New base special 11 november 2014

Copyright © 2014 NewBase www.hawkenergy.net Edited by Khaled Al Awadi – Energy Consultant All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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NewBase 11 November 2014 - Issue No. 477 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
GCC power grid to save millions
Gulf Daily + NewBase
A common energy market for the GCC that is planned to be fully operational within five years will
save member states tens of millions of dinars, according to an expert. GCC Interconnection
Authority (GCCIA) board of directors chairman Dr Matar Neyadi said that an estimated $180
million (BD68 million) would be saved ever year in operational coasts alone once the market was
fully functional, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
He was speaking to the GDN on the sidelines of the GCC Power 2014 conference, which opened
yesterday at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre. “The GCCIA is considered one of the
leading strategic projects in the region,” he said.
“Its focus now is on increasing economic benefits to member states by establishing a GCC-wide
electricity market that will allow them to make the best use of energy sources and conserving
fossil fuels. “We are hoping to launch a GCC market for power
trading soon, and have appointed a team of experts to deal with
this project during the next year.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electricity and Water Affairs Dr
Abdulhussain Mirza said that the nascent GCC-wide power grid
was helping to cut down on the kind of blackouts that were once

regular in Bahrain.
“We established the GCCIA, also known as the GCC power grid, in July 2009 and 1,100 incidents
of electricity cuts have since been avoided across the six member nations, because of the
availability of this network,” he said.
“The power disruptions were due to various reasons including large loss of bulk generation and
the GCCIA has played its vital role in absorbing the impact of all these disturbances. “The next
stage is trading of power - if one of the GCC countries has surplus power, it can sell it to another
country which is in need.
“This saves power going to waste and at the same time generates revenue. “Sometimes one
country might face a major shut down for maintenance or they might need power while planning to
increase their capacity - in such instances the trading of power could be of great help.”
Dr Mirza said that eventually, the plan was for this trade network to be linked to the international
energy market. “The idea is to have this power market connected to the Arabian network and then
eventually with the European, which could be a few years from now,” he said.
“Europe has surplus power capacity in the summer but needs it in winter for heating, while it is the
reverse in the GCC where we don't need much during winter. “There could be an exchange policy
in place once the market is established and this trade will be beneficial to all the six GCC states
and the total capacity of the bloc will be fully utilised.”
The three-day GCC Power conference and exhibition, organised by the GCC Regional Committee
for Electric Systems and attended by more than 350 experts, will conclude tomorrow.

Algeria Inaugurates New LNG Plant
Algeria Press Service + NewBase
Algeria on Monday inaugurated a new LNG plant in the industrial zone of Oran.
The plant has a production capacity of 4.7 million metric tons of LNG and replaces the LNG unit
that closed in 2010, Algeria Press Service reported.
Algerian state owned Sonatrach has invested close to $4 billion in the plant.
The unit also has capacity to
produce 58,000 tons of butane,
275,000 tons of propane gas,
300,000 tons of ethane, 47,000
tons of de gasoline and 115.5
normal cubic meters (Nm3) of
helium-enriched gas.
The unit was inaugurated by
Prime Minister Abdelmalek
Sellal. On the social plan, this
investment, funded by
Sonatrach for $4 billion, i.e.
DZD304 billion plans the
creation of 645 direct jobs and
250 indirect ones.
The Prime Minister's visit to Oran coincided with the loading of a LNG carrier with a capacity of
125,000 tonnes.
The Industrial zone of Arzew (Oran)

