New base energy news 30 april 2019 issue no 1242 by khaled al awadi

Copyright © 2018 NewBase www.hawkenergy.net Edited by Khaled Al Awadi – Energy Consultant All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed,
or otherwise copied without the written permission of the authors. This includes internal distribution. All reasonable endeavours have been used to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this
publication. However, no warranty is given to the accuracy of its content. Page 1
NewBase Energy News 30 April 2019 - Issue No. 1242 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: Dubai Dewa to spend Dh86bn over the next five years
The National - Jennifer Gnana
Dubai’s utilities sector will require Dh86 billion investment over the next five years, with
45 per cent of it coming from the private sector, according to the chief executive and
managing director of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
"There are works, for example distribution projects, transportation, reservoirs and other
civil works. [For] this we need to invest about 55 per cent of the Dh86bn. This means
that around Dh45bn will be self-financed for the next five years, from 2019,” Saeed
Mohammed Al Tayer told The National.
Dubai’s state utility earmarked Dh8bn for 2018 in developing energy projects. The
emirate aims to generate 25 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable sources
by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2050 as part of its clean energy drive. Dewa is also building
the world’s largest solar energy park in the Dubai desert amid plans to reduce reliance
on natural gas as the main source of energy for electricity. The Mohammed bin Rashid
A Dewa model for a hydroelectric power station project in Hatta.

Solar Park, which is expected to generate 5000MW of electricity by 2030 is currently in
its fourth phase of development. The independent power producer contract for the fifth
phase of the scheme, which involves 900MW capacity addition, will be tendered within
seven months, Mr Al Tayer said.
"Presently, we just awarded the consultancy and services for this project. Once they
complete the study, maybe it will take nearly about seven months, I hope in the fourth
quarter,” he added.
The park’s solar tower - the highest in the world at 260 metres when built - will also take
shape this year, with around 40m being built above the ground.
"In three months you’ll see the tower at 40m. The tower will produce 100MW but the
parabolic technology will have another 600MW capacity and the whole project will finish
in three years,” said Mr Al Tayer.
Dubai’s utility is also evaluating bids for the Gulf region’s first hydroelectric power plant
at Hatta with a 250MW capacity with awards for the scheme expected in “three months”
“This is the first in the Gulf, a hydro plant. [It] consists of two turbines, each one of them
a 125MW and within 90 seconds we’ll reach the grid. [This is a] very efficient plant and
payback period will be two years and very reliable plant and very clean energy,” said Mr
Al Tayer.

Completion of the scheme following the award in the third quarter will take “more than
four years”, he added citing the complexity of the project.
The first phase of Dubai’s 2400MW clean coal project is currently under construction with
the plant set for testing by 2021, said Mr Al Tayer. The scheme is being developed on
the coast along with a consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Harbin
Electric.
Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050
DEWA is working to implement the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which was launched by HH
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The strategy aims to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power
output from clean energy by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050.
One of DEWA’s key projects to achieve the strategy is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar
Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000
megawatts by 2030 and an expected investment of AED50 billion. When completed, the solar park
will save 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
The AED1.3 billion Hatta Comprehensive Development Plan aims to boost the area’s social and
economic attractiveness as a world-class environmental tourist destination. It covers three key
areas including economic and service sector, tourism and sports, and culture and education.
A dedicated board will oversee the plan and co-ordinate with various government organisations.
The board is comprised of people from Hatta as they are fully aware of its developmental
requirements.

