New base energy news 18 april 2019 issue no 1240 by khaled al awadi

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NewBase Energy News 18 April 2019 - Issue No. 1240 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
UAE: World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi , has Mega Participants
Top Chinese energy officials have underlined the importance of the 24th World Energy Congress
(24th WEC) 2019, to be hosted in Abu Dhabi on September 9-12.
"The event is a valuable opportunity to accelerate cooperation between the Chinese energy firms
and their international counterparts," said Yang Kun, the Executive President of China Electricity
Council, adding that the Congress will be a significant platform to enhance awareness about the
Belt and Road Initiative.
The Chinese official made the statements during his meeting with a visiting UAE delegation, led by
Dr. Matar Hamed Al Neyadi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Industry,and Chairman
of the Congress's Organising Committee.
"The UAE has robust strategic relations with China, a country that serves as the meeting point
between the East and West,' said Al Neyadi, adding that the UAE has been among the first countries
that positively responded to the B&R initiative in addition to being a founding member of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The UAE delegation met with a number of top Chinese energy officials who underscored their
interest in partaking of the event.
The WEC is the world's most influential Energy event covering all aspects of the energy agenda.
WAM/Hatem Mohamed/Hassan Bashir

Oman: $40bn worth of hydrocarbon projects in the pipeline
Oman Oberver - Conrad Prabhu + NewBase
Investments in an expanding portfolio of upstream, midstream and downstream
projects slated for implementation in Oman’s Oil & Gas sector over the next
several years could potentially swell to staggering $40 billion if a string of newly
announced strategic ventures linked to an ambitious integrated gas development
are factored in as well, according to a high level official of Oman Oil & Orpic Group.
Dr Salim al Huthaili (pictured), CEO of Duqm Refinery — part of the newly
integrated energy powerhouse — said the Group currently has a substantial pipeline of projects
worth an estimated $28 billion in various stages of implementation.
But the size of this investment is expected to balloon to around $40 billion if a Gas-to-Liquids (GTL)
scheme as well as LNG bunkering terminal, both linked to the monetisation of natural gas resources
of the Greater Barik area, are taken into account as well.
Dr Al Huthaili made the comments during a keynote presentation at the Oman Downstream
Exhibition & Conference 2019 (ODEC), which is under way at the Oman Convention & Exhibition
Centre (OCEC).

His talk, titled ‘Shaping the Competitive Refinery of Tomorrow’, showcased the Duqm Refinery
project — currently the largest venture under development in the Sultanate with an investment of
$8.3 billion.
The integrated gas development involves the participation of a number of leading international and
local energy firms, notably Shell, Total, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Oman Oil
Company (OOC).
Envisioned at the downstream end is a first-of-its-kind GTL project to be developed and operated
by Shell in partnership with Oman Oil Company.
GTL capacity is projected at roughly 45,000 barrels per day. At the same time, Total is weighing the
development of an LNG bunkering service at Sohar Port to supply LNG as a fuel to marine vessels.
This entails the establishment of a new modular liquefaction plant featuring a 1 million metric tonnes
per year capacity liquefaction train.
Most of investments planned by Oman Oil & Orpic Group are in the downstream segment with the
goal to maximise value creation from the nation’s hydrocarbon resources, said Dr Al Huthaili. “We
are trying to get more out of the gas molecule; we can no longer burn the gas just to produce
electricity. What we are saying is: Can we extract more value from this resource here in Oman?”
According to the official, value creation and optimisation has been the subject of a just-concluded
three-month review during which Oman Oil & Orpic Group looked at options for enhancing the
economics of its next major investment — the Duqm Petrochemicals complex planned downstream
of the Duqm Refinery.
To this end, the Group weighed options for including natural gas liquids (NGLs) and other types of
‘advantageous feedstock’ to help build the petchem project’s “competitiveness to a global scale”,
said Dr Al Huthaili.
With construction work on the Duqm Refinery making good progress, Oman Oil & Orpic Group is
preparing to shortly award a contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of the equally
ambitious downstream petchem venture, the CEO stated.

