newbase 607 special 19 may 2015

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NewBase 19 May 2015 - Issue No. 607 Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE

Middle East energy sector urged to innovate as

global demand seen to rise 37% The Middle East’s energy industry needs to invest in innovation and sustainability initiatives to meet increased global demand, according to industry experts attending this year’s Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC).

Global energy demand will be 37 percent higher by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook. With the Middle East expected to become the major source of oil supply growth, investment in cutting-edge innovation and technology will help the region’s energy industry meet growing needs. “Innovation and Sustainability in a New Energy World” forms the theme of ADIPEC 2015, where global experts, industry decision-makers, and senior government executives will come together to address how innovation in products, services, and processes will deliver safe, reliable energy solutions and achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability targets. The 18th edition of ADIPEC will take place on Nov. 9-12, 2015 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). More than 2,000 exhibitors, 85,000 visitors, and 7,000 delegates are expected to attend this year’s event, surpassing ADIPEC’s record 2014 numbers.




Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi, ADIPEC 2015 Chairman, and Strategy & Coordination Director at ADNOC, said: “Innovation is a continuous process, and ADIPEC 2015 is the best place to see the latest innovations in the hydrocarbon industry, both regionally and worldwide. In line with the announcement from our visionary UAE leadership that 2015 will be marked as the ‘Year of Innovation’, ADNOC and its companies are focused on innovation across all its projects.” “ADIPEC provides a perfect platform for collaborating, sharing and partnering as we maximize our joint resources and expertise. The event continues to raise Abu Dhabi’s profile as a global knowledge hub for the energy sector,” Al Shamsi added. ADNOC, the show’s main sponsor, is one of the largest oil production companies in the world, producing more than 2.7 million barrels of oil a day. The company is committed to adopting the best safety and sustainability standards in all its practices. According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, global daily demand for oil will rise from around 91 million barrels a day in 2014 to 111 million barrels a day by 2040. Major National and International Oil Companies have once again confirmed their participation in ADIPEC this year, including the Bahrain Petroleum Company, the China National Petroleum Corporation, the Korea National Oil Corporation, the Kuwait Oil Company, Qatar Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, as well as BP, ExxonMobil, the Japan Oil Development Co., Ltd., Oxy, Partex Oil and Gas, Shell, Statoil, and Total. Following strong demand, ADIPEC 2015 will feature the launch of the Offshore & Marine exhibition area, allowing companies to showcase products, services and solutions for the maritime and offshore industry in an actual marine environment.

Located in a purpose-built zone on the waterfront at ADNEC, the new exhibition area will be complemented by a dedicated Offshore & Marine Conference, running across all four days of ADIPEC 2015, and providing additional opportunities for knowledge exchange. “ADIPEC has now firmly established itself as one of the world’s top three energy

events and continues to attract more national and international oil companies and service companies than any other event in the world,” said Christopher Hudson, Senior Vice President, Energy at dmg events. “We are delighted to add the Offshore & Marine Exhibition and Conference to the event, and welcome back features such as the globally renowned ADIPEC Awards and the Middle East Petroleum Club to make ADIPEC 2015 more successful than ever.”




Oman’s crude exports up 10%, China remains top importer Oman Times

Oman's crude oil exports surged ahead by 10.2 per cent to 78.39 million barrels in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year. However, the average price of Oman Crude in the international market dipped by 41.5 per cent to $61.99 per barrel in the first three months of this year, from as high as $105.96 per barrel for the same period of 2014, according to the latest statistical bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). However, the crude oil market is now witnessing a recovery, with the price reaching $66.20 per barrel last weekend.

Oman's ability to increase spending by 4.5 per cent this year would depend upon growth in crude oil prices. In its 2015 budget plan, revenues were projected at OMR11.6 billion, leaving a budget deficit of OMR2.5 billion - Oman's largest fiscal gap since at least 1990. Meanwhile, the country's total crude oil and condensate production grew marginally by 1.8 per cent to 86.86 million barrels (or 965,000 barrels per day) in the first quarter of this year. Oil production for the same period in 2014 was 85.36 million barrels (or 948,400 barrels per day). China retains lead position China retained the top position, in terms of

Oman Crude imports, by importing as much as 58.18 million barrels in the first quarter, an increase of 16.6 per cent over 49.88 million barrels imported in the first quarter of 2014. In 2014, China was the top importer of Oman Crude, with imports of 210.47 million barrels, out of the Sultanate's total export of 292.16 million barrels. Taiwan (9.76 million barrels), Thailand (3.32 million barrels), Japan (2.40 million barrels) and South Korea (1.98 million barrels) followed China in imports of Oman Crude. India and Singapore were also leading importers of Oman Crude in the first quarter.




