New base 785 special 11 februaury 2016

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NewBase 11 February 2016 - Issue No. 785 Edited & Produced by: Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Qatar and Pakistan Sign 1B$ LNG Deal, on 10th Feb.2016
News Agencies
Pakistan on Wednesday signed a long term agreement with Qatar to import LNG. The deal was
signed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ongoing two-day visit to Qatar.
Pakistani oil minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and chairman of Qatargas Board of Director Saad
Sherida Al Kaabi signed the agreement at a ceremony at Diwan Emiri, reported Associated Press
of Pakistan (APP).
As per the agreement Qatargas will supply fuel to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) from 2016-2031. The
price for each LNG cargo in a particular month has been agreed at 13.37 percent of Brent where
Brent value is average of the preceding three months.
Last month, Pakistani cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) finally gave PSO to sign
the long term LNG deal with Qatar. Pakistan has been facing shortage of 600 mmcfd natural gas
and the LNG deal could ease the situation to a great extent.
Gas will be sold to PSO on cheap rates; besides meeting 20pc gas requirement of
country, 2,000MW electricity will also be produced; PM Nawaz meets Emir of
Qatar; two countries also sign four other accords

Qatar to provide LNG for 15 years
DOHA: Pakistan and Qatar on Wednesday inked an historic agreement for the supply of around
Rs105 billion (one billion dollars) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan annually on a cheap
price to help the country meet its energy shortfall.
The agreement on long-term LNG sale and purchase was signed on the first day of the visit of
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Qatar. He is on a two-day visit of the Gulf state. Minister for
Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chairman of the Qatar Gas Board
of Directors Saad Sherida Al Kaabi signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides at a
ceremony at the Emir’s Palace.
The agreement has been concluded after hectic negotiations between the two countries for two
years. Under theagreement, the price for each LNG cargo in a particular month has been agreed
at 13.37 percent of Brent.
Qatargas, the Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, will sell LNG to Pakistan State Oil Company
Limited for a period of 15 years from 2016-2031. The annual contract quantity for 2016 has been
agreed at prorates of 2.25 mt. The agreement also provides for annual upward and downward
flexibilities up to three LNG cargoes per contract year. Downward flexibility can be accumulated
for two contract years. The payment terms state that PSO will make payments 15 days after
completion of unloading. The supply under the agreement would commence immediately.
The minister for petroleum later told The News that the LNG from Qatar was being purchased at
the best available rates and will help start production of 2,000 megawatts of electricity from power
houses that are currently not operational. He said under the agreement, Qatar will provide around
one billion dollars worth of LNG annually to Pakistan that will meet 20 percent of the requirements
of the country. He said the deal will help the country get out of its energy crisis and provide 35
million tons of LNG.
The two countries also signed three other agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)
for cooperation in the fields of radio, TV, health, and academic research and defence.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin
Khalifa Al Thani before the signing ceremony. The two countries also had bilateral talks on the
delegation level. The prime minister and the Emir of Qatar also had a one-on-one meeting that
continued for about 40 minutes. They discussed ways to enhance cooperation in different fields,
including energy, trade, investment and defence. Both leaders exchanged views on regional and
international issues of mutual interest.
In his remarks during the delegation-level talks, the prime minister said that Pakistan offers
attractive incentives for foreign investment and Qatar Investment Authority should explore the
potential in different sectors, particularly power generation projects and oil and gas sectors. He
said Pakistan is a suitable country for investment and quantum of investment should be
enhanced. He said that Pakistan and Qatar enjoy strong fraternal relations. Pakistan has huge
manpower and Qatar could benefit by utilising the services of more Pakistanis. He said that trade
and investment in all fields between the two countries must be increased.
The Emir of Qatar, on this occasion, thanked the prime minister for the visit and said that Qatar
was a second home for the Pakistanis. He appreciated the role of Pakistanis in transforming and
developing Qatar.

