New base 20 august energy news issue 1063 by khaled al awadi

Copyright © 2015 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 20 August 2017 - Issue No. 1063 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 Masdar to build Oman 50MW wind farm in Dhofar Oman
The National ( Images by NewBase )
Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company, signed an engineering, procurement
and construction contract with a group of companies that include GE and Spain TSK to build a
wind farm in Oman, the first large scale project of its kind in the Gulf.
“Oman has immense untapped potential in renewable energy, particularly in solar and wind.
Masdar is proud to be supporting the historically close ties between the UAE and the Sultanate by
providing our experience and expertise from delivering cutting-edge renewable energy solutions
across the world," said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.
The company did not disclose the financial details of the 50 megawatt Dhofar Wind Power Project,
which will power 16,000 homes and counterbalance 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions
annually.

"The Dhofar Wind Power Project will play an important role in supporting the diversification of
Oman’s energy mix, while providing a reliable source of clean power to serve its growing
population and economy.”
The project was established in 2014 between Masdar and the Rural Areas Electricity Company of
Oman. Funding is being provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. GE is leading the
engineering, procurement and construction consortium, providing 13 wind turbines.
Oman's economy has felt the pinch of a three year oil glut. A halving of crude prices since 2014
left the sultanate with a budget gap of almost 22 percent of economic output in 2016, according to
the International Monetary Fund. The country posted a deficit of 2 billion rials ($5.2 billion) in the
first five months of the year, compared with 2.5b rials in the year- earlier period.
Oman is planning to raise about $2b through debt sales this year as the largest Arab oil producer
outside OPEC seeks ways to plug next year’s budget deficit, Bloomberg News reported earlier this
month, citing people with knowledge of the plans.
The Ministry of Finance is speaking to banks and is evaluating bond and loan proposals, the news
agency cited the people as saying without identifying them. No formal request for a proposal has
been made, they said.
Moody’s Investors Services recently cut the rating of the sultanate to the second-lowest
investment grade, saying Oman’s progress toward addressing structural vulnerabilities to a weak
oil price environment has been more limited than expected. Oman has a sub-investment grade
status at S&P Global Ratings.

Libya Gets Better at Keeping Oil Flowing as Industry Stabilizes
Bloomberg- Salma El Wardany
Libya’s getting better at resolving stoppages in its oil industry, underpinning a growing perception
that the OPEC member is closer to becoming a stable producer again.
That’s because of the duration of the incidents. While in prior years protests
could shutter fields for months and years, now the stoppages are being
resolved within days and barely hindering flows. Sharara, Libya’s biggest field,
had several short disruptions this year, including two this month, after being
closed for more than two years. Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of state-run
National Oil Corp., was quick to visit Sharara this week to resolve the latest
dispute, offering to revise security measures.
“One fundamental change that allows upstream activities to restart quickly after a disruption is that
Sanalla is willing to get on the ground, visit the sites and demonstrate his commitment to local
communities,” Geoff Porter, founder of New York-based North Africa Risk Consulting, said by
email on Wednesday.“There is a level of trust that was missing for a long time.”
Libya is reviving its oil production and exports in spite of continuing political uncertainty. In July,
crude production was at a four-year high and exports were the most in three years, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg. While the expansion has helped Libya’s oil-dependent economy, the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is trying to cut global supplies. That effort has
been undermined by recovering output at OPEC members Libya and Nigeria.