UAE petrol prices to rise more than 10 per cent in May
The National –
The cost of filling up at the petrol pumps across the UAE is to rise considerably in May. The increase
follows a 9 per cent jump in April. The fuel price committee has announced an increase of more
than 10 per cent for motorists using Super 98 and Special 95. This follows a 9 per cent rise at the
beginning of April.
Here is the breakdown of the prices per litre:
• Super 98: up 25 fils to Dh2.48 (11.21 per cent)
• Special 95: up 23 fils to Dh2.34 (10.9 per cent)
• Diesel: up 4 fils to Dh2.53 (1.6 per cent)
Fuel prices in the UAE were liberalised in August 2015 to adjust as per the market.
Oil prices have surged this year by about 33 per cent and were at a six-month high last week after
the United States announced it will not renew exemptions allowing China and few other buyers to
keep importing Iranian crude. However, prices took a hit on Friday when US President Donald
Trump said he had spoken to Opec nations, including Saudi Arabia, about keeping prices down.
“Oil’s finding its place between $60 and $65 and the range seems to be about right as supplies are
still looking tight, while there are limitations for an additional rally,” Ahn Yea Ha, a commodities
analyst at Kiwoom Securities in Seoul, told Reuters.
“Further gains will be restricted by Saudi Arabia, along with other producers including the US, as no
one wants to see a rapid increase in prices that would hurt consumption.” Petrol prices in the UAE
peaked in the second half of last year when Brent spiked at $86 a barrel, the highest level since
November 2014. Brent then plunged around the turn of the new year and motorists were paying
under Dh2 a litre before they were hit by increases again in 2019.

Saudi Arabia's Taqa acquires Schlumberger's Middle East
drilling business for $415m ….The National + NewBase
Schlumberger sold its drilling business in Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Pakistan to Saudi Arabia's Taqa.
Saudi energy firm Taqa agreed to acquire Schlumberger’s drilling business in the Middle East for
$415 million (Dh1.5 billion) through a subsidiary.
Arabian Drilling Company acquired the German energy services firm’s drilling rigs business in
Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Pakistan, a transaction the company said would leave it with one of the
"largest rig fleets, client portfolios and geographic footprint” in the Middle East.
"The transaction also follows on from ADC’s accelerated expansion activity in 2018 when 16 rigs
were commissioned to support the growth of Saudi Aramco,” said Azzam Shalabi, chief executive
at Taqa and chairman of the board of ADC.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019 pending regulatory approvals, the
company said.
Energy services companies operating in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of oil, have seen
a record flurry of project activity on the back of upstream investment following the recovery in crude
prices.
The UAE’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) saw its 2018 net operating profit
grow by 27 per cent, driven largely by its growing business in Saudi Arabia.
The company won five business contracts with state-oil firm Saudi Aramco valued at $1.1 billion in
2018 as well as another with India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Russia to Fix Oil Pipeline Contamination Crisis in Two Weeks
Bloomberg - Aliaksandr Kudrytski
Russia aims to restore normal oil flows through a major pipeline to eastern Europe in two weeks,
after a chemical contamination that forced refiners to stop taking crude deliveries.
Supplies of untainted crude will reach the border of Belarus by April 29, Russia’s Deputy Prime
Minister Dmitry Kozak said in a statement on Friday. Ukraine, which is further along the 5,500-
kilometer (3,420-mile) network, said it expects to receive clean oil by May 3.
These are the first signs of resolution for an escalating crisis that choked off one of Europe’s main
sources of crude and helped lift prices to a six-month high. Although refiners in countries including
Poland and Germany will suffer a lengthy disruption to their feedstock, several companies said they
had sufficient inventories to see them through.
Talks in Minsk on Friday between officials from countries along the crucial oil conduit agreed on a
technical solution that’s now under review, Poland’s pipeline operator said. Separately, Russia’s
pipeline operator Transneft PJSC said it had identified the source of the contamination, blaming a
private storage terminal in the center of the country for feeding chlorides into the pipeline.
Punish Violations
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he discussed the contamination with his Belarusian
counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. Law enforcement may become involved in the investigation if
necessary, Putin told reporters Saturday at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed trade and energy officials to conduct quality
checks within seven days on crude transported to Belarus and Europe, and to send materials to
prosecutors to “punish those responsible for violations,” according to an order posted on the
government website.
Pumping through the southern section of the Druzhba pipeline into central and eastern Europe was
halted overnight, Ukraine said. That brought the link to a complete stop since the larger northern
branch of the link through Belarus into Poland and Germany had already shut down. Europe will be
deprived of least 1 million barrels a day of crude flows for the duration of the outage.
The halt comes at a critical time for a global oil market that’s been hit by restricted supplies of so-
called heavier crudes from the likes of Iran, Venezuela, Canada and even Mexico. That’s on top of
a pact by producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia to collectively limit production that’s seen
prices steadily rising for several months.