Mubadala's Turbine Services and Solutions opens UAE facility for Centaur gas turbines
WAM/MMYS + NewBase
Turbine Services & Solutions (TS&S), an Abu Dhabi based services and solutions provider for
industrial gas turbine packages, has opened a new independent repair and overhaul (R&O) facility
for Centaur gas turbines.
The range of services to be provided include traditional R&O, full performance testing, field
service support, exchange pools for gas generators, power turbines and complete package
support, the Mubadala Company-owned firm said in statement.
The Light Industrial Turbine R&O shop is contained within TS&S’ custom built gas turbine facility
located at the Abu Dhabi International Airport and includes a test facility for both hot end and cold
end drive Centaur models.
This latest product line to be added to TS&S’s portfolio represents the company’s first foray into
the light industrial turbine section of the gas turbine industry and complements their 15 years of
gas turbine R&O experience.
Ahmed Al Moosa Al Nuaimi, CEO, TS&S said, "Our entry into the market is significant for TS&S in
three ways; it is our first independently developed programme something of which we are
immensely proud as it shows the extent to which UAE gas turbine capabilities have grown in the
last 15 years.
"Secondly, we are entering an area of smaller gas turbines than we are used to, where the
company’s lower cost base and quick turn-around-times will give us a definite competitive
advantage.
"Operators are constantly seeking better service at competitive prices and that is what we will be
giving them." He added, "Finally, we are taking on a worldwide mandate. Initially we will be
building a client base in the UAE, MENA and immediately beyond but as our success and
experience grows TS&S plans to extend its Centaur support services around the globe.
"We are confident that this will be one of our most successful product lines." The TS&S light
industrial programme for Centaur gas generator is in full operation today with zero-time exchange
units available.

BP’s new core flood robot enhances oil recovery techniques
WAM/AAMIR + NewBase
BP announced today that it is now operating the world’s first robotic coreflooding system, the most
recent addition to company’s programme of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) research facilities.
Coreflooding is one of the most important techniques used to identify and evaluate EOR
technologies. It measures the effectiveness of water or gas injected into an oil-bearing rock
sample to displace oil. This can be used to assess the potential for water flooding in an oil field.
"The EOR technologies being developed by BP are vitally important to help increase global oil
supplies," said Ahmed Hashmi, BP’s head of upstream technology. "We believe this step-change
in our core-flooding capability will hugely improve the speed and efficiency with which we can
deploy new technologies to recover more oil from reservoirs." BP has had a large-scale in-house
coreflooding laboratory in the UK for many years, where reservoir samples can be tested at high
pressure and temperature ‘reservoir conditions,’ and different reservoir types can be evaluated.
The new robotic coreflood system operates for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The complete automation and work-flow optimisation in the new Core Flood Robot enables
hundreds of coreflood tests to be performed each year, rather than dozens as in the past, and
greatly enhances BP’s ability to evaluate a continuous stream of new EOR technologies. This
should reduce the time spent developing new technologies by at least 50 per cent.
The Core Flood Robot is
operated by the same team
that developed LoSal EOR,
BP’s breakthrough reduced
salinity waterflooding
technology. More than 45
coreflood tests were
performed in validating the
LoSal EOR effect, before field
trials in Alaska. BP and its
partners are now deploying
the technology at scale on the Clair Ridge project in the North Sea. BP was awarded the 2014
Offshore Technology Conference Distinguished Achievement Award for the Clair Ridge LoSal
EOR project, recognising the company’s specialist EOR technologies.

Nigeria CAMAC working to bring two Oyo wells online
Camac Energy + NewBase
CAMAC Energy Inc. has announced it will bring online Oyo-7 and Oyo-8 wells, off Nigeria, by
year-end and in early 2015, respectively.
Oyo-8 was successfully drilled to a total depth of 6,059 feet, and encountered four new oil and
gas reservoirs with a total gross hydrocarbon thickness of 112 feet, based on results from the
logging-while-drilling data, reservoir pressure measurement, and reservoir fluid sampling.
Both Oyo-7 and Oyo-8 have now been successfully drilled, the flowlines and other subsea
equipment from Oyo-5 and Oyo-6 have been recovered, and successfully installed and tested on
the Oyo-7 and Oyo-8 wells. The Energy Searcher drillship is currently plugging and abandoning
Oyo-5 and Oyo-6, and will then drill the horizontals to complete Oyo-7 and Oyo-8. The company
expects to bring the first of these two development wells online by year-end, and the second in
early 2015.
In addition to these development wells, the company has high-graded four of the prospects in
OMLs 120 and 121 to drill-ready status, which target a combined 2,377 million barrels of oil, P50
recoverable resources.
The company will have the ability to drill the first of these prospects out of internal cash flow,
generated by the two new development wells, and is also at the early stages of marketing these
prospects to potential partners.
CAMAC Energy has engaged Stellar Energy Advisors in London to market these four exploration
prospects to potential partners and expects to announce the results of this process during the first
half of 2015.