Aramco for 25%of Reliance's units & 17% of Korea Oilbank-Reports
Reuters + NewBase
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude oil producer, is in “serious discussions” to acquire up to a
25 percent stake in Reliance Industries’ refining and petrochemicals businesses, the Times of India
reported on Wednesday.
A minority stake sale could fetch around $10 billion to $15 billion, valuing the Indian company's
refining and petrochemicals businesses at around $55 billion to 60 billion, the
report bit.ly/2v5wzCL said.
The agreement on valuation could be reached around June, the Indian newspaper reported, citing
people with knowledge of the development. Goldman Sachs is said to have been mandated to
advise on the proposed deal, the report added.
Aramco’s interest in the operator of the world’s biggest refining complex comes after Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Delhi in February when he said he expected
investment opportunities worth more than $100 billion in India over the next two years.
Separately, Saudi Aramco’s Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser had met Reliance Chairman
Mukesh Ambani to discuss the Saudi state-owned company’s businesses including crude,
chemicals and non-metallics.
Aramco and Reliance were not available for comment outside business hours.
17% stake in South Korea's Oilbank
The acquisition will help the Saudi state with its oil placement strategy Saudi Aramco has been
steadily making downstream acquisitions in Asia, where it hopes to sell more products. Reuters
Saudi Aramco reached an agreement with Hyundai to acquire a 17 per cent stake in Oilbank, one
of the South Korean company’s subsidiaries, in a transaction valued at $1.25 billion.

“This acquisition demonstrates our investment in the highly complex refining sector in Asia, and
continuous commitment to the region’s energy security and development,” said Abdulaziz Al
Judaimi, Saudi Aramco's senior vice president of downstream.
“The investment supports Saudi Aramco’s broader downstream growth strategy, as well as
providing long term crude oil options and offtakes as part of our trading business,” he added.
The downstream component of the petroleum industry focuses on refining oil, the manufacturing of
petrochemicals and the marketing and distribution of refined products and natural gas.
Saudi Aramco, along with other national oil companies in the Middle East, have made strategic
moves to acquire refining and chemical assets in East Asia, from where much of the demand comes.
The company has been ramping up investment downstream in both Saudi Arabia as well as abroad
as a way to increase profit margins and mitigate the volatility of oil prices.
The Saudi state producer will invest through the Aramco
Overseas Company. The investment will support Aramco’s
crude placement strategy by allowing for a dedicated outlet
for Arabian crude in South Korea, one of the biggest buyers
of Middle Eastern crude.
Hyundai Oilbank, a private operator, has 650,000 barrels
per day capacity at a fully integrated refining plant at the
Daesan complex. The firm, which began operating in 1964,
has around five subsidiaries with interests in refining, base
oil, petrochemicals as well as a network of gas stations.
Saudi Aramco last year partnered with Abu Dhabi National
Oil Company to jointly invest in a $44bn refinery on India’s
western coast as part of efforts to boost its downstream
portfolio abroad.

Aramco plans to buy Shell's stake in Saudi refining JV- sources
Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah + By Rania El Gamal, Reuters News
Saudi Aramco plans to buy Royal Dutch Shell's 50 percent stake in Saudi refining
complex SASREF, a joint venture between the firms, two sources said on Wednesday.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF)
One of the sources said an agreement has been reached between Aramco and Shell. Saudi Aramco
plans to buy Royal Dutch Shell's 50% stake in Saudi refining complex SASREFREUTERS
Aramco and Shell declined to comment.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF), based in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, has a
crude oil refining capacity of 305,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Shell has sold over $30 billion of assets in recent years as it shift its focus to lower carbon
businesses such as natural gas and petrochemicals. Energy Intelligence first reported the stake
purchase plan earlier on Wednesday.

