New base special 21 september 2014

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NewBase 21 September 2014 Khaled Al Awadi

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First UAE nuclear reactor over 50% complete, says ENEC Arabian Business + NewNase

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has announced that the first of the four reactors being developed in the UAE is more than 50 percent complete.

The company said in a statement that Unit 1 is now 57 percent finished while construction of the second reactor is also well underway. It added that the whole project is progressing "on time and on budget", in accordance with ENEC's strategic objectives to supply safe, clean, reliable and efficient nuclear energy in the UAE. ENEC's indicative

timeline for the power station is for Unit 1 to start commercial operation in 2017, Unit 2 in 2018, Unit 3 in 2019 and the final Unit 4 in 2020. The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) recently announced that it had granted ENEC approval to commence construction of Units 3 and 4, following an 18 month rigorous review by the regulator and a team of nuclear energy experts. In May, ENEC celebrated the arrival of the first reactor vessel, one of the largest components in a nuclear energy plant. In February, ENEC accomplished another key milestone, installing one of the largest condensers in the Middle East region. A condenser is a critical component used in all types of power plants and plays an important role in the generation of electricity, cooling steam back into water for the turbine generation process to repeat continuously. The four APR-1400 reactors being developed by ENEC will provide approximately 25 percent of the UAE's electricity needs, saving up to 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Korea Electric Power Corp won a contract in 2009 to complete four nuclear reactors in the UAE.




Qafco chief calls for sustainable fertiliser and farm production Qatar Gulf Times

Adopting a sustainable approach to fertiliser production is a fundamental pillar of the industry’s commitment to sustainable agriculture and product stewardship, Qafco vice-chairman and CEO, Khalifa al-Sowaidi has said.

He was addressing the 5th Annual GPCA fertiliser convention that concluded in Dubai recently. Al-Sowaidi said efficient production of fertilisers through operational improvements was key to improving fertiliser performance and efficiency, and in turn supporting nutrient efficiency. “At Qafco, through the adoption of state-of-the-art and energy-efficient technologies, we were able to achieve 13% reduction in specific energy consumption for urea production, which consequently resulted in reduced carbon emission intensity of our products,” he said.

Al-Sowaidi said, “The world population, which is projected to increase by almost 1bn people within the next 12 years presents a huge challenge before us. Emphasising on increasing yield per hectare, he said,” With the talks of agricultural intensification gaining ground, the road map for our industry’s future is more or less defined. Augmenting production, product value addition, diversification and focus on research and development will be the drivers of growth in the coming years.”

On the role of regional fertiliser manufacturers, al-Sowaidi said, “Parts of Africa, South East Asia and America will be the centres of population growth. Hence, fertiliser industries in the Middle east stand to play significant role in the years to come by virtue of their geographical location as well as easier access to raw materials.”

On Qafco’s collaboration with universities of Qatar, he said, “Qafco has taken the lead to collaborate in research activities with local universities and provide facilities that will benefit many

industries in Qatar, such as deployment of DeNOx technology.

The company has signed an MoU with Qatar University to build and commission a heat exchanger pilot plant and appoint a Qafco chair in Energy Systems at the College of Engineering. Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen collaboration between industry and the academia to enhance the process of connecting research with education for achieving the objectives and priorities for Qatar.”

Qafco had sponsored some 25 students from Qatar to be part of the international convention. He further said that through the convention organised by GPCA, global

players could discuss and debate the challenges and opportunities in this changing global and regional market conditions.




Qatar Petroleum shelves Alsajeel petrochemicals project Reuters +NewBase

Industries Qatar, a leading petrochemical firm in the Gulf, said it had put its multi billion dollar Al Sejeel petrochemical complex project on hold and was studying a new scheme instead that would yield better returns.

The company "confirmed that the Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex project has been put on hold, and that a new downstream petrochemical project that is expected to yield better economic returns is instead under study," it said on a bourse statement. Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) signed an agreement in February 2012 to jointly develop the Al Sajeel mega-petrochemical complex in Ras Laffan, with QP holding an 80 per cent stake and Qapco owning the rest. Industries Qatar owns 80 per cent of Qapco. The Al Sejeel petrochemical project, one of the world's largest mixed-feed steam crackers, was scheduled for completion in 2018 as part of Qatar's large-scale expansion of the petrochemicals sector.




Saudi Arabia to power supply Maaden Phosphate from tight gas

The national oil company (NOC) Saudi Aramco is on the verge to develop the tight gas fields identified in the northwest of the Kingdom to supply the gas-fired power plant required for the giant Maaden Phosphate City project currently under construction.

