Iraq to proceed with oil exploration with Iran
Iraq’s oil minister says Iraq and Iran are jointly exploring two oil fields shared by the two countries, despite US efforts to isolate Iran from global oil markets. Thamer Ghadhban says Iraq is honoring an existing exploration agreement with neighboring Iran. He received Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh in Baghdad on Thursday. The US has been pressuring Iraq to break its energy dependence in Iran since it reinstated sanctions against the Islamic Republic last year. Iraq imports gas and electricity from Iran to meet its energy needs. The US granted Iraq a sanctions waiver until March to continue buying gas from Iran, after which Iraq could face punitive measures. Zanganeh said Iran was ready to increase gas sales to its neighbor.
Peru discusses importing natural gas through pipeline from Bolivia
Energy ministers from Peru and Bolivia agreed on Thursday to discuss building a pipeline that would transport natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Bolivia to its neighbor. The pipeline would provide crucial access to the Pacific Ocean for land-locked Bolivia, running to Peru’s southern port of Ilo. Bolivia had wanted to build a pipeline through Chile to reach the ocean and expand its gas exports, but the International Court of Justice ruled against Bolivia’s demand that Chile negotiate granting it sovereign access to the sea in October. Bolivia is South America’s top natural gas exporter, but it is a net importer of oil, as is neighboring Peru. Bolivia told Peru it would also like to build an oil pipeline to Peru and import gasoline, diesel and crude through Ilo. Peru did not mention that an oil pipeline was under consideration. “We’re interested in investing in Peru’s Ilo port. We’re working to build a large storage plant for imports of gasoline, diesel and crude,” Bolivian Energy and Mines Minister Luis Alberto Sanchez said in a statement following his meeting with counterpart Francisco Ismodes. Talks between Peru and Bolivia also include the creation of a joint venture between Bolivian state energy company YPFB and its Peruvian counterpart, Petroperu, to commercialize LNG in border regions, Bolivia said. Neither country gave a timeframe for implementing the projects discussed or the cost, but they said they would meet again in February.
Iraq to proceed with oil exploration with Iran
Iraq’s oil minister says Iraq and Iran are jointly exploring two oil fields shared by the two countries, despite US efforts to isolate Iran from global oil markets. Thamer Ghadhban says Iraq is honoring an existing exploration agreement with neighboring Iran. He received Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh in Baghdad on Thursday. The US has been pressuring Iraq to break its energy dependence in Iran since it reinstated sanctions against the Islamic Republic last year. Iraq imports gas and electricity from Iran to meet its energy needs. The US granted Iraq a sanctions waiver until March to continue buying gas from Iran, after which Iraq could face punitive measures. Zanganeh said Iran was ready to increase gas sales to its neighbor.
CPC pipeline exports 61.1 mt of oil in 2018, sees 11 per cent rise in 2019
Crude oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline reached 61.1 million tonnes in 2018, up 5.98 million tonnes on a year earlier, the consortium said on Thursday. Oil from Kazakhstan accounted for 54.3 million tonnes, with the rest coming from Russia, CPC data showed. The Kazakh oil included 28.7 million tonnes from Tengiz, 10.3 million tonnes from Karachaganak and 13.2 million tonnes from Kashagan, the data showed. CPC expects to export 67.7 million tonnes of CPC Blend oil in 2019 based on producers’ requests for this year, CPC Chief Executive Nikolai Gorban said. That is a rise of 11 percent. He said oil from Tengiz would account for a little more than 30.3 million tonnes, with 11.3 million tonnes coming from Karachaganak and 14.6 million tonnes coming from Kashagan. Market participants said CPC’s plans to hike oil exports in 2019 looked ambitious given Kazakhstan has said it would decrease production this year. Kazakh output is expected to be 89.5 million tonnes in 2019 compared to 90.3 million tonnes in 2018, Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev told reporters at the end of 2018, as Kazakhstan complies with output limits agreed with OPEC and others. Bozumbayev said planned maintenance at Kashagan, Tengiz and Karachaganak oilfields would help Kazakhstan meet those limits. Exports from those fields are exported via the CPC pipeline, which is run by a consortium including Russian state-owned Transneft, the government of Kazakhstan, U.S. energy firm Chevron and Russia’s Lukoil.