‘Recovered Impressively’
“Libyan production has recovered impressively and part of that is certainly that recent disruptions
have proved short-lived but I still think it would be wrong to describe the oil sector as stable,”
Richard Mallinson, a geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. in London, said Wednesday by
email. “There has been plenty of tension with the government in Tripoli as Sanalla’s requests for
extra funding for maintenance and to address local issues have largely been ignored.”
The country pumped 1.6
million barrels a day before a
2011 revolt set off years of
fighting between rival
governments and militias.
Workers at the Zueitina
export terminal said last week
they would not load tankers
until their demands were met,
including getting 20 months of
back pay, union head Merhi
Abridan said Saturday. The
port reopened this week
when workers were told their
demands will be met, he said.
Under Sanalla’s tenure which
started in May 2014, Libya
has signed contracts with
international companies,
ended a blockade of ports,
restarted exports and
reopened fields, including
Sharara in December
following two years of
closure. Oil production was at
250,000 barrels a day when he took over. In July, output was 1.02 million barrels a day, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Libya’s output will be about 1.2 million barrels a day by the end of the year “if everything goes
well,” said Derek Brower, managing director of research at Petroleum Policy Intelligence, a U.K.-
based consulting company, said Aug. 10 by email. However, the potential for disruptions is “high”
and true stability can only return “if locals genuinely feel like they are getting a dividend from rising
oil production and income.”
In July, rival leaders embarked on a new effort to reunify their country, agreeing to hold elections.
"Paradoxically, the closer we get to a political solution, the more unstable production is going to
become,” Porter of North Africa Risk Consulting said. “Political solutions create losers and in
Libya, the losers will be armed."

Norway sees increase in July oil and gas production
Source: NPD
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate reports that preliminary production figures for July 2017
show an average daily production of 2,000,000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is an
increase of 93 000 barrels per day compared to June.
Total gas sales were 10.6 billion Sm3 (GSm3), which is an increase of 2.0 GSM3 from the
previous month and is higher than ever for the month of July.
Average daily liquids production in July was: 1,622,000 barrels of oil, 346,000 barrels of NGL and
32,000 barrels of condensate.
The oil production is about 7.0 percent below the oil production in July last year and is about 0.7
percent below the NPD’s prognosis for July 2017. The oil production is about 1.2 percent above
the prognosis so far this year.

The total petroleum production for the first seven months in 2017 is about 140.1 million Sm3 oil
equivalents (MSm3 o.e.), broken down as follows: about 55.5 MSm3 o.e. of oil, about 13.1 MSm3
o.e. of NGL and condensate and about 71.5 MSm3 o.e. of gas for sale. The total volume is 2.1
MSm3 o.e. higher than in 2016.
Final production figures from June 2017 show an average daily production of about 1.570 million
barrels of oil, 0.337 million barrels of NGL and condensate and a total of 8.6 billion Sm3 saleable
gas production.

Mauritania/Senegal: KBR awarded pre-FEED engineering and
project support contracts for BP’s Tortue project…Source: KBR
KBR has been awarded pre-front end engineering design (FEED) and project support services
contracts by BP for the development of the Tortue / Ahmeyim field offshore Mauritania and
Senegal.
Under KBR's global services agreement with BP, KBR has won these new contracts to provide
pre-FEED and project support covering design of the subsea, pre-treatment floating production
storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, inshore hub/terminal, and interfaces for floating liquefied
natural gas (FLNG) for the Tortue Project. This new work will build on the earlier concept phase
work for the development of the field already completed by KBR's subsidiary Granherne for BP's
partner, Kosmos.
'KBR is pleased to offer our world-class engineering design expertise to continue to support this
significant project from its early stages and to help BP and its partners develop an LNG hub for
Mauritania and Senegal,' said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President, Europe, Middle East and Africa
(EMEA). 'This award confirms KBR's strategic commitment to and builds upon our ongoing
relationship with BP for engineering services around the globe.'
KBR's pre-FEED work is expected to be performed over the next six months, with KBR supporting
BP in the Optimize Stage of the Tortue field development. The work will be executed from KBR's
London office which has played a key role in multiple recent BP projects including the Glen Lyon
FPSO and Shah Deniz Phase II projects.
Revenue from this contract is undisclosed and will be booked into backlog for KBR's Engineering
& Construction business segment in Q3 of 2017.

