Page 12 - AsianOil Week 32

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decision (FID) on the development of fields near worse by fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-
Lake Albert until next year at the earliest. As a 19) pandemic. The explosion has stoked public
result, construction work on a planned refinery anger against authorities, with nationwide pro-
with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) is tests leading the government to resign on August
not expected to begin before 2025. 10.
In Zimbabwe, Australia’s Invictus Energy is Iraq has delivered some 720,000 litres of gas-
moving closer to striking a deal for the explo- oil to the country as a form of humanitarian aid.
ration and development of a block known as Alongside fuel oil, gasoil serves as a vital fuel in
Special Grant 4571. The company said earlier Lebanon’s power sectors. But supply shortages
this week that it had secured approval for its have been chronic, resulting in frequent power
environmental impact assessment (EIA) and outages for decades.
the environmental management plan (EMP). It Iraq is eager to supply Lebanon with gasoil
also stated, though, that it had not yet completed and fuel oil on a regular, commercial basis. For
negotiations on a production-sharing agreement its part, Lebanon has long wanted to diversify its
(PSA). imports of these products once contracts with
Algeria’s Sonatrach and Kuwait’s KPC expire at
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the end of this year.
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for In other news, Saudi Aramco has awarded a
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor. $80mn contract to Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas to
build a new sour water stripper at its 550,000 bpd
DMEA: Crisis in Lebanon Ras Tanura oil refinery. The Saudi oil giant has
Lebanon has reached out to dozens of countries scaled back spending significantly in response to
for financial and humanitarian support, follow- the oil price collapse, and so it is proceeding with
ing an explosion last week that flattened much of only the most necessary and minor projects to
Beirut’s port and the surrounding area. Lebanese improve its downstream efficiency.
officials say the blast, which has caused up to Aramco has notably axed a far costlier plan to
$15bn of damage, occurred at a warehouse stor- build a synthetic rubber production in the east-
ing thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate. ern Saudi port of Al Jubail, at least according to
It has left at least 158 people dead, 6,000 injured its Russian partner Sibur.
and some 300,000 homeless.
Lebanon is already deep in economic cri- If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
sis, caused by years of stagnation, government the downstream sector of Africa and the Middle East,
mismanagement and corruption, and made then please click here for NewsBase’s DMEA Monitor.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 32 13•August•2020