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NewBase 17 August 2015 - Issue No. 666 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE

Malaysia’s Petronas’ LNG sales drop 8 pct & down 47pc

on oil weakness Oman Observer + KNG Asia + NewBase

Malaysia’s oil and gas giant Petronas said it has sold 8 percent less LNG in the second quarter of 2015, as compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company’s LNG sales were at 6.92 million tonnes, down by 0.6 million tonnes on year due to lower production at its LNG complex in Bintulu, Petronas said on Friday.

In the first half of this year, Petronas sold 14.96 million tonnes of LNG, down from 15.15 million tonnes a year ago. Petronas made RM11.1 billion in profits after tax, on the back of RM61 billion revenue in the second quarter of 2015.

This is lower by 3 percent and 7 percent respectively, compared to the previous quarter mainly due to lower LNG volumes and prices, it said.

According to Petronas, the three-month average Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) reported a decrease of 14 percent in LNG prices where average price for the chilled gas in the second quarter was at US$57 per barrel as compared to US$66 per barrel in the previous quarter.

Petronas President and Group CEO Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that the company does not foresee a reprieve from the low oil prices in the near future.




“I do not expect our cash flow from operations this year to meet our CAPEX and dividend commitments. This means that we will have to persevere through with more austerity measures, and will have to draw on our cash reserves,” he said. “Cost management and efficiency will continue to be a key focus across the organisation,” Wan Zulkiflee added.

profit down 47pc on oil weakness

Petronas said its second-quarter profit plunged 47 per cent, warning of “unrelenting” difficulty as lower world oil prices hit the company’s bottom line. Net profit at Malaysia’s only Fortune 500 company for the three months ending June 30 fell to 11.1 billion ringgit ($272.2 million), compared to 21.06 billion ringgit in the same period last year.

“Petronas is bracing itself for more challenges ahead as low oil prices persist,” Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, Petronas president and CEO, said in a statement. “Overall, it has been an unrelenting difficult period,” he added.

The news marks the fourth straight quarter of either weakening year-on-year sales growth or outright losses. The company posted a $2.02 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2014, its first since launching quarterly earnings reports five years before.

Petronas is the single largest source of Malaysian government revenue and national export earnings, and its declining fortunes will add to concerns over the economic prospects of a country heavily dependent on oil exports.

Growth is slowing, and the ringgit currency is daily plumbing 17-year lows due largely to the fears over the rout in oil prices, which hit a fresh six-year nadir in US trading on Thursday. “Petronas does not foresee a reprieve from the low oil prices in the near future,” Wan Zulkiflee said.

Revenue tumbled 28 per cent to 61.30 billion ringgit during the second quarter.

Wan Zulkiflee painted a grim picture going forward, saying cash flow this year was not expected to meet capital expenditure plans or dividend commitments. “This means that we will have to persevere with more austerity measures,” he said. The company has in recent months outlined austerity measures such as deferring some key projects.




Orpic installs Oman’s first hydrocracker reactor Written by Oman Observer

Oman Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic), the Sultanate’s refining and petrochemicals flagship, has completed the installation of a giant hydrocracker reactor — the first of its kind in the Sultanate — as part of the Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP). Reaching a height of 42 metres and weighing approximately 950 metric tonnes, the hydrocracker reactor is the heaviest piece of equipment that makes up the multi-billion dollar SRIP scheme. Extensive preparatory works were under way two months prior to the installation of the hydrocracker, with actual installation transpiring in a single day with the assistance of two cranes, and a heavy lift team comprising 36 personnel.

The hydrocracker, which is a two-stage unit, is one of the most critical units for Orpic’s future Sohar Refinery operations. Operated at a pressure of 160 Bar, and temperature of around 400 degrees celsius, the design of unit includes built-in features that enable a quick response to various emergency situations.

This will enable Orpic to meet increasing demand of petroleum products in the Sultanate, as well as reducing refinery emissions and improving refinery margins. The hydrocracker unit will result in increased distillates production complying with Euro V specifications.

Operation of the hydrocracker unit requires a high level of skill; therefore specialist training, by a process licenser and operator, is being provided to Orpic.




The Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP) is scheduled for commissioning in 2016. It is being delivered in response to the need to upgrade Orpic’s refining capability in order to further maximize the value of Omani crude oil, and to ensure that the Sultanate’s increasing demand for fuel will be met.

When SRIP comes on stream, current production of fuels, naphtha and propylene will be raised by 70 per cent. From a fuels perspective, this increase will meet the needs of continually growing fuel consumption in the country, which has increased by 10 per cent annually over the past 5 years.

