SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Oil and Gas news in Africa (Exploration and Development)

54K views 277 replies 32 participants last post by  kana houna 
#1 ·
By:www.ogj.com
Cairn tests oil offshore Senegal
Spudded in November 2015, Cairn Energy PLC’s SNE-2 appraisal well was successfully tested in two intervals offshore Senegal on the Sangomar Block (OGJ Online, Dec. 10, 2015).
Drillstem tests over a 12-m interval flowed 8,000 bo/d through a 24/64-in. choke, the company said. A second 15-m interval flowed 1,000 bo/d through the same size choke, however, the company said this oil was low quality “heterolithic” pay.
Following this first successful appraisal well, Cairn expects to revise its resource estimates for SNE field, which lies 100 km offshore Senegal.
The tests confirm correlation of the principle reservoir units between SNE-1 and SNE-2 with the primary reservoirs occurring in the gas cap as predicted, the company said.
The company recovered 216 m of continuous core across the entire reservoir interval. Similar oil-down-to and oil-up-to depths were verified in SNE-2 (103 m gross) with those in SNE-1 (95 m gross).
The SNE-2 well was drilled in 1,200 m of water to a total depth of 2,800 m. It lies some 3 km to the south of Cairn’s previous SNE-1 discovery well (OGJ Online, Nov. 19, 2014). The company is now planning its second appraisal well, SNE-3.
Project partners are Cairn 40%, ConocoPhillips 35%, FAR 15%, and Senegal state oil concern Petrosen 10%.
 
See less See more
1
#135 ·
Bonatti and Sonatrach discuss Algerian energy
World Pipelines, Monday, 25 September 2017

Over the last few days, the CEO of Bonatti Group, Paolo Ghirelli, had a meeting with the CEO of Sonatrach, Abdelmoumen Ould Kadour. Sonatrach is the Algerian State-owned oil company and one of the most important energetic players working in research, production, delivery, transformation and commercialisation of hydrocarbons.

During the meeting, the two CEOs discussed the business path of Bonatti in Algeria and its role in the hydrocarbons industry.

The Bonatti’s path in Algeria has a very long history: it started with the first contract in 1999 and, after almost 20 years of entrepreneurial business in the country, the company has become a reference point to state-owned and international oil companies.

In Algeria, Bonatti is specialised in several fields of the oil and gas and power sector: EPC projects, construction and maintenance of plants, construction of pipelines and well production services, where the company directly intervenes on hydrocarbons production with its technology.

Last, but not least, is integration. 98% of Bonatti’s personnel in Algeria is represented by Algerian citizens, constituting a total of 4000 people. The employment of local workers is important even when we talk about the linked industries: more than 150 local companies are official partners or providers of Bonatti Group.

Located in 15 sites, Bonatti has its headquarters in Algeri and its main operating base in Hassi Messaoud (covering an area of 17 000 m2): here the company provides coordination and services to all the operative places. Currently the whole work of Bonatti Group in Algeria, with its high strategic value projects, proves the importance of the company and its capacity of being a partner of most the important companies present in this area.

Projects

In Alrar, the construction of the new boosting plant – that includes the installation of eight compressors – will increase the production of the gas field located in the area.

The EPC project – currently ongoing – aimed at creating a new compressor station in Hassi r’mel, the main gas node of the country, will increase the potential of the main gas transportation networks.

Operations and maintenance activities, in progress in different sites, support oil companies in maintaining the level of hydrocarbons production in existing plants. Among these works, significant relevance is to be given to the successful shutdown of MLE plants completed in April.

The well production services guarantee the oil companies efficiency and optimisation of hydrocarbons production. Thanks to the use of peculiar technological solutions, as the multiphase pumping systems, and thanks to its logistic capability, Bonatti is able to guarantee continuous support to the oil and gas fields and a zero environmental impact.

Ghirelli noted: “Today our attention is focused on fast track projects, that require a shrink of the construction times. Our smart construction team is developing the best techniques that will lead us to reduce the construction and start-up timing. We learnt this innovative techniques thanks to our activity in North America, where our clients give an extreme attention to the optimisation of their capitals. Our intention is to improve our research and make our experience available for National Oil Companies and for our clients North African area.”
https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/25092017/bonatti-and-sonatrach-discuss-algerian-energy/
 
#136 ·
Algeria hopes to export 7 bcm of gas via Medgaz pipeline -Sonatrach



Lamine Chikhi, Reuters News

BENI SAF MEDGAZ, Algeria - Algeria hopes to export 7 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas via the Medgaz gas pipeline to Spain this year, the chief executive of state energy firm Sonatrach said on Tuesday.

The OPEC producer exported 4.5 bcm of gas via the pipeline in the first eight months, CEO Ould Kaddour told reporters during a visit to the Beni Saf Medgaz station.

