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Taqa unit North Sea well starts production
State-controlled Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) has said it has started production from its first North Sea oil well, Bloomberg has reported. The well, drilled by its Aberdeen-based unit Taqa Bratani, is expected to produce around 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, the firm said.
Jordan's energy needs cost $18bn, says minister
Jordan's minister of energy and mineral resources has said that the kingdom needs to invest $18bn in various sectors to meet the growing demand of energy in the country by the end of 2020, Petra news agency has reported. Cost of energy in the kingdom last year had amounted to JD2.765bn, compared to JD1.153bn in 2004, representing more than 21% of GDP at current prices, compared to 14.5% of GDP in 2004, the minister said.
OPEC may boost oil output in Dec, says president
OPEC may boost production targets in December as crude futures have rallied 80% this year, the group's president said in an interview with Bloomberg. 'We have always defended a position of equilibrium," Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, told the news service. 'Some countries are available to pump more oil into the market and if it comes to be necessary to pump more oil into the market this will be done.' OPEC will meet Dec 22 in Luanda, Angola, to review production quotas that it has left unchanged at three gatherings in 2009.
Aramco gas plant to start soon in Saudi
Partial operations at Saudi Aramco's gas processing plant at Khursaniyah in the kingdom are expected to start in a few weeks, Reuters has reported. A shortage in labour and materials had led to construction delays at the plant, which was initially scheduled to start in December 2007.
Jordan, BP ink gas exploration deal
Jordan's minister of energy and mineral resources has said that the kingdom and British Petroleum (BP) have signed an agreement to explore for natural gas reserves near the border with Iraq, AFP has reported. Under the agreement, BP plans to invest $237m to explore the Risheh field, which currently produces 21 million cubic feet a day. 'If the firm discovers large reserves, it would spend $8bn to $10bn in the second phase to develop Risheh to produce between 300 million cubic feet and one billion cubic feet a day,' the minister told reporters.
Abu Dhabi closes LNG plant for maintenance
Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction, the emirate's only exporter of liquefied natural gas, has shut its largest production line for maintenance through early November, Bloomberg has reported. The 4-million-tons-per-year Train 3 had been closed on October 8, for maintenance expected to last 40 to 50 days.
DIFC: GCC oil reserves worth $18trn
According to the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, the present value of oil and gas reserves of the six GCC countries is estimated at $18.3 trillion, larger than last year's US GDP, Gulf Daily News has reported. The total amount was based on a price of oil at $50 per barrel and gas at $9 per million BTU. If oil prices were to average $100 per barrel and gas $15, the present value of GCC energy reserves would be $37.7trillion.
Saudi extends Jizan bid deadline
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has extended a deadline for bids to build a crude oil refinery with capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day to November 7, Reuters has reported, citing an industry source. The tender for the Jizan plant has been delayed several times, but the latest extension would not affect the ministry's plans to award the contract as scheduled, the source said. The refinery will be the first Saudi oil refinery to be 100% privately owned.
Petromin blending plant set for mid-2010
Petromin Corporation has announced its new SR100m blending plant, which will go on stream in the second quarter of 2010, Arab News has reported. The plant at Saudi Aramco Industrial Zone in Jeddah is designed to produce 250,000 tons of lubrication oils annually. The factory will produce all types of oil for the industrial sector, and is set to be completed in the second quarter of 2010.
Saudi fuel oil sells at lower discount in Nov lift
Middle East trader FAL Oil has paid a lower discount of $6-$7 (Dh22-Dh25.7) per tonne, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, for Saudi Aramco's 80,000 tonnes of 380-centistoke (cst) fuel oil for early November lifting from Jubail, Reuters has reported. This is lower than the discount of $2-$3 per tonne that Vitol paid for an earlier parcel loading on October 30-31. The cargo will be loading on November 2, after Aramco exported three Jubail cargoes for October lifting.
Hanwha to carry out Samra plant expansion
Jordan's Samra Electric Power Generation Company has signed an agreement with Korean energy firm Hanwha Engineer and Construction to install two gas-fire units each of 142.9MW capacity, the Jordan Times has reported. The units, at a value of JD138m, will be financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the company said. The new units will make the Samra power plant the largest electricity generator in the kingdom.
Oman oil revenue down 36%
According to data from Oman's Ministry of National Economy, the Sultanate's net oil revenues in the first eight months of 2009 have dropped 36.3% on weakened oil prices, Reuters has reported. Oman sold its oil at an average price of $50.18 per barrel in January to August, down 49.9% from the same period last year, the data showed. However, the non-OPEC GCC country had increased total expenditure to OR4.3bn in the first eight months of 2009, up 1.7% compared to the same period last year, according to the data.
IEA: Oil price justifies investment
The International Energy Agency has voiced concerns of a possible price spike if insufficient investment is made in bringing on new sources of oil to keep pace with demand, Reuters has reported. 'Oil prices of $78 are high enough for almost every single drop of oil we have in the world to invest, if they were to stay at these levels, if producers were to believe that the prices will stay at these levels,' IEA's chief economist, Fatih Birol told the news service.
Taqa to invest in $1.2bn gas project
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) said it is teaming up with a group of partners to invest 800 million euros ($1.2bn) to develop a gas storage project in the Netherlands. Taqa will fund the project along with Energie Beheer Nederland, Dyas and Petro-Canada, while Russia's Gazprom will provide cushion gas for injection into the depleted field in return for working capacity and an interest in technical ownership of the facility, it said in a statement today. Construction of the facility north of Amsterdam will start once all permits have been granted, which Taqa expected to receive in 2010.
Zadco set to award $4bn in contracts
Abu Dhabi-based oil and natural gas exploration and production firm, Zakum Development Co (Zadco) plans to award around $4bn worth of engineering, procurement and construction contracts over the next 18 months, Gulf News has reported. The company's mandate is to develop the Upper Zakum field on behalf of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and for the benefit of the shareholders in the joint venture, Adnoc, ExxonMobil, and Japan Oil Development Company.
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