WEEKLY NATURAL GAS REVIEW
The leading fuel retailing business in Nigeria, Enyo Retail and Supply, has launched its Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) expansion agenda to improve gas use in Nigeria in an attempt to provide its customers with cleaner and safer energy alternatives.
The expansion would entail key measures, such as investments in an LPG filling plant, the opening of its first Auto-gas filling station, a superior mobile app for Liquefied Gas and the sale to its customers of a wide range of gas-based goods and services. In addition, the expansion would allow the business to provide its customers with friendliness. Moreover, the company has recently introduced its technologically improved LPG composite cylinders that are compatible with its expansion project. The cylinders are suitable, weighing fifty per cent less than standard steel cylinders, for domestic and industrial use.
In recent weeks, after a sustained rally in the spot LNG price, Egyptian LNG exports from the Shell-operated Idku factory, the country's only operational LNG facility, have been coming thick and fast.
As spot LNG prices dropped to record lows, Egyptian LNG exports ground to a near halt in late March, with the JKM spot Asian LNG price dropping to $1,825/MMBtu towards the end of April.
After the shareholders of the 5 million mt/year Damietta LNG facility reached a new agreement to allow the plant to restart in Q1 2021, Egypt is also set for a long-awaited boost to its LNG market.
Reuters reported that as energy providers brace for what could be the largest winter storm in the region in years, U.S. Northeast power and natural gas prices soared to their highest level in almost a year on Wednesday.
Electric and gas prices usually soar during extremely cold weather due to the fact that Most Northeastern homes and businesses use gas for heating, and gas-fired power plants generate much of the region's electricity.
P&GJ reported on Tuesday in line with Pinnacle Midstream II that Pinnacle signed with DoublePoint Energy a 15-year gas storage, processing and purchase agreement that anchors Pinnacle's greenfield development of a new natural gas collection and compression system in the Midland Basin.
In the second quarter of 2021, the Pinnacle Dos Picos Gathering System is scheduled to come into operation and supports the comprehensive construction of multiwell drills taking place in the Midland Basin.
Initially, the system will serve Midland, Martin and Glasscock counties, Pinnacle said, as producer activity increases, with potential expansions expected.
Reuters reported on Friday that private-owned Hilcorp Energy said its subsidiary completed a $5.6 billion acquisition of the company of BP Plc in Alaska, taking over the area in which the British oil major had worked for 60 years.
Hilcorp's Harvest Alask obtained approval on Dec. 14 from the Alaska Regulatory Commission to acquire BP's approximately 49 percent stake in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and 49 percent of Alyeska Service Company and other midstream interests in Alaska.
BP decided to sell all its Alaskan assets to Hilcorp Energy last year, including shares in the most productive oil field in U.S. history at Prudhoe Bay, and the Trans Alaska Pipeline.
Younm 7reported that a USD 450 million new high octane fuel plant of the Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC) will begin trial operations this week. The state-run facility will be completely up and running before the year is out, with a capacity of 800k tonnes a year, the sources said.
The project comes as part of government efforts to reduce Egypt's dependency on oil imports, the sources added, with an eye to achieving self-sufficiency by 2023.
During FY2022-2023, Egypt will cease importing petroleum products. This goal was previously planned to be met by Egypt by the end of this year. It is uncertain whether the proposed refining projects have been slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Association of Petroleum Technology of Nigeria (PETAN), signed a Monday contract to support the operations of petroleum companies against the negative implications of COVID-19 pandemics and loss of contracts at a low oil price. This agreement will support operations by petrolium companies.
The Working Capital scheme has been authorised by NCDMB, headed by Chief Timipper Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and has been recently integrated into the Nigerian Content Investment Fund (NCI Fund)
On Wednesday, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said deliberate efforts are being made to ensure that the oil and gas industry in the nation provides investors with maximum opportunities.
DPR will continue to build investor opportunities and foster a healthy business climate. The director also promised that all stakeholders for value development and business sustainability will continue to be engaged by the organization.
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, opined that as some importers look to take advantage of this year's market rout, Egypt has bought more derivative contracts to defend itself against a spike in oil costs. The most populous Arab nation almost doubled its oil hedges in the 2020-21 fiscal year ending in June.