"Our strategy is to boost gas output," he said when asked about the firm's strategy. "We can increase the Medgaz capacity by 2 billion cubic metres."
https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/story...az_pipeline_Sonatrach-TR20170926nL8N1M71SWX2/
 
#137 ·
Transneft and Algerian Sonatrach develop cooperation
today, 16:05Neftegaz
Transneft reported on 26 September 2017, that the Vice President of the company Mikhail Margelov and Deputy Director General for Hydrocarbon Transportation at Sonatrach Arbi Bey Slimane initialed a memorandum in the city of Algiers.

The sides expressed their intention to collaborate in such areas as non-destructive testing and safer operation of the pipeline infrastructure.
The memorandum which took 2 years to work out will be signed during the visit of Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev to Algeria this October.

Cooperation with Sonatrach opens great opportunities for Transneft in the promotion of services, technologies and products in the African continent.
Mikhail Margelov pointed out that Algeria would become a new important market for Transneft Diascan to unlock its export potential.

On the same day Mikhail Margelov took part in the next meeting of the mixed intergovernmental commission for commercial-economic and research-technology collaboration.
The Russian delegation was led by Russian energy minister and board chairman of Transneft Alexander Novak.
Sonatrach operates more than 20,000 km of trunk pipelines and owns petrochemical and desalination plants as well as 4 natural gas liquefaction plants and 5 oil refineries.
The annual turnover of Africa’s biggest oil company exceeds $50 billion.
http://neftegaz.ru/en/news/view/165233-Transneft-and-Algerian-Sonatrach-develop-cooperation
 
#138 ·
Algeria to increase gas exports to Europe
September 26, 2017
Algeria’s state-run energy company Sonatrach has announced that it will boost its annual gas export to Europe by 10 billion cubic meters.

The announcement was made by Sonatrach’s chief executive, Abelmoumen Ould Kaddouras, during his visit to Medgaz gas pipeline, which is located in Algeria’s western coastal city area of Beni Saf.

Kaddouras explained that the company’s current the production capacity amounts to 8 billion cubic meters, stressing that it can be increased by additional two billion cubic meters.

“The Medgaz gas pipeline can produce 10 billion cubic meters of gas through Spain,” he noted, adding that the gas facility will be provided with all the needed equipments to achieve the project.

“The importance of this project is that it will make it possible to recover large quantities of gas and sell them, particularly in the current situation of declining oil prices,” the Algerian official stressed.

Read More: PM calls on Algerians to ‘abandon crime’ and come home

“Our new strategy is to sell everything we can sell as gas,” Kaddouras pointed out.

Medgaz is a gas pipeline connecting Algeria’s largest oil field, Hassi Messaoud, with Spain.

Algeria exports gas to Spain and Portugal through a second gas pipeline that passed through Morocco, of which the Moroccan kingdom also benefits form.

There is a third gas pipeline connecting Algeria with Italy through Tunisia known as the Transmed-Enrico Mattei gas pipeline.

Kaddouras also announced about a plan to launch of three new gas fields during the first quarter of the next year.

In 2016, Algeria’s total exports of gas in amounted to 54 billion cubic meters, according to Sonatrach official figures.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170926-algeria-to-increase-gas-exports-to-europe/
 
#140 ·




TANZANIA : Huge Underground Cache of Helium in Africa Could Avert Global Shortage

Large underground reserves of helium in East Africa are at least twice as large as first reported, according to scientists from the University of Oxford and the company that plans to start pumping up the precious gas within three years.

The discovery of region of Tanzania was announced late last year. The initial samples from gas seeps in the area indicated that the underground deposits contained an average of 2.6 percent helium, mixed mostly with nitrogen. []

Based on that figure, independent resource assessors estimated that the underground gas field contains 54 billion cubic feet (1.5 billion cubic meters) of helium, or about one-third of the world's known reserves of the gas, which have been dwindling for decades, according to annual assessments .

But new measurements from the Tanzanian gas seeps now show concentrations of up to four times the earlier average value, said Thomas Abraham-James, a geologist and CEO of Helium One, a Portugal-based company that plans to start selling the gas internationally by 2020.

...
https://www.livescience.com/60620-huge-underground-cache-of-helium-in-africa.html
 
#141 ·
By:www.rigzone.com

Algeria Delays Start Of Southern Touat Gas Field

by Reuters
|Lamine Chikhi
|Wednesday, October 25, 2017

TOUAT, Algeria, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Algeria will delay the start of the southern Touat gas field until the first quarter of 2018, almost a year later than planned, the head of state energy firm Sonatrach said.

"Of the 21 wells, only 3 are ready to come online," CEO Abdelmoumene Ould Kaddour told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to the planned field located deep in Algeria's south.

"I acknowledge that our business in the deep south is very difficult, very complex, but definitely we need to improve our efficiency," he said.

"We are always late. It is becoming very serious."

Touat is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2018. It is one of five gas fields Algeria has been developing.

Kaddour said Algeria planned to boost annual gas production to 95 billion cubic metres, of which 42 billion would be for domestic and 53 billion for exports. It had originally eyed boosting exports to 57 billion cubic metres.