While the shutdown was initially bullish for oil prices, early fears about the impact may have been
overblown, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd. in London.
“Refineries usually hold ample crude stockpiles to guard against such disruptions,” analyst Stephen
Brennock said in a research note. “Little wonder then that the initial knee-jerk price reaction petered
out.”
After rising above $75 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since October, international benchmark
Brent crude slumped 3.9 percent to $71.47 at 6:04 p.m. in London on Friday.
Druzhba Flows
Contamination could hit about 1.5m b/d of crude delivered through the Druzhba pipeline and Ust
Luga port
Source: Bloomberg, CDU TEK
The piped oil became tainted by organic chlorides that, when refined, become hydrochloric acid that
can damage the plants. The issue, first raised by Belarus last week, has also affected supplies from
the Russian port of Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea, according to a person familiar with the matter. There
are no signs that shipments from Novorossiysk or Primorsk, two other Russian tanker-loading
facilities, have been disrupted.
The Giant Soviet Pipeline System That’s Full of Tainted Crude
Prices for crude from Primorsk, which is also in the Baltic Sea, surged to the highest observed by
Bloomberg since at least August 2013, while two cargoes from Ust-Luga didn’t find buyers,
according to traders familiar with the matter. Transneft said it’s screening cargoes from the port but
they’re not exceeding contractually agreed amounts of organic chlorides, even if levels are elevated.

In a sign that oil traders were scrambling for replacement barrels, the premium for Brent crude for
immediate delivery over supplies in six months time surged to as much as $3.25 a barrel on
Thursday, the widest spread in about five years. The gap narrowed to $2.70 on Friday.
Short Supply
Organic chlorides are not naturally occurring and are used in upstream processes to boost output,
“but must be removed before bringing crude parcels to market,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at
consultant Energy Aspects Ltd.
The northern part of the pipeline delivered about 730,000 barrels a day of crude to Germany and
Poland in the final five months of last year, Russian Energy Ministry data show. As much as 1.5
million barrels a day are at risk, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That equates to about a
10th of Europe’s entire consumption -- and more for the countries directly affected.
Tainted Crude
Both branches of the pipeline have been closed due to contaminated oil
Sources: Bloomberg, Energy Information Administration
The Druzhba pipeline divides in Belarus, with the southern section supplying refineries in countries
including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Belarus, which sits between Russia and Poland, complained late last week that its refineries could
suffer damage from the contamination. There are nearly 1 million tons of Russian crude in Belarus’s
territory, Andrey Rybakov, chairman of state-run oil company Belneftekhim, said at a briefing in
Minsk on Friday. The country will normalize its refinery operations in May, he said.

Technical Issues
The PCK-Schwedt refinery on the German-Polish border has enough crude stocks for 10 days,
spokeswoman Vica Fajnor said by phone on Friday. The plant could get substitute supplies from
the Baltic port of Rostock before those inventories are exhausted.
Germany’s energy security won’t be affected by the incident and the country has a 90-day oil supply
in reserve, the Economy and Energy Ministry told Bloomberg. Poland’s biggest refiners, Grupa
Lotos SA and PKN Orlen SA, said Thursday their productivity won’t be affected.
Supplies of oil and refined products to the Polish market will be maintained from stockpiles until the
situation is resolved, according to PERN, the nation’s pipeline operator. If the halt is prolonged, the
refiners could import crude through the Gdansk port on the Baltic Sea, it said.
While the contamination threatened refiners, analysts saw few risks for Russian oil producers,
unless the situation lasted for more than a couple of weeks.
“Russian oil producers can raise their export volumes to Europe via domestic sea ports, or in the
worst case resume shipments via ports of the Baltic states,” said Andrey Polischuk from
Raiffeisenbank in Moscow. “So the halt in Druzhba shipments are unlikely to have any visible impact
on our output at all.”
If the pipeline were fully shut down for more than a few weeks, producers may need to start looking
into additional output cuts, said Ildar Davletshin, an analyst at Wood & Co. in London.