As the coronavirus spread across the world, oil prices fell in March and April and lockdowns caused energy demand to crash. Benchmark Brent oil has since risen to nearly $50 a barrel, but this year it is still down 25%.
Reuters reported that since early November, U.S. natural gas prices have been dropping as persistence of warm weather has led to high inventories rather than seasonal patterns.
Future gas prices delivered to Henry Hub in January 2021, down from almost $3.50 at the end of October, fell to just over $2.40 per million British thermal units.
Lower future prices will allow the highest burning of gas by U.S. energy companies, largely at the expense of coal, while contango will pay for higher stocks until next summer.
Reuters reported that after a one-year hiatus caused by U.S. sanctions, Russia resumed construction of the politically charged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, laying pipes, the pipeline operator said on Friday.
In relations between Russia and the western region, which have fallen into postwar lows, the pipeline, which Washington says compromise Europe's energy security, has become a flashpoint.
Bypassing Ukraine, the two pipelines would have the capacity to pump more than half of Russia's total gas exports to Europe. The flow from Moscow to Kyiv over gas supplies in the previous decades culminated in the disruption of Russian flows into Europe.
The Meleiha concession in the Western Desert will be explored and built by IEOC, Eni's joint venture with EGPC, and the Russian firm Lukoil, while the second deal between EGPC and BP will be for the South Ghareb Offshore concession in the Gulf of Suez.
TAP is the final stage of a $40 trillion Southern Gas Corridor project that is going to transport 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year from the giant Shah Deniz Field.
At the end of this year the pipeline, which is already commercially operational, will begin to pump the first gas into Italy.
Operators in the downstream petroleum industry in Nigeria will wait an additional 24 months before the complete deregulation of the sector takes full effect. Moreover, the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which offers fillip to the values of the free market, remains in balance.
This comes as a tender to select companies to participate in the 2021-2022 Direct Selling of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Petroleum Product (DSDP), also known as the crude-for-products swap scheme, was issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Monday.
It was hoped that marketers would be able to restart imports of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, after a six-month extension of the previous deal, which expired at the end of September 2020.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that as the Federal Government moves to build alternative fuel for cars and other prime movers in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari will carry out the auto-gas scheme in Abuja on December 1.
The NGEP set up Micro Distribution Centres (MDC) nationwide to bridge the supply and accessory gap between the industry and customers in order to deepen domestic cooking gas use.
Around 12.5 million direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians will be generated by the autogas system and the deepening domestic use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Reuters reported that the gas pipeline Interconnector would decrease the potential for immediate supply flows from Belgium to Britain.
InterconnectorUK (IUK) has stated that the available technical capacity will be revised to 562-gigawatt hours per day (GWh/d) in order to ensure the efficient operation of the equipment whenever reservation commitments remain limited.
If however, IUK has booked more than 30% of its technical capacity from Belgium to Britain, the available capacity will be given up to 803 GWh/d of the technical capacity.
Reuters reported that Mexico has cut off the supply of natural gas to Braskem's Mexican operations, intensifying a conflict between President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the Brazilian petrochemical company.
The decision to shut down the supply of natural gas appears to have been made in order to make it difficult for the plant to keep working.
For some time, the administration of Lopez Obrador had tried to renegotiate a separate contract covering the supply of another gas, ethane, for the manufacture of plastics at the Braskem-Idesa Etileno XXI plant near the Gulf coast.
Reuters reported that Eni said in a statement that the new agreements would pave the way for the Damietta port city's liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to restart operations by the first quarter of next year.
Eni will be able to expand its LNG portfolio and boost its gas footprint in the Eastern Mediterranean with the new agreement, which also needs the green light from the European Union authorities as well as other requirements to be met.
In a separate statement, Naturgy said it would obtain a series of cash payments under the agreement totalling about $600 million, which will result in its departure from Egypt and the end of its joint venture with Eni when completed.
Reuters reports that the selling of a C$1 billion ($769 million) interest in Keystone XL (KXL) to a Canadian indigenous community by TC Energy Corp. is the result of more than three years of agitation from a small Saskatchewan First Nation that wanted part ownership of the long-delayed oil pipeline, rather than short-term payments to allow it to be constructed through its lands.
The proposed investment by Natural Law Energy (NLE) was regarded by TC as the largest indigenous investment ever in an oil project, demonstrating how some groups want to share in the benefits of the industry while others oppose it.