"But we will meet 100 percent of our commitments with our clients," Kaddour said.

Touat will produce 12.8 million cubic metres per day. In the gas project Sonatrach holds a 55 percent share and French Engie 45 percent.

Sonatrach, Algeria's cash cow and a major gas supplier to Europe, has been shaken by corruption scandals, the frequent departure of top executives and bureaucratic inefficiencies that have hindered development of new oilfields.

The sprawling company has been hit by delays in launching new fields because foreign businesses have been reluctant to invest due to tough contractual terms. Sonatrach has also had seven CEOs in 10 years.

Kaddour, who was appointed in March, has said he would undertake the necessary reforms.

Algeria remains dependent on oil and gas earnings that provide 60 percent of the state budget, with Sonatrach’s performance key to the health of the economy.

The North African OPEC member has sought to address its difficulties attracting oil investment and last year began to take a more flexible approach to bilateral talks with foreign partners.

However, there have been divergent views within Algeria's ruling elite over how hard to push for foreign investment and domestic economic reform to boost revenue and spur growth.

(Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Adrian Croft/David Evans)
 
#142 ·
Ghana opens talks with Exxon on deepwater drilling contract

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana has opened talks with Exxon Mobil Corp to allow the U.S. oil firm to undertake deepwater exploration off its coast, a deputy energy minister said on Monday.

The negotiations are ongoing according to our current laws ... so far so good,” Mohamed Amin Adam told Reuters on the sidelines of an Africa oil conference in Accra.

Adam said the government had opted for direct negotiation with Exxon Mobil without open competitive tendering due to the peculiar nature of the field, and because Ghana has yet to pass regulations to back open competitive tendering.

A new petroleum law requires that oil contracts should be awarded through open and competitive tender. It also allows direct negotiation when necessary and justifiable.

Exxon Mobil signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ghana in 2015 to assess its Deepwater Cape Three Point (DCTP) region, 150 km (100 miles) off the coast with water depth ranging between 2,000 and 4,000 metres (6,500 and 13,000 feet).

The government said two firms had separately opted not to seek to explore the field because of its depth and high risk levels.

Adam said the government considered the ExxonMobil bid important, given the firm’s experience and capability in deepwater operations.

...

http://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFKBN1DE0P4-OZABS
 
#143 ·
Algeria pushes back Timimoun first gas output to 2019



North African producer had awarded development rights to the project to a Sonatrach, Total and Cepsa consortium in 2009

Africa’s largest gas producer Algeria is expected to start gas production from its Timimoun field in 2019 - two years later than planned - with negotiations for contracts to potentially supply Europe currently underway, according to the Spanish energy firm Cepsa, which is one of the stakeholders in the field.

“We’re close to finishing development of the area, we’re still making more drills and developing all the surface facilities and should be in operation some time in the beginning of 2019,” the Cepsa chief executive Pedro Miro told The National in Abu Dhabi.

Discussions are currently underway to potentially take gas from Timimoun, which is expected to produce 1.6 billion cubic metres annually into Europe through the 757km Medgaz pipeline linking the North African state with Spain.

“The gas contract is being negotiated right now and to my knowledge this has not been completely defined. Cepsa is the main investor partner and partner of Sonatrach in Medgaz, which is a huge pipeline - the only one - linking directly Algeria with Europe through Spain. We built it with them, we’re the two main shareholders.

“If the possibility exists, we’d be delighted to bring this gas into Spain or into Europe,” he added.

Cepsa holds a 42 per cent per cent stake in the deepwater gas pipeline, with the remainder being held by the Algerian state oil producer Sonatrach (43 per cent) and the Spanish firm Gas Natural (15 per cent).

Sonatrach holds a 51 per cent operations stake in the Timimoun field, located in the south-west of the country, with the remaining share held by the French oil major Total (37.75 per cent) and Cepsa (11.25 per cent).

The consortium was awarded development rights to the field in 2009 with first gas planned for 2013 but the project has repeatedly missed deadlines for production.

Algeria has shown tepid signs of reviving stalled gas projects. Sonatrach had planned to bring gas from the Reggane and Touat fields online this year. However, last month, it announced that the Touat development project, valued at $1 billion with an annual capacity of eight million cu metres, had been pushed back to the first quarter of 2018.
https://www.thenational.ae/business...ck-timimoun-first-gas-output-to-2019-1.676331
 
#144 ·
By:www.lngworldshipping.com
Africa – a new frontier for FLNG
Mon 04 Dec 2017
Floating LNG technology will unlock small and stranded gas reserves in the southern hemisphere – positioning sub-Saharan Africa as an LNG contender. Ross McCracken reports

Floating LNG (FLNG) is opening new offshore gas basins for LNG development in Africa. Producers are striking offtake agreements with portfolio players and traders, and sizeable long-term contracts are due to expire from 2020.

This, the ownership structure of Africa’s new LNG production and the willingness of international oil companies to deploy new technologies will drive the commoditisation of LNG and cement its growing role as such in the global trading of energy.