NewBase 30 April 2019 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Oil dips on expectations of rising output, China stutter
Reuters + Bloomberg + NewBase
Oil prices dipped on Tuesday on expectations rising output from the United States and producer
club OPEC would offset most of the shortfall expected from U.S. sanctions on Iran, but analysts
said markets remained tight.
A stutter in China’s factory and servicing industries in April also weighed on crude prices, traders
said, as it suggested Asia’s biggest economy is still struggling to regain traction.
Brent crude futures were at $71.82 per barrel at 0159 GMT, down 22 cents, or 031 percent, from
their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.42 per barrel, down 8 cents, or
0.13 percent from their previous settlement.
Oil prices surged by around 40 percent between January and April, lifted by supply cuts led by the
Middle East-dominated producer club of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) as well as by U.S. sanctions on producers Iran and Venezuela.
Oil price special
coverage

But prices came under downward pressure late last week after U.S. President Donald Trump openly
pressured OPEC and its de-facto leader Saudi Arabia to raise output to meet the supply shortfall
caused by the tightening Iran sanctions.
Stephen Innes, head of trading at SPI Asset Management, said the producer group “will want to
avoid at all cost oil prices surging to levels that will trigger demand devastation, (while) it is clearly
in OPEC’s best interest to maintain a solid floor on prices”.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch said “Iranian oil production will fall to 1.9 million barrels per day in
2H19 from 3.6 million barrels per day in 3Q18 as U.S. sanctions kick in and waivers eventually
expire”.
Despite this, the bank said it expected “a nearly balanced market in 2019” as output from OPEC
and also the United States will rise.
French bank BNP Paribas said it expected oil prices “to rise in the near-term” as crude producers
were “over-tightening the market in the face of unplanned supply outages and resilient oil demand”.
The bank said it expected crude markets to climb until the third quarter of 2019, adding that prices
would then “start to become vulnerable to a sharp rise in U.S. exports of light crude thanks to pipeline
and terminal capacity expansion”.
U.S. exports exceeded 3 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time in early 2019 amid a more
than 2 million bpd production surge over the past year, to a record of more than 12 million bpd.
BNP Paribas said it saw WTI averaging $63 per barrel in 2019, up $2 from its previous forecast,
while Brent will average $71 per barrel, up $3 from an earlier estimate.
“In 2020, we see WTI averaging $64 per barrel and Brent $68 per barrel,” the bank said.

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 30 April 2019
American Wind & Solar renewable energy are leading the future
NewBase + Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual
Record low costs and consumer demand are driving growth in American wind and solar energy.
With major grid operators in PJM and MISO planning fundamental redesigns of their electricity
markets and operating procedures, the new analysis proposes reforms to better serve customers’
and regulators’ desire for clean, affordable electricity.
Sweeping changes in the electricity generation mix over the last 10 years are driving fundamental
changes in the nation’s electricity grid, with wind and solar generating capacity having increased
approximately 500 percent. Yet, market rules designed with other resources in mind fail to take
advantage of these new resources’ excellent reliability capabilities.
U.S Northeast leads the country in electricity generation capacity
Since 2011, net-metered wind electricity generating capacity in the Northeast has grown faster than
in the rest of the United States. Like small-scale solar photovoltaic systems, many of which are net-
metered, net-metered wind systems are much smaller than their utility-scale counterparts. Although
the amount of net-metered wind in the United States is small—just 0.2% of all U.S. wind capacity in
2017—much of it has come online in the past few years because of state policies that encourage
new small-scale wind turbines.
Net metering is a billing practice that allows customers with onsite generation capacity to be credited
for electricity they supply to the utility grid. EIA collects information on installations of net-metered