If they succeed, millions of dollars will flow to indigenous communities over a decade to help young people afford colleges or pay for business investments.
According to a regulatory filing on the Israeli exchange cited by Reuters, Delek Drilling, one of the key operators of Israel's large offshore gas fields, plans to spin off most of its properties into a new business which will IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
Delek will pass to the new firm its 45.3% share in the Israeli gas field in Leviathan and 30% stake in the Cyprus field in Aphrodite, but maintains its 22% stake in the Tamar industry, which Israel ordered to be sold as part of the strategy of preventing gas market concentration the following year.
This indicated that Delek is no longer keeping the same business from the two fields of shipments of natural gas to Egypt.
On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari urged the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to acknowledge Nigeria's burden of sharing oil production cuts with a large number of poor citizens.
Buhari talked about the problems Nigeria faces with its huge population and its immense infrastructure deficit. He urged OPEC to take Nigeria's burden on "200 million poor people with severe infrastructure deficits when sharing cuts in oil production" into account.
The French government has urged Engie to halt agreements to conclude a multi-billion dollar US liquefied natural gas import deal on environmental concerns, Reuters reports.
Engie's $7 billion deal will be with NextDecade, which should determine whether to pursue plans for the construction of its planned Rio Grande export plant in Texas.
The move also comes in the midst of an escalating fight for Europe's gas markets between the United States and Russia, as well as trade tensions triggered by tensions between Paris and Washington over taxes on big digital firms.
Pipeline operator, Kinder Morgan, recently told investors that its Permian Highway pipeline was still on track to begin operation in 2021, as quarterly earnings dropped by 10% due to lower shipping volumes.
Because of the corona-virus crisis, the firm blamed the decline in pipeline flows of refined goods and natural gas on a decrease in energy demand.
The company's net profit dropped from $506 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago, to $455 million, or 20 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the U.S. natural gas futures jumped more than 4 percent to their highest close in 20 months on rising liquefied natural gas ( LNG) exports and forecasts over the next two weeks for colder weather and more heating demand than previously anticipated.
Refinitiv expects average demand to rise from 90.0 bcfd this week to 98.7 bcfd next week as LNG exports increase and the weather becomes colder.
So far in October, the volume of gas flowing to LNG export plants has averaged 6.9 bcfd, up from 5.7 bcfd in September.
Reuters reported on Monday that, ConocoPhillips agreed to purchase $9.7 billion from U.S. shale oil producer Concho Resources Inc, as the energy market continued to consolidate amid lower fuel prices and demand.
The transaction swaps 1.56 ConocoPhillips shares for each Concho share, a premium of around 1.5 percent over its price on Friday. At $49.30 in early trading on Monday, Concho shares were up 1.4 percent. In January, before the COVID-19 pandemic cut oil demand and costs, they sold for as much as $93 a share.
Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline's Acadiana Project was approved by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
P&GJ says the company sought permission for the construction of three additional compressor stations to add almost 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of the gas pipeline from Northern Louisiana to Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG export plant in the U.S. Coast of the Gulf.
A sixth liquefaction train is currently being added to the facility by Cheniere, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2022. Kinder Morgan plans to be in operation in the second quarter of 2022, which costs about $143 million under Acadian expansion.
P&GJ reported that Kleinfelder Group, based in San Diego, said that Gas Transmission Systems (GTS) utilities and pipeline services has been acquired for an undisclosed amount.
Established in 1998, with an emphasis on integrity management and restoration of aging infrastructure, GTS provides services to gas utilities and pipeline operators throughout the U.S.
Under the direction of President Ben Campbell, the GTS organizational structure will remain unchanged and will report through West Division Director Victor Auvinen, Kleinfelder opined that under the direction of President Ben Campbell, the GTS organizational structure will remain unchanged and will report through West Division Director Victor Auvine.
Last week, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, issued guidelines for the formation and management of downstream gas facilities throughout the country, stating that before starting operations, companies seeking to set up gas-dispensing facilities would be required to obtain three approvals and licenses, among others. Companies planning to build such facilities must meet all the required conditions laid down in the DPR.
The facilities must be equipped with required amenities and equipment such as functional automated / manual leak sensors, functional fire alarm system, and mounted gas detectors, sufficient fire water storage and sprinklers, perimeter fence with fire wall, among others."