Uniquely, FLNG vessels will provide the first liquefaction plants in Mozambique and Cameroon and the technology is also expected to lead an expansion of capacity in Equatorial Guinea.

Italy’s Eni and its partners took a final investment decision (FID) on the 3.4M tonnes a year (mta) Coral FLNG scheme off Mozambique in June 2017. The project will be the first of this type to have as much as 60% of its cost funded on a project-finance basis, backed by 15 international banks and guaranteed by five export credit agencies.

Eni has signed an agreement with BP for the sale of all the LNG produced at Coral South for more than 20 years.

In August, Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH), Ophir Energy and La Compania Nacional de Petroleos de Guinea Ecuatorial nominated trading house Gunvor as its preferred LNG offtaker for the 2.2 mta Fortuna FLNG project.

The deal takes the project an important step forward towards FID. Gunvor is committed to take the full contract capacity, which will be purchased on a Brent-linked, FOB basis for a 10-year term.

Meanwhile, BP and Kosmos’ Tortue FLNG project offshore Mauritania and Senegal is progressing on the back of positive drilling results. In August, KBR of Houston, Texas was awarded contracts for pre-front-end engineering and design and project-support services for development of the 15 Tcf Tortue/Ahmeyim field.

A string of large offshore gas discoveries in the region is sufficient to underpin multiple LNG projects and deliver BP’s stated ambition of developing a new West African LNG hub. However, Africa’s first FLNG deployment is likely to be in Cameroon.

The 125,000 mᶾ Hilli Episeyo has been contracted by France’s Perenco Cameroon SA and Cameroon’s Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures to produce up to 2.4 mta of LNG from the offshore Kribi fields. Hilli Episeyo set sail from Singapore for West Africa in October.

The Cameroon project has some unique elements. It is the first conversion of an LNG carrier to an FLNG vessel, which shipowner Golar LNG undertook on a speculative basis. Conversions potentially offer a cheaper and quicker route to FLNG deployment than newbuilds. Product from the project will be sold to Russia’s Gazprom.

Two-speed development

There are also major onshore projects planned in Sub-Saharan Africa, but they are progressing more slowly than the continent’s FLNG projects.

Mozambique LNG signed a sales and purchase agreement in September to supply Thailand’s national oil and gas company PTT with 2.6 mta. Project operator Anadarko has also secured agreements with Maputo, allowing it to design, build and operate the marine facilities for its 12 mta LNG project. At the time of writing, Anadarko and its partners needed to secure further offtake agreements before progressing to FID.

Tanzania also has substantial gas reserves earmarked for LNG development. However, the government there is proving to be less hospitable than in Mozambique. Tanzania’s gas ambitions received a blow in early July when the government decided to force all existing upstream investors to renegotiate the terms of their contracts and concessions.

The Natural Wealth and Resources and the Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts Bills affect all parts of Mozambique’s oil, gas and mining sectors.

FLNG, in contrast, is racing ahead as these projects’ smaller scale makes it easier to secure offtake agreements – often requiring a single buyer. Of note is the sale of FLNG-produced LNG to portfolio players and traders rather than to end-users: Coral to BP, Fortuna to Gunvor and Kribi to Gazprom.

Moreover, operating companies are keen to get early experience of a new technology that offers the ability to exploit large, formerly stranded offshore gas assets – and that does this in a way that reduces the risk of the civil instability that can affect onshore developments.

There is even the prospect of emerging intra-African trade. Ghana is expected to become Sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG importer. The floating storage and regasification unit Hoegh Giant is slated to start a 20-year contract with Quantum Power from mid-year.

This reflects, in part, the unreliability of gas supplies via the West African Gas Pipeline, which originates in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, again a reminder of the enhanced security that offshore production requires in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

FLNG developers’ willingness to sell to trading houses and portfolio players is reflected elsewhere in Africa too.

Angola LNG, having overcome its technical difficulties, signed an agreement with France-based EDF Trading in March 2016. It followed this in September 2017 by signing separate deals with traders Vitol, Glencore and Germany-based RWE Supply and Trading.

Angola LNG may prove a model for contract renewal as long-term deals move towards expiry for Africa’s legacy LNG producers. Contracted volumes from Nigeria’s LNG plants will fall sharply in coming years, from 20.75 mt in 2017 to 9.6 mt in 2026.

This frees up significant volumes to be re-contracted on new terms, sold to new buyers or traded spot. There is already a clear shift in balance between Nigerian contracts signed for delivery into a specific national market and those with portfolio players.

The proportion is 63% to specific end-use markets versus 37% to portfolio players. Based on existing contracts, by 2025 this is reversed to a 36% to 64% ratio.

Direct contracts with end-user markets may be renewed, but portfolio players appear more willing to contract forward.

