Page 18 - AsianOil Week 30

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Ticking upwards in the Middle East around $375mn, plus the assumption of roughly
An increase in commercial activity in the Mid- $30mn worth of financing obligations for asso-
dle East this week provided further evidence that ciated infrastructure. The acquisition, in the liq-
the sector is on its way towards recovery. In the uids-rich Inga-Fireweed asset directly adjacent
UAE, China’s CNOOC joined Abu Dhabi’s Lower to ConocoPhillips’ existing Montney position,
Zakum consortium just as signs were emerging comprises roughly 140,000 net acres (567 square
that ADNOC would resume offshore contracting km). The deal will bring ConocoPhillips’ total
activity. The growing role of Chinese companies in Montney footprint to 295,000 net acres (1,194
the Emirati oil and gas sector has been emphasised square km).
by CNOOC’s entry to the Lower Zakum, Umm The Montney is primarily known as a gas
Shaif and Nasr concessions. play, and though this acquisition consists of
Meanwhile, Chevron agreed to buy Noble both gas and liquids, it may indicate gas coming
Energy for $5bn in stock in the first major deal back into favour with producers – as Chevron’s
of the current oil downturn, providing the major forthcoming merger with Noble also does. This
with a foothold in Israel. Buyers may be attracted is more of a longer-term trend, however.
by bargain prices, but appetite has been muted in In the short term, meanwhile, the US saw
recent months. its first increase in the active oil rig count since
In another sign of stability, Iraq took steps mid-March. But the increase was a marginal
towards resuming crude oil exports to Jordan, one, with Baker Hughes’ data showing the
starting with trucked cargoes ahead of longer- number of oil-focused rigs had risen by one
term and broader pipeline plans. As cross-bor- in the week up to July 24 and, given a drop of
der trade edges towards normality, optimism is three in the gas rig count over the same week,
growing that contracting and M&A activity will there was still a slight net decline. At the basin
begin to ramp up again. level, both the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford and
Granite Wash regions saw slight increases in
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the oil rig count. And while these were can-
the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click celled out by declines in the number of gas
here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor. rigs, they are being held up as a reason to be
cautiously optimistic about the start of a grad-
Not all bad news in North America ual recovery.
Last week’s news that Chevron was buying At the same time, though, second-quarter
Noble Energy for $5bn was followed by other results announcements are looming, and prom-
positive developments in North America. First, ise to be largely negative. Indeed, oilfield ser-
another acquisition – solely involving acreage vices leader Schlumberger reported a net loss
and smaller than Chevron’s deal, but still sizea- of $3.4bn on July 24, and eyes are now turning
ble nonetheless – was announced. Then the latest to the upstream players as they prepare for their
Baker Hughes oil rig count edged up for the first own second-quarter earnings releases.
time since March.
ConocoPhillips said on July 22 that it was If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
buying additional acreage in Western Canada’s the North American oil and gas sector then please click
Montney shale play from Kelt Exploration for here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor. ™
The US has seen a first
increase in its active rig
count since mid-March.

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 30•July•2020