Italy to block oil and gas exploration permits
The Italian government is planning to block the issuing of about 36 permits to look for oil and gas as part of plans to cut the country’s carbon footprint, the industry ministry said on Wednesday. In a statement the ministry said upstream oil and gas activity in Italy was not of strategic importance for the country. Some industry experts say Italy is sitting on some of the biggest reserves in Europe, but red tape has scuppered exploration for years. Italy’s domestic gas production accounts for only 7.5 percent of its needs while its oil production is around 7.3 percent of demand. The ruling coalition of populist 5-Star Movement and right-wing League want to boost the role of renewable energy in Italy’s energy mix rather than explore for oil and gas. It plans to phase out coal power production by 2025 and has set a target of having 30 percent of domestic energy consumption generated from green sources by 2030. Long-term, it is looking to phase out fossil fuels by 2050. “The issuance of about 36 permits currently pending, including 3 permits already issued in the Ionian Sea, will be halted,” the ministry’s energy undersecretary Davide Crippa said in a statement. The measures will be included in an amendment to legislation that will be discussed in parliament in coming days, the ministry said.
Farzad-B Gas Field – India Can Still Acquire the Gas Field in Iran
The Farzad-B Gas Field was one thorn between blooming India-Iran Relations. After the recent visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif to India, it appears that the thorn of Farzad-B Gas Field can be removed. India may still get access to Iran’s Farzad-B gas block as discussions are ongoing, a senior Iranian minister has said. “Indians have had the opportunity of getting into Farzad-B (gas field) earlier, and they still have it,” Gholam Reza Ansari, deputy minister for Economic Affairs at Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said on Tuesday, hinting that Iran was willing to provide easier terms for India once negotiations progress. The total reserves of the Farzad B gas field are around 21.7 trillion cubic feet of which around 60% is recoverable and production is slated to be around 1.1 billion cubic feet/day. Ansari’s comments come after senior officials from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL) — the overseas investment arm of ONGC — said it may lessen its investment outlay, and agreed to Iran taking delivery of all gas already produced in the field. India had been looking to secure a contract for developing the gas field since 2009 but consecutive sanctions against Tehran played the spoiler besides the differences over pricing. Earlier as EurAsian Times reported, India with few other nations managed to squeeze out a six-month waiver from the US with regards to sanctions. As a result, New Delhi was permitted to import only nine million barrels of Iranian crude. “As far as I understand, Indians are trying to extend these waivers and I think, due to the traditional relation between our countries, they will be successful in securing those waivers as well,” Ansari said. As a result, the US has made the issue a part of its present trade negotiations with New Delhi. “Senior US officials visiting India have recommended that they may be willing to give India a waiver on US’ tariff hikes on aluminium and steel imports, provided India pledges to significantly change its sourcing pattern with regards to petroleum,” a senior trade department official said. India is yet to respond to this, he added. The Indian government had also been able to bypass international sanctions led by the US after deciding to use the euro for paying Iranian producers. But India will not have access to the European currency this time around as leading European Union nations have also supported Trump’s call for sanctions.
Shell completes acquisition of 26% equity in Hazira LNG and Ports
Shell Gas B.V., a subsidiary of global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell plc, on Wednesday announced that it has completed acquisition of 26 per cent equity interest in the Hazira LNG and Port venture from French energy player Total GazElectricite Holdings. The development brings Shell’s equity interest in the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminal and port on the coast of Gujarat state to 100 per cent now. “The move allows Shell to build an integrated gas value chain, supply from its global LNG portfolio, regasification at the Hazira facility, and downstream customer sales,” Shell said in a statement. In August last year, the gas major had announced to acquire 26 per cent stake from Total. The financials of the deal were not revealed. Strategically, the 100 per cent ownership of the LNG and port venture will enable Shell to contribute towards India’s long-term need for more and cleaner energy solutions. “Fifteen years ago, Shell invested in the Hazira project – the single largest foreign direct investment for India in the energy sector at the time. I am very proud that as a 100% shareholder, we will now be able to utilize this great infrastructure asset to its full potential and help provide much needed gas to serve the growing energy needs of India,” said Ajay Shah, Vice President, Shell Energy Asia. Shell Energy India was established in 2017, to aggregate demand from downstream customers and secure competitive international supply to meet such demand. “Having commercial and operational flexibility over Hazira will further enable Shell to offer better customer value propositions and build a pan-India gas business,” the statement said.