Earlier, on his arrival at the Doha airport, Prime Minister Nawaz was received by Prime Minister of
Qatar Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Muhammad bin Saleh Al Sada,
Minister for Energy, along with other officials.
He was given a red carpet welcome and two children presented bouquets to Nawaz. The official
reception ceremony was held at the Emir Palace where national anthems of the two countries
were played and Prime Minister Nawaz was presented a guard of honour on arrival. The two
countries signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
The first MoU about cooperation between the two countries in radio and television was signed by
Special Assistant to the PM on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Minister of Qatar
Muhammad bin Abdurrehman Al Thani. The MoU on cooperation between the two countries in the
health sector was signed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Qatari Health Minister Hanan
Muhammad Alkwari.
While the MoU in Academic Research and Cooperation Activities between the two countries was
signed by Pakistan Ambassador to Qatar Shahzad Ahmed and Commander of Strategic Studies
in Qatar Armed Forces Staff Major General Saud Ali Al Naeemi.
The main focus of the prime minister’s visit and interaction with the Qatari leadership is to
enhance the bilateral relations in various fields, including energy cooperation, trade and
investment, defence and increase in employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in
Qatar.
The Emir of Qatar visited Pakistan in March and the return visit by Prime Minister Nawaz in a
period of less than one year is a testimony of the growing relations between the two brotherly
countries. Qatar hosts more than 115,000 Pakistanis, who have been contributing towards the
development and prosperity of the country. Pakistan gives great importance to its ties with Qatar.
Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited will sell LNG from 2016 to year 2031 to Pakistan State
Oil (PSO). The annual contract quantity for 2016 has been agreed at a prorate of 2.25 metric
tonne while the price for each cargo has been agreed at 13.37 per cent of Brent.

Saudi Aramco: Magseis awarded contract for major project in Red Sea
Magseis
Norwegian geophysical company Magseis has, together with its partner BGP, been
awarded Saudi Aramco’s S78 project for large-scale ocean bottom seismic acquisition in
the Red Sea. The project has an expecte d duration of 9 months + 1 year and is expected to
commence during July 2016.
The survey features complicated surface and geological conditions with a combination of deep
and shallow marine work.
The combination of Magseis’ OBS technology (MASS) and BGP’s transition zone expertise
ensured the consortium’s successful bid. M/V Artemis Athene, Magseis’ OBS vessel, will be
used for the survey.

Indonesia: Cooper Energy to sell Indonesian exploration
permits to Mandala Energy.. Source: Cooper Energy
• Agreement for sale of Sumbagsel and Merangin III PSCs for US$8.25 million
• Substantial reduction to future capital expenditure commitments
• Process for sale of production assets ongoing
Cooper Energy has signed agreements for the sale of its Indonesian exploration assets to
Mandala Energy, a South East Asia focused oil and gas exploration and production company,
for consideration of US$8.25 million.
The sale, which is effective from 1 January 2016, is subject to the approval of the Government
of Indonesia and is expected to complete within the current financial year. The net cash
proceeds are anticipated to be more than A$10 million at current exchange rates, after costs
and Indonesian transfer taxes.

Under the transaction signed in Jakarta today,
Mandala will acquire 100% of the Sumbagsel and
Merangin III PSCs located in the South Sumatra Basin.
Cooper Energy will continue the divestment process for
its 55% interest in the Tangai-Sukananti KSO
production licence.
The sale is the first outcome of a process initiated by
Cooper Energy in the December quarter to divest its Indonesian portfolio.
'Today’s transaction marks another important step in our strategy to concentrate Cooper
Energy’s resources and efforts on the eastern Australian energy market' said the company’s
Managing Director, David Maxwell. 'Moreover, it will provide timely capital management
benefits as we move towards a Final Investment Decision on the Sole Gas Project'.
The benefits from the transaction include the anticipated proceeds and the removal of existing
licence commitments for seismic acquisition and the drilling of two wells. Cooper Energy
recently reported cash and investments of A$30.2 million at 31 December 2015.
Mandala Energy Chief Executive Officer Barry O’Donnell said 'the acquisition of these two
large PSCs marks a very important strategic milestone for Mandala Energy. From a portfolio
perspective, it significantly increases our footprint in the prolific South Sumatra Basin and
provides us with operatorship of two high quality exploration assets. We look forward to
executing an extensive seismic and drilling program in order to quickly realize the potential of
both blocks.'
Mr Maxwell said the decision to divest the Indonesian assets was driven by the maturation of
the company’s eastern Australian gas strategy.
'Our involvement in Indonesia pre-dates the strategy adopted in 2011 to focus on the
opportunities we foresaw in eastern Australian gas supply. The Indonesian assets were
retained on the strength of the opportunities to add value through geologic studies in
Sumbagsel and Merangin III and increasing reserves and production in Sukananti.
'Although we consider the Merangin III and Sumbagsel PSCs to be very prospective, now is
the right time for Cooper Energy to realise the value available for its Indonesian portfolio and
to increase the focus we bring to our Eastern Australia projects' Mr Maxwell said.
The company will now seek to accelerate sale of the Tangai-Sukananti KSO. The KSO is
currently producing at approx. 800 bopd (gross) and presents the opportunity for substantially
higher rates, potentially to more than 2,000 bopd, under a plan to upgrade processing and
transport capacity and conduct development drilling.
The Tangai-Sukananti KSO was assessed to contain remaining Proved plus Probable
Reserves1 of 3.1 million barrels (MMbbl) of oil (COE share: 1.7 MMbb) as at 30 June 2015
with further exploration potential. Production from Sukananti since 30 June has been 133.5
thousand barrels (kbbl), (COE share 73.5kbbl).