Germany: 1,000 kms of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline laid
Source: Nord Stream 2
A total of 1,000 kms of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has now been laid in Finnish, Swedish and
German waters.
Two Allseas pipelay vessels – Solitaire and Pioneering Spirit – are currently installing the pipeline
in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone. Some twenty vessels are currently being engaged in the
project in the Baltic Sea, with nearly 1,300 people working on board the pipelay, pipe supply and
survey vessels.
Another milestone was also reached last week, when the project’s coating and logistics contractor
Wasco completed concrete weight
coating of its share of the steel pipes in
its plant in Kotka, Finland, where
approximately 101,000 steel pipes had
been coated. This corresponds to half
of the pipes needed for the twin
pipelines.
The twin pipeline system consists of
two approximately 1,230-kilometres-
long pipelines, each made up of some
100,000 pipe joints.
See videos of pipelay vessels Audacia and Pioneering Spirit installing the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
in the Baltic Sea here:
https://www.nord-stream2.com/media-info/videos/57/
https://www.nord-stream2.com/media-info/videos/61/

Morocco: Schlumberger's interest in Sound Energy's Anoual
permits converted to direct licence position …Source: Sound Energy
Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, has announced that the process to
convert Schlumberger's existing 27.5% interest in the Anoual permits to a direct 27.5% licence
position has completed following receipt of the relevant Moroccan Ministerial approvals.
The Company's unchanged interest in the Anoual permits consists of an operated 47.5%
participating interest, with the remaining interests in the Anoual permits held by Schlumberger
(27.5%) and Morocco's L'Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (25%).
This most recent conversion concludes the process of converting Schlumberger's previously
synthetic interests across the Company's Eastern Moroccan exploration portfolio to direct licence
positions. Schlumberger now has a direct 27.5% licence interest in the Greater Tendrara Petroleum
agreement, as previously confirmed, and the Anoual permits.
The process to convert Schlumberger's 27.5% existing interest in the Tendrara production
concession, which contains the TE-5 Horst discovery, is ongoing. Further announcements will be
made, as appropriate, in due course.

Ghana 2018 Growth Tops IMF Forecast and Is Set to Quicken
Bloomberg - Ekow Dontoh + NewBase
Ghana’s slower economic growth in 2018 beat the International Monetary Fund’s forecast, and may
set the scene for the West African economy to expand the fastest in the world this year, as the lender
predicted last week.
Gross domestic product expanded 6.3 percent last year, Samuel Kobina Annim, government
statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service, told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Accra. While it
was slower than 2017’s growth of 8.1 percent, it exceeded the IMF’s prediction of 5.6 percent for
the year.
Temporary Slowdown
While Ghana's economic growth slowed last year, the IMF predicts it will expand the fastest in the
world in 2019
Source: IMF and Ghana Statistical Service
Ghana this month finalized a four-year IMF bailout program, which set targets to narrow the budget
deficit and build reserves. Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said these requirements contributed
to the cedi’s slump earlier this year because the central bank couldn’t intervene in the currency
market.
The end of the program could open the door to increased spending and faster growth, according to
Patrick Asuming, an economist at the finance department of the University of Ghana Business
School.

“The IMF growth target for Ghana is feasible but the mode of the growth may not make the fund
happy,” he said by phone. “The government has been held back because of the IMF programs and
now that the breaks have been released the government will be spending on infrastructure.”
Oil Slump
Gross domestic product grew 6.8 percent in the final quarter of last year, compared with 7.4 percent
in the three months through September. The slowdown came as oil and gas contracted 7.2 percent
in the period.
The fortunes of the economy are closely linked to crude and if the sector is excluded, gross domestic
product expanded 8.4 percent in the three months, Annim said. The industry expanded 3.6 percent
for the year, compared with 80 percent in 2017.
Agricultural output in the world second-largest cocoa producer grew 4.4 percent in the final quarter
of the year and services, which account for almost half of GDP, expanded by 5.8 percent.

