Page 8 - AfrOil Week 43

AfrOil NRG AfrOil

France’s government, a minority shareholder in could supply up to 500,000 barrels per day of oil
Engie, stepped in last month to prevent the com- to global markets by 2024, rising to 1mn bpd in
pany from agreeing a 20-year contract with US 2027 and 2.3mn bpd by 2030. This crude would
LNG developer NextDecade, Politico, Bloomb- all be shipped via tankers along the Northern Sea
erg and various other outlets have reported. Route (NSR) from a new terminal on the shore of
According to Politico, the authorities’ main con- the Taymyr Peninsula.
cern is the life cycle of the methane content of US Rosneft now wants to add LNG and even coal
gas produced in West Texas and New Mexico. exports to the project. In addition to crude, it is
The gas was to come from NextDecade’s looking into options for shipping up to 35-50mn
planned Rio Grande terminal in Texas. Nex- tonnes per year of LNG and 50mn tpy of coal
tDecade was hoping to take a final investment from the terminal it intends to build in Sever Bay.
decision (FID) on the first of the 27mn tonne per It is unclear whether Rosneft would produce the
year (tpy) project’s several phases this year, but coal itself or export third-party supplies.
pushed the move back until 2021. It is looking to Rosneft is also set to obtain two gas fields for
finalise contracts for at least 11mn tpy of offtake Vostok Oil, after Russia’s government confirmed Rosneft has
before giving the venture the green light. that the company would be the only one author-
The US government intends to get involved, ised to bid in a tender for the Deryabinskoye scaled up plans
according to the news agency, with Secretary of and Kazantsevskoye fields. These resources will
State Mike Pompeo leading a diplomatic push to underpin its LNG production plans. for its already
convince France to change its mind. Meanwhile, Russia’s Tatneft is weighing up
Meanwhile, Spain’s Repsol has become its options after losing billions of dollars in tax ambitious Vostok
the latest in a number of European refiners to relief in the country’s latest overhaul of oil indus- Oil project in the
announce plans to convert to biofuel produc- try taxation. The company needs to update its
tion. It plans to build an advanced biofuels plant investment programme, and is yet to decide Russian Arctic
at its 100,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in whether to move some of the highly viscous and
Cartagena. Steep declines in demand caused by nearly depleted fields affected by the changes
coronavirus (COVID-19) have left many refin- to Russia’s excess profit tax (EPT) system. Until
eries in Europe facing closure. But closing refin- Tatneft decides how to response to the loss of
eries is expensive, requiring the dismantling of tax breaks, it will not invest in any new heavy
heavy equipment and pipelines along with land oil-containing fields.
remediation. Converting sites to biofuel offers an
alternative option. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor .
Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor. GLNG: Bidding for LNG dominance
Various US LNG developers and their support-
FSU: Rosneft’s rising ambitions ers – including the federal government – con-
Rosneft has scaled up plans for its already ambi- tinue to push forward with plans that will help to
tious Vostok Oil project in the Russian Arctic. solidify the country’s dominance in the increas-
Vostok Oil was originally conceived as an ingly competitive global market for the super-
oil-only venture. Rosneft earlier predicted it chilled fuel.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 28•October•2020