Iraq: BP, Iraq agree to cut spending on Rumaila & More oil to Turkey Reuters + NewBase

BP has agreed with Iraq to slash this year's budget expenditure on development work at the giant Rumaila oilfield to $2.5 billion after Baghdad told oil majors a slump in oil prices and its fight against Islamic State had made payments difficult. - The cut in the budget was from an earlier proposed $3.5 billion for 2015, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Oil companies have proposed millions of dollars of cuts in development spending in Iraq, a senior oil

ministry official told Reuters in March. In a series of letters sent to companies such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Exxon Mobil since January, the oil ministry set out the need for change in response to "the rapid drastic decrease in crude oil prices". In view of the fact that a significant proportion of development costs are passed on to Iraq, the oil ministry called on firms to revise their oilfield development plans by considering postponing new projects and delaying already committed projects as long as no additional costs were incurred. Those cuts should be made against a backdrop of maintaining or even increasing current oil production levels, the ministry told the oil companies. The cut in budget spending will have no impact on production from Rumaila southern oilfield, Iraq's largest. Output is expected to remain steady at around current levels of about 1.4 million barrels per day in 2015. Noticible Increase in oil flows through Iraqi Kurdistan's pipeline carrying Kirkuk and Kurdish oil to Turkey's Mediterranean coast have risen to 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and are targeted to exceed one million bpd (mbpd), Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said.

Loading data showed flows through the pipeline were running at around 450,000 bpd earlier this year but have risen sharply in recent weeks. "In March last year some 2,300 bpd of crude oil had been coming to Turkey from northern Iraq. Now it has reached 650,000 bpd," Yildiz said on Sunday. "This level is a significant portion of Iraq's total daily exports of 2.7 million barrels. Our target is to exceed one million barrels," he added. Under a deal struck last December between Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad, Kurds committed to export an average

of 550,000 bpd from Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via Iraq's state oil marketer Somo in 2015, in return for the reinstatement of budget payments. Oil exports from Iraq's Kirkuk field via Ceyhan had stopped for months last year, when the Baghdad-controlled federal pipeline came under attack by Islamic State militants.




Egypt: DEA Sells Part Stake in Egyptian Offshore Gas Project to BP

DEA + NewBase

DEA Deutsche Erdoel has equalized its working interest and farmed down its stake in the West Nile Delta (WND) project in Egypt to its joint venture partner and operator BP in order to better balance its portfolio. The deal includes the sale of a portion of DEA’s stake in the ongoing Phase 1 development of five trillioncubic feet of gas resources, the company said on Monday.

“With the remaining interest of 17.25 percent in both concessions, WND will remain the largest project in DEA’s portfolio. The closing of this agreement is subject to approval of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC),” DEA said.

The $12 billion West Nile Delta project, which is planned to start production in 2017, is expected to produce 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, which constitutes approx. 25 percent of Egypt’s current gas production. According to the company, the farm down was also used by DEA to work closely with partner BP to restructure the partnerships agreements to maximize the speed of decision making.

“By simplifying the DEA holdings to 17.25% across the two concessions North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater, the efficiency of field cost management and allocation to different fields were improved,” DEA stated.

Recently the development drilling campaign started with the spudding of the first development well in the Taurus / Libra field. This is the first of a total of 21

planned development wells in the Taurus, Libra, Giza, Fayoum and Raven fields.

The gas to be produced from these fields will be fed into the country’s national gas grid. The WND project concept maximises the utilisation of existing infrastructure. The Taurus and Libra fields will be developed via a subsea tie-in to the existing Burullus facilities, operated by the Burullus joint venture.




Mauritania: Kosmos Energy's Tortue-1 well encounters additional hydrocarbons . Source: Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy has announced that the Tortue-1 exploration well in Block C8 offshore Mauritania has encountered additional hydrocarbons while drilling to total depth to evaluate the deeper Albian stratigraphy.