UK: Total flow gas from west of Shetland Laggan and Tormore
BBC
Production has begun at a new gas plant that will bring the vast reserves west of Shetland to the
mainland. The Shetland Gas Plant is said by operator Total to be capable of supplying energy to
two million homes.
A flare was lit at the moment gas started flowing to the plant, which will serve the Laggan and
Tormore fields. The two gas fields lie about 125km (77 miles) to the north west of the Shetland
Islands.
The plant is said to have been the biggest construction project in the UK since the London
Olympics. Almost one fifth of the UK's remaining oil and gas reserves are thought to lie in the area
to the west of Shetland.
Total said the Laggan and Tormore fields will produce 90,000 B/D of oil equivalent per day.
The gas will be piped to
the plant, which lies just
to the east of the existing
Sullom Voe Terminal,
before a pipeline takes it
to the UK mainland and
into the national gas grid.
It is expected to provide
about 8% of the UK's gas
needs - the equivalent of
about two million homes.
The project is part of a
massive £3.5bn
investment by French
company Total.
Challenging weather
conditions delayed the
project by more than a
year and added millions
to its cost.
The Laggan and
Tormore fields are on the

edge of the UK continental shelf, where water depths descend rapidly from an average of 120m to
600m and beyond.
What are the Laggan-Tormore fields?
• The fields lie in a region geographically closer to the North Atlantic than the North Sea,
about 77 miles (125km) north west of Shetland
• Water depths there descend rapidly from an average of 120 metres (393ft) to more than 600
metres (1,968ft).
• Until today, only oil was recoverable from the area
• Now, with the pipelines and infrastructure put in place, much of the energy which was
previously inaccessible can be reached
• The development has four subsea wells which will connect it to the new onshore Shetland
Gas Plant
• The plant has the capacity to handle 500 million standard cubic feet of gas each day
• Following treatment at the plant, the gas will then be exported to the mainland
Arnaud Breuillac, president of exploration and production at Total, said: "The innovative subsea-
to-shore development concept, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, has no offshore surface
infrastructure and benefits from both improved safety performance and lower costs.
"By opening up this new production hub in the deep offshore waters of the west of Shetland, Total
is also boosting the United Kingdom's production capacity and Europe's energy security." The
Shetland Gas Plant construction phase was estimated to have involved up to 800 jobs, with 70 full
time posts in plant operation.
It has been built on a peat bog next to the Sullom Voe oil terminal.

The gas plant was said to have been the largest construction project in the UK since the London
Olympics. As well as the onshore construction, there was a major programme of subsea
infrastructure and pipelines.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for the North Sea oil and gas industry, with industry
leaders estimating that 65,000 jobs have been lost since 2014.
Scotland's Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: "It is the success of large investment projects such
as this which will see the Shetland Islands remain a key hub for oil and gas production in the
North Sea
"Production from the
North Sea as a whole
is now increasing and
cost efficiencies are
being achieved. The
Laggan and Tormore
fields, which have a
lifespan of 20 years,
will provide a further
boost North Sea
production."
Shetland MSP Tavish
Scott said Total's
announcement
showed that the
prospects for west of
Shetland looked
positive despite the
"doom and gloom from some about the future of oil and gas". project was delayed by the
challenging weather conditions in the area ,There's a second wind to Britain's oil and gas industry.
And it's been in the pipeline for years.
Getting to "first gas" from the Laggan field has taken a long time. The Laggan field was discovered
30 years ago. Nearby Tormore, scheduled to come on stream later this year, was found nine
years ago.
Will Total make a return on its investment at current gas prices? "We can, but it requires extremely
good performance in production, and to be extremely strict on cost," says the company's UK
managing director, Elisabeth Proust.
Those high costs are a big issue for investing in British waters, but she says this remains an
attractive country because it has established working practices and a reliable, skilled supply chain.
Plus, she says, "there is still prospectivity".
Indeed, there could still be very large oil and gas fields. But very low exploration activity recently,
and even more its low success rate, mean that depleting reserves in old fields are nowhere close
to being replaced. The weather is blustery and unpredictable in these northern waters, but this
second wind may be short lived.