Equity structure

The upstream involvement of international oil companies in Nigeria’s LNG projects lends itself to contractual arrangements with portfolio players and trading houses, as opposed to Africa’s other main producer, Algeria, whose sales and production are controlled by state-owned Sonatrach. Notably, all of Sonatrach’s current contracted volumes are with specific end-use markets, all of which are in Europe and Turkey. However, Algeria, too, will see contracts expire, with contracted volumes falling from 15.4 mt in 2017 to just 5.6 mt in 2020 and then to 2.7 mt in 2024.

Sonatrach, which has already said it will consider shorter-term contracts, needs to secure both its pipeline and LNG supplies to its principal markets. However, it faces increasing competition in the Atlantic Basin, not just from the US and Qatar, but also from the traders to which the new West African producers are contracted.

The new FLNG projects mean that the East and West African LNG hubs are emerging on a model similar to Nigeria's, but with fewer onshore risks. Joint ventures of international oil companies develop the upstream project, carrying minority shares held by less technically able national hydrocarbons companies.

Starting small with FLNG, the new East and West African trading hubs could expand hugely from 2025, with larger-scale onshore developments, providing a rich new dimension to global LNG trade.



Box: Africa – an LNG star is reborn

Africa has been at the heart of LNG trade since its inception. The first supply agreement was signed between Algeria and the UK as far back as 1962. Libya soon joined the industry and, by the early 1980s, Algeria was the world’s largest LNG producer.

By 2017, Africa had six countries with liquefaction capacity – Algeria, Libya and Egypt in North Africa and Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola in the Sub-Saharan region. However, LNG volumes have been falling.

In 2016, Africa exported 33.5 mt, still 12.7% of the global market, but down from 38.5 mt in 2012. The fall reflected a multiplicity of problems: conflict in Libya, a dearth of gas in Egypt, technical problems in Angola and persistent social unrest in the Niger Delta, the source of Nigerian LNG plants’ feedstock.

However, the tide now appears to be turning. Africa is forecast to see volumes rise above 50 mta by 2021, reflecting the recovery of legacy producers and the emergence of new African LNG. It is the nature of the new capacity coming on stream that will drive the commoditisation of LNG.
 
#145 ·
Algerian natural gas production gets new boost with Reggane Nord startup
Algiers (Platts)--15 Dec 2017

Algeria's state-owned Sonatrach has started production at the major new Reggane Nord natural gas field complex, an industry source said Friday.

Sonatrach field complex to produce 8 million cu m/d at peak
Latest project to help boost maturing Algerian output
Total Algerian pipeline, LNG exports to reach 54 Bcm in 2017

Output is set to reach 8 million cu m/d at peak, giving Algeria's maturing upstream sector a new boost.

The project is one of many Algeria is bringing online in the coming years to offset falling output at its older fields.

Two other major fields are due online in 2018 -- the Touat and Timimoun fields -- while Sonatrach has announced plans to invest $2 billion to maintain current gas production levels at the giant Hassi R'mel gas hub in central Algeria..

According to the source, Reggane Nord started production earlier this week and an official inauguration ceremony is planned for Saturday.

The complex, which is made up of the Reggane Nord, Kahlouche, Kahlouche South, Sali, Tiouliline and Azrafil Southeast field, has estimated gas reserves of 88.6 Bcm of which 55 Bcm are recoverable.

The development plan is for production of 2.76 Bcm/year over a period of 12 years.

Reggane Nord is operated by Sonatrach with a 40% stake, while its partners are Spain's Repsol (29.25%), Germany's DEA (19.5%) and Italy's Edison (11.25%).

Sonatrach deputy CEO Omar Maaliou told S&P Global Platts in Algiers on Wednesday that Algeria's total gas exports, including LNG, were set to total 54 Bcm in 2017, 1 Bcm more than last year.

--Lies Sahar, newsdesk@spglobal.com
--Edited by Jeremy Lovell, jeremy.lovell@spglobal.com
https://www.platts.com/latest-news/...atural-gas-production-gets-new-boost-26857350
 
#147 ·
Algeria sends more oil to Cuba as Venezuelan supplies fall
#NOTICIAS DE MERCADOS10 DE ENERO DE 2018 / 17:01 / HACE 4 HORAS

ALGIERS, Jan 10 (Reuters) -
Algeria sent 2.1 million barrels of crude oil to Cuba last year and will ship the same amount in 2018, an official at state energy firm Sonatrach said on Wednesday, helping Cuba to offset lower supplies from the island’s closest ally, Venezuela.

“We delivered in 2017 three times 700,000 barrels, a total of 2.1 million barrels to Cuba,” Omar Maaliou, Sonatrach’s vice president in charge of trade and marketing, told Reuters. “We will do the same this year, the first 700,000 barrels are about to be delivered.”

Saharan Blend light sweet crude is Algeria’s main export grade. Cuba and Algeria have maintained a close relationship in recent years. The island annually imports some $200 million to$300 million of oil products from the African country, including some purchases of naphtha.

Cuba is also a regular buyer of Algerian jet fuel.