U.S. gasoline production is running near record levels
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Petroleum Status Report
Gasoline production by U.S. refiners and blenders has run near record levels over the first seven
months of 2017, with four-week rolling average production well above its five-year average and
close to the top of its five-year range. U.S. gasoline inventories also remain relatively high despite
growing domestic and foreign demand.
Growth in U.S. gasoline production since March is the result of record-high refinery runs. For the
week ending April 21, 2017, U.S. refinery runs exceeded 17.5 million barrels per day (b/d) for the
first time since EIA began publishing the weekly data series in 1990. Refinery runs have since
exceeded this threshold eight additional times, reaching an all-time high of 17.9 million b/d the
week ending on August 4, 2017. About 44% of the input to refineries is converted to motor
gasoline.
Net production of finished motor gasoline, which averaged 9.3 million b/d for the week ending
August 11, reflects the unadjusted refiner and blender net production of finished motor gasoline
less the use of fuel ethanol in order to isolate the petroleum component. This quantity is 191,000
b/d lower than the five-year high for early August but still more than 492,000 b/d higher than the
previous five-year average.
Despite historically high gasoline production levels, gasoline inventories have been declining
because of above-average gasoline exports and domestic demand (EIA uses product supplied as
a proxy for demand). However, gasoline inventories remain higher than the previous five-year
average.
Total gasoline exports, including finished gasoline and blending components, are relatively small
compared to domestic demand, averaging 761,000 b/d in 2016 compared with domestic product

supplied of 9.3 million b/d. Estimated gasoline exports have remained relatively high so far in
2017, and as of August 11, were about 222,000 b/d higher than the previous five-year average.
Following a record-setting year in 2016, motor gasoline demand has remained relatively high in
2017. During the first half of the year, weekly product supplied remained lower than 2016 levels,
but reached a record high of 9.84 million b/d for the week ending July 28 before declining to 9.52
million b/d the week ending August 11, 2017.
Crude oil prices over the past several months have been relatively stable compared with recent
years. Since the first week of April, the difference between the highest and lowest prices of Brent
crude oil over the previous 52 weeks has been less than $13 per barrel, the narrowest range since
August 2014.
Gasoline prices have also been relatively stable. As of August 7, the 52-week range for average
U.S. regular retail gasoline prices was 30 cents per gallon, the narrowest 52-week range since
March of 2004, with the exception of a two-week period in April when the 52-week range was one
cent per gallon narrower.
EIA’s August Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that 2017 motor gasoline consumption will be
virtually identical to 2016 levels, with product supplied expected to increase by less than 0.1%, to
an average of slightly more than 9.3 million b/d for the year.
By comparison, gasoline consumption in 2016 was 1.6% higher than 2015 levels. The flat
forecast for gasoline consumption reflects slower expected growth in non-farm employment and
an expected increase in the retail price of gasoline. Gasoline consumption in 2018 is expected to
grow by 27,000 b/d (0.3%) from its projected 2017 level.

NewBase 20 August 2017 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Crude Oil forecast for the week of August 21, 2017, Technical Analysis
ByChristopher Lewis
The WTI Crude Oil market initially fell during the week but found a massive amount of bullish
pressure on Friday as we broke above to form a hammer. The hammer looks very bullish, and it
looks as if the $47.50 level is going to continue to offer massive support.
A break above the top of the candle should send this market looking for $50 first, and then
eventually towards the $52.50 level. Alternately, if we break down below the bottom of the candle,
then I think the market is looking towards the $42.50 level over the longer term. It is going to be
volatile, so I think that perhaps daily charts are probably a better way to trade this market from the
“long-term.”
Brent
Brent markets initially fell during the week, but found enough support at the $50 level to send this
market much higher. The bullish attitude on Friday turned everything around, and the hammer for
the week suggests that we are going to go higher. However, we have a shooting star from the
previous week, so it looks like it will be volatile.
A break above the top of the candle should send this market looking for the $55 level, but I
recognize that there’s a lot of noise. I also recognize that a breakdown below the $50 level would
be very bearish, and send this market looking for at least $47.50, if not lower.
Either way, I expect a lot of noise and therefore it’s probably easier to trade this market from a
shorter-term chart such as the daily timeframe as a way to trade the longer-term attitude of the
market. Oil continues to be very volatile, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon so
hanging onto a position is probably going to be very difficult.
Oil price special
coverage