Russia's Sechin floats idea of oil output cuts
REUTERS/
The head of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft on Wednesday floated the idea of a
coordinated output cut by major oil-producing countries to prop up sagging prices but fell short of
saying whether Moscow would contribute to such a plan.
Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin, a close ally of
President Vladimir Putin, told the IP Week conference in
London that the global oil glut was predominantly the
fault of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries. Sechin suggested major oil producers cut
production by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to reduce
oversupply, which he estimated at 1.5 million bpd. "A
coordinated supply cut by major exporters by around 1
million barrels per day would sharply reduce uncertainty
and would move the market towards reasonable pricing
levels," he said. Oil prices have slumped more than 70 percent to near $30 a barrel over the past
18 months as supply exceeded demand after OPEC, seeking to drive higher-cost producers out of
the market, decided not to cut production.
Sechin has in the past criticized OPEC's strategy, saying the group, of which Russia is not a
member, had "lost its teeth". He has also said Moscow would never cooperate with OPEC as
Russia's oil industry could withstand any price rout thanks to cheap labor and a weak local
currency.
On Wednesday, Sechin gave similar messages but chose his words more carefully, rarely
mentioning OPEC and blaming only "some producers" for creating the glut. Oil markets have risen
in recent weeks on hopes of a deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers after a number of
Russian officials suggested dialogue should begin. But Putin has not spoken yet on the subject.
Wednesday's speech by Sechin was also his first statement on the subject in recent weeks.
WHO WILL CUT?
Sechin declined to say whether Russia would participate in any coordinated cut, when quizzed by
reporters after the speech. “Who are we supposed to be talking to about cuts? Will Saudi Arabia
or Iran cut production?" Sechin asked.
Struggling oil-producing countries have urged OPEC leader Saudi Arabia in recent weeks to call a
special meeting to discuss output cuts. Riyadh has indicated it would be willing to consider a cut
only if all major producers agreed to one, while Iraq and Iran have said they intend to boost their
output this year.
Sechin said he expected Iran to ramp up oil production to between 5 million and 6 million bpd by
2025 from 3 million now as the country opens up after the lifting of sanctions. Sechin also said
U.S. shale production, another key driver behind the global glut, would decline in the long term.
"Shale oil production has its limitations in scope and time ... U.S. shale oil production will reach its
peak in 2020," he said.
Sechin said however that onshore U.S. producers had proven more resilient to the oil price
downturn. "Shale oil markets reacted very quickly to the price shock as productivity rose
dramatically, costs of production dropped and fracking became more efficient," Sechin said.

NewBase 11 February 2016 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Oil prices fall as U.S. inventories hit record high, economic woes continue
Reuters + NewBase
Oil prices slid on Thursday as record U.S. crude inventories and worries about a global economic
slowdown weighed on markets, and Goldman Sachs said prices would remain low and volatile
until the second half of the year.
International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $30.62 per barrel at 0117 GMT, down
22 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $26.96 per barrel, down 49
cents and within a dollar of the $26.19 a barrel 2003 low from January.
Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures rose to an all-time high
just shy of 65 million barrels, data from the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA)
showed on Wednesday.
The overhang in oil supplies, together with an economic slowdown in China, means that prices will
remain low until the second half of the year, Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. "The risks of
China growth concerns and oil price downside ... materialized faster than we anticipated," the
bank said.
"We expect oil prices will continue to fluctuate between $20 per barrel (operational stress level)
and $40 per barrel (financial stress level) with significant volatility and no price trend until
2H2016," it added.
Oil price special
coverage

