TechnipFMC Awarded An Onshore Contract In Ghana
TechnipFMC has been awarded a contract by ENI Ghana E&P Limited (a subsidiary of ENI, GNPC and Vitol), for the onshore part of the OCTP development of the Sankofa field, offshore Ghana.
Under this contract, TechnipFMC will perform the project management, engineering, supply, construction and commissioning (EPC) for the Onshore Receiving Facilities (ORF) located in Sanzule, which form part of the Gas to Power Plan.
The contract will be mainly executed by the teams of TechnipFMC in Ghana. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-2018.
Nello Uccelletti, President of TechnipFMC’s Onshore/Offshore business, commented: “We are proud to have been awarded this new contract, which rewards TechnipFMC’s long term commitment in Africa and plays a strategic role in the Gas to Power program in Ghana. This success also results from TechnipFMC’s sustainable development work in Ghana, in particular our permanent Engineering Center located in Accra.”
(1) Ghana National Petroleum Company
(2) Offshore Cape Three Points
Repsol to acquire 60% stake in Energean west Greece blocks
Energean Oil & Gas has agreed to farm out a 60% interest in its Ioannina and Etoloakarnania blocks, onshore western Greece, to Spain’s Repsol. Repsol will also become the operator for both blocks.
The agreement is subject to the approval of the Greek Government and the signing of the Etoloakarnania License Agreement between Energean and the Greek Government.
The Ioannina and Etoloakarnania blocks, covering a total of 8,547 km2, are priority exploration targets for Energean and strategically important for the Greek oil & gas sector.
Confirming previous energypress reports, Energean released a statement today noting that agreements have been signed with Repsol for both licenses.
Commenting on the agreement with Repsol, the Energean Group Chairman & CEO, Mr. Mathios Rigas, noted: “We are delighted that Repsol has agreed to farm into Energean’s Ioannina and Etoloakarnania blocks, which represents a significant step forward for the development of the Greek oil and gas sector. Repsol’s expertise and Energean’s knowledge of the area’s geology will undoubtedly drive forward the possibility of making new discoveries in Western Greece, and developing this region as a significant new oil and gas province.”
Repsol plans to acquire a 2D seismic survey over the Ioannina block in 2017/2018, and to conduct an FTG and a 2D seismic survey over the Etoloakarnania block in 2018/2019.
Repsol ranks as one of the world’s biggest listed oil and gas enterprises and operates one of Europe’s most efficient refinery networks. The company maintains business interests in over 40 countries and employs over 24,000 persons.
Active in the entire chain of oil and gas activities including exploration, production, refining, transportation and development of new energy solutions, Repsol produces approximately 700,000 barrels per day while the refineries under its control can handle as many as 998,000 barrels of crude per day.
The company also operates 4,700 retail fuel and lubrication stations, the majority of these in Spain, where it is the market leader.
Wood Group Renews And Extends North Sea Contract With Premier Oil
Wood Group has been awarded a $50 million contract with Premier Oil, to deliver topside operations and maintenance services to the Balmoral floating production vessel (FPV) in the Central North Sea and the Solan installation, West of Shetland.
The two year contract which has three, one year extension options, retains more than 150 jobs and extends Wood Group's support of Premier Oil in the UKCS; the company has delivered operations, maintenance and engineering services to the Balmoral FPV since 2012.
Dave Stewart, CEO of Wood Group's Asset Life Cycle Solutions business in the eastern region said: "This contract clearly demonstrates the strong partnership we have developed with Premier Oil in the North Sea; renewing our support of the Balmoral FPV and broadening our delivery to include the Solan field, which came on stream in April 2016.
"We have consistently and successfully assured the management of safety and integrity and applied our innovation and technical expertise to maximize uptime and production, whilst also reducing field lift costs. This will be our continued focus; leveraging both our late life asset management expertise and production enhancing technical solutions as we continue to collaborate with Premier Oil on the safe and effective delivery of this latest contract."
Wood Group also currently supports Premier Oil in the delivery of fabric maintenance services to the Balmoral FPV in a separate contract held since 2014.