But Cuba has relied almost exclusively on Venezuela, also an OPEC member, for its crude supplies through a 15-year-old assistance programme that Caracas has been struggling to maintain as power cuts, lack of investment and payment delays slash its oil output.

Insufficient crude imports last year – mainly from Venezuela - forced Cuba’s state-run oil company Cupet to cut operations at its 65,000-barrel-per-day Cienfuegos refinery, where Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA had a 49-percent stake until August. It only refined 24,000 bpd of crude last year, according to official numbers.

Along with the drop in volume, the quality of the crude PDVSA had available for export also changed to heavier grades than Cuba’s refinery was used to.

Cuba bought the light Algerian crude for the first time in 2016 to blend with the heavier oil. PDVSA had previously supplied Cuba with a few cargoes of other light foreign crude grades.

Cuba has also been buying oil products from Russia’s Rosneft , which recently started talks with the Cuban government on exploring partnerships there. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi in Algiers and Julia Payne in London; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Adrian Croft)
https://lta.reuters.com/article/idLTAL8N1P54VX?rpc=401&
 
#148 ·
Flows of natural gas from Algeria via pipeline into Spain
Flows of natural gas from Algeria via pipeline into Spain have been running at multi-year highs so far in January with firm domestic demand and higher gas-fired generation boosting flows, data from S&P Global Platts Analytics showed.

Receipts hit 54 million cu m Monday, 26-month high
Domestic demand firm; LNG regas picking back up
LNG regas beats Algerian pipeline flows in 2017


Spain received a total of 54 million cu m of gas from Algeria via the Medgaz and Maghreb pipelines combined during Monday's gas day, with receipts via Maghreb of 34 million cu m rising to their highest since December 2013.

The boost in Algerian receipts has been primarily driven by firm domestic demand, with Local Distribution Zone demand cracking the 100 million cu m/d mark on Tuesday, reaching its highest in over five weeks at 103 million cu m.

Furthermore, Spanish gas-for-power demand has also picked up, reaching 19 million cu m on Tuesday after having been up at 29 million cu m on Monday after having been below 10 million cu m/d for each gas day between December 23 and January 5.

Gas-fired generation economics in Spain have been hit in recent months due to lower wholesale electricity prices, with concerns over French nuclear availability easing allied to hydro-electricity reservoir level fears receding.

S&P Global Platts assessed the Spanish month-ahead clean spark spread -- the theoretical margin for a 50%-efficient HHV gas-fired power plant including emissions -- was as low as Eur0.330/MWh on Monday after having been close to Eur11/MWh in early November.

The prompt CCS has fallen into negative territory in each of the last two first quarters, S&P Global Platts price data showed.

With imports from France steady between 10 million and 12 million cu m/d since early December, LNG regasification has also picked up to cover the growth in domestic gas demand.

LNG regas hit 50 million cu m on Tuesday after having been up at 59 million cu m on Monday after having averaged 26 million cu m/d for the first seven days of January.

Spanish LNG stocks have been boosted so far in January by several tanker arrivals, and started Tuesday's gas day at 1.273 Bcm of natural gas equivalent after having been down at 991 million cu m at the beginning of 2018.

LNG REGAS BEATS ALGERIAN PIPELINES IN 2017

With total annual Algerian receipts falling for a third consecutive year and LNG regas having risen during each of the last three years, Spain last year relied on LNG regas more heavily than Algerian pipeline imports for the first time since 2012.

Algerian pipeline imports were 14.511 Bcm in 2017, down 7.1% on the year and 10.3% shy of the 2014 high, but LNG regas rose by 19.3% year on year and was up almost 70% from the 2014 low to hit 15.266 Bcm in 2017.

Moreover, imports from the TRS area in the south of France rose 39.3% year on year in 2017 to reach 3.875 Bcm, as the oil-indexed pricing used by Algerian company Sonatrach became less competitive with both LNG and hub pricing, especially during the latter months of the Summer 2017 delivery period.
--Gary Hornby, gary.hornby@spglobal.com
--Edited by Jonathan Dart, jonathan.dart@spglobal.com
https://www.platts.com/latest-news/...-natural-gas-flows-to-spain-at-multi-26868292
 
#149 ·
Exxon Mobil signs deal for deepwater oil exploration off Ghana

ACCRA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp signed a deal with Ghana on Thursday to explore for oil in the Deepwater Cape Three Point offshore (DWCTP) oilfield.

The signing followed direct negotiations between Ghana and Exxon Mobil without an open competitive tender due to the nature of the field, where the depth ranges from 2,000 to 4,000 meters, Ghanaian officials said.

Ghana, which exports cocoa and gold, began commercial production of oil from its flagship Jubilee reserves in late 2010. Other firms drilling in the West African country include UK’s Tullow oil and Kosmos Energy

...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ghana-oil/exxon-mobil-signs-deal-for-deepwater-oil-exploration-off-ghana-idUSKBN1F7147
 
#150 ·
Nigeria passes major oil reform bill after 17 year struggle

LONDON/ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has moved closer to turning an oil industry bill into law after a 17 year struggle to complete the legislation which aims to increase transparency and stimulate growth in the country’s oil industry.