BP upbeat about oil industry and expects prices back at $100
The Guardian - Terry Macalister Energy editor
BP has predicted a bright future for the oil and gas industry with crude prices spiking at $100 a
barrel again, huge increases in shale output and new production from Canadian tar sands.
The British oil company believes fossil fuels will still be providing 80% of total energy supply in
2035 and admits that under this scenario, carbon emissions will rocket.
The forecasts were
immediately attacked by
critics who accused BP
of deliberately talking up
the prospects for its own
business while providing
a downbeat assessment
of future demand for
wind and solar power.
The predictions are
contained in the latest
annual BP Energy
Outlook, which looks at
long-term trends and
develops projections for
world energy markets
over the next two
decades.
“In the middle of a downturn in oil and gas prices, it is important not only to adapt to the current
tough conditions, but also to prepare for the next set of challenges,” argued BP’s chief executive,
Bob Dudley.
The key message seems to be that the oil and gas industry must keep on extracting new reserves
to meet strong demand for energy from developing countries and a growth in the world population.
Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist, was unwilling to say what price assumptions were used in
his predictions but did expect an improvement away from a current level of just above $30 a barrel
oil.
Prices would eventually rise to somewhere between $30 and $100 and while the high figure was
not a natural “resting place”, Dale said he expected events to ensure prices would spike up again
on occasions to $100.
The positive picture for fossil fuel prices and production from BP was attacked by critics as
disingenuous and self-serving.
“This is a story of how an oil and gas company predicts the rosy prospects of oil and gas
companies. BP would like us to believe that government action on climate will fail, that clean
technologies will fizzle, and that the future of energy will still be based on the carbon fuels of the
past,” said Greg Muttitt of Washington-based campaign group Oil Change International.

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“Dressed in a veneer of concern about climate change, in fact BP’s outlook is a public relations
exercise, designed to boost fossil fuels and undermine public faith in clean alternatives.
Meanwhile it deflects responsibility to government or to coal companies, to distract from its own
extraction of oil and gas. This is not a credible view of the future of energy.”
Dudley told the International Petroleum Week conference in London on Wednesday that the
commodity cycle that saw oil prices hit $100 as little as eight months ago was not over. He said
the second half of 2016 would see stronger prices because “every storage tank and swimming
pool” would be full of oil.
The oil company admitted that in the past it has underestimated the growth of wind and other
renewable power technologies in the energy mix but had overestimated the contribution from
nuclear and biofuels.
It expected carbon emissions to grow by almost 1% a year for the two decades, “suggesting the
need for further policy action” such as a meaningful price for carbon, it said in its outlook.
BP was unwilling to speculate on where its base case scenario would leave the Earth’s
temperatures, but it would be way above the two degrees centigrade growth seen as safe by most
scientists.
The company also outlined a mixture of alternative scenarios, some of which presume much more
policy action to counter global warming, including one with a very high carbon price of $100 a
tonne (compared with around $5 a tonne now).
The outlook predicted that “tight oil” – mainly US shale – would rise from around 4m barrels of oil
equivalent to 8m in the 2030s. It added that US shale gas could provide almost 20% of the world’s
supplies within 20 years.
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BP also forecast a major future increase in output from non-Opec production in deep water
Brazilian fields and the Canadian tar sands, even though the latter is very expensive and involves
high carbon production methods.
Launching the outlook, Dale denied the base case forecast was one the company planned its
business round but said it was up to ministers to find wider solutions to climate change.
“The idea that you plan on any single
base case would not be a sensible
thing ... I am not a climate scientist
and the mapping between carbon
emissions and temperatures itself is
highly ill-defined and uncertain thing.
“Its a very challenging environment
but our job here is not to do anything
in terms of advocacy. Our job is not
to say whats optimal what is the right thing to do, that’s for policy makers. Our job is to say what is
the most likely case.”

