Energy giant Total has struck a deal to buy 74.33% of European utility firm Direct Energie for £1.2billion.Paris-headquartered Total said the agreement accelerated its ambition in gas and electricity in France and Belgium. The firm is targeting more than 6million customers in France and more than 1million customers in Belgium by 2022.The deal values Direct Energie at 12.5 times its 2018 projected ebitda.
Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said: “Through this transaction, Total is actively pursuing its development in electricity and gas generation and distribution in France and Belgium.
“This friendly takeover is part of the Group’s strategy to expand along the entire gas-electricity value chain and to develop low-carbon energies, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major.
“We are delighted to welcome the Direct Energie teams into Total, who will contribute their skills in the field of electricity and who will be at the heart of the Group’s growth ambition in this field.”
Direct Energie chief executive Xavier Caïtucoli said: “We welcome this transaction with pride and enthusiasm and we are convinced that combining with Total will be to the benefit of our customers.
“The Direct Energie teams will be at the heart of the strategy of one of the greatest French companies. I have no doubt that their hard work, creativity and talents will allow the new entity to expand its ambitions”.
Statoil has awarded Aibel the contract for the refurbishment and lifetime extension of the Njord Bravo Floating Storage Unit (FSU) of as a part of Statoil’s “Njord Future Project”.
The contract is a fabrication contract with an estimated value of approx. NOK 1.3 billion. Aibel will have overall responsibility for fabrication, installation, construction, shop engineering and procurement as required to achieve mechanical completion on the FSU. In addition, Aibel will assist Statoil with commissioning services.
The contract will be managed from Haugesund under the portfolio of Modifications & Yard Services.
“This is a substantial contract for Aibel, and it confirms our leading position within large modification assignments on Norwegian continental shelf. Over the past years, improvements have been on top of our agenda, and at the same time, we are known for our expertise and experienced workers in this specific segment. This gives us an excellent starting point for a safe and efficient execution of the project, which also will serve as a good reference in a market with increased demand for expertise within modifications in order to extend lifetime on existing installations or to secure tie-inn of new fields,” says CEO in Aibel, Mads Andersen.
Aibel has solid experience from similar assignments on other floating production and storage vessels such as BP’s Glen Lyon (2016) and Teekay’s Petrojarl 1 (2017).
Preparatory work starts up immediately, and the FSU is expected to arrive Aibel’s yard in Haugesund in beginning of July 2018. At peak, the project will engage up to 600 employees. The Njord Bravo FSU is scheduled to be delivered in the spring of 2020. The contract also includes an option for offshore work on Njord Bravo in connection with the hook-up on the field.
Partners at the Njord field are DEA Norge AS (50%), Neptun Energy (20%), Statoil P. ASA (20%), Faroe Petroleum Norge (7,5%) and VNG Norge (2,5%).
Russian gas giant Gazprom plans to build a huge gas-processing plant near the Baltic Sea, integrated with gas-chemical power. The partner of the company in this project is the company "Rusgaznitsa", writes "Vedomosti".
The business edition cites a source who spoke with managers of the Rusgazanci and a top manager of Gazprom's counterpart. According to them, the future production complex will be able to process up to 45 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The estimated cost of the project is nearly $ 20 billion, adds Vedomosti's interlocutors.
A Gazprom spokesman confirmed on April 22 that the project was being developed. If carried out, it could become the second largest in all Gazprom investment projects following the Siberian Power pipeline ($ 55 billion in 2014 estimates), the Russian daily notes.
Merichem Company has won an order to supply a LO-CAT® sulfur recovery unit to Eni's Gela Refinery in Sicily, Italy.
Basic engineering is already complete, and equipment is on order. Completion of the installation is anticipated in the summer of 2018.
Eni's Green Refinery Project at the Gela Refinery is part of Eni's commitment to the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive, which set challenging targets for reduced emissions by the end of 2020. The Gela Refinery will utilise Ecofining™ technology developed by Eni to produce green diesel.
The Ecofining unit is part of the conversion of the idle plant to a biorefinery that will produce green refinery products from renewable sources such as palm oil and used vegetable oils. As a byproduct, the conversion process produces small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that must be removed to meet strict environmental standards.
The LO-CAT process is a patented, wet scrubbing, liquid redox system that uses a chelated iron solution to convert H2S to innocuous, elemental sulfur. It does not use any toxic chemicals and does not produce any hazardous waste byproducts. The catalyst is continuously regenerated in the process, so less catalyst is consumed, and more money is saved. The produced solid sulfur ‘cake’ may be used as a fertilizer and soil conditioner.
The LO-CAT process is applicable to all types of gas streams, including air, natural gas, CO2, amine acid gas, biogas, landfill gas, refinery fuel gas, etc. The liquid catalyst adapts easily to variations in flow and concentration. Flexible operation allows 100% turndown in gas flow and H2S concentrations. Units require minimal operator attention.
More than 200 installations around the world depend on the LO-CAT process to remove hydrogen sulfide from gas streams. The process is reliable, efficient, and economical, and is licensed with guarantees of H2S removal efficiency and sulfur removal capacity.