Nigeria’ lower house of parliament has passed a version of the bill which is the same as one approved by the Senate last year. This is the first time both houses have approved the same version of the bill. It still needs the president’s signature to become law.

The legislation - known as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)- was broken up into sections to help to get it through.

The House of Representatives passed the first part called the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) on Wednesday.

...

https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFKBN1F80S3-OZABS
 
#151 ·
Cespa and Sontrach sign a new exploitation contract with Alnaft for the RFK field in Algeria
Oilfield Technology, Monday, 22 January 2018 14:30

Cepsa, Sonatrach and Alnaft, the National Resources Development Agency of Algeria, have signed a new concession contract today for the operation of the Rhoude el Krouf (RKF) oilfield, located in the Berkine basin in Algeria.

This new agreement, which will last for 25 years, entails the significant redevelopment of a mature oilfield after 19 years in production with the objective of increasing crude production significantly and producing LPG for the first time, thanks to new hydrocarbon recovery techniques for this field.

This project, which has an expected investment of US$1 billion, is expected to have a significant economic impact generating between 1000 and 1500 jobs during the peak construction stage.

The redevelopment includes the drilling of 30 new wells, the construction of a new processing plant including a LPG recovery unit, and installations for the expedition of LPG. The new treatment facilities will have a daily production capacity of 24 000 boe/d and 10 000 barrels per day of LPG. The design of the installations will meet the highest technical standards bpd in the industry with regards to efficiency, safety, and respect for the environment.

The agreement has been signed by Pedro Miró, CEO of Cepsa, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, CEO of Sonatrach, and Arezki Hocini, President of Alnaft, at the headquarters of Alnaft in the Ministry of Energy in Algiers. This agreement reflects Cepsa’s commitment to Algeria and it represents an important step for the project and the strengthening of the historical association between Cepsa and Sonatrach.

The contract arises from the agreement signed between the two companies in November 2016, where the bases were set to extend the collaboration over the long term, and it will come into force once it is published in the Algeria’s Official Bulletin. The contract will be the first production field in Algeria that will be governed under the hydrocarbon law 05-07.

The RKF oilfield was discovered 25 years ago and was the first oilfield put into operation by Sonatrach and Cepsa in Algeria.
https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/...act-with-alnaft-for-the-rfk-field-in-algeria/
 
#152 ·
#153 ·
Africa's gas market: Primed to boom


2 FEB 2018 |

At the end of 2016, Africa had proven natural gas reserves of 503.3 Tcf (trillion cubic feet), indicating an increase of around 1% in total gas reserves on the continent. Though, 90% of gas production continues to come from Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and Libya.

However, the West Africa’s gas sector is expected to boom in 2018, aided by good economic recovery across the continent. Governments in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa are amplifying their efforts to secure gas supply to enhance domestic power generation, and expand their revenues away from crude oil. This includes developing pipelines, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms and major gas field projects. However, to encourage infrastructure investment across the region, deregulation of the gas market is also necessary.

There have also been large gas discoveries in Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania on the east coast, but developing these discoveries and their concomitant infrastructure requires expensive investment and long-term commitment. While the emergence of shale gas and the strategic environmental assessment commissioned by the South African government leads the way for exploration on the continent.

Bridging fuel
The International Energy Agency (IEA) asserts that natural gas will take the lead in meeting the world future energy needs, and demand will grow faster than oil and coal at 1.6% per year over the next five years. This growth will be stimulated by low prices, ample supply, and its role in reducing air pollution and other emissions.

In addition, natural gas is seen as the bridging fuel to a low-carbon future. It can play a central role in supporting energy security alongside variable renewables during the transition. It is also an adaptable fuel and supplies 22% of the energy used worldwide. It makes up nearly a quarter of electricity generation, plays a crucial role as a feedstock for industry, has fewer emissions of most types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide, and still produces an equal amount of energy.

With the global natural gas market growing, driven by the availability of shale gas and the increase in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, the stage is set for gas to become the world’s primary energy source towards 2050, and the last of the fossil fuels to experience peak demand.

Investment opportunities
However, new markets need connecting with hundreds of thousands of kilometres of pipelines. LNG provides a viable route to monetise large gas reserves in remote locations such as sub-Saharan Africa which have no significant markets nearby, and only limited connectivity to existing demand centres (2017 DNV).

A shift towards gas-based economies, with companies exploring cost-effective solutions to create value from flared gas, and assessing the various technologies to transport gas from remote offshore fields, is expected. This increased growth in natural gas use will result in more investment in both the short and long term across the supply chain of natural gas.