It was reported by Reuters that Millions of German households will see their gas heating bills rise at the beginning of 2021 due to a new carbon dioxide tax, Verivox's price comparison portal said on Tuesday, citing an average 7.1 per cent increase planned by 104 suppliers surveyed.
Many utilities will be under pressure to pass on the higher costs to their customers because of the new CO2 cap, which will be imposed on the emissions of climate-damaging gases as of January.
The government plans to use the funds to limit a surcharge on household energy prices that encourages the production of renewable energy, and some of its rising travel bills, such as gasoline and diesel, would also be taxed more heavily to refund commuters..
Reuters reported that as anti-police violence protests and the expected sacking of hundreds of employees escalate in the country, oil firms have asked security services to tighten surveillance.
In Nigeria's energy regions, unemployment is already above 40 per cent and analysts say more job losses could exacerbate the problems of pipeline tapping, illicit oil refining and pirate attacks.
Chevron plans to slash 25 percent of its workers in Nigeria. Global job cuts have been announced by Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, Eni hasn't commented. Total did not announce cuts and stated that in Nigeria it had not reduced wages.
The oil and gas market in Nigeria is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of less than 5 per cent during the 2020-2025 forecast period.
Oil and gas production had been hampered in Nigeria in the past few years, due to the attack on oil and gas infrastructure by Militants. Further oil theft has been one of the major issues faced by the oil & gas market in Nigeria, which resulted in huge losses to operating companies in the country.
For the company's oil and gas brownfield and plant upgrade programs, Aramco has revealed a new contracting strategy. By awarding long-term contracts to reliable and established contractors to boost cost efficiency and the quality and safety of the projects, the strategy focuses on creating new companies and forming alliances focused on sustainability and new technology through Aramco's giant projects.
In addition, through Aramco's In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) scheme, the contracts are established with a special focus on enhancing Saudization, local content and supply chains, helping Aramco reach its IKTVA goals. The contracts require a minimum commitment to initially use 39 percent local content and supply chains, rising to a 60 percent commitment within six years.
The energy sector in Nigeria is on the verge of receiving a big boost from China's huge investment decisions, which are centered on key oil and gas exploration operations in Africa.
China has a whopping 15 billion dollars worth of planned investments in the oil sector in Africa. Nigeria accounts for around two-thirds of the enormous expenditure, while Angola, Uganda and Mozambique are other beneficiaries.
Some experts believe that the United States could be headed into a 'energy export battle with China' as China exponentially increases its presence in global energy markets.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Canadian indigenous group Natural Law Energy said pipeline operator TC Energy would invest up to C$1 billion ($763.77 million) in its long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline project.
In Canada and the United States, indigenous groups have protested and stalled certain pipeline projects for years, but other Canadian First Nations have invested substantially in the industry to share their profits.
The first phase of the Natural Law Energy transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2021 and will rely on the group's funding.
A multi-billion naira gas plant in Asaa, Imo State Local Government Area, has been partnered by the Seplat Group and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Imo State Governor, promised community residents that his administration would stand as a referee to ensure that the Seplat Group brought about progress.
Uzodinma said that as part of the company's community relations programs, the state government would ensure that projects such as hospitals, roads and schools were supported.
TC Energy said that after the approval of its repair and restart plan by the US, its Keystone pipeline has returned to operation. Administration of Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Protection (PHMSA).
Since Oct. 29, the pipeline has been shut down. Last week, federal regulators ordered Keystone Pipeline to remain shut down until TC Energy, based in Calgary, identified the source of a breach in northeastern North Dakota that leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons of oil.
On Monday, after reversing a five-week pattern of rising inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the closure of the 590,000-bpd Keystone system indirectly appeared to have a steady effect on oil prices.
P&GJ reported that the 27-mile Callahan Intrastate pipeline, which underpins natural gas supply expansion in two Florida counties, has been completed by affiliates of Chesapeake Utilities and TECO Peoples Gas.
Chesapeake's Peninsula Pipeline Company and SeaCoast Gas Transmission, an affiliate of Tampa-based Peoples Gas, jointly developed the project.