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 18 August 2017
The Energy Revolution will be optimized in the USA & the world
As technology and greater efficiency dramatically change America's energy mix, how does a
once-wood-powered country adapt for the future?
By Liam Denning
In 2016, America consumed almost 400 times as much energy as it did in 1776, according to
Department of Energy estimates, and you'd scarcely find a twig in the mix now. That chart is the
story of America's economic development. In the late 1800s, wood finally gave way to coal and
the ages of steam and electricity.
Then oil shot up as Americans took to the roads, followed by its close companion, natural gas.
The atomic age brought nuclear power, which really got a leg up amid the energy crises of the
1970s. More recently, we have witnessed the shale-gas boom (and parallel coal bust) as well as
wind and solar power edging onto the scene.
For all the subplots, though, the story is defined by one constant and one twist: relentless
technological change and the sudden absence of growth, respectively.

The most obvious elements on that chart are fossil fuels -- petroleum, coal and natural gas --
which provide a little less than 81 percent of U.S. energy consumption, the lowest share since
1902 but still dominant.
But before even getting into the mix, consider just how much energy the U.S. uses and, more
important, how this has changed over time.
Here are the data presented in a slightly different way, showing the average annual change in
energy consumption each decade (and the six-year period ending in 2016):
Those negative bars on the right are striking. The first decade of the 21st century was also the first
in America's history when energy consumption fell overall (the peak of 100 quadrillion BTUs was
in 2007). Granted, there were two recessions in that period, including a global financial crisis. On
the other hand, take a look at the hardly-trouble-free 1920s and 1930s: no decline there.
Given that consumption has stayed down over the past six years, there's clearly more to this than
just gross domestic product.
Energy efficiency is a big factor. Each U.S. household consumes, on average, 9 percent less
electricity now than in 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration. And as Nathaniel
Bullard of Bloomberg New Energy Finance has pointed out, while the computing power of data
centers has spiraled up in the past decade, their collective electricity consumption has climbed by
just 7.5 percent. Over the same period, meanwhile, the average fuel economy of new vehicles has

risen by roughly 25 percent, according to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research
Institute.
In its long-term forecasts released in January, the EIA projected overall U.S. energy consumption
to essentially stay flat through 2030. And "flat" is a four-letter word in any industry -- especially one
in which growth has been reliable for two centuries.
The predictable response is a more intense battle for market share; if the pie isn't getting bigger,
you take someone else's slice. There's always been competition between different sources of
energy, but elbows have suddenly gotten much sharper. This chart shows the average annual
change in different types of energy being consumed for each decade roughly since the U.S.
began:

The collapse in coal demand, largely at the hands of ascendant natural gas, in that bottom bar,
stands out. The sudden flatlining of oil -- the last year it showed a notable gain was 2004 -- is also
eye-catching.
Meanwhile, non-hydro renewable power, chiefly wind and solar, has sprung up from nowhere. In
2016, it accounted for the single largest slice of demand growth, almost as big as that for oil and
gas combined.
We don't usually think of energy as a single market because each source tends to specialize in
one or two subsegments: coal for electricity, natural gas for heating or electricity, oil for
transportation and chemicals.
There are real barriers separating different parts of the energy market; you wouldn't run your truck
on coal, for instance (remind me not to ask for a ride if you do).
But those barriers have never been airtight. Looking back at the long waves of change in
America's energy mix, they have involved both competition between fuels and the creation of
brand-new markets.
For example, coal displaced biomass in fireplaces but also underpinned the creation of a new
market: railroads. Petroleum, meanwhile, shoved whale oil aside in lighting; was then trumped
itself by the electric light bulb; and then found its true calling with the advent of the automobile.
Today, those barriers look ever less solid.
One force eroding them is the competitive pressure stoked by that dramatic slowdown in overall
consumption. Witness the dissension within the fossil fuels industry as oil majors have built big
gas businesses, then turned their lobbying powers against coal, that fuel's main rival.
Miners are hitting back by touting coal as a reliable source of fuel to produce all the energy that
will be needed to charge up electric vehicles -- which, incidentally, won't require any oil.
The other pressure concerns technology. The obvious example here is fully or partly electrified
vehicles encroaching on what has long seemed to be the most impregnable of energy markets:
petroleum-fueled road transportation.
But pressure also comes in the form of more efficient hardware and sophisticated software
curbing energy demand in general -- plus, of course, renewable sources that continue to fall in
price and compete against coal, gas and uranium in producing power.
This new paradigm of flatter domestic demand, and greater competition, explains a lot.
There is the intense push to enable greater exports of U.S. coal, oil and gas in search of growth
elsewhere. The Donald Trump administration's desire for "energy dominance" should be viewed in
this context.
With the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's energy demand now in flat or
negative territory -- and likely to stay that way -- growth rests entirely on emerging markets such
as China and India.