US:Power producers shy away from coal usage and Coal
stockpiles at coal-fired power plants smaller than in recent years
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA-923, Electric Power Plant Operations Report
Coal stocks at electric power plants, which totaled 121 million tons at the end of August, are
relatively low in both absolute and days of burn terms relative to recent historical norms. This is
true both nationally and in the Upper Midwest. About two-thirds of coal used to generate electric
power moves from coal mine to power plant either fully or partially by rail.
Power plants in the Upper Midwest operated at very high rates during last winter's extreme cold
weather, burning lots of coal. As these plants rebuild their stockpiles, many operators want
shipments of coal well above the levels they received in 2013.
Issues with delivery by rail are making it more difficult to ship larger volumes of coal and rebuild
stockpiles at coal-fired power plants. Although the rail problems are real, their role should not be
overstated. Despite the problems on the rail system, particularly in the Upper Midwest, coal car
loadings year to date through October 25 were up slightly from last year (0.3%). Loadings have
been on an upward trend in recent weeks: during four weeks in October, coal car loadings
averaged 4.7% higher than the comparable weeks in 2013.
Four very small plants in Minnesota have shut down to conserve coal stocks, but not because
they ran out of coal. Rather, grid operators have opted to dispatch other units during the fall
shoulder season, when they have the option to dispatch non-coal units to conserve coal stocks for
use during winter, the peak period for power demand in Minnesota and other states in the north of
the country.
There have also been reductions in operating levels (utilization rates) at plants in several other
states as a result of concerns about coal availability. Operators have substituted higher-cost
power from other sources, such as natural gas-fired generation, to make up the difference. In
addition, some power plants have increased their purchases of coal moved by truck to their power
plants, at significantly higher cost compared to usual rail shipments.

At an individual plant, stockpiles can be viewed in terms of days of burn. The days-of-burn
calculation takes into account both the current stockpile level at a plant and its estimated
consumption (burn) rates in coming months to approximate how many days the plant could run at
historical levels before depleting its existing stockpile. EIA calculates days of burn by averaging
the most recent three years of historical data and applying that to the upcoming three months.
EIA groups coal plants into three days-of-burn categories: those with less than 30 days of burn,
30-60 days of burn, and those with more than 60 days of burn. EIA excludes from the
categorization plants that rely on lignite or waste coal, as these plants rely on coal from mine-
mouth sources (lignite mines or waste piles and ponds) and do not maintain stocks comparable to
other coal plants.
At the end of August 2014, the amount of coal capacity with less than 60 days of burn was 63% of
the total, compared to only 42% at the end of August 2013. Within that group, the percent of
capacity with less than 30 days of burn for those same months rose to 23%, up from 13% in 2013.
Railroads faced weather-related problems last winter that curtailed deliveries. This year railroads
have had to accommodate record grain harvests (up 16% this year) and increasing amounts of
petroleum and petroleum products shipments (up 13% this year) vying for space on railroad
networks. Total U.S. rail traffic has increased for every commodity type tracked by the Association
of American Railroads, and year-to-date traffic (through mid-October) is 4.5% higher compared
with the same period last year.