Based on the preliminary analysis of drilling results, Tortue-1 has intersected approx. 10 meters (32 feet) of net hydrocarbon pay in the lower Albian section, which is currently interpreted to be

gas. This is in addition to the previously announced 107 meters (351 feet) of net pay encountered in the Cenomanian, which was the primary objective. The well was drilled beyond the primary objective to obtain deeper stratigraphic information and enable seismic calibration of the Albian, which will be tested in subsequent wells. Down to total depth drilled, no water was encountered in the well.

Brian F. Maxted, chief exploration officer, said: 'We are encouraged by the presence of additional hydrocarbons in the deeper portion of the well. This suggests we have a working hydrocarbon system in both the Albian and Cenomanian sequences. While the Albian was not the primary objective of the Tortue-1 well, the presence of additional hydrocarbons in the Albian further de-risks other prospects in the Greater Tortue Complex which include primary reservoir targets in both the Albian and underlying Aptian.'

Located approx. 285 kms southwest of Nouakchott in 2,700 meters of water, and drilled with the Atwood Achiever drillship, the Tortue-1 well was drilled at a total cost of approx. $125 million to a total depth of approx. 5,100 meters. The Tortue discovery area has also been renamed Ahmeyim. Kosmos currently owns a 90 percent interest in the Ahmeyim discovery, along with Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier (SMHPM) at 10 percent. Since 2012, Kosmos has held rights to conduct exploration in the C8, C12 and C13 contract areas under production sharing contracts with the Government of Mauritania. In March 2015, Chevron Mauritania Exploration, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corp, acquired a 30% non-operated interest in the C8, C12 and C13 contract areas under production sharing contracts. Chevron has an option to elect to participate at a 30% interest in Ahmeyim, subject to Chevron paying a disproportionate share of their costs related to the Tortue-1 exploration well. The blocks are contiguous, range in water depth between 1,000 and 3,000 meters, and have combined acreage of approx. 27,000 sq kms.




Algeria: Hydrocarbon production exceeds forecast in 2015 APS + NewBase

Algeria’s hydrocarbon production in the first 4 months of 2015 exceeded the initial forecasts of the national hydrocarbon group SONATRACH by more than 2% and remained stable at the same level as that of the same period in 2014, said Monday, in Algiers, the company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer Said Sahnoun.

“We have produced, until the end of April, more than 2% in comparison with the initial forecasts. Compared with 2014, the level of production is the same,” Sahnoun told the press on the sidelines of the ceremony of receiving by his group of the first order of the car Renault Symbol “made in Algeria.”

Sahnoun announced that two (02) oilfields will be put into service during the first two weeks of July 2015, namely Bir Sebaa deposit with an initial production of 20,000 to 25,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and that of Bir El-M’sena which expects to produce from 12,000 to 15,000 barrels per day. He also announced the forthcoming signing of two agreements in the petrochemical sector with foreign partners, he said.

Algeria-EU: Action plan for renewable energy development in Algeria

An action plan for energy efficiency and the promotion of the use of renewable energies is being developed in Algeria by experts of the European Union, Bruno Rebelle, member of the programme told APS Monday.

The project concerns, in the first stage, the cities of Batna, Sidi Bel Abbes and Boumerdes, which have been chosen in collaboration with the Algerian authorities, said the expert, who is also the head of the French association "Planete urgence."

The action plan aims at improving the quality of services provided in public electrification, raising awareness about the reduction of the use of this energy, and reorganizing transport plan, particularly the public transportation, explained the expert at the end of a seminar on "Green entrepreneurship and climate change," held in Skikda 510-km east of Algiers.

The action is being developed in collaboration with the involved communes, the directorates of transport and association operating in the field of environment, said the EU expert. The action plan, which will be finalized in July, is due to be implemented by October 2015, he said, adding the process to expand the programme to other Algerian cities will be examined by the same experts.




Contractor for Mozambique LNG onshore park chosen Anadarko + Newbase

Texas-based Anadarko informed it has selected a consortium consisting of CB&I, Chiyoda and Saipem (CCS JV) for the initial development of the onshore LNG park in Mozambique.

Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO, Al Walker said the co-venture managed to secure “more than 8 million tonnes per annum in non-binding long-term off-take agreements, which are now progressing toward binding sales and purchase agreements. It is obtaining letters of intent from lenders for project financing at a very material level, and is working with the newly elected government to keep the project moving forward.”