SRIP will also ensure the ability to meet the increasing demand for oil and refined products, and improve the Sohar refinery’s ability to process heavier Omani crude oil, via five new units including: Crude Distillation Unit (CDU); Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU); Delayed Coker Unit (DCU); Hydrocracker Unit (HCU) and Bitumen Blowing Unit.

In addition to the immediate commercial benefits that SRIP brings to the business, it will also have an impact in other areas.

300 direct, permanent jobs will be created, and around 2,400 Omani contract roles will be offered over the project lifetime. In-Country value is an integral part of SRIP and substantial local business participation is anticipated, with an estimated 900 indirect jobs to be generated by the multiplier effect SRIP will have on the local economy.




Oil Price Drop Special Coverage

Oil prices drop on shrinking Japan economy, more U.S. drilling Reuters + NewBase

Oil prices fell to near six-year lows on Monday as Japan's economy contracted and producers in the United States added drilling rigs for a fourth straight week despite a recent rout in prices.

Japan's economy, the second biggest in Asia and No.3 in the world, shrank in the second quarter from a year earlier, adding to fears that slowdowns in Asia's biggest economies will weigh on oil demand.

U.S. crude CLc1, or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading 57 cents lower at $41.93 a barrel at 0211 GMT, close to more than six-year lows. Brent futures LCOc1 were down 65 cents at $48.54 a barrel, still some way from their 2015-low of $45.19.

U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a fourth straight week to the highest number since early May, data from energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc (BHI.N) showed.

The increase likely reflected how a period of stable prices earlier this summer, when U.S. oil traded above $60 a barrel, lulled some firms into stepping up spending.

"The recent recovery in the oil rig count supports our expectation that U.S. producers can and will ramp up activity with WTI prices near $60 a barrel, given improved returns with costs down 30 percent," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.

Citigroup Inc (C.N) lowered its crude oil price outlook citing weak market fundamentals, including an increased supply from OPEC and challenging demand growth in China and emerging markets.

The Wall Street bank lowered its base case Brent price forecasts to $54 per barrel for 2015 and $53 in 2016 from $58 and $63 respectively.




Oil producers in the United States will be granted an additional market outlet, after the Obama administration approved limited crude sales to Mexico for the first time.

Despite limited volumes of about 100,000 barrels per day, the move toward freeing up trade will please U.S. oil producers, which say the restrictions force them to sell oil at below global market rates as the shale oil boom created a glut of light crude.

But analysts at Barclays don't expect the ruling to lead to the removal of a decade-old export ban. Rather, it may mark the last of a number of steps already taken as they expect the administration "to stress that its overarching position on a broad removal of the ban has not changed".

"We believe that this ruling means that - absent Congressional action - this administration remains reticent to approve a change to the law," they said.




OPEC May Boost Oil Output to Record With Iran Back Amid Glut

OPEC could potentially boost crude oil production to 33 million barrels a day, the most ever, after international sanctions are removed against Iran amid a global supply glut, according to the country’s OPEC representative.

The global oil market is already in surplus by about 3 million barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq responsible for OPEC’s oversupply in the past six months, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday, citing Mehdi Asali. Iran can boost output by 500,000 barrels a day within one week after sanctions are lifted, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said earlier this month.

Crude has lost half its value in the past year as U.S. production jumped to the highest level in more than 40 years and Saudi Arabia had record output. Prices collapsed after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided on Nov. 27 to maintain production rather than sacrifice market share.

Brent oil futures closed at $49.19 a barrel on Friday, down 14 percent for this year. High supplies in North America and OPEC, lack of demand growth and the strengthening dollar are all cause for the lower oil prices, Asali said.

OPEC pumped 32.1 million barrels a day in July, the 14th consecutive month that the 12-nation group has produced more than its collective target of 30 million barrels, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The 12-member group’s all-time high output was 32.8 million barrels set in July 2008, the data shows.

Iran made a “big mistake” when it backed OPEC’s decision in December 2011 to discard individual production quotas, Asali said. That allowed Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other members to take over Iran’s share which was diminishing because of sanctions, he said.




Gazprom faces challenges as gas production slumps AFP + NewBase

Facing a cold shoulder from Europe and increased competition at home, Russia’s Gazprom has struggled to assert dominance on the global energy market, prompting speculation the energy giant could have no choice but to splinter.

With the Russian economy slipping into recession on the back of lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, the economy ministry predicted Gazprom would produce 414bn cubic metres of gas this year, an all-time low for the public company sitting atop some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves.

Gazprom’s market capitalisation has plummeted in recent years. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, the company was worth more than $300bn. Its value now hovers around $50bn, trailing far behind the world’s other major energy companies.