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 11 February 2016
For Statoil, $7 Billion Spending Cut Is Road Back Home to Norway
Bloomberg - Mikael Holter
Statoil ASA’s investment cuts in response to the crude-price rout have sent shock waves through
Norway’s oil industry, but it’s the company’s international operations that are paying the bigger
price.
As painful as the company’s billions of dollars of cuts are for Norway, where it operates more than
70 percent of production, they’ve actually raised the share of total investments that Statoil makes
in its home country. At the same time, an international expansion that’s defined the company for
the past decade is slowing.
Three years ago, Brent oil traded at more than $115 a barrel and Statoil counted on international
projects to increase production -- allocating only about 40 percent of average annual investments
of $21 billion to Norway through 2016. Last week, as the company reduced planned spending for
this year to $13 billion from a $20 billion peak in 2014, it said it would be putting 55 percent of its
capital into Norwegian projects over the next two years.
“I see it as a coping strategy for a lower-oil-price world,” said Rob West, an analyst at Redburn
Europe Ltd. “If you have one basin where you’re the master, where you dictate how you operate,
and your entire organization can be geared around that, that’s an efficiency.”

Faced with oil prices around $30 a barrel and the effects of a decade of industry cost inflation,
Statoil and its peers are pushing hard to cut spending and make operations more efficient. Those
gains are more difficult to obtain across a variety of projects scattered around the world than in the
company’s backyard, West said.
Licking Wounds
The shift back to Norway overseen by Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre contrasts with the
international expansion orchestrated by his predecessor Helge Lund, who ran Statoil for 10 years
before leaving in October 2014 to head BG Group Plc. Lund managed the merger with Norsk
Hydro ASA’s oil and gas operations and the expansion into U.S. shale.
Statoil’s shale assets contributed to 66.5 billion kroner ($7.8 billion) in net impairment losses over
the past two years for the international unit, compared with 11 billion kroner for Norway, according
to company reports. Even adjusted for such items, the international unit reported a 15 billion-krone
net loss in 2015, compared with a 2.6 billion-krone profit in 2014.
Statoil is still licking its wounds after the writedowns, said Knut Rolland, an analyst at SpareBank 1
Markets AS. “They know the Norwegian shelf best,” he said. “They’re choosing to focus on that in
challenging times.”
Falling Production
Statoil’s oil and gas production outside Norway fell last year to 739,000 barrels of oil equivalent a
day from 743,000 in 2014, the first drop since its merger with Hydro’s oil unit in 2007. The rising
share of Norwegian projects in the company’s current investments will also affect the geographical
distribution of production beyond 2020, though it’s difficult to know precisely how, Rolland said.
At a strategy update in London last week, Saetre highlighted the company’s ability to adapt to
lower prices with examples from Norway. The giant Johan Sverdrup field, due to start production
in late 2019, now has a break-even price of less than $30 a barrel, he said. At the Johan Castberg
project in Arctic waters, break-even has dropped to less than $45 from more than $80.
In contrast, Statoil is still working
to lower the break-even price
across its U.S. offshore and
onshore projects to $50 by 2018
from $90 in 2014, according to a
company presentation.
While there’s a lot of emphasis
on the Norwegian continental
shelf, the company’s strategy
hasn’t changed and still involves
international growth, Saetre
said last week.
“I learned at business school that
to leverage your competitive
edge is a good idea,” he said.
However, “we would like to grow
and extend the company and that
means we will have to continue to look outside the Norwegian continental shelf.”

US: Supreme Court blocks Obama climate change rules
By Ariane de Vogue, Dan Berman and Kevin Liptak, CNN
• The Supreme Court dealt President Barack Obama a blow by moving to temporarily block his
administration's rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
• That a divided court stepped in at this juncture to block the program after a lower court
declined to do so sends a signal that at least five justices are concerned with some aspect of
the plan
• Obama now has two major legacy actions -- immigration and climate change -- stuck in the
court system
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt President Barack Obama a blow by moving to temporarily
block his administration's rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Reacting to a lawsuit from 29 states, as well as the
energy industry, justices blocked the
Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power
Plan from going forward while the rule is
challenged in court.
The decision means that Obama now has two
major legacy actions -- immigration and climate
change -- stuck in the court system with the
specter of a Republican taking over the White
House in January.
Obama has pushed action on global warming as a key part of his legacy, an effort that reached its
peak with the deal at the U.N.-led talks on climate change in Paris in December.
Proponents of the plan did not expect the high court to step in at this juncture , particularly since
the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hold oral arguments in June and neither
the industry nor the states would have had to come into compliance for at least two years.. That a
divided Supreme Court stepped in at this juncture to block the program after a lower court
declined to do so sends a signal that at least five justices are concerned with some aspect of the
plan.
"This is an exceedingly uncommon
situation for the court to step in, and it
jeopardizes the plan all together from
going into affect while President
Obama remains in office," said Bruce
Huber, professor of law at Notre Dame
Law school. "The Supreme Court's
order signals serious misgivings
among some of the justices about the
legality of the plan."
The four liberal justices on the court --
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer,
Sonia Sotomayor and Elana Kagan --
dissented from the order.