The new supply source would allow both the Florida Public Utilities Company (FPUC) of Chesapeake and Peoples Gas to extend the distribution service for natural gas in this growing region of Florida. FPUC and Peoples Gas previously partnered together to launch Nassau County's natural gas operation in 2012.
Enbridge's $2.6 billion Line 3 pipeline replacement project was approved by Minnesota regulators, a critical step in the regulatory process that paves the way for a U.S. Decision of the Army Corps of Engineers on federal permits.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) signed the project, including the 401 Water Quality Certification, which was strongly opposed by environmental activists, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approved the last eight state permits required to begin construction.
The new Line 3 has an estimated power of 760,000 bpd, however, Enbridge has stated that it will operate at about half (400,000 bpd), until the portion of Minnesota is approved, built and delivered.
Reuters reported that Former Alaska Governor Bill Walker said this week that he was a founding member of Alaska Gasline & LNG LLC (AGLNG) that aims to take over and complete the Alaska LNG export project by March 2028.
The Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC) is constructing the LNG project, which involves an 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline from the North Slope to the Nikiski Liquefaction Plant on the Kenai Peninsula.
In 2016, when Walker was governor, the State decided to take over the LNG project from North Slope oil producers. AGLNG said that AGDC received 14 non-binding letters of interest from Asian companies, including Tokyo Gas Co Ltd.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has highlighted the key role played by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in attempting to speed up tax revenue from the country's economic development drive to become a prime source of government finance.
Simplice commended NIMASA 's commitment to maritime industry development by promoting the Federal Government 's Facility to Do Business Initiative and infrastructure expansion, saying it is key to national development.
It was reported by Reuters that from a senior official, Azerbaijan will move ahead with plans to feed natural gas into an expanded pipeline network to southern Europe, even as violence rages in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave for the sixth week.
A mountain enclave internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated and dominated by ethnic Armenians, the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has raised concerns about the safety of oil and gas pipelines in Azerbaijan.
The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, stretches 878 km (546 miles) from Turkey 's border with Greece through the mountains of Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and is far from Azerbaijan.
Yusuf Gagdi, Chairman of the House of Representatives Navy Committee, has announced that the Committee would do everything within its constitutional powers to help the Nigerian Navy perform optimally.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas argued that the Nigerian Navy has been mainly concerned with its constabulary or police roles in the last two decades , despite its military roles, in the face of multi-dimensional maritime threats , especially from crude oil robbery, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and piracy, among others.
Reuters reported that as Democrat Joe Biden advanced closer to the White House in a tight U.S. presidential election, oil prices were relatively steady on Thursday, while questions remain about more enormous stimulus to help the economy in the face of the Coronavirus crisis.
Brent oil dropped by 1446 GMT and the U.S. 2 cents to $41.21 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) crude at $39.02 was down 13 cents, or 0.3%. On Wednesday, both contracts jumped around 4 percent.
CenterPoint Energy has stated that it has submitted a rate proposal to state regulators aimed at recovering the costs of its 7-year $240 million modernisation pipeline program in southwestern Indiana for its South Indiana Gas and Electric Pipeline (SiGECO).
In order to comply with Federal safety regulations, ensure continued safe, and efficient delivery of the gas services of more than 113,000 clients, the Pipeline Modernization Proposal was filed in 2013 with the Indiana Use Regulatory Committee. Since 2013, this study has reduced methane emissions by 36 percent
By signing a series of deals involving hydrogen and low-carbon mobility ventures, the Italian gas group, Snam, has taken its first steps in India , the company said on Friday.
The largest gas transport company in Europe said it had agreed to create a partnership with Adani in India to grow a hydrogen business in India and abroad and to use biogas for low-carbon transport projects.
The group has also signed an agreement with state-owned Indian Oil to collaborate on energy transformation projects, including gas storage and regasification.
The Meleiha concession in the Western Desert will be explored and built by IEOC, Eni's joint venture with EGPC, and the Russian firm Lukoil, while the second deal between EGPC and BP will be for the South Ghareb Offshore concession in the Gulf of Suez.
In order to exploit the Wadi Deeb Concession in the Eastern Desert, the third agreement brings together the state-owned South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) and the Egyptian National Petroleum for Exploration and Development Company (Enpedco), a majority-owned company of the Military National Service Projects Organization.
