Page 18 - AsianOil Week 34

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that focus on oil production, gas capture and storms in the region threatened to cause disrup-
electricity generation. The news comes as Iraq’s tions. While Tropical Storm Marco appeared to
power sector continues to struggle particularly be weakening as of August 24, computer models
amid record high temperatures, while Bagh- were predicting that Tropical Storm Laura would
dad remains reliant on neighbouring Iran for turn into a hurricane as it approached the Gulf
gas and electricity. Iraq has said it will reduce Coast, posing a serious threat to parts of Louisi-
imports from Iran, but this will depend greatly ana and Texas.
on the progress made in capturing gas and grid The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental
connectivity. Enforcement (BSEE), the offshore regulator, esti-
Meanwhile, Turkey this week announced its mated that roughly 82.4% of the Gulf’s oil pro-
largest ever find at the Tuna-1 well. The discov- duction had been shut in as of August 24, as well
ery has been estimated at 320bn cubic metres as 56.9% of the region’s gas output.
and renamed Sakarya. While there are the usual Companies that had shut in production
concerns about announcements made by the and evacuated platforms included BP, Chev-
Turkish President, the find is transformational ron, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Equinor.
for a country which is reliant on imports for Onshore, meanwhile, Motiva Enterprises and
nearly all of its energy needs. Valero Energy were among those to shut some of
As Saudi Aramco contends with a massively their refining operations. Bloomberg estimated
reduced capital budget, the company is reported on August 24 that potentially 1mn barrels per
to have cancelled its tender for maintenance day (bpd) of refining capacity was in the process
work at the giant offshore Marjan oilfield. Citing of being shut in.
sources close to the company’s long-term agree- The disruption comes just as US producers
ment (LTA) programme, Upstream said that the were getting back on their feet after the severe
contract release purchase order 66 (CRPO-66) industry downturn earlier this year. Data from
engineering, procurement and construction oilfield services provider Baker Hughes showed
(EPC) project had been called off. that the total active oil and gas rig count in the US
rose in the week up to August 21 for the first time
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping since early March. The oil rig count increased by
the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click 11 on the previous week, while the gas rig count
here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor. fell by one. The Permian Basin accounted for the
majority of the increase.
North America: Gulf Coast braces for storms
Offshore oil and gas producers in the US Gulf of If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Mexico – as well as refiners on the coast – were the North American oil and gas sector then please click
suspending operations over the weekend as two here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor.

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 27•August•2020