Dubai Carbon signs agreement with I-REC Standard for RECs
Dubai Carbon, in association with the Netherlands-based non-profit firm, will now provide a standard for energy attribute tracking systems that can be easily implemented and used by end-users in the UAE.
This will also allow all consumers access to internationally recognized and tradable and RECs. The RECs are the only way within the UAE to prove ownership to the environmental and economic benefits of the procured renewable energy.
The I-REC attribute tracking standard supports tracking compliance with governmental renewable energy requirements, as well as voluntary consumers to track and verify progress towards their environmental goals. This allows all I-REC Standard participants the ability to track attributes of renewable electricity production from its location of generation to its place of consumption.
The tracking includes environmental, economic and GHG attributes, which at the time of REC cancellation, are the exclusive ownership of the consumer, or group of consumers.
Claims
It creates the foundation on which electricity consumer claims can be made, particularly those related to Scope 2 carbon accounting (GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity) or proof of individual renewable electricity consumption.
Waleed Salman, chairman, Dubai Carbon said: “Electricity produced from different power plants are fed into the main grid, which then makes it impossible to identify the source of energy a consumer is using. The I-RECs will be issued to the energy generator by Dubai Carbon, once they generate clean energy from a single generation facility.”
He added: “These can be purchased or procured by end users to validate their renewable energy consumption. I-RECs serve as the ‘currency’ for renewable energy markets and will support renewable energy projects in the UAE.”
Selling and buying
I-RECs are issued to the generator’s account or to the account of an appointed representative. Market participants who have accounts with the tracking systems can transact the I-RECs. They are the only credible way of selling and buying renewable energy. I-RECs can only reside in one account at a time.
Jared Braslawsky, director of the I-REC Standard, said: “I-REC provides standards for energy attribute tracking systems that can be easily implemented so that consumers in all regions of the world can have access to internationally recognized renewable energy certificates. By procuring I-RECs, companies and individuals can support impactful renewable projects and drive the transition to renewable energy on a global scale.”
Bahrain's Bapco starts talks with contractors on Sitra expansion bids
State-run Bahrain Petroleum Co (Bapco) has started two weeks of negotiations with international contractors to clarify bids to expand the Sitra oil refinery, estimated to cost around $5 billion.
"The negotiations will last at least two weeks and hopefully the award will take place in a month or so," said a source familiar with the matter.
Bapco declined to comment.
Bahrain relies on output from the Abu Safa oil field that it shares with Saudi Arabia for the vast majority of its oil. A new pipeline will replace an ageing 230,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) link and enable the country to expand the processing capacity of the 267,000 bpd Sitra refinery.
Under the Bapco Modernisation Program (BMP), Sitra's capacity will hit 360,000 bpd by adding and replacing a few units.
Four consortia made up of international engineering firms submitted bids in December.
These include Japan's JGC Corp and South Korea's GS; Technip, Tecnicas Reunidas and Samsung Engineering; Fluor, Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Daewoo E&C; CB&I, Petrofac and Japan's Mitsui and Co.
Project financing is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year, said a Bahrain-based investment banker familiar with the matter.
BNP Paribas and HSBC are advising the company on the project financing, which is expected to have an 18-year maturity including a four-year construction period.
Late last year, a banking source said the financing could be finalised as early as the first half of 2017.
Wholly owned by the government of Bahrain, Bapco’s operations are in the refining, distribution, sale and export of crude oil and refined products.
Bulgarian, Fyrom energy developments monitored
Greek diplomats stationed in other Balkans countries are keeping a close watch on local energy-sector developments and their implications, positive and negative, for Greece’s aim of becoming a regional energy hub.
Most recently, Greek diplomats informed Athens of a change of guard at ICGB, the consortium behind the development and management of the prospective IGB (Greek-Bulgarian Interconnector) pipeline project. Teodora Georgieva was replaced by new CEO Valentin Haralambiev, who possesses extensive experience in gas-sector infrastructure projects and is expected to speed up the IGB project.