Since the USA revolutionized the gas markets with the development of the shale gas, all the key players of the energy market such as Saudi Arabia needed to rethink their strategy. To use crude oil at $100 per barrel to produce electricity or feed ethylene crackers is no longer admitted when the gas price is dropping to $2 per million btu. Since Saudi Aramco is re-injecting a part of the associated gas for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to boost the crude oil production out of the maturing fields, any opportunity to develop non-associated gas should be explored.

This strategy applies to the unconventional gas for which Saudi Arabia is listed among the top five

countries with 645 trillion cubic feet (tcf) estimated recoverable reserves of shale and tight gas behind China, USA, Argentina and Mexico. In proportion, Saudi Arabia holds reserves more than twice unconventional gas than conventional gas.

For the last five years, Saudi Aramco put a major effort to evaluate this unconventional resources knowing that water availability shall be the limiting factor. Saudi Aramco identified the three most attractive regions where the shale gas and tight gas could be technically developed:

- Northwest of Saudi Arabia near by Turaif and along the border with Jordan - South Ghawar as a side formation of the eponymous world largest crude oil field in the Eastern Province - Rub Al-Khali in the south of the Empty Quarter

Since Maaden is investing $7 billion capital expenditure in the Phosphate City project, the Northwest tight gas fields are ideally located to power supply all the facilities to be installed at Waad Al-Shamal. The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is planning a 1000 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant (CCPP) supported by a 50MW solar power plant.

In order to run SEC Waad Al Shamal power plant, Saudi Aramco is planning to supply 200 million cubic feet per day (cf/d) of natural gas. The corresponding gas central processing facility (CPF) will be designed in skid-mounted modules in order to follow the development of the tight gas field in the Saudi Arabia northern region. Each module will have a treatment capacity of 50 million cf/d of natural gas. In addition to the Waad Al-Shamal gas central processing facility the project will include:

- 10 welllheads,10 flowlines , Control room ,Metering station , Gas gathering center, and Gas gathering center to gas CPF Considering that the Saudi Electricity Company Waad Al-Shamal power plant and the Saudi Aramco Turaif tight gas field development projects should be awarded on early 2015, the Waad Al-Shamal gas central processing facility should start commercial operations by 2017.




Western firms win key Egypt oil, gas blocks Reuters + NewBase

Egypt has signed oil and gas exploration deals worth $187 million with several Western companies and a Tunisian firm to cover seven exploration areas in the Suez Canal, Egypt's western desert, the Mediterranean sea and the Nile Delta.

The agreements cover seven exploration areas. Germany's RWE won two exploration blocks in the Gulf of Suez, while Tunisia's HBSI, Canada's TransGlobe and Italy's Edison secured five blocks in Egypt's western desert, the petroleum ministry said on Friday. In December, Egypt's General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) announced an international auction for oil and gas exploration concessions in accordance with production sharing agreements. The concessions are for areas in the Suez Canal, Egypt's western desert, the Mediterranean sea and the Nile Delta, the state-owned firms said Exploration companies have been hesitant to develop untapped gas finds in Egyptian waters partly because the amount the government pays them barely covers their investment costs. Egypt has been struggling with soaring energy bills caused by the high subsidies it provides on fuel for its population of 85 million. The subsidies have turned the country from a net energy exporter into a net importer over the last few years. Egypt has started repaying some of its debt to foreign oil companies, which had reached more than $6 billion.




Philippines: Searcher Seismic commences acquisition of Mialara 2D

Broadband Seismic Survey, East of Palawan. Source: Searcher Seismic

Searcher Seismic in cooperation with the Philippines Department of Energy, and in conjunction with SeaBird Exploration, has announced that acquisition of the Mialara 2D seismic survey, East of Palawan in the Philippines has commenced. The ~5,000 km survey over a 10 by 10 km grid in the Mialara sub-basin includes coverage over the PECR5 bid round Blocks 4, 5 and 6. Acquisition is due for completion in mid-October. Fast track data will be available to ensure ample time for evaluation of the blocks for the PECR5 bidding round.

The Mialara 2D survey follows and provides infill to Searcher’s Pala-Sulu regional multi-client

2D survey which highlighted the prospectivity of the East Palawan basins and provided justification for the more detailed Mialara 2D survey. The Mialara 2D seismic survey is being acquired in addition to the recently completed Pinatubo 2D survey in West Luzon, which brings Searcher’s total data library in the Philippines to ~19,000 km.




Chevron unloads Dutch assets

Press release

Chevron, a U.S.-based oil giant, has announced today that it will divest its interest in its

Dutch North Sea assets.