Oil Price Drop Special Coverage
OPEC output cut ruled out
Saudi Gazette + NewBase
OPEC won’t cut its collective crude output when it meets later this month and global oil prices will
stabilize once the surplus is absorbed by the market, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, meets Nov. 27 to debate supply.
The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has a production target of
30 million barrels a day, pumped 30.974 million barrels a day in October, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. “I don’t think there will be any cut in the production,” Al-Omair said at a
conference in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. “We feel prices will settle down once
surplus oil is absorbed.”
Oil tumbled into a bear market this year as supply expanded from the US to Libya. OPEC
members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have resisted calls to cut output while Libya, Venezuela and
Ecuador have asked for action to prevent even lower prices.
Kuwait has no plans to cut its own crude production, which should increase to 4 million barrels
from a current by 2020, Al-Omair said. Kuwait produced 2.85 million barrels a day in October.
Brent crude rose by $1 toward $85 a barrel on Monday, climbing for a second straight session as
protests in Libya disrupted supply and the US dollar fell from four-year highs. Brent crude for

December was up $1.30 at $84.69 per barrel by 1305 GMT. US crude was up 85 cents at $79.50
per barrel.
The dollar fell 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies on Monday, supporting oil prices. The
dollar’s recent strength has made oil and other commodities more expensive for holders of other
currencies, suppressing demand.
Kuwait Looking At Reforming Petrol Subsidies – Official
Reuters + NewBase
Kuwait’s government is looking at adjusting its petrol subsidies in order to reduce waste, a
senior Kuwaiti official said on Monday in a fresh sign that authorities are using this year’s oil
price plunge to push economic reforms.
For years, the government refrained from cutting lavish and growing energy subsidies
because of political sensitivities. But last month, it said it planned to raise domestic prices of
diesel fuel and kerosene.
Ali Sabt bin Sabt, acting undersecretary at Kuwait’s oil ministry, told Reuters on Monday that
the government was now also looking at petrol subsidies. A petrol price hike would probably
have a much bigger impact on consumers than the diesel and kerosene changes.
“You need to do something about subsidies. Maybe a producing country can turn into a
consumer country,” Sabt said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Abu Dhabi,
referring to concern that ultra-low domestic prices are encouraging Kuwait’s petrol
consumption to balloon as its population grows, potentially eating into its oil exports.
“We need to put policy on it. We need to put an order to it so we can do something regarding
consumption.” Sabt added, “Yes, we are looking at petrol specifically. It is subsidised
and…that is increasing. As population is more and more, we have to do something in this
regard.”
Asked whether the government might double petrol prices in the future, he said: “Not
doubling, but it is under study…It is not yet decided.” A decision may come in the near future,
Sabt said without elaborating.

Saudi Aramco Commitments Not Impacted By Oil Price Moves
Reuters + NewBase
A senior official at state oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Monday that the recent fluctuations in
oil prices would not threaten the company’s long-term supply
commitments.
“The recent volatility is not new.. .(it is) in large (part) due to a
weak global economy,” Amin Nasser, senior vice president for
upstream operations at Saudi Aramco, told an energy
conference in Abu Dhabi, adding that there was a “significant
amount of oil” in the market.
“However, long-term fundamentals remain robust…Fluctuating oil prices don’t overshadow
Saudi Aramco’s long-term commitment.”
Sustained drop in oil price could slow Gulf economies: S&P
BYAFP + NewBase
A prolonged decline in oil prices will likely slow the economies of the energy-rich Gulf states and
impact their massive infrastructure projects, Standard and Poor's Ratings Services said on
Monday.
"The recent drop in hydrocarbon prices, if sustained, could have a significant impact on the
region's economic and financial indicators... and dampen economic growth," S&P said in a report.
Energy revenues
On average, energy revenues for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states constitute 46 per
cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) and three quarters of their exports, the report
said. Total GDP of the GCC states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates — hit $1.64 trillion last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
S&P viewed Bahrain and Oman as most vulnerable to a decline in the hydrocarbon market, and
Qatar and UAE as the least vulnerable. "While the Gulf countries' significant oil and gas reserves
are key supports for their sovereign credit ratings, their economies' concentration in the
hydrocarbon sector is also a significant vulnerability," it said
It said the decline will hurt infrastructure projects and the private sector. The agency revised Brent
oil price at $85 a barrel for the rest of the year and $90 a barrel for 2015 and beyond. The
assumption is very close to most of the GCC's budget price for oil.
Lower government revenues may also result in more efforts to tackle energy subsidy reform, but
this is likely to hurt industries reliant on feedstock subsidies, such as petrochemicals. A senior
World Bank official had said last week that the GCC states, which pump a fifth of the world's crude
oil, spend more than $160 billion on energy subsidies annually, and called for immediate cuts