An objective has been set for this pipeline interconnection project to begin operating by early 2020.
Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) holds a 50 percent stake in the consortium, also including DEPA, Greece’s Public Gas Corporation, and Italy’s Edison.
BEH issued a statement noting that the natural gas interconnection with Greece represents a “significant priority for the Bulgarian government’s energy policy.”
According to the Greek Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria’s interim energy minister Nikolay Pavlov, speaking to an audience of European energy authorities at last month’s 3rd Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, held in Baku, noted that his country’s government is working intensively so that construction of the project’s segment concerning Bulgaria may begin early in 2018.
The Southern Gas Corridor is a Brussels initiative promoting natural gas supply from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe, the aim being to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.
Greek diplomats have also been drawn to energy developments in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom).
Reporting on a recent roundtable discussion organized by Fyrom’s Chamber of Commerce on supply security concerning petroleum and other products, the Greek Embassy informed that participants agreed Thessaloniki port and Corridor X – a route linking the cities Thessaloniki, Skopje, Belgrade, Zagreb and Budapest – represent the most advantageous and safest passage for Fyrom’s trading and economic interests. The head of OKTA, an ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) subsidiary, was among this session’s participants.
ADNOC, and Masdar Sign MoUs with Saudi Aramco on Oil & Gas Collaboration and Sustainable Energy technology
Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) today signed two separate Memorandums of Understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and with Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy Company, covering energy and technology collaboration, renewables, and carbon management.
Under the terms of the MoU between ADNOC and Saudi Aramco, the two companies will collaborate on identifying technologies that could deliver improved operational performance and efficiency across the oil and gas value chain.
The MoU was signed by H.E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO and Amin H. Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco.
H.E. Dr Al Jaber said: “The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have strong bilateral ties built on fraternity, collaboration and partnership. We share many strategic objectives and increased cooperation between ADNOC and Saudi Aramco will further ensure our long term economic and energy resilience.
“This agreement reinforces our renewed approach to partnerships, which are aimed at leveraging and building on existing industry expertise. Innovation and technology are critical to our growth strategy, and there is a strong focus on integrating new technologies into our upstream and downstream operations, as we work to harness maximum value.,” H.E. Dr Al Jaber added.
Amin H. Nasser said: “We are delighted to have concluded this collaborative agreement with ADNOC. It will strengthen the existing links between our two companies and accelerate key enablers of both our companies’ long-term resilience by fostering a culture of knowledge sharing. The MoU will bring many benefits for both our companies. ADNOC and Saudi Aramco have successful records of investing in technology. In addition to their in-house networks, both companies have a wide range of collaborative relationships, at home and abroad, with leading energy institutions.”
Saudi Aramco also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar and Saudi Aramco will collaborate on sustainable development and renewable energy to yield advancements in clean electricity generation, and carbon capture for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the world.
The MoU was signed by Yasser Mufti, Executive Director for New Business Development at Saudi Aramco and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Masdar.
Yasser Mufti, Executive Director for New Business Development at Saudi Aramco said: “Saudi Aramco welcomes the MoU with Masdar. We are embarking on an ambitious program in sustainable energy, including renewables and CO2 capturing and are also supporting the research and development efforts of various organizations and institutes in the Kingdom to promote renewables use in power generation and water desalination. This MoU,” he added, “will facilitate cooperation in research and development, education and sustainable awareness, on the basis of each company’s experience in the development and deployment of sustainability programs.”
“This important agreement reflects the shared commitment of Masdar and Saudi Aramco to industry collaboration, which is essential in order to ensure that sustainable energy based projects benefit from the best available technology, knowledge and skills,” said Mohamed Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.
“Working with Saudi Aramco will provide substantial insight into their unparalleled experience of deploying large-scale energy projects, while at the same time we are honoured to be able to share our own significant expertise as a first-mover in large scale commercial renewable energy development in the Middle East and international markets. The growth potential for renewables in Saudi Arabia is vast, and through our partnership we look forward to supporting the delivery of affordable and sustainable energy in the kingdom.”