The company’s subsidiary, Chevron Netherlands Holdings B.V. has entered into a share sale agreement to sell its shares in Chevron Exploration and Production Netherlands B.V., including its interest in Chevron Transportation B.V., to Petrogas International E&P Coӧperatief U.A., which is a subsidiary of Oman-based Petrogas E&P LLC (part of MB Holding group of companies).

“Chevron has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the people and government of the Netherlands;

however, our decision to enter into the share sale agreement for these upstream assets was a result of the

company’s drive to focus on assets more aligned with our long-term strategic growth objectives,” said Craig May, managing director, Chevron Upstream Europe.

The transaction includes the sale of the Chevron subsidiary’s interests in 11 offshore blocks on the Dutch Continental Shelf, which in 2013 had an average net daily production of approximately 2,000 barrels of crude oil and 41 million cubic feet of natural gas.

The sale also includes 100 per cent of the shares in Chevron Transportation B.V., which owns offshore and onshore crude oil and natural gas handling and transportation infrastructure.




Russian Firm Ready to Work on Iran Gas Trunklines N-Gas Asia + NewBase

Russian firms are interested in constructing and completing Iran Gas Trunklines (IGATs), according a senior official at National Iranian Gas Company.

Asghar Soheilipour, director of investment committee at NIGC, said the Russian firms are ready to handle IGAT-6, IGAT-7, IGAT-9 and IGAT-11, all destined to export Iran’s gas, oil ministry owned Shana News reported. He said that a memorandum has been signed with a Russian company for the construction of a pipeline stretching from Iranshahr to Chabahar in southeastern Iran. “For the construction of this pipeline, we need 700 million dollars in investment,” said Soheilipour. Soheilipour added that Gas Engineering and Development Company is currently gathering the

necessary data for 300-kilometer Iranshahr-Chabahar pipeline, Shana News said. IGAT-7, stretching from Assaluyeh to Iranshahr, needs 2 billion dollars in investment. IGAT-6 stretches from Assaluyeh to the southwestern city of Ahvaz while IGAT-9 starts from Assaluyeh and continues up to Bazargan along Iran-Turkey border. IGAT-11 starts from Assaluyeh and finally reaches Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad. Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT) is the series of large diameter pipelines constructed from gas producing areas in the south of Iran (Kuzestan and Bushehr Provinces) in order to transfer natural gas to the consumption centres in northern part of the

country.




India: BPCL to Strengthen its LNG Portfolio Source: BPCL + DNA India newspaper

Indian state owned energy company BPCL plans to plans to strengthen its LNG portfolio by tying up additional long-term gas import contracts, according to DNA India newspaper. In addition to signing more long term contracts, BPCL also intends to acquire new LNG terminals and lay pipelines to enable smooth transport.

"We are looking at international commitment as far as long-term gas import is concerned. In the next few months, we could tie up 1-2 mt long-term gas contract, which would then hit the market through these terminals and use pipeline network to reach customers," S Varadrajan, chairman and managing director, said in a press meet, reported DNA. BPCL plans to take substantial portion of gas from Kochi LNG terminal when its expansion is complete and it is connected with a pipeline. The company will add 1 mt capacity at Dahej LNG terminal.

Currently, the company has a gas contract with Rasgas, which receives gas through Dahej terminal. Gas will be coming to Kochi terminal after 2017, which will take care of the gas requirement of the company's refinery and upcoming petrochemical capacity, DNA said. "We are looking at acquiring terminal capacities both at east and west coast. We are looking at a capacity 1-3 mt to satisfy our long-term demand," Varadrajan said.




Exxon Close to Completing Drilling on the Hides Gas Field in PNG

ExxonMobil, operator of the PNG LNG Project, is close to completing development drilling on the Hides gas field in Papua New Guinea. The eighth production well, G2 at Wellpad G, has encountered the Toro/Digimu reservoir and has been completed as a producer.

Results from the eight new production wells and the PWD well have been largely consistent with expectations, with all wells showing good pressure communication. The new structural, log and pressure data from all the wells will be used to update the Hides structural and reservoir models. This work, which is expected to be concluded in 2015, will help further define the Hides gas resources and distribution.

Rig 702 will now be moved to the Angore field to drill two further PNG LNG Project production wells, while Rig 703 is currently being mobilised to Wellpad F, to drill the Hides F1 Deep development/exploration well. The PNG LNG Project is operated by ExxonMobil PNG Limited in co-venture with Oil Search Limited, National Petroleum Company of PNG, Santos Limited, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation, Mineral Resources Development Company (representing landowners) and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited. The PNG LNG shipped its first fuel in May this year to Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO).