Currently, natural gas is the only fossil fuel that will preserve its share in the energy mix of the coming decades by improving its carbon footprint by curtailing methane emissions and improving the economics of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) for gas-fuelled power generation. This can only be achieved if supported by policies to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Independent power producers (IPPs) are constantly surveying the African market for entry opportunities.
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/355/173047.html
 
#154 ·
ALGERIA RESETS PATH TO OIL AND GAS REVENUE
02/05/2018

Algeria plans to amend its hydrocarbon law in a bid to attract foreign investors. Africa's leading natural gas producer, Algeria exports more than 80% of its gas to Europe (Fig. 1) and ranks among the top three oil producers in the region with the third-largest oil reserves in Africa. Despite these statistics, oil and natural gas production has declined in recent years (Fig. 2 and 3). Adding to this decline, infrastructure projects have been repeatedly delayed and foreign investors have steered away from the country. Algeria's current hydrocarbon law and its fiscal terms have become an obstacle to partnering with international oil companies. L...
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/v...geria-resets-path-to-oil-and-gas-revenue.html
 
#155 ·
By:af.reuters.com
Algeria launches new gas pipeline from southwestern fields
Reuters Staff
HASSI RMEL, Algeria, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Algeria has started pumping gas through a new pipeline that carries output from southwestern fields including Reggane North, Touat and Timimoun.

The pipeline has capacity of 8.8 billion cubic metre of gas a year, costing 88 billion Algerian dinars ($774 million), an official at state energy firm Sonatrach told reporters at the Hassi Rmel gas field on Thursday.

“We are so proud of this project because it has been constructed 100 percent by Algerian firms,” Sonatrach CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said.

OPEC member Algeria has been hit hard by the slump in world oil prices and has struggled to attract energy investment to help develop new fields and increase existing production.

Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe.
 
#156 ·
Algeria's Sonatrach to invest $56 bln from 2018 to 2022 - CEO
Reuters Staff
#ENERGY/ FEBRUARY 8, 2018

By Lamine Chikhi

HASSI RMEL, Algeria, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach will invest $56 billion from 2018 to 2022, its chief executive said on Thursday.

“We will give more details very soon,” Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour told reporters during a visit to the Hassi Rmel gas field.

He spoke after launching a new gas pipeline pumping from southwestern fields including Reggane North, Touat and Timimoun with capacity of 8.8 billion cubic metres a year.

“We are so proud of this project because it has been constructed 100 percent by Algerian firms,” Kaddour said.

OPEC member Algeria has been hit hard by a slump in world oil prices and struggled to attract energy investment to help develop new fields and increase existing production.

Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe.

In December, Sonatrach said it planned to work more closely with France’s Total on offshore, petrochemical, solar energy and shale exploration projects after settling disputes over profit-sharing on oil and gas contracts.

Algeria remains dependent on oil and gas earnings, which provide 60 percent of the state budget, and Sonatrach’s performance is key to the health of the economy.

The North African country has been working on a new energy law to provide better incentives for foreign firms, which had been deterred by current terms.

But there are still divergent views within Algeria’s ruling classes over how hard to push for foreign investment and domestic economic reform to boost revenues and spur growth.

Kaddour, a U.S.-educated engineer, has sought to improve the performance of Sonatrach, a sprawling state empire, and attract more foreign investment to boost its oil and gas production. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Dale Hudson and Ulf Laessing)

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.reuters.com/article/alg...-from-2018-to-2022-ceo-idUSL8N1PY4CC?rpc=401&
 
#158 ·
Algeria to supply natural gas to Tunisia - PM

09 February 2018
Algeria’s Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia announced that his country will soon begin to supply natural gas to Tunisia.

The agreement will see Algerian gas delivered to four territories by the end of 2018, including Sakiet Sidi Youssef, Ouyahia revealed after a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed.

Bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries has reached $2 billion per year, the PM noted.
https://english.mubasher.info/news/3225846/Algeria-to-supply-natural-gas-to-Tunisia-PM
 
#159 ·
Algeria's Sonatrach eyes more vessels to boost Asia gas sales
#AFRICATECH FEBRUARY 12, 2018
Reuters Staff
HASSI MESSAOUD, Algeria (Reuters) - Algeria will acquire more vessels to transport gas to Asia as it eyes increased sales in that region, the chief executive of state energy firm Sonatrach said on Monday.

“With Russia and the U.S., gas competition is tough,” Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour told reporters during a visit to the Hassi Messaoud oilfield. “Europe are our traditional clients but we need to secure the Asian markets to sell our gas.”
He gave no details.

Kaddour also said Sonatrach’s oil drilling in Algeria’s southern neighbour Niger, where a Sonatrach unit was awarded a production-sharing deal in 2015, had been “satisfying” so far.

Oil was found in the Kafra region, some 80 km (50 miles) from the Algerian border, he said. A Sonatrach executive will visit Niger next week to discuss expanding drilling, officials said.

Niger is one of Africa’s newest oil producers and has awarded exploration contracts as part of a drive to attract a broader range of investors into its nascent oil industry.
https://af.reuters.com/article/inve...News+(News+/+AFRICA+/+Business+News)&&rpc=401
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top