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Ras Azzour cost estimate cut by 20-25%
Fuhaid bin Fahd al-Sharif, head of Saudi Arabia's giant power and water desalination project, Ras Azzour, has said that the kingdom expects the project's cost to be 20%-25% below initial estimates as the price of materials has fallen and the project description has changed, Reuters has reported. The power and water plant, which was originally expected to cost $6bn to build, will produce 2,400 megawatts of electricity.
Saudi Electricity inks $1.8bn power deal
Saudi Electricity said today it has signed a contract with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Arabian Bemco Contracting for a $1.84bn power project. The scope of the project involves transforming a gas-powered plant into a combined-cycle facility and adding 1,241 megawatts of power to a plant in al-Qurayyah when operations start in 2013, the Riyadh-based utility said in a statement.
UAE power project secures $2.15bn financing
Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority has secured a $2.15bn long-term financing deal for the Shuweihat 2 water and power project, Reuters has reported. The 22-year financing for the project from a consortium of 15 regional and international banks is the biggest financing deal in the region this year. Shuweihat 2, Abu Dhabi's eighth independent water and power project, is estimated to cost Dhs10bn ($2.72bn). ADWEA owns 60% of the project while France's GDF Suez and Japan's Marubeni own 20% each.
Kuwait refinery project may be relaunched
Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, Kuwait's deputy prime minister for economic affairs, has said that plans for the country's fourth oil refinery may be re-launched, after cancelling a tender to build it earlier this year following parliamentary opposition, Reuters has reported. The project could be realized after legal and regulatory reviews, he added.
Oil prices rise above $79
Oil prices climbed above $79 a barrel to a 2009 high on Monday in Asia, reported AP. Benchmark crude for November delivery rose as much as 52 cents to $79.05 a barrel but later fell back and was up 24 cents at $78.77 by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 95 cents to settle at $78.53 on Friday.
Iraq to launch second auction for contracts
Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director of Iraq's Petroleum and Licensing Directorate, has announced that Iraq will hold a second auction of contracts to develop some its prized oilfields on December 11-12, Reuters has reported. Contract terms for the second round would be similar to those in the first, he said. Iraq had lowered taxes on fields offered in the first round to get oil firms back to the table to renegotiate.
Shell cuts gas flaring in Iraq
Royal Dutch Shell has said it has reduced gas flaring at oil fields in southern Iraq by 15-20%, Reuters has reported. 'We've already stopped more than 100 million square cubic feet per day of flaring,' Mounir Bouaziz, VP of Shell gas and power, told the news service.
Taqa CEO steps down
Peter Barker-Homek, the outgoing chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) has said that he decided to step down after his vision for the state-backed oil producer diverged from that of its board, Reuters has reported. 'We discussed the future direction of the firm, my future direction I'd like to take it and we decided that it would be best for me to step down at this time. It was my choice,' he said. Carl Sheldon, Taqa's general counsel and deputy general manager will take over the role.
Opec Iraq targets 'years away'
Opec secretary general Abdullah al-Badri has said that the group is unlikely to confer an oil output target on Iraq for several years, to allow its industry to recover from decades of sanctions, war and neglect, Reuters has reported. Iraq, which desperately needs investment to boost output and repair infrastructure, is exempt from the group's production target system, he said.
BP Rumaila deal approved
Iraq's cabinet has approved a contract with British Petroleum (BP) and China's CNPC to develop the super-giant Rumaila field, Reuters has reported. The contract is the first major new oilfield deal signed since the 2003 US invasion. BP and CNPC were the only successful bidders in the first round at the end of June. Rumaila is the workhorse of Iraq's oil industry, with capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), with reserves estimated at 16.998 billion barrels.
Yemen begins LNG production
Yemen has begun the production of liquified natural gas (LNG) at its liquefaction plant October 15, 2009, Reuters has reported. The plant started production with the first train with total production capacity reaching 6.7 millions tons of LNG per year (Mt/y). Yemen LNG has several shareholders including Total with 39.62% interest, state-owned company Yemen Gas Company with 16.73%, Hunt Oil Company with 17.22%, SK Energy with 9.55%, Korea Gas Corporation with 6%, Hyundai Corporation with 5.88%, and GASSP1 (5%).
Dana Gas, Crescent Oil plan Anbar gas city
UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Oil plan to build a gas city in Iraq's western province of Anbar that they hope would draw $60bn in investment, Reuters has reported. The plan would use gas that Baghdad had previously identified for possible export to the Nabucco pipeline or for export to Syria in order to feed power generation plants as well as petrochemical and fertilizer factories, the province governor said. The gas could come from the province's Akkas gas field, which Dana and Crescent are also keen to develop with the central Oil Ministry, the governor noted.
Oman Oil buys Reliance stake
Oman Oil Company (OOC) has said that it has bought 30% stake in block 18 and a 25% share in block 41 which are run by India-based Reliance Industries in the Gulf of Oman, Reuters has reported. Reliance, which operates the world's largest refining complex, has said it has agreed to the deal in order to share costs.
World Bank loan for Egypt power plant
Egypt's Minister of Electricity Hassan Younes has said the country will receive an EGP3.4bn ($620m) loan from the World Bank to fund its North Giza power plant project, Reuters has reported. Egypt aims to more than triple its installed power capacity by 2027 by adding 58,000 MW at a cost of about $100bn to $120bn, he said. The plant is set to come onstream during the first quarter of 2013.
Iraq postpones second oil bidding round
Iraq's oil ministry has delayed its second oil and gas field bidding round until next January, Bloomberg has reported. Forty-five companies are qualified to bid in the auction for work on ten oilfields, originally scheduled for mid- December, the ministry said. Iraq seeks to boost its production capacity eventually to between 10 million and 12 million barrels a day through the second bidding round.
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