Page 11 - AsianOil Week 32

AsianOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) AsianOil

Bad news, good news

Amid bad news including the explosion in Lebanon and concerns about security at
storage facilities in Libya, progress is being made elsewhere, with a licensing round

launched in Somalia and a major acquisition announced in Canada

GLOBAL WELCOME to the latest edition of NewsBase’s Africa: Tension rising in Libya
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of North Africa appears to be a hot spot this week.
international editors provide you with a snap- Mustafa Sanalla, the chairman of National Oil
shot of some of the key issues affecting their Corp. (NOC), has raised concerns about security
regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editors’ conditions at the storage facilities that serve Lib-
Picks to your inbox every week for free. Just sign ya’s export terminals on the Mediterranean Sea.
up here. Sanalla claims that these depots are facing
Market conditions remain challenging glob- heightened risks now that militia groups have
ally, and the ongoing pile-up of second-quarter seized control of key oil and gas infrastruc-
losses and revenue declines being announced by ture. Libya may also be facing broader risks,
oil and gas companies illustrates this. Notably, as the maritime accord it signed with Turkey
Saudi Aramco saw its net income for the first half last December conflicts with a new agreement
of this year fall by 50%, while a number of Cana- between Egypt and Greece on exclusive eco-
dian and US producers added to the growing nomic zones (EEZs) in the eastern Mediterra-
list of North American companies announcing nean Sea.
quarterly losses. Meanwhile in East Africa, Somalia’s govern-
Meanwhile, the government of Lebanon has ment has launched its first offshore licensing
resigned following a major explosion in Beirut, round. The bidding contest will include only
which occurred at a warehouse storing thou- seven blocks, instead of the originally planned
sands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, and warn- 15. The newly created Somali Petroleum Author-
ings have been issued about security conditions ity (SPA) hopes to wrap up the auctions and sign
at storage facilities in Libya. contracts with new investors by the end of March
It has not all been bad news, however, with 2021.
a major acquisition announced in Canada and Uganda, by contrast, appears to be less certain
Somalia launching its first-ever offshore licens- about its timeline for oil production. France’s
ing round. Total is not likely to make a final investment

Week 32 13•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11