The company will carry out engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) work on Energean’s Karish field in the Mediterranean.
The contract covers the complete subsea system, a floating production storage and offloading unit, the pipeline system, and the onshore pipeline and valve station at the receiving station.
TechnipFMC has also been awarded an EPCI contract by Sabah Shell Petroleum Company for the delivery and installation of subsea equipment including umbilicals, flowlines and the subsea production system for the Gumusut-Kakap Phase 2 Project.Lastly, LLOG exploration has picked TechnipFMC to carry out EPCI work on the Who Dat field in the Gulf of Mexico.
Gazprom has abandoned the hope of turning the Turkish Stream project into a gas pipeline for mass exportation to Europe.
As Interfax reported on Monday, the Russian gas company is preparing to begin dismantling the Southern Gas Corridor pipelines which were initially constructed for the South Stream and were later transferred to the Turkish Stream.
According to the plan, the Turkish Stream was supposed to supply Turkey and the EU with 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year. However, a framework agreement could only be reached with Ankara concerning two of the four pipelines.
Due to the 50% reduction in the Turkish Stream’s capacity, Gazprom ended up with 506 kilometers of surplus pipe along the Pocinki-Anapa route from the Saratov province to Krasnodar Krai. Both the pipes and the Morshansk gas measuring station are to be dismantled.
The construction of the third and fourth sequences of compressor stations will be put on hold “until the decision is made to realize the facilities in question”, according to information from Gazprom. The total cost of the facilities which were prepared for the South Stream and then the Turkish Stream, and which ultimately ended up as incomplete construction projects on Gazprom’s balance sheet, was estimated at 46 billion rubles at the start of 2017.
Currently Gazprom is proceeding with the laying of two lines of the Turkish Stream along the bottom of the Black Sea, with a total capacity of 31 billion cubic meters per year.
However, three sources in the gas sector told Reuters that Turkey has only agreed to have one line of the stream with a capacity of 15.75 per year in its territory, to provide gas for its own needs.
With respect to the second branch, which Gazprom hopes to use for transit to Europe and of which nearly a thousand kilometers have already been laid on the bottom of the Black Sea, Ankara has only given permission for it to reach Turkey’s coast.
The likelihood that the second line will remain a pipe to nowhere is growing: one gets the feeling that even Moscow has begun to view the prospect of launching it soon “with a bit more skepticism”, Fitch analyst Dmitry Marinchenko observed.
Without Turkey’s permission, it will not be possible to establish a specific route. It is unclear who will be pipe’s owner and operator, or whether Turkey will demand payment for gas transit and at what rates, Marinchenko added.
Italy, which is currently Gazprom's third most important partner in Europe, as according to data from the Russian energy giant, exports of Russian gas to Italy rose within a year (March 2017-March 2018) by 99%, seems to seek its more active participation in developments in the energy sector in the SEE region.
The interest in the acquisition of DESFA, through Snam, the intense activity of the EMI in Egypt and Cyprus, and the support of different catering options, starting either from Azerbaijan or Russia, from the Italian energy industry with natural gas are indicative of the Italy's wish. Russia's attempt to revive the so-called "South Stream" pipeline to export extra quantities of natural gas to Europe via the TurkStream under the Black Sea appears to be considered positively by Rome.
Gazprom's chairman, Alexey Miller, briefed Italian official Pasquale Terracciano on the progress of the pipeline, informing him that half the TurkStream gas pipeline has been constructed already. The second leg of the pipeline, in the meantime, is expected to transfer another 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Europe. Gazprom's co-operation with Italian Eni and Edison seems to be getting steadily stronger.
In particular, Gazprom and Eni have signed a Memorandum of Understanding since March 2017 to strengthen the southern gas corridor, and in June 2017 Gazprom, in St. Petersburg, Edison and the Greek DEPA committed themselves to the realization of a southern route and Southeast European Pipeline pipeline to bring Russian gas to Europe through Turkey, Greece and Italy.