White House unhappy with ruling
In a statement, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said "we disagree" with the court's
action.
"The Clean Power Plan is based on a strong legal and technical foundation, gives states the time
and flexibility they need to develop tailored, cost-effective plans to reduce their emissions, and will
deliver better air quality, improved public health, clean energy investment and jobs across the
country, and major progress in our efforts to confront the risks posed by climate change," Earnest
said. "We remain confident that we will prevail on the merits."
The EPA rule would require states to meet specific carbon emission reduction standards based on
their individual energy consumption. It also includes an incentive program for states to get a head
start on meeting standards on early deployment of renewable energy.
"Power plants are the single biggest source of harmful carbon pollution that contributes to climate
change," Obama said in a video released last August. "Until now, there have been no federal
limits to the amount of carbon pollution plants dump in the air."
Senior administration officials said Tuesday they were "surprised" by the high court's action. One
official called the court's move "extraordinary and unprecedented," saying it's rare for the Supreme
Court to grant a stay on a rule whose legality hasn't been reviewed by a lower court.
But officials nonetheless expressed confidence in the president's climate plan moving forward,
even as it becomes exceedingly unlikely the litigation process is resolved by the time Obama
leaves office.
They said individual states could still move forward with implementing plans to reduce carbon
output, and added the court's decision was unlikely to affect the U.S. commitment to the
international climate accord agreed to in Paris in December.
"We've always known that this rule was going to be litigated and that there were going to be
opponents that were going to challenge the rule under any circumstances. And so I think the
bottom line is that this decision is not one that we agree with, but it's a procedural decision and
we'll have the opportunity to make the case on the merits," one official said.
As for the administration's strategy using executive actions to advance their agenda, the officials
were forceful in defending the White House's methods.
"The President has undertaken to do bold things, but only within the parameters of his authority.
And while that's certainly triggered a good deal of litigation, that litigation is going to play out,
whether it's immigration, or health care, or anything else," one official said.
"Because he's confident in the advice he gets from the Department of Justice about the legality of
his actions, he's going to keep doing what he thinks is appropriate to help the American people,"

the official continued. "And I don't think there's a single lawsuit, on any issue, that would deter him
from doing anything he can to help the American people in whatever time is left in this
administration."
Republicans celebrate court's decision
Congressional Republicans have fought the rules, voting to block the EPA limits on the same day
Obama spoke at the Paris talks. And the administration's actions on climate change have been
regularly criticized on the campaign trail by Republican candidates.
House Speaker Paul Ryan called the rule "unlawful" in a statement Tuesday.
"This rule should be struck down permanently before coal country is destroyed completely, and
American consumers are consigned to higher energy prices," Ryan said.
"Great news for Wyoming & American energy. Republicans will do what we can to keep this rule
permanently blocked," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, tweeted.
Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business Small
Business Legal Center, celebrated the Supreme Court's action.
"What the court said today is that states cannot be forced to comply with a regulation that it may
ultimately decide is unconstitutional. This is a temporary but important victory for small
businesses, which were facing substantially higher energy costs."
David Doniger, director of the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense
Council, said he is "confident the courts will ultimately uphold the Clean Power Plan on its merits.
The electricity sector has embarked on an unstoppable shift from its high-pollution, dirty-fueled
past to a safer, cleaner-powered future, and the stay cannot reverse that trend. Nor can it dampen
the overwhelming public support for action on climate change and clean energy."
"If there was ever a Supreme Court decision that looked backwards instead of towards the future,
this was it," said Jamie Henn of the environmental group 350.org.

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced daily (Sunday to Thursday) and
sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
For additional free subscription emails please contact Hawk Energy
Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
Mobile: +97150-4822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net
khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in
the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for
Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy
consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE
operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations
Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility &
gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great
experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &
regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, &
compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the
local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the
UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.
NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
NewBase 11 February 2016 K. Al Awadi

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