Vedanta gets green nod for Rs 12,000 crore oil and gas expansion project in Rajasthan
Mining moghul Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd has received environment clearance for the expansion of its oil and gas operation in Rajasthan that would entail an investment of Rs 12,000 crore, according to an official circular. The proposal is to expand onshore oil and gas production from the existing 3,00,000 BOPD (barrels oil per day) to 4,00,000 BOPD and 165 mmscfd (million standard cubic feed per day) to 750 mmscfd from the ‘RJ-ON-90/1’ block located in Barmer and Jalore districts, Rajasthan. The Union Environment Ministry gave the final clearance to the proposed expansion project after taking into account recommendations of an in-house expert committee. The environment clearance (EC) is, however, subject to compliance to certain conditions. The EC certificate has already been issued to Vedanta Ltd, the document showed. The estimated project cost is Rs 12,000 crore. The company aims to implement the project in a phased manner during seven years. The project involves oil augmentation to produce up to 4,00,000 BOPD and 250 MMSCFD of associated gas from the oil field and natural gas augmentation to produce up to 500 mmscfd. Total area of the oil and gas block is 3,111 sq km. Out of it, the project presently covers an area of 1,501.7 hectare in Barmer and Jalore districts. Additional 150 hectare of land in Barmer district will be used for the proposed expansion, the company said in its proposal. The ‘RJ-ON-90/1 block’ comprises of Vedanta Ltd and state-run ONGC for hydrocarbon exploration, development and production activities in the block, while Cairn Oil and Gas division (part of Vedanta Group) is the operator of the block.
Saudi Aramco looking at potential gas JVs, sells first LNG cargo: CEO
Saudi Aramco’s chief executive said on Thursday the company was in discussions with many partners around the world regarding potential joint ventures in gas, and that it has sold its first LNG cargo. The state oil giant, the world’s top oil producer, wants to become a major player in gas and is eyeing projects around the world to help it gain a firm foothold in international gas business, Amin Nasser said in Riyadh. “There is a lot of potential to grow in gas … We are currently in discussion with a lot of partners around the world for growing our international gas position,” Nasser said. “For the time being we are looking at potential JV or partnership,” he said, adding that Aramco will also be looking at potentially exporting gas through both pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Aramco’s trading arm has sold its first LNG from Singapore, Nasser said. Aramco Trading Co. has sold the LNG cargo on the spot market late last month to an Indian buyer, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Aramco is pushing ahead with its conventional and unconventional gas exploration and production programme to feed its fast growing industries, as the company plans to increase its gas output and become an exporter. The state oil giant plans to boost its gas production to 23 billion standard cubic feet (scf) a day from about 14 billion scf now. Aramco has been looking at gas assets in Russia, Australia and Africa, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih had said. Nasser said a decision to list Aramco is up to the Saudi government and will be done after its acquisition of a majority stake in Saudi petrochemical maker SABIC is closed. Aramco last year postponed until 2021 an initial public offering (IPO) aimed at raising money for a government looking to cut its budget deficit and diversify its economy beyond oil. Aramco is buying a 70 percent stake in SABIC, the world’s fourth biggest petrochemicals company, from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in a deal worth $69.1 billion. Aramco has said the deal will close in 2020.
Chinese companies take stakes in Russia’s Novatek gas
Two state-owned Chinese energy giants have each taken 10 percent stakes in Russian Novatek’s liquified natural gas (LNG) projects, the second largest gas company in Russia said Thursday. The China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC) signed an agreement to acquire the stake in Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2, the privately owned Russian company said in a statement. CNODC is part of the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Novatek also announced that the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) had taken a stake of the same size in the USD 20-billion project. In two press releases, Novatek boss Leonid Mikhelson first praised “the continuation of fruitful cooperation with CNPC” and then the “new partner” CNOOC, “because China is one of the main consumer markets for our sales of liquefied natural gas”. The agreements were signed in Beijing during the New Silk Roads Summit. French company Total is also a 10 percent partner in the Arctic LNG 2 project, which extracts gas from northern Siberia. Also on Thursday, Novatek announced its net profit had increased nine-fold in the first quarter on 2019, on the back of Arctic LNG 2 and other arctic megaproject Yamal LNG. The net profit of the group was 381.8 billion rubles (5.3 billion euros, USD 5.9 billion), an increase of 786 per cent year-on-year, according to Novatek figures.
Poland’s PGNiG eyes gas from Israeli fields: CEO
Poland’s dominant gas firm PGNiG would be interested in gas from Israel, its Chief Executive Piotr Wozniak said on Thursday, as the company seeks to diversify from Russian gas. More than half of the gas sold by state-run PGNiG comes from Russia’s Gazprom based on a long-term deal which expires in 2022. PGNiG has taken steps to reduce that reliance as it does not plan to extend the agreement. It has secured purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies via a Baltic Sea terminal, mostly from Qatar, the United States and Norway. It also plans to import gas from Norway, including its own deposits in Norway via a planned Baltic Pipe pipeline. “We want to be the company at the crossroads of North-South and East-West… we need something to the south. Something reliable. So we are looking at all those places to the south of Poland very carefully… So yes, we are interested in Israel,” Wozniak told Reuters. A number of large gas discoveries offshore Israel and in nearby eastern Mediterranean waters in the last decade have made Israel a potentially lucrative prospect for big energy firms. The region is emerging as a new hot spot for gas exploration and production.