More specifically, it concerns the development and implementation of the TurkStream pipeline and its expansion, the Poseidon pipeline, from the Greek-Turkish border to Italy.Perhaps Martin Wolf, an analyst with the Financial Times, is correct.
On the occasion of the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, on Tuesday, he said that geopolitical tensions have never influenced relations in the energy field between the West and the East over the past 40 years....
Norwegian firm Statoil has awarded contracts to Subsea 7 and Ocean Installer for the $642m Askeladd field development project in the Barents Sea.
The Askeladd field, which is part two of the multi-phased Snøhvit development in the Barents Sea, is expected to supply 21 billion cubic meters of gas and two million cubic meters of condensate to the LNG plant at Melkøya in Hammerfest.
Statoil has awarded contract to Subsea 7 to lay a 44km-long and 20-inch-wide pipeline that will tie Askeladd to the Snøhvit field.
Subsea 7's contract work will commence immediately and continue throughout 2019 while the installation is planned in the summer of 2019.
The second contract was awarded to Ocean Installer to install two subsea templates in 2019.
Under the contract, Ocean Installer will be responsible for the installation of 42km-long umbilical, a 35km-long mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) pipeline and two manifolds in 2020.The firm will also fabricate and install four spools and protective structures in addition to conducting tie-ins and ready-for-operation activities.
Statoil project development senior vice-president Torger Rød said: "The Askeladd project is being developed in a period of several key milestones for Statoil in North Norway. The Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea will come on stream at the end of the year.
“The Johan Castberg development began in earnest after it was recently sanctioned. In addition, Statoil’s drilling campaign in the Barents Sea is being pursued this year.”
Earlier, Subsea 7 and Ocean Installer won contracts similar contracts for the Johan Castberg development project in Norway.
Statoil CPO Pål Eitrheim said: "Statoil’s activities in the north generate ripple effects and together with the collaboration partners we are actively seeking competitive suppliers in this part of the country.”
Scheduled to commence production by the end of 2020, the Askeladd field is planned to be developed with three wells through two new subsea templates.
Statoil operates the Snøhvit development with 36.79% stake while other partners include Petoro with 30% stake, Total with 18.40% interest, Neptune Energy Norge with 12% stake and DEA Norge with 2.81% interest.
Leading asset lifecycle services specialist Bilfinger Salamis UK has been awarded a multimillion pound contract for technical manpower services on Shell U.K. Limited southern North Sea (SNS) assets.
The three-year contract covers the execution of maintenance operations services onshore at Bacton Gas Plant, and offshore on the Leman Alpha Platform, Clipper and Seafox 4 Barge as well as the Kroonborg Walk-to-Work vessel supporting NAM in the Dutch sector.
Bilfinger Salamis UK’s Managing Director, Sandy Bonner, commented: “We are delighted to have secured this contract as it further solidifies our position as a leading provider of Modifications, Maintenance and Operations (MMO) services.
“Bilfinger has worked extensively with Shell and NAM for many years. Shell’s decision to award this contract to us is testament to the strong, collaborative relationship we have.”
Over 150 personnel will transfer to Bilfinger Salamis UK from the incumbent contractor, in electrical, mechanical, pipe fitting, welding, crane and rigging disciplines. In January alone, Bilfinger recruited and rehired over 600 personnel in the UK, positioning the firm as a leading employer in the sector.
Investment in Southern North Sea
The contract will be managed from Bilfinger’s Great Yarmouth base. The company is a major player in the SNS, having had a presence in the region since 1981.
Initially focused on offshore fabric maintenance, the company has since expanded its SNS and Netherlands offering, and in recent years developed its service capability to to secure maintenance, inspection and renewables contracts. Key customers including Statoil, ConocoPhillips, Perenco and Oranje Nassau Energie (ONE) UK.
"Great Yarmouth is an important strategic location for Bilfinger, and we are committed to further strengthening our capabilities in the southern sector,” said Ken Badenoch, Bilfinger SNS General Manager.
“We have continuously invested in infrastructure, technology and processes, positioning the company as a major provider with the capability to provide a fully integrated MMO service offering in both Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth.