Gas transmission by India's Gujarat State Petronet Ltd will increase by about a quarter in the next fiscal year beginning in April as it connects northern regions to an existing grid in the western state, a company official said on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, the 930-km (578-mile) pipeline connecting Mehsana in Gujarat to Bathinda in the northern state of Punjab at a cost of 55 billion rupees ($739 million) will be ready by March, said Sanjeev Kumar, joint managing director of the company.
India's coronavirus lockdown affected pipeline construction, with a daily capacity of 30 million cubic meters (mmscmd) and was delayed by the initial completion date of December.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says that the bid round process for its 57 marginal oilfields is still underway in the region. At the weekend in Lagos, Mr Paul Osu, Head of Public Relations, DPR, told the Nigeria News Agency (NAN) that the bidding process had not been completed.
More than 600 businesses have applied for the bid rounds that started on June 1st. The DPR had, however, adopted steps to ensure that the prize winners were reputable investors with technological and financial capabilities.
The goal of the 2020 marginal field tender round was to deepen indigenous companies' involvement in the upstream industry segment and to provide investors with technological and financial partnership opportunities.
In cooperation with Scottish Development International (SDI), the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) organized the first virtual energy event to explore business prospects for UK-Scottish companies in the transition to net zero in Egypt, as part of the UK 's initiative to support Egypt in its energy reform program.
Egypt is Africa's biggest non-OPEC oil producer, as well as the second largest producer of natural gas on the continent. With Egypt currently introducing the Modernisation Project of the Petroleum Industry, aimed at the sustainable development of the petroleum sector, UK businesses are keen to participate in the many business opportunities offered.
The event showed the degree of excitement among both UK and Egyptian participants to trigger a new era of Energy Transition.
Reuters reports that In an all-stock deal estimated at C$ 3.8 billion ($2.9 billion) to build Canada's No. 3 oil and gas producer, Cenovus Energy Inc has offers to purchase rival Husky Energy Inc, as a pandemic-driven decline in demand forces the industry to merge.
The acquisition makes Cenovus an integrated refining company in Canada and the United States and adds two U.S. refineries to its current half-ownership.
The Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix, opined that acquisition of refineries, pipelines and storage provided a solution to the already congested pipelines of Canada, which generally produced price discounts.
Reuters reports that Russia's monopoly for exporting gas, Gazprom, recently approached the Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz, reserving more gas transport capabilities to Europe, Naftogaz head said on Thursday.
In 2020, Gazprom had already booked a capacity of 65 billion cubic meters, and Kobolyev did not say how much more he needed. Gazprom aims to complete a pipeline of 11 billion dollars in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to resolve Ukraine's transit fees. U.S. sanctions stopped the pipeline last year.
Like the Obama administration, the Trump administration has resisted the project, saying it will increase the role of Russia in Europe. Germany and other nations, however, claim that this is a commercial project. U.S. senators are working on new U.S. pipeline sanctions.
IPR Energy Group ('IPR') has reported that it has decided to acquire Nile Delta onshore assets from Dana Gas Egypt, turning IPR into one of the leading autonomous local oil & gas companies in Egypt. The deal is subject to statutory government approval and is due to close at the beginning of 2021.
The acquired properties include a 100 % stake in the concessions of El Manzala, West El Manzala, West El Qantara and North El Salhiya, owned by WASCO JV, a joint venture with EGPC.
Through this strategic and highly advantageous acquisition, IPR with more than 110 million barrels of 2P oil equivalent reserves will become a 64,000 boepd (45,500 equity) producer in Egypt.
In order to further improve its application and encourage investment in the field, Nigeria's downstream gas operators have advised the federal government to domesticate its gas resources as a catalyst.
The operators were critical of Nigeria's long-standing emphasis on its gas exports market, and accepted that it was time to take advantage of the benefits of building economic diversity and resilience.
The French government has urged Engie to halt agreements to conclude a multi-billion dollar US liquefied natural gas import deal on environmental concerns, Reuters reports.
Engie's $7 billion deal will be with NextDecade, which should determine whether to pursue plans for the construction of its planned Rio Grande export plant in Texas.
The move also comes in the midst of an escalating fight for Europe's gas markets between the United States and Russia, as well as trade tensions triggered by tensions between Paris and Washington over taxes on big digital firms.
