gas industry.
had taken part in a scheme to bribe a Petrobras
executive through an intermediary. The scheme If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
caused Petrobras to incur at least $31.7mn in the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click
losses, the statement said. here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor.
In Peru, disagreements between the govern-
ment and indigenous communities continue Middle East: Deals, discoveries, budget cuts
to have an impact on oil-producing areas in Deals were signed last week between the Iraqi
Loreto Province. Lima is moving forward with government and five US energy companies

Week 34 27•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17