“Our strong management team, skilled employees and local resources mean we are ideally placed to continue supporting the long-term operations and maintenance needs of the Southern North Sea oil and gas sector.”
Bilfinger currently employs c.250 personnel from its Great Yarmouth base, and looks to increase its team following this contract award."Bilfinger will be actively recruiting to strengthen our MMO capability, with positions from graduate through to management,“ added Mr Badenoch.
Pasargad Energy Development Company (PEDC) has signed a contract to lead the development of two Iranian oilfields, in a first for Iranian upstream companies.
PEDC will develop the country’s Sepehr and Jofeyr fields in a project involving USD 2.4 billion in capex, the Ministry of Petroleum’s news portal reported on Sunday.
With the deal, the company becomes the first local player to alone secure a development deal for one of Iran’s new upstream projects.
Other companies that had been in the running to develop one or both of the fields include internationals Pergas and Chinese Petroleum Corporation of Taiwan and local firms Oil Industries Engineering and Construction and Ghadir Investment Company and Pasargad Gostaresh Energy Company.
Located along Iran’s border with Iraq, the Sepehr and Jofeyr fields – believed to share an extension – are among the joint fields prioritised by the Ministry of Petroleum for development.
The 20-year development plan targets 110,000 bopd in total production from the two fields.
The contract was signed on Sunday between head of the National Iraian Oil Company Ali Kardor and PEDC CEO and vice-president Mehdi Mirmoezi.
In January, Mirmoezi told TOGY the company had submitted its development proposal and was optimistic about winning the contract. He also indicated the company was considering partnering with an international for the development, and had been approached by three IOCs.
When oil-rich Abu Dhabi put a string of offshore fields up for auction, suitors from China to Italy vied for a slice of the pie. Surprisingly, that piece was snatched from one of the world's largest energy conglomerates.
BP Plc missed out on a chance to renew its partnership in oil concessions off the emirate's shores, which expired this month. The loss of barrels - estimated at 100,000 a day - will offset growth from BP's new projects, meaning its total oil output will stay flat this quarter.
Competitors Total SA, Eni SpA and others will take a share of the three licenses in Abu Dhabi, an emirate that produces 6 per cent of the world's oil. Now out of the picture offshore, BP will need to focus on the country's onshore fields it won in 2016, as well as gas assets in the region such as Zohr in Egypt and Khazzan in Oman.
"It looks like the company decided the financial terms were too tight in Abu Dhabi and that they'd be better off spending their money elsewhere," said Robin Mills, chief executive officer of consultants Qamar Energy. "The contracts are very low-return, because Abu Dhabi is very tight on the terms and drives a hard bargain." BP declined to comment.
The company vowed to maintain capital discipline following crude's slump and the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010, which saddled it with a tab of more than US$60 billion in liabilities. It has recently offered mature oil assets in Egypt for sale and aims to raise US$1 billion, according to people familiar with the plan.
Companies including Total, Eni, Cia Espanola de Petroleos and China National Petroleum Corp won stakes of as much as 20 per cent in the UAE concessions, while Abu Dhabi National Oil Co kept 60 per cent.
BP had held 14.7 per cent of an Adnoc unit that operated some of the fields. Abu Dhabi still has to award the remaining 20 per cent of the offshore oil concessions. Austrian oil producer OMV AG is poised to win a stake in the concession.
BP reported double-digit production growth last year. Now, with the Abu Dhabi block pumping about 700,000 barrels a day, the company loses access to the 100,000 daily barrels it could tap as a partner.
Once fully operational, Oman's Khazzan gas project will more than make up for the lost barrels, Qamar's Mills said. Elsewhere in the Middle East, BP and its partners are eyeing growth in Iraq, where they're pumping more than 1.5 million barrels a day from the nation's biggest oil field, Rumaila.
As in Iraq, the cost of producing oil in Abu Dhabi is low, and the large reserves reduce the risk that the fields won't deliver, Mr Mills said. BP probably decided its remaining onshore concession - and its stake in Rumaila - give it enough "low-risk" barrels, he said.