NewBase 18 April 2019 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Oil prices slip amid ample U.S. output, Oil away from 5-month high
Reuters
Oil prices dropped on Thursday as the impact of plentiful U.S. production offset a surprise decline
in U.S. inventories, leaving international benchmark Brent retreating from a five-month high touched
in the previous session.
Brent crude futures were at $71.72 a barrel at 0435 GMT, down 10 cents, or 0.14 percent, from their
last close. Brent fell 0.1 percent on Wednesday, after earlier touching its highest since Nov. 8 at
$72.27 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.83 per barrel, down 7 cents, or 0.1
percent, from their previous settlement. WTI closed the last session down 0.5 percent.
Oil price special
coverage

U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week to April 12, compared with analyst
expectations for an increase of 1.7 million barrels, Department of Energy (DoE) showed on
Wednesday.
"A persistent rise in U.S. oil output, together with lingering demand-side concerns emerging from
the U.S.-China trade dispute, is limiting price gains," Abhishek Kumar, Head of Analytics at Interfax
Energy in London. Graphic: U.S. crude inventories, weekly changes since 2017,
While official data on Wednesday showed China’s economy grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter,
defying expectations for a further slowdown, talks on a U.S.-China trade deal have yet to bear fruit.
While the U.S.-China trade war has rumbled on, prices have been supported this year by an
agreement reached by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies,
including Russia, to limit their oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day.

Global supply has also been tightened further by U.S. sanctions on OPEC members Venezuela and
Iran.
Iran’s crude exports have dropped in April to their lowest daily level this year, tanker data showed
and industry sources said, suggesting a drawdown in buyer interest ahead of expected further
pressure from Washington.
Surging U.S. production has filled some of the gap in supplies, although not all of the lost production
can be immediately replaced by U.S. shale oil due to refinery configurations.
“The unexpected drawdown in U.S. commercial crude oil stocks was balanced by lower-than-
expected withdrawals in the country’s gasoline and distillate inventories,” Kumar said.
Gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, less than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a
2.1 million-barrel drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 362,000 barrels, also not as much as
forecasts for a 846,000-barrel drawdown, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 659,000 barrels per day.

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 18 April 2019
U.S. shale output forecast to hit record 8.46 million bpd in May:
EIA – Reuters + NewBase
U.S. crude oil output from seven major shale formations is expected to rise by about 80,000 barrels
per day (bpd) in May to a record 8.46 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said
in its monthly drilling productivity report on Monday.
The largest change is forecast in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, where output is
expected to climb by 42,000 bpd to a fresh peak of about 4.14 million bpd in May.
In North Dakota’s Bakken region, shale production is estimated to rise by about 11,000 bpd to about
1.39 million bpd, easing from a record 1.41 million bpd hit in January. In the Eagle Ford region,
output is expected to edge higher by 7,000 bpd to about 1.43 million bpd, which would be the highest
monthly output since January 2016.
Production growth in the Permian and other key shale basins have slowed as oil prices fell in the
fourth quarter and many shale companies cut spending in the face of investor pressure to focus on
earnings growth instead of increased output.
Prices have rebounded this year, but drillers are expected to remain cautious. Some shale
producers are turning to workforce cuts as investors step up demands for returns. However, major
oil companies are boosting their presence, particularly in the Permian, the largest U.S. shale oil
field.
The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, remains higher than a year ago.

The EIA said producers drilled 1,388 wells and completed 1,392, the most since January 2015, in
the biggest shale basins in March, leaving total drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells down 4 at
8,500, according to data going back to December 2013.
That was the first decline in DUCs since March 2018. The DUCs hit a record high 8,504 in February.
Separately, U.S. natural gas output was projected to increase to a record 79.8 billion cubic feet per
day in May, the EIA. That would be up 0.9 bcfd over the April forecast and mark the 16th consecutive
monthly increase.
A year ago in May, output was 67.4 bcfd. The EIA projected gas output would increase in all the big
shale basins in May, except Anadarko in Oklahoma and Texas.
Output in the Appalachia region in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, the nation’s biggest shale
gas play, was set to rise almost 0.4 bcfd to a record 32.2 bcfd in May. Appalachia production was
27.1 bcfd in May a year ago.

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
The Editor :”Khaled Al Awadi” Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced daily (Sunday to Thursday) and
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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 28 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 2019 K. Al Awadi

New base energy news 18 april 2019 issue no 1240 by khaled al awadi

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