Total-led international consortium (Total 40%, ENI 40%, Novatek 20%) signed two Exploration and Production Agreements (EPA) with the Republic of Lebanon, covering Blocks 4 and 9, located in the deep waters offshore Lebanon. The agreements are the result of the first International Competitive Offshore Licensing Round launched by Lebanese Petroleum Authority.
The agreements open the way for the exploration of the Offshore of Lebanon and further strengthen the Company’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.The consortium's priority will be to drill a first exploration well on Block 4 in 2019.
As for Block 9, Total and its partners are fully aware of the Israeli-Lebanese border dispute in the southern part of the block that covers only very limited area (less than 8% of the block’s surface). Given that, the main prospects are located more than 25km from the disputed area, the consortium confirms that the exploration well on Block 9 will have no interference at all with any fields or prospects located south of the border area.
The blocks were awarded to the consortium of Total (operator, 40%), ENI (40%) and Novatek (20%) in the frame of the 1st offshore licensing round, launched by the Lebanese government in January 2017.
Codest, an Italian company, will become the general contractor for the project to build Gazprom Center in Minsk, BelTA learned from the press service of Gazprom Transgaz Belarus. A relevant package of documents was signed in Minsk. Gazprom Transgaz Belarus will be the project customer and investor. The construction of the multifunctional facility started in Minsk in 2015. The works at the construction site will be resumed as soon as the general contractor is ready. Codest makes part of the Italian group of companies Rizzani De Eccher. Set up in 1831, the construction holding company began operations in Eastern Europe and the CIS in 1984. The company's portfolio includes the reconstruction of Milan Central Train Station and historical sites in Venice (Italy), the construction of VTB Arena Park (Moscow), the headquarters for the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo (Turin, Italy), Cloche d'Or Shopping Center (Luxembourg), Portopiccolo (Trieste, Italy), the Ismaili Center (Dushanbe, Tajikistan), the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque (UAE), Four Seasons Hotel (Baku, Azerbaijan), and Radisson Blu Hotel (Kiev, Ukraine).
Petrofac has been appointed to provide outsourced Well Operator Services on the next phase of Tullow Oil’s Thames Decommissioning project, following the award of a new multi-million dollar contract.
Under the terms of the award, Petrofac will provide well engineering project management services and fully execute plug and abandonment operations on seven of Tullow Oil’s subsea wells. This will include detailed planning, direct procurement and management of all sub-contracted services, including provision of a jack-up rig. Petrofac has also been nominated as Well Operator for the project.
In 2016 the Company permanently abandoned two wells for Tullow Oil on its Horne & Wren asset, delivering cost savings of US$2.5million through its differentiated approach to decommissioning.
Alex Macdonald, Managing Director – Well Engineering, Petrofac Engineering and Production Services, said: “Having proven our integrated well engineering services capability and realised substantial cost savings for Tullow Oil, we are delighted to have an opportunity to further strengthen our relationship.
“Certainty of cost and schedule are critical success factors for this project. We have worked collaboratively with our supply chain to develop a shared approach to risk and reward, which supports delivery excellence. We very much look forward to realising this added value for Tullow Oil as the project progresses.”
Petrofac became the first outsourced Well Operator to execute fully integrated Well Operator services in 2016. The company’s Well Operator capability evolved from its outsourced Service Operator model and its extensive track record in well project management, enabling Petrofac to provide a standalone or integrated approach to the management of wells, installation and pipeline operations.
The Russian state-owned gas and oil giant Gazprom announced Thursday that it would increase its planned total investment in the TurkStream natural gas pipeline project to $7 billion.
Speaking at an event in Moscow, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee Andrey Kruglov said that the company's initial estimated investment of $6 billion was increased by $1 billion after necessary calculations.
Kruglov underlined that Gazprom would primarily use own recourses for the investment, adding that project bonds could be applied in the next phases just like in the North Stream.
TurkStream is a transit-free export gas pipeline, which will not only stretch across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey but will further extend to Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.
The project is slated to deliver 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year through two parallel lines.The pipeline will start from the southern Russian town of Anapa on the Black Sea coast and will be laid on a 930-kilometer route under the Black Sea to reach the Thrace region of Turkey along the Black Sea coast.
The Iraq oil ministry has signed a contract with Rania International Company to construct a oil refinery, with 70,000-barrels-per-day capacity, near the northern city of Kirkuk.
Rania International, a company based in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, will build the refinery, which will produce oil products including the high octane gasoline and the other products.Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi said: "The construction of the refinery represents the first step to invest in the refining sector and produce enough oil derivatives to cover all the local need in Kirkuk and the nearby provinces."
The country is seeking to develop the oil industry in Kirkuk by implementing development projects; rehabilitate the oil fields, facilities and infrastructure; and upgrade the oil pipeline projects, Al-Luiebi added.Iraqi Oil Ministry counselor Deyaa Jaafar said that the ministry plans to boost the national oil production capacity through projects and strategic plans to establish a number of investment refineries in the provinces of Nineveh, Anbar, Dhi Qar and other places.
The north refineries company director general Kassim Abd Al-Rahman said that Kirkuk refinery project preparations was done in compliance with the latest international standards.
In January, the Iraqi oil ministry has revealed its intentions to construct an oil refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) at Port Fao with the help of two Chinese companies.The two 150,000bpd capacity oil refineries are planned to be built in the city of Nasiriyaand, in the Al Anbar Governorate.
Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have signed a long-term charter contract for a large LNG bunker vessel of 18,600 m³, to be delivered in 2020. She will operate in Northern Europe and will be the first ever capable of supplying large quantities of LNG in one single bunkering operation.With this vessel, TMFGS intends to serve the emerging marine LNG market for the container ships segment, including those sailing on the Europe-Asia trade. She will be used in particular to supply CMA CGM's new build LNG mega container ships, following the 10 years contract of 300 kt per annum signed with TMFGS in December 2017.
This bunker vessel will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China and fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system provided by the French company GTT. Highly manoeuvrable by design, with a length of about 135 meters, she will be able to operate safely in the considered harbours and terminals. She will meet the highest environmental standards through the use of LNG as fuel and a complete reliquefaction of the boil-off gas.The newbuild vessel will be managed by MOL (Europe Africa) Ltd, a UK subsidiary of MOL.
This agreement is a significant milestone in the cooperation between MOL and Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, with developments in both conventional fuels and LNG ahead of 2020 IMO sulphur regulations. Beyond their historical commercial relationship, the two companies have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combine their expertise in the development of marine LNG infrastructures and serve MOL future LNG needs.
Olivier Jouny, Managing Director of TMFGS, commented on the decision: "We are very proud to partner with MOL for our first LNG bunker vessel. Their track record in LNG shipping already includes major achievements with Total. Combined with our strong historical activity in the bunker industry and our global footprint in LNG, this pioneer agreement offers a major contribution to the development of LNG as a marine fuel and illustrates Total's strong commitment towards the use of this new fuel.
Takeshi Hashimoto, MOL Senior Managing Executive Officer, Energy Transport Business Unit, said: "We are delighted to be selected as a partner of Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions for their first LNG bunker vessel.This is a key milestone for MOL and also a stepping stone to further enhancement of the two companies' relationship of not only in conventional fuels but also LNG as a marine fuel.We are confident that our joint technical and operational expertise will contribute positively to this new business development. "