The scope of the work for the onshore LNG park includes two LNG trains, each with capacity of 6 MMTPA, which is an increase of 1 MMTPA per train over the original plan, while maintaining an estimated cost that is consistent with the co-venturers’ original projections.

The scope also includes two LNG storage tanks, each with the capacity of 180,000 cubic meters, condensate storage, multi-berth marine jetty and associated utilities and infrastructure. The selection of CCS JV is subject to negotiation and entry into a definitive agreement prior to taking FID.

Anadarko operates the Offshore Area 1 with a 26.5-percent working interest. Co-venturers include Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (15 percent), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 (20 percent), ONGC Videsh (16 percent), Bharat PetroResources (10 percent), PTT Exploration & Production (8.5 percent), and Oil India (4 percent).




Nigeria Plans to Split Gas From Oil Leases to Boost Output Bloomberg + NewBase

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, plans to issue separate leases for gas assets in order to attract more investors to boost output of the fuel, the state-owned oil company said.

“Gas, over the last few years, has become a very prominent commodity on its own, which requires a life of its own,” David Ige, group executive director for gas and power at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corp., said in a May 15 interview in Abuja, the capital. The nation needs companies such as Russian exporter OAO Gazprom and Centrica Plc, the U.K.’s biggest energy supplier, to enter the market to “drive our gas agenda aggressively,” he said.

Almost all of the West African nation’s reserves of 184 trillion cubic feet of gas, the world’s eight-largest, were found in the course of searching for crude. The new plan seeks to provide opportunities for companies specifically exploring for gas, according to Ige.

More than 80 percent of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves are in leases held by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA, whose priority continues to be oil, Ige said. These companies run joint ventures with the state-owned NNPC that pump most of the country’s crude.

Nigeria currently produces about 9 billion cubic feet a day of gas, half of which is exported as liquefied natural gas. While 1 billion cubic feet a day is flared in the course of oil production, another 1 billion cubic feet is reinjected into oil wells daily for pressure stability. Some 2 billion cubic feet a day is supplied to industries and power plants, where demand is estimated to more than double to 5 billion cubic feet a day in two years.




Mubadala's Nong Yao oil field in Thailand to start production in June –CEO . Reuters + NewBase

Abu-Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum said its 10,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Nong Yao oil field in Thailand will start production in June, bringing its total oil output in the country close to 40,000 bpd, up 33 percent from current levels.

"Within a month hopefully or so we will bring a third field called Nong Yao," the company's chief executive, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, told an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

"So we are very active in Thailand and looking forward to expand our footprint in that country."

Earlier, Mubadala, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi state-owned fund Mubadala Development Co, had said production at the Nong Yao field would start by the middle of 2015, without specifying which month.

Mubadala is currently producing almost 30,000 bpd of oil from the Manora and Jasmine fields in Thailand, the CEO said at the conference. Output from Manora peaked at 15,000 bpd between late 2014 and early 2015, he added.




UK: InfraStrata announces commencement of drilling operations - Islandmagee-1 salt well. Source: InfraStrata + NewBase

AIM-listed InfraStrata, the independent petroleum exploration and gas storage company, has announced the commencement of drilling operations at the Islandmagee-1 well in Northern Ireland. The Islandmagee-1 well began drilling at 18:00 hours on 15 May 2015. Drilling operations are expected to take around 5 weeks. The well will be drilled to a total drilled depth of approx. 1,700 metres.

The objective of the well is to confirm the feasibility of the development of an underground gas storage facility in salt caverns, by

obtaining wireline data and core samples of the Permian salt to

undertake laboratory analyses,

including rock mechanical

tests, to further define the

design parameters and cost estimate for the project. These results will enable the project developer, Islandmagee Storage Limited(InfraStrata 65% shareholder), to complete this phase of work in Q4 2015. The costs of this 2015 work programme are being funded 50% by the European Commission under their Connecting Europe Facility. Background on the Islandmagee Storage Project

The Islandmagee gas storage project is owned 65% by a wholly subsidiary of InfraStrata plc and 35%

by a wholly owned subsidiary of Mutual Energy Limited. Work commenced in 2007 with the

acquisition of 3D seismic data to image the Permian salt in the Larne Lough area. During 2012,

planning permission was granted for the project and a gas storage licence was issued by the Utility

Regulator. In October 2013, the gas storage project was granted a 'Project of Common Interest'

("PCI") status by the European Commission. PCI status means recognition by the European

authorities that the Islandmagee gas storage project brings benefits not only to the Member State in

which it is located, but to a much wider area. The next investment step in the project is the drilling of

the data gathering well (Islandmagee-1) to approximately 1,700 metres depth to obtain cores of the

salt sequence and subsequently undertake further engineering design work. This €5 million work

programme is being funded 50% by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility.