Italian energy company Eni is to invest €1bn in green technologies, including renewables, in its home country over the next four years.Some of the money is being spent on the Progetto Italia initiative, which will create facilities for the production of renewable energy on some of Eni’s reclaimed industrial sites, the company said.
The power will mainly be used by Eni’s industrial assets, enabling the company to reduce its energy consumption.
Eni said it has identified 25 projects so far totalling 220MW, which will be online by 2021.
It is also planning research in solar power, energy storage, biofuels, biomass and wind power.
Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said: “Thanks to extensive research we have been able to consolidate and enhance our technical know-how, giving us new and important internal skills.”
Iran struck a second oil deal under the framework of the newly developed Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC).
The first agreement was signed last July between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and a French Total-led consortium comprising China’s CNPCI and Iran’s Petropars for the development of Phase 11 of the giant offshore South Pars gas field.
The second such deal was signed on March 14 between the NIOC and a consortium of Russia’s Zarubezhneft and Iranian private company Dana Energy for the enhanced recovery from the Aban and West Paydar oil fields which Iran shares with the neighboring Iraq on its eastern border.
Zarubezhneft will hold an 80% share in the contract, while the remaining 20% will belong to Dana Energy.
Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh, speaking at the signing ceremony of the new IPC deal, said some of “firsts” were recorded in the agreement to enhance the Aban and West Paydar output.
“For the first time, a renowned Russian company is helping develop Iranian oil fields. Of course, we were already cooperating with the Russians in oil and purchase of technical services; however, this is the first such contract for oil production within the framework of the new model of oil contracts, and I hope it would not be the last,” he said.
Zangeneh said Zarubezhneft’s partnership with a private Iranian company was another new achievement.
“A fully private E&P Iranian company is involved,” he said, noting that the agreement with the Russian-led consortium was the second IPC deal. The minister said increased production from Aban and West Paydar would earn Iran $4 billion in revenue. “With a combined production of 67 million barrels of oil from these two fields, at current prices, $4 billion will be added to state revenue,” he said.
“This agreement has been signed for the development of two jointly owned fields which are already producing, and they will undergo improved oil recovery (IOR),” he added. “Had such agreement not been signed for the development of Aban and West Paydar fields accumulated production from these two fields would have not reached even 38 million barrels in ten years, but now thanks to this agreement, 67 million barrels will be added to their combined output to reach 105 million barrels,” said Zangeneh.
The minister said enhanced recovery was a key factor in this contract.
“This agreement is signed for a period of ten years, during which we hope to be able to find new solutions for enhanced recovery from these fields.” Zangeneh said negotiations were underway with other Russian companies including Gazprom Neft, Tatneft, Lukoil and Gazprom for the development of other oil and gas fields.
He said the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum would be facing tough tasks in the new calendar year which started on March 21, adding, “Most of talks are in their final stage and we hope to see signature of new contracts soon.”
Zangeneh said domestic manufacturing would be a key part of the deal with Zarubezhneft, adding that Iranian companies would be involved in drilling and other activities.
“Signature of such contracts is fundamental forth petroleum industry. It is also risky, but we have to accept risks,” he added.
With a combined production of 67 million barrels of oil from these two fields, at current prices, $4billion will be added to state revenue, Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, deputy CEO of NIOC for development and engineering, said: “The Aban and West Paydar fields are already producing oil, but they will soon face output decline.
Therefore, the main objective of this agreement is to enhance their production.” “The total investment to be made under this contract would be around $670 million, 10% of which will be spent on non-capital costs,” he said.
“In drawing up the contract, the issue of domestic manufacturing and maximum contribution of Iranian companies have been taken into consideration and the Russian side has accepted necessary obligations. Implementation of this agreement heralds transfer of enhanced recovery (EOR) technology,” said Manouchehri.
He said this agreement would bring prosperity to domestic manufacturers of equipment for the petroleum industry, adding, “We hope that in the near future it would become possible to manufacture hundreds and even thousands of ESP pumps in the country.” Manouchehri also touched on negotiations under way for upstream oil projects, saying: “Currently, we are actively following up on the negotiations for the development of 22 oil and gas fields.” He said talks had been almost finalized with a view to signing agreements for the Yaran, Mansouri, Sepehr and Jofair fields. He also gave a positive assessment of negotiations under way for the development of Azar, Ab Teimour, Changouleh, Dehloran, Maroun (Bangestan) and Koupal.
Manouchehri said talks had begun on Yadavaran field, while Azadegan was still on the agenda. He said NIOC was in talks with India for the development of Farzad B gas field. “The agreement for the development of Balal field will be signed soon with domestic companies and completion of Forouzan field development is on the cards. Meantime, negotiations with other Russian companies including Gazprom Neft and Rosneft are under way, which we hope will be finalized one after another.”
“Nearly 30 EPC agreements are on the NIOC agenda for oil recovery enhancement,” he said, expressing hope that Iran would experience prosperity in this sector in the second half of the new calendar year.