The 1 Percent
With primary energy consumption flat or down across the OECD, global growth hovers around 1
percent and depends overwhelmingly on emerging markets
Meanwhile, with oil's long-term demand being called into question, the majors are diversifying ever
more into natural gas and touting what used to be their Cinderella downstream businesses, such
as refining and gas stations.
On the power side, incumbent utilities are either consolidating or retreating to the relative safety of
their regulated businesses as wholesale markets for electricity have become ultra-competitive.
Calls to subsidize nuclear power -- or, on the risible grounds of national security, coal -- are a
corollary to this.
Some utilities are also investing heavily in renewable energy and gas-fired power or pipelines.
And as electric vehicles edge further into the market for transportation, you can bet utilities will
seek growth in that market -- at oil's expense.
As I wrote here about electric vehicles, clues to systemic transitions are to be found in marginal
change, not just totals. The first chart at the top of this column tells an epic history; the one
showing the rate of change offers glimpses of the future. Capital likes dominance, but it also has
an enduring affinity for growth.
And in considering the broadly defined energy market, it is not just the fact that growth in the U.S.
and other major developed economies has largely gone AWOL that's important. It is also the
simultaneous erosion of barriers between energy's submarkets.
For example, you may think electric vehicles will take off in 2020, 2030 or 2040. Whatever the
case, the bigger point concerns the inexorable slide toward greater fuel-on-fuel rivalry in another
major end-market as electrification and digitization take on the dominant mechanical model. How
far and how quickly that door opens is of course up for debate, but the fact that the door is open
isn't.

The primary job of the 20th-century oil major or utility was to raise the capital required to build
enormous energy production and distribution networks to feed industrialization. The onus was on
providing ever more supply, since growth in demand was a given.
The latter no longer holds true. Energy efficiency matters more now, especially as concerns about
pollution, including carbon emissions, have intensified. The job of the 21st-century energy
provider, therefore, will be less and less about sheer quantity and more about both quality and
smart consumption. Think software-as-a-service rather than just getting Windows 95 installed on
as many desktops as possible.
This, more than anything, is why attempts to turn back the clock by, for example, paying direct
subsidies for using Appalachian coal would be ultimately futile gestures. Indeed, they would
represent a waste of capital and effort that could be used more productively in helping those
affected to deal with the impact of relentless changes in technology and consumption patterns.
Some 241 years on, this is no longer about chop-baby-chop, dig-baby-dig or even drill-baby-drill.
Optimize, baby, optimize.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or NewBase LP and its owners.

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

New base 20 august energy news issue 1063 by khaled al awadi

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to New base 20 august energy news issue 1063 by khaled al awadi

Similar to New base 20 august energy news issue 1063 by khaled al awadi (20)

More from Khaled Al Awadi

More from Khaled Al Awadi (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

New base 20 august energy news issue 1063 by khaled al awadi