BP, Total projects unaffected by oil price decline
Major oil companies BP and Total, despite the current oil price of around $80 a barrel, are
continuing to invest in current projects, said executives from the two companies on Monday. “We
are not changing our investment decisions because of this [current price],” said Bob Dudley, BP
chief executive at a press conference at ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi.
However, he also said BP “will make some minor
adjustments here and there” in response to global
market indicator Brent crude slumping more than
25 per cent since June amid a global oversupply
and weaker demand out of major markets.
Dudley said BP is able to withstand the current
decline in oil prices because the feasibility of all of
its current projects were benchmarked against an
$80 a barrel price tag. Although he declined to say at what point existing projects would become
unviable, Dudley said the drop in oil prices can be seen as a positive as it will encourage the
industry to be more “disciplined” in its spending.
Earlier, Arnaud Breuillac, Total’s president for exploration and production, told a press conference
at ADIPEC the French oil major will not wind down its investments in light of lower global prices.
“We clearly do not have intentions to change immediate plans,” he said.
While warning of the impact of current oil prices on future projects, Breuillac also said that he does
not believe prices will stay at $80-$85 a barrel because other oil firms, who rely on high prices for
expensive projects, will be unable to bear the drop in margins for much longer. “We are
experiencing a short-term imbalance and it is unclear how long it will last, but if it last too long,
some companies will cancel projects,” he said.
BP and Total are bidding for concessions tendered by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(ADNOC) in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO). BP and Total are
bidding alongside seven other Western and Asian oil firms for a series of concessions from the
state oil firm.
Dudley confirmed the deadline on the offers has been extended until the end of the year. “We are
deadly committed to our work here in Abu Dhabi,” he said. Breuillac made similar comments in
saying, “We are committed to Abu Dhabi and to our partnership with ADNOC.”

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Your partner in Energy Services
Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MSc. & BSc. Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
ASME member since 1995
Emarat member since 1990
Mobile : +97150-4822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net
khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with aKhaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with aKhaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with aKhaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a
total of 24 yearstotal of 24 yearstotal of 24 yearstotal of 24 years of experience in theof experience in theof experience in theof experience in the Oil &Oil &Oil &Oil &
Gas sectGas sectGas sectGas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialistor. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialistor. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialistor. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist
for Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ withfor Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ withfor Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ withfor Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with
external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area viaexternal voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area viaexternal voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area viaexternal voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC area via
Hawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most ofHawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most ofHawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most ofHawk Energy Service as a UAE operations base , Most of
the experience were spent as tthe experience were spent as tthe experience were spent as tthe experience were spent as the Gas Operations Managerhe Gas Operations Managerhe Gas Operations Managerhe Gas Operations Manager
in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Networkin Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Networkin Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Networkin Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network
Facility & gas compressor stations . Through the years , heFacility & gas compressor stations . Through the years , heFacility & gas compressor stations . Through the years , heFacility & gas compressor stations . Through the years , he
has developed great experiences in the designing &has developed great experiences in the designing &has developed great experiences in the designing &has developed great experiences in the designing &
constructingconstructingconstructingconstructing of gas pipelines, gas metering & regulatingof gas pipelines, gas metering & regulatingof gas pipelines, gas metering & regulatingof gas pipelines, gas metering & regulating
stastastastations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation , operation &tions and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation , operation &tions and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, & compiling gas transportation , operation &tions 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 &maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil &maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil &maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil &
Gas ConferenGas ConferenGas ConferenGas Conferences held in the UAE andces held in the UAE andces held in the UAE andces held in the UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Channels .Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Channels .Energy program broadcasted internationally , via GCC leading satellite Channels .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 November 2014 K. Al Awadi

New base special 11 november 2014

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