wind, solar, and other technologies through the Annual Electric Power Industry Report (Form EIA-
861) and the Monthly Electric Power Industry Report (Form 861-M).
U.S. net-metered wind capacity reached 204 megawatts (MW) across nearly 7,000 installations in
2017. By comparison, 15,800 MW of net-metered solar photovoltaic systems were available across
1.7 million installations in 2017.
Net metering involves installing a bidirectional electric meter to measure both the electricity that a
customer uses from the grid and any excess onsite electricity generated from the wind or solar
installation that goes back to the electric grid. EIA collects the total capacity of these installations
and classifies them as net-metered when their generation is netted (i.e., subtracted from the
customer’s usage) on the customer’s utility bill.
Many states have policies that enable and encourage net metering. Some states provide additional
economic benefits to owners of net-metered wind installations to further encourage participation.
Net metering can also benefit utilities by avoiding the use of relatively inefficient utility-scale power
plants during peak periods of electricity demand.
In 2017, Massachusetts had 57 MW of net-metered wind capacity, the most of any state. Net-
metered wind installations in Massachusetts tend to be larger than others in the region. Although
Massachusetts had 69% of the Northeast region’s net-metered wind capacity, the state had only
156 (11%) of the region’s 1,414 installations in 2017, for an average system size of more than 360
kilowatts (kW) per installation.

The Northeast has also experienced the largest growth in average capacity per installation. Between
2011 and 2017, the average capacity of net-metered wind installations in the Northeast increased
from 23 kW to 59 kW. By comparison, the average capacity of installations in the rest of the country
only increased from 14 kW to 23 kW.
The Northeast will likely continue to lead the nation in net-metered wind capacity and average
system size when final 2018 data are available. Based on data from the Monthly Electric Power
Industry Report, which collects data from a sample of electric industry participants, net-metered
Northeast wind capacity showed an increase of 14% from January 2018 to December 2018.
Complete 2018 data will be released in EIA’s Electric Power Annual in the fall of 2019.
New wind and solar power projects
New electricity generating capacity is brought online throughout the year, but December has
historically been the most significant month for both onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV)
capacity additions in the United States.
Over the past nine years (2010–2018), 43% of all onshore wind capacity and 33% of all solar PV
capacity have been added in December. U.S. wind and solar capacities receive a production tax
credit (PTC) and an investment tax credit (ITC), respectively, which may provide incentives to come
online at the end of the year.

In the United States from 2010 through 2018, December wind capacity additions ranged from 29%
to 60% of a given year’s total wind capacity additions. In 2018, 58% of wind capacity additions were
installed in December, the highest share since 2013, when 60% of wind capacity additions were
installed in December.
Over the past nine years, U.S. solar PV capacity additions in December ranged from 18% to 46%
of a given year’s total solar PV capacity additions. December’s share of annual solar PV capacity
additions in 2018 (31%) was close to its average over the past nine years (33%). The highest
monthly share of annual U.S. solar PV capacity additions occurred in 2015, when 46% of the annual
additions came online in December.
Although a relatively large amount of U.S. natural gas-fired generating capacity comes online in
December as well, over 45% of all natural gas-fired capacity additions between 2010 and 2018

occurred in the second quarter of the year (April, May, and June). In 2018, second-quarter U.S.
natural gas-fired generating capacity additions accounted for almost 50% of the annual additions.
Natural gas-fired capacity added during the second quarter help ensure that adequate capacity is
available to meet peak summer electricity demands.
Capacity additions for other technologies in the United States (all utility-scale electricity generation
from sources besides wind, solar PV, and natural gas) are more evenly distributed throughout the
year.
Historically, 2012 had the most onshore wind capacity additions with 13.1 gigawatts (GW) installed
in total, 5.1 GW of which were installed in December. The PTC—which provides a tax incentive per
megawatthour generated by a qualifying technology in the United States for 10 years—initially
expired at the end of 2012, leading developers to accelerate projects to bring them online before
the end of the year.
Although the PTC was renewed as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 signed on
January 2, 2013, accelerated wind capacity additions in 2012 led to fewer additions in 2013. Still,
most wind additions in 2013 occurred in December.
Solar PV experienced its largest single month of U.S. capacity additions in December 2016 with 3
GW added, almost twice as much as the next largest month for capacity additions (December 2017,
with 1.6 GW installed). Similar to the PTC, the investment tax credit (ITC) was initially set to expire
at the end of 2016.
The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, passed on December 16, 2015,
extended full ITC eligibility for utility-scale solar PV projects into the 2020s, and it decreased the
ITC to 10% indefinitely.

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
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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 30 april 2019 issue no 1242 by khaled al awadi

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New base energy news 30 april 2019 issue no 1242 by khaled al awadi