Germany, France Seek Curb on Fossil Fuel Pollution This Century Bloomberg + Newbase Germany and France said the world should strive to zero out emissions from fossil fuels by the end of this century to control the risks of climate change.

Opening a week of environmental events across the U.S. and Europe, German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said the world should shoot for being “carbon-neutral” after 2050. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at the same event in Berlin that he “fully shares” those goals.

“We need a long-term target and a clear signal where we are headed,” Hendricks told reporters before the start of a two-day meeting in Berlin. That would send a “strong signal” to investors, she said.

The ministers are working to ratchet up ambitions by some 190 nations that are working to conclude by the end of this year the first global deal limiting greenhouse gases everywhere. The wording of the goal from two of Europe’s largest economies would require any emissions from oil, natural gas and coal to be balanced with technologies that absorb or capture carbon dioxide.

Fabius will preside over United Nations-led talks on the issue that are due to culminate in December in Paris. Before then, the UN is urging all nations rich and poor alike to make pledges on how they will pare back emissions blamed for damaging the atmosphere.

Climate Goal The overall goal is to limit global warming since the industrial revolution to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a level that still would mark the quickest shift in the climate since the last ice age ended some 10,000 years ago.

Fabius urged nations to draft their national climate protection targets, known in the UN lingo as INDCs, “as ambitiously and as quickly as possible.” About 35 ministers gathered in Berlin will discuss financial aid to poor countries grappling with climate change, national emissions reductions and how a Paris deal could look, Hendricks said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak at the meeting Tuesday. She said over theweekend nations should identify their climate-protection targets quickly and live up to financial-aid promises made to poorer nations.

On Wednesday and Thursday, business leaders gather in Paris to discuss their response to the environment. In New York this week, energy ministers from some 40 nations are gathering to discuss ways to spur cleaner forms of energy.




Oil Price Drop Special Coverage

Brent crude oil extends losses on high supplies Reuters + NewBas

Brent crude oil prices dipped on Tuesday as slow economic growth and high supplies meant that markets remain oversupplied, while U.S. prices received support from rising demand ahead of the summer driving season.

Brent futures were down 8 cents at $66.19 a barrel by 0539 GMT, after an almost 1 percent fall on Monday on near-record Saudi exports. Goldman Sachs said a recent rally that saw Brent prices jump over 40 percent since January was due a downward correction.

"We find that the global market imbalances are in fact not solved and believe that the rally will prove self-defeating as it undermines the nascent rebalancing," the bank said in an overnight report that reiterated its downward revision of long-term oil prices on Monday.

"The trouble is there are no signs that growth is benefiting from lower oil prices. By now, demand should have started to strengthen. Instead, the first quarter probably represented a new low in the region's growth since the global financial crisis," HSBC said, adding that "this hints at broader, structural factors weighing on Asia's growth".

China's new home prices fell for an eighth month in April from a year ago, indicating the property sector remains the biggest risk to the world's No.2 economy, which looks set for its worst year in 25 years. China is also the world's top energy consumer.

Further weighing on oil prices were supplies from top exporter Saudi Arabia, which shipped out 7.898 million barrels per day in March, the highest in almost a decade. U.S. crude prices, however, edged up supported by rising demand ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. WTI futures were at $59.52 a barrel, up 9 cents.




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Khaled Malallah Al Awadi, Energy Consultant MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA Emarat member since 1990 ASME member since 1995 Hawk Energy member 2010

Mobile: +97150-4822502 [email protected] [email protected]

Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility & gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great

experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering & regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.

NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE

NewBase 19 May 2015 K. Al Awadi

newbase 607 special 19 may 2015

Economy & Finance

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