“Gazprom is confronted with the greatest challenge in its history,” Chris Weafer, a partner at the Macro Advisory consultancy firm, told AFP. “What remains to be seen is whether Gazprom becomes an appendage of the foreign ministry or evolves into a global energy company.”

The decline in Gazprom’s value and gas production coincides with mounting tensions with the European Union, which has accused it of catering to Moscow’s geopolitical interests instead of operating according to business principles.

Gazprom is now grappling with a series of issues, including its recent loss of the Ukrainian market, Europe’s energy diversification efforts and increased competition on the domestic market, which jeopardise its status as a gas giant.

The gas giant struck a $400bn natural-gas deal with China last year, an agreement that was heralded as the symbol of Russia’s pivot to Asia. Moscow and Beijing have since agreed on Russia supplying natural gas to western China.

But Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis have undermined Gazprom’s attempts to turn away from Europe, its traditional market.

Washington’s ban on technology transfers to Russia for certain energy projects, including Gazprom’s Yuzhnoye Kirinskoye field in the far eastern Okhotsk Sea, is stifling Moscow’s ambitions on the Asian market.

Gazprom was set to use the field to develop its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity and, according to some reports, exchange assets with Anglo-Dutch company Shell. Without US technology, experts fear that Russia will not be able to exploit the field’s resources.




“This is bad news for Russia because the production of LNG is a strategic objective in the region,” said Valery Nesterov, an analyst at Sberbank Investment CIB.

The Ukraine conflict, which has propelled Russia’s relations with the West to their post-Soviet nadir, has meanwhile exacerbated Europe’s desire to dissociate from Gazprom. The company, however, has reiterated that Russian energy resources remain the most accessible to fulfil Europe’s growing demand for gas.

Gazprom’s exports to Europe, which are expected to rise this year, still provide the company with hefty revenues in spite of lower energy prices.

After the EU blocked Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project - which would have brought Russian gas to western Europe via the Black Sea – Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the country would work on a new pipeline, the TurkStream, which would run through Turkey.

Gazprom is eager to complete the TurkStream pipeline to bypass Ukraine in its gas shipments, but its construction, which was scheduled to start in June, has been delayed. Experts said it is unlikely that Ankara will make any decisions on the project until after upcoming general elections.

According to Mikhail Korchemkin, the director of the East European Gas Analysis firm, there are “next to zero” chances that the pipeline will be completed. Critics have said Gazprom has been slow to react to the ever-changing gas market, clinging to lengthy contracts pegged to fluctuating oil prices.

Analysts have claimed that Gazprom could benefit from dividing its mammoth structure into smaller entities that would be more efficient and transparent.

Russian media has reported that Igor Sechin, the influential head of Russian oil giant Rosneft, has asked the government to open up gas exports to competition and to split Gazprom in two, separating energy production and transportation.

“I’m not sure Gazprom survives this difficult period,” said analyst Korchemkin. “It would be easier for its development if it split into pieces within a couple of years.”




Japan’s Economy Contracts as Consumption, Investment Decline Bloomberg

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Japan’s economy contracted last quarter as consumers and businesses cut spending and exports tumbled, putting pressure on the prime minister to return his focus to Abenomics.

Gross domestic product fell an annualized 1.6 percent from January-March, ending two quarters of growth, the Cabinet Office said on Monday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for a 1.8 percent drop.

The slump in private-sector demand came as exports to the U.S., Asia, and Europe fell, undercutting a support for the world’s third-biggest economy. Economy Minister Akira Amari said he doesn’t expect to add fiscal stimulus and Bank of Japan chief Haruhiko Kuroda is counting on weakness to fade this quarter as he chases a distant 2 percent inflation target with unprecedented monetary stimulus.

“There was nothing good in today’s GDP data,” said Hideo Kumano, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute and a former BOJ official. “Private consumption was very weak, while exports also weakened, reflecting a slowdown in emerging economies, especially China.”




The slump is a setback for Shinzo Abe, whose support has suffered as he’s championed unpopular defense bills and the restart of nuclear reactors. Abe made reviving the economy a priority when he took office in December 2012, advocating reflationary policies that weakened the yen and spurred corporate profits. China Devaluation

The yen fell after the data and was down 0.1 percent at 124.37 per dollar at 11:03 a.m. in Tokyo.

Abe’s efforts to increase long-term growth prospects -- the “third arrow” of his Abenomics program -- have “slowed to a crawl,” say economists Marcel Thieliant and Mark Williams at Capital Economics.

