Saffron Energy celebrates first gas from its Bezzecaa field.
The development achieved an output levels of 30-40,000 scm per day, which equates to between €190,000 and €250,000 per month.
Bezzecca is located east of Milan within the established prolific, gas-producing Po Valley region in northern Italy and operated by Saffron’s subsidiary Northsun Italia SPA (NSI). Gas from Bezzecca 1 is processed at the Vitalba processing plant.
The gas production from Bezzecca combined with Saffron’s production from the Sillaro gas field, which alone is producing 10,000 per day is expected to increase net production from Saffron’s Italian assets more than four times to 40-50,000 scm per day (approximately 250-315 boepd).
Saffron has an offtake agreement with Shell Energy Italia S.r.l. for the gas produced from the company’s fields, which goes directly into the Italian national grid, owned and operated by SNAM Rete Gas S.p.A.
Saffron chief executive Michael Masterman said: “First gas at Bezzecca is a significant financial milestone for Saffron coming within seven weeks of the successful IPO. It has been completed on time and on budget and represents a great technical, financial and management achievement for the Company and shareholders. The commencement of production will boost revenues and operating cash flows consolidating our portfolio and provides further validation of the company’s strategy.”
First gas at Bezzecca comes seven weeks after Saffron’s successful IPO.
Opec oil output falls in April but compliance weakens – survey
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (Opec's) oil output fell for a fourth straight month in April, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, as top exporter Saudi Arabia kept production below its target while maintenance and unrest cut production in exempt nations Nigeria and Libya.
But more oil from Angola and higher UAE output than originally thought helped Opec compliance with its production-cutting deal slip to 90% from a revised 92% in March, according to Reuters surveys.
Opec pledged to reduce output by about 1.2-million barrels a day for six months from January 1 – the first supply cut deal since 2008. Non-Opec producers are cutting about half as much.
Opec wants to get rid of excess supply that is keeping oilbelow $52 a barrel, half the level of mid-2014. With the oversupply proving hard to shift, Opec is expected to prolong the agreement.
Compliance of 90% is still higher than Opec achieved in its last cut in 2009, Reuters surveys show. Analysts, including those at the International Energy Agency (IEA), have put adherence in 2017 even higher, with the IEA calling it a record.
April's biggest production gain came from Angola, which scheduled higher exports and where output started at the East Pole field in February. The increase brought Angolan compliance down to 91%, from above 100 earlier in the year.
Other, small increases came from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the survey found, although their compliance was the second-highest and highest respectively in Opec.
Even with April's increase, the total curb achieved by Opec's top producer Saudi Arabia is 574 000 bbl/d, well above the target cut of 486 000 bbl/d.
Iran's production rose slightly. Tehran was allowed a small increase in output under the Opec agreement.
These increases offset lower supply in Iraq, which exported less crude from its southern terminals - and Venezuela, where exports also fell month-on-month, according to tanker data and shipping sources.
Output in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fell, but production in March was higher than originally thought. The UAE, which has been focusing on expanding oil capacity in recent years, has been slower than other Gulf members to trim supply.
The UAE says it is complying 100%. It has blamed suggestions that it is failing to do so on discrepancies between its own production figures and those estimated by the secondary sources that Opec uses to track compliance.
Lower output in Nigeria and Libya, which are exempt from the curbs, helped bring down overall Opec production.
Maintenance continued at Nigeria's Bonga field for part of the month and loading delays affected the country's biggest export stream, Qua Iboe.
In Libya, output fell as protests blocking a pipeline prompted the shutdown of the Sharara field. Output there resumed in late April, suggesting May could see higher production if no further unrest emerges.
Opec announced a production target of 32.5-million barrels a day at its November 30 meeting, which was based on low figures for Libya and Nigeria and included Indonesia, which has since left the group.
The Libyan and Nigerian reductions mean Opec output in April averaged 31.97-million barrels a day, about 220 000 bbl/d above its supply target adjusted to remove Indonesia.
The Reuters survey is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Thomson Reuters flows data, and information provided by sources at oil companies, Opec and consulting firms.
Shell is among a group of five energy companies who have agreed to stump up funding for the Nord Stream 2 project.
Shell, Engie, OMV, Uniper and Wintershall have each committed to provide financing and guarantees for up to 10% of the total cost of the project, which is currently estimated to be £8billion.
Each company will provide a long-term funding facility of £240million expected to be drawn down in 2017.
In addition, funds of up to £565million will be provided to cover a combination of short and long-term funding and guarantees.
The 1,220-kilometer pipeline will be able to transport a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year.
It will run from the coast of Russia via the Baltic Sea to Greifswald in Germany.
Gazprom owns 100% of the Nord Stream 2 project, which would open up another supply route from Russia to Europe that misses out Ukraine.
Relations between Moscow and Kiev have been acrimonious since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Nord Stream 2’s predecessor, Nord Stream, opened in two phases in 2011 and 2012.