Gazprom, CNPC to Sign Western Route Gas Supply Deal Source : Gazprom + NewBase

Russia’s Gazprom plans to sign a 30-year gas supply contract with China via the western route, the company's CEO Alexei Miller said Wednesday, Xinhua reported. "Gazprom plans to sign a contract to supply China with 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas via western route over thirty years," Miller told President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow.

Gazprom and CNPC are expected to ink the 30 year contract in November, Xinhua added. The China-Russia West Route natural gas pipeline project connects gas deposits in Western Siberia and the northwestern part of China via Russia's Altai region. Miller also said Gazprom might consider more than doubling the volume of supply. In May this year, Gazprom and CNPC signed 'China and Russia Purchase and Sales Contract on East Route Gas Project'. As per the deal, Russia will supply 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018 via east route pipeline for a period of 30 years. Gas will be supplied from eastern Siberia and Sakha Republic Kovykta gas field.




Indonesia Inaugurates Two Gas Projects Worth $1.15 billion

Indonesia inaugurated two oil and gas projects worth Rp 13.6 trillion ($1.15 billion) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Monday. Two projects are Ruby Gas field development project in Sebuku block, which is managed by Mubadala Petroleum and Sisi Nubi 2B gas field project in Mahakam block which is operated by Total E&P Indonesia, country’s oil and gas regulator SKK Migas said.

Ruby gas field is expected to produce about 250 billion cubic feet of gas during its 10-year life span and the output is reserved for domestic consumption. Sisi Nubi 2B field, which is located offshore Kartanegara in East Kalimantan, has a production capacity of up to 350 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas.

Mubadala Petroleum's Indonesian President, Chris Jones, said it was important for Mubadala to complete the development of the Ruby field efficiently, on time, within budget, and most importantly safely. According to the approved plans of developments (POD), the second phase of the project involves adding 35 wells that would cost $1.03 billion.




China Expected to Produce 6.5 bcm of Shale Gas Next Year Press Conference

China is expected to produce 1.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas in 2014 and about 6.5 billion cubic meters next year, according to a press conference transcript posted on Wednesday on the

Ministry of Land and Resources website.

Chinese energy majors are expected to boost shale gas output by 40 percent a year to meet country’s production target, the transcript stated.

Sinopec is likely to produce 1 bcm of shale gas this year and as much as 3.5 billion cubic meters by 2015. The company is expected to invest 21.5 billion yuan ($3.5 billion) in shale-gas drilling.PetroChina is aiming for an output of about 2.5 billion cubic meters in 2015 after investing 11.2 billion yuan.

In July, Sinopec’s Fuling field was verified by Chinese government as country’s largest shale gas play. China’s Ministry of Land and Resources verified proven reserves of nearly 107 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the Fuling shale gas field. Sinopec’s average daily shale gas production at Fuling field in Sichuan Basin hit 3.2 million cubic meters by the end of June.




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Your partner in Energy Services

Khaled Malallah Al Awadi, Energy Consultant

MSc. & BSc. Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA ASME member since 1995 Emarat member since 1990

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

Khaled Al Awadi isKhaled Al Awadi isKhaled Al Awadi isKhaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 24 yearsa UAE National with a total of 24 yearsa UAE National with a total of 24 yearsa UAE National with a total of 24 years of experience in theof experience in theof experience in theof experience in the Oil & Gas sector. Currently Oil & Gas sector. Currently Oil & Gas sector. Currently Oil & Gas sector. Currently

working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary

Energy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk EnergEnergy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk EnergEnergy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk EnergEnergy consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent y Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent y Service as a UAE operations base , Most of the experience were spent y 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 . as the Gas Operations Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility & gas compressor stations . as the Gas Operations Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility & gas compressor stations . 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 iThrough the years , he has developed great experiences iThrough the years , he has developed great experiences iThrough the years , he has developed great experiences in the designing & constructingn the designing & constructingn the designing & constructingn the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering & of gas pipelines, gas metering & of gas pipelines, gas metering & of gas pipelines, gas metering &

regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation ,regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation ,regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation ,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 loperation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the loperation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the loperation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of ocal authorities. He has become a reference for many of ocal authorities. He has become a reference for many of ocal authorities. He has become a reference for many of

the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE andthe Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE andthe Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE andthe Oil & Gas Conferences held in the UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite

Channels . Channels . Channels . Channels .

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NewBase 21 September 2014 K. Al Awadi

Economy & Finance

New base special 21 september 2014