Consumption dropped for the first time in four quarters, reflecting the effects of poor weather and as consumers try to cope with last year’s sales-tax hike and pay that hasn’t kept pace with rising living costs. Exports fell 4.4 percent from previous quarter, the steepest decline since 2011.

The prospect of additional monetary easing by the central bank as soon as October may hinge on whether the slump deepens in the July-September period, said Kumano.

“If momentum in exports and consumption remains weak, the government will have no choice but to discuss stimulus measures,” said Masayuki Kichikawa, an economist at Bank of America Corp. China Slowdown

The economy has been flashing warnings that the weakness could persist. Consumer confidence fell in July to the lowest in six months. Inventories climbed to the highest since 2009 in June, pressuring manufacturers to curtail production.

The stumble comes as China -- Japan’s biggest trading partner -- is fighting off its own slowdown, with a currency devaluation last week that triggered convulsions in global markets and adds to challenges for Japanese officials in reflating the economy.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Japan’s biggest nickel producer, this month cut its profit forecast as slower Chinese demand weakens commodity prices.

Abe faces a party leadership election next month amid declining public support. More people disapproved his cabinet than approved in July, for the first time since his premiership in 2012, according to public broadcaster NHK. Central Bank

Governor Kuroda said last month he didn’t think Japan’s slowdown would continue from July, and earlier this month said recent weakness in industrial production and exports would be temporary.

Japan “need not worry” about China’s currency devaluation of the yuan because it can always offset the effects by easing monetary policy, said Koichi Hamada, an adviser to Abe.

Economists surveyed before Monday’s data didn’t foresee a strong bounce. Japan’s economy will grow 2 percent from July to September, according to the median estimate of economists.

“Government and BOJ officials are likely to emphasize growth rates should be averaged out,”said Yoshiki Shinke, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. “Even so, economic data show that it’s getting difficult to say Japan is recovering now.”




Oil price crash claims 1,000 jobs in North Sea By Alan Tovey, TeleGraph- Industry Editor

The devastation wrought by the oil price crash on Britain’s North Sea industry is set to be laid bare when one of the region’s biggest contractors reveals that it has cut 4,000 jobs since the start of the year.

Wood Group , which provides engineering and production services to some of the world’s biggest oil companies, is understood to have cut more than 10pc of the

45,000-plus employees it has worldwide in the first six months of 2015. 1,000 cuts have been made in Britain.

The job losses will be detailed when the FTSE 250 company, which lays pipes for oilfields and helps staff oil rigs, announces its interim results on Tuesday. The price of oil has collapsed over the past year from more than $100 dollars a barrel 12 months ago to below $50.

Energy companies have slashed capital expenditure in the face of the lower price, and more than $200bn of investment in new projects is estimated to have been put on hold as a result.

The North Sea has been hit hard by reduced spending, as the oil and gas pumped from its offshore rigs is relatively expensive to produce, meaning that it was one of the first areas energy companies looked at when seeking cost cuts.

According to some estimates, the cost of producing a barrel of North Sea oil is $80 from some older fields. Earlier this year Sir Ian Wood, founder of Wood Group, warned that up to 40,000 North Sea jobs could be lost without urgent action to support the industry, which was a key battleground in the referendum on Scottish independence.




That came in the March Budget, when Chancellor George Osborne cut taxes on energy companies operating on the UK Continental Shelf. Tax rates on production from older oil and gas fields were cut from 80pc to 75pc, falling to 67.5pc from next year. For newer fields, effective rates were trimmed from 60pc to 50pc.

The oil price collapse has seen redundant North Sea rigs moored off the east coast of Scotland

Wood Group warned of cost savings in its annual results in February, when the company reported revnue up by 7.8pc to $7.6bn. Sources close to Wood Group said that while the redundancies it has made are largely related to the oil price crash, some of them result from the cyclical nature of the industry and noted that some major international projects have recently been completed, meaning that it was only natural for the company to shed staff.

Industry body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) estimates that about 5,500 jobs in North Sea oil or its supply chain had already been lost this year, prior to have the redundancies at Wood Group. A spokesman for OGUK said: “There is a three-pronged approach going on the North Sea to make it a more resilient and healthier business.

"Industry on its own is working to become more cost effective, the fiscal measures in the Budget have helped and the new

Oil and Gas Authority is up and running, which aims to maximise the resources which can be recovered from the North Sea.”




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Khaled Malallah Al Awadi, Energy Consultant MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA Emarat member since 1990 ASME member since 1995 Hawk Energy member 2010

Mobile: +97150-4822502 [email protected] [email protected]

Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility & gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &

regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.

NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE

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Microsoft word new base 666 special 17 august 2015