1. US Department of energy extends LNG Export clause
The U.S. Department of energy has extended the export period of seven LNG export licenses to 2050 for projects currently under construction or about to start. It includes golden pass terminal in Texas, Brownsville project in Texas, and Delfin, drivewood and Magnolia projects in Louisiana. In addition, the Costa Azul project in Mexico, led by Sempra energy, is also included. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has become a major growth area for U.S. energy exporters, and U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said “the extended authorization will ensure that the earnings from these exports continue for decades.”
2. China hopes to promote domestic shale gas development
China is seeking to attract investment in shale gas development by relaxing restrictions on foreign companies and subsidizing costs, with a view to increasing production while demand for natural gas continues to grow. In 2010, imported natural gas accounted for only 15% of China’s natural gas supply. By 2018, it accounted for nearly half of China’s total gas supply (but by 2018, the share of natural gas imports soared). To this end, China has been seeking to increase domestic production for the past three years. The latest incentives include extending the company’s exploration period from three to five years and allowing foreign oil and gas companies to operate directly in China after their registered offices in China.
3. UK are going to end aid to overseas fossil fuel projects
Last Friday, on the eve of the opening of the global climate ambition summit, the UK announced that it would end direct support for overseas fossil fuel projects. This means that the UK will no longer provide export financing or financial assistance for any oil, gas or coal project, although the investment decision just a few months ago in total Mozambique’s LNG project will be an exception.
4. Algeria national oil company and Eni sign memorandum of understanding
Sonatrach, Algeria’s national oil and gas company, said last week that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Italy’s Eni group to sign a contract to develop the berkene basin.
Over the past year, Sonatrach has signed memoranda of understanding with a number of international oil giants on possible exploration and production projects, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and OMV. Algeria passed a new oil and gas law last year, arousing international oil and gas giants’ interest in their upstream industries.
5. Petronas discovered oil and gas off the coast of Suriname
Petronas said hydrocarbons were found offshore for the first time after drilling sloanea-1 exploration well in Suriname block 52. Petronas owns 50% of the block and ExxonMobil owns the remaining 50%.
6. Last week, the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States increased by the largest amount since January
Baker Hughes, the US oil services company, said in a closely watched report on Friday that the number of us oil rigs increased by 12 to 258 in the week ending December 11, while the number of natural gas rigs increased by 4 to 79. Last week, the number of us oil and gas rigs each hit the highest since May. The increase in the total number of active rigs was the largest since January. Crude oil prices have been trading around $45 since the end of November, prompting producers to return to the drilling platform.
7. Equinor bought a stake in Rosneft for $550 million
Norwegian oil company equinor agreed on Friday to buy 49% of Russia’s onshore oil assets from Rosneft for $550 million. Equinor said the money would be used to buy a stake in krasgenac (kgn), a limited liability company with 12 conventional onshore exploration and production licenses in East Siberia. Since 2012, equinor and Rosneft have maintained a strategic cooperative relationship, carrying out cooperation projects in many regions of Russia.
Post time: Dec-14-2020