Pipeline operator, Kinder Morgan, recently told investors that its Permian Highway pipeline was still on track to begin operation in 2021, as quarterly earnings dropped by 10% due to lower shipping volumes.
Because of the corona-virus crisis, the firm blamed the decline in pipeline flows of refined goods and natural gas on a decrease in energy demand.
The company's net profit dropped from $506 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago, to $455 million, or 20 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the U.S. natural gas futures jumped more than 4 percent to their highest close in 20 months on rising liquefied natural gas ( LNG) exports and forecasts over the next two weeks for colder weather and more heating demand than previously anticipated.
Refinitiv expects average demand to rise from 90.0 bcfd this week to 98.7 bcfd next week as LNG exports increase and the weather becomes colder.
So far in October, the volume of gas flowing to LNG export plants has averaged 6.9 bcfd, up from 5.7 bcfd in September.
Reuters reported on Monday that, ConocoPhillips agreed to purchase $9.7 billion from U.S. shale oil producer Concho Resources Inc, as the energy market continued to consolidate amid lower fuel prices and demand.
The transaction swaps 1.56 ConocoPhillips shares for each Concho share, a premium of around 1.5 percent over its price on Friday. At $49.30 in early trading on Monday, Concho shares were up 1.4 percent. In January, before the COVID-19 pandemic cut oil demand and costs, they sold for as much as $93 a share.
Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline's Acadiana Project was approved by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
P&GJ says the company sought permission for the construction of three additional compressor stations to add almost 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of the gas pipeline from Northern Louisiana to Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG export plant in the U.S. Coast of the Gulf.
A sixth liquefaction train is currently being added to the facility by Cheniere, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2022. Kinder Morgan plans to be in operation in the second quarter of 2022, which costs about $143 million under Acadian expansion.
Last week, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, issued guidelines for the formation and management of downstream gas facilities throughout the country, stating that before starting operations, companies seeking to set up gas-dispensing facilities would be required to obtain three approvals and licenses, among others. Companies planning to build such facilities must meet all the required conditions laid down in the DPR.
The facilities must be equipped with required amenities and equipment such as functional automated / manual leak sensors, functional fire alarm system, and mounted gas detectors, sufficient fire water storage and sprinklers, perimeter fence with fire wall, among others."
Reuters reported that in order to restrict emissions of methane, the European Union is proposing mandatory requirements for natural gas.
Companies, like Shell and BP, have set voluntary goals for the reduction of methane emissions, and the IEA reports that a third of these emissions could be avoided at no net cost as they could sell the captured gas.
Reuters reported that Russian gas giant Gazprom expects excess supplies in the European natural gas sector to begin in 2021.
One of the major reasons cited by the company for the gas glut is the increased U.S. LNG exports.
U.S. LNG suppliers have unbalanced and struggled to stabilize the European market.
Gazprom saw its share in the European gas market, which accounts for 55% of its sales revenue, fall in the midst of sluggish demand and competition from other suppliers, such as LNG.
Gazprom plans to export at least 170 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Europe in 2020 , compared with 199 bcm in 2019.
P&GJ reported that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has estimated that about 20% of its gas pipeline assets operated by ADNOC Gas Pipelines will be divested to the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) and the regional holding company ADQ.
A total of $2.1 billion in select ADNOC gas pipeline infrastructure assets will be invested by the two parties.
It was stated in the terms of the deal, ADNOC will divest 20% of ADNOC Gas Pipelines, a wholly owned ADNOC company holding 100% of ADNOC 's interest in the properties of ADNOC Gas Pipelines, to ADPF and ADQ, respectively.
Subject to customary closing conditions and all regulatory approvals, the transaction is scheduled to close later this month. ADNOC's financial advisors were Bank of America Securities, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Mizuho Securities, while Moelis & Company served as ADNOC's independent financial advisor.
Reuters reported that the oil giant BP has announced plans to begin exporting natural gas to Europe from Azerbaijan by the end of the year. BP is a shareholder in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is planned to export energy to Europe from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz offshore sector.
This will allow the Shah Deniz Consortium to finalize the final steps needed to launch Azerbaijan's 25-year supply of natural gas to buyers in Italy, Greece and Bulgaria as expected by the end of 2020.
The Southern Gas Corridor of US$40 billion will be derived from the giant Shah Deniz II field of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea, with European support
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