West Bengal holds Rs 50,000 crore shale gas hope but with riders
Shale gas may turn as a boon to West Bengal’s investment map with a potential of Rs 50,000 crore over the next several years but proper regulatory framework, environmental or social factors needs to be handled properly. “In West Bengal shale gas and related sector offers an investment potential of Rs 50,000 crore and huge employment opportunity,” state Finance minister Amit Mitra said on Wednesday at FICCI organised Gas Industry in West Bengal. Great Eastern Energy Corp (GEECL) and Essar Oil who are producing CBM in the Ranigunj belt had expressed interest in exploring and extracting shale gas and under the new licensing regime government has allowed shale exploration from CBM blocks. “GEECL had already announced to invest USD 2 billion over the next 10 years in shale gas extraction. Given the opportunity in existing blocks and potential blocks investment could as high as Rs 50,000 crore,” GEECL MD & CEO Prasant Modi said. He called for a conducive regulatory framework and increasing the licensing period to make it viable to invest in the project. Investment from Essar Oil will be similar as the reserves for both are almost similar. GEECL’s coal-bed methane (CBM) block may hold as much as 6.63 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale resources, of which about 1.7 Tcf can be recovered, he said. The Raniganj block has a shale gas potential of 7.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf), Essar officials had said earlier. But, several experts have flagged environmental and social concerns in shale gas exploration. An environmental NGO had urged the government to undertake research to explore the link between fracking, groundwater resources and ‘land subsidence’ before auctioning the shale blocks. A presentation made by a West Bengal Pollution Control Board official earlier said water requirement is 11,000 to 15,000 m3 for one well (the estimate is of the same order of 7-19 million liters per well according to a field data from a US gas field). Since the wells are horizontal and multilateral, there is a high possibility of groundwater contamination which may be a concern for the people in the belt, the presentation has said.
Torrent Power seeks 5 LNG cargoes for 2019: Sources
India’s Torrent Power is seeking five liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery in 2019, two industry sources said. The utility company is seeking cargoes for delivery over February, May, July, October and December, one of the sources said. The tender closed on Jan. 9 and is valid until Jan. 11. The February cargo will be bought at a fixed price while the others will be linked to Brent oil prices, the first source added. Torrent Power distributes electricity to over 3 million customers every year in India, according to the company’s website.
BPCL to buy Iranian oil in February after three-month gap: Sources
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp will import 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in February after a gap of three months, with the nation’s overall purchases from Tehran remaining at 9 million barrels, three industry sources said. The United States in early November granted India a six-month waiver from sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. Under the agreement, New Delhi must restrict its Iranian oil purchases to 1.25 million tonnes, or 9 million barrels. BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp will lift 1 million barrels each of Iranian crude oil in February, the sources said. HPCL this month resumed purchases of Iranian oil after a gap of six months. The company halted Iranian oil purchases in July after its insurance company refused to provide cover for the crude because of U.S. sanctions, although its chairman said HPCL may resume buying Iranian oil under sanctions waivers. Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, will lift 5 million barrels of Iranian oil in February, the same as this month. Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd will buy 2 million barrels compared with 3 million barrels this month, the sources said. An IOC official had previously said his firm would lift 180,000 bpd – the full volume contracted under an annual deal with Iran for this fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. India recently exempted rupee payments to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from a steep withholding tax, paving way for pending dues to be cleared. HPCL, IOC and BPCL did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while MRPL declined comment.