New base 750 special 17 december 2015r

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NewBase 17 December 2015 - Issue No. 750 Edited & Produced by: Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Qatar: Barzan gas project to start in 2016
Reuters
Qatar expects to start operations at its Barzan gas project in 2016 with full output the following year, the
Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics said yesterday. The $10bn project was originally expected
to come online in 2014 and will serve Qatar’s own growing energy needs.
“Hydrocarbon output will get a boost from Barzan, a new pipeline gas production facility scheduled
to come on stream in 2016 and reach full capacity in 2017,” the ministry said. “Output from Barzan
and an expected recovery in condensate production in 2017 should help to lift aggregate GDP
growth above 2015’s in both 2016 and 2017,” it said.
The ministry also said the Ras Laffan 2 condensate refinery is expected to come on stream in the
fourth quarter of 2016. “The refinery will produce jet fuel and gas oil to be sold domestically, and
export other products, including diesel, to Asian markets,” the ministry said. Qatar Petroleum
signed an agreement with a consortium led by France’s Total in 2013 to build the $1.5bn refinery.
It will have a production capacity of 146,000 bpd including 60,000 bpd of naphtha, 53,000 bpd of
jet fuel, 24,000 bpd of gasoil and 9,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas. The ministry said it
expects crude oil production in 2015 to fall by about 6% and condensates output to fall by about
8%.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures were under $38 per barrel yesterday, well below this year’s
high of nearly $70 hit in May.
The $10bn project will have a production capacity of 146,000 bpd including
60,000 bpd of naphtha, 53,000 bpd of jet fuel, 24,000 bpd of gasoil and 9,000 bpd
of liquefied petroleum gas

Morocco: Sound Energy completes Tendrara farm-in, onshore Morocco
Source: Sound Energy
Sound Energy has announced that the Company's farm in agreement with the Moroccan Oil and
Gas Investment Fund in relation to the Tendrara Lakbir Licence, onshore Morocco, has now
been completed - with Ministerial approval, the final condition to the Farm In, now received. The
terms of the Farm In were announced by Sound Energy on 8 June 2015.
The Company is also pleased to announce the agreement of commercial terms with Entrepose
Drilling Morocco for the supply of a HH300 rig and the initiation of the procurement process for
long lead items for the drilling of the first two appraisal wells on the Tendrara Licence.
The Company intends to commence ground works on the drill site for the first Tendrara well
shortly after receipt of EIA approval - which the Company expects to receive in January 2016.
The Company announced that it had signed a term sheet with Schlumberger in relation to the
Tendrara Licence on 21 October 2015. The Company continues to work with Schlumberger in
developing the strategic collaboration between Sound Energy and Schlumberger and the
Company looks forward to updating shareholders, as appropriate, in due course.
James Parsons, Sound Energy's Chief Executive Officer, commented:
'I am pleased to report the initiation of our drill programme at Tendrara, with two back to back
wells with an extended well test which, if successful, will prove the commerciality of the highly
significant TAGI reservoir in Morocco. We believe Eastern Morocco is an exciting and developing
area which is further validated by the recently acquired International Oil Company interest in the
surrounding licences.'

Germany: First foundation for Nordsee One offshore wind
project successfully installed…. Source: Northland Power
The first steel foundation, or monopile, for the 332MW Nordsee One offshore wind project was
successfully installed ahead of schedule on December 15, 2015. The wind farm, located in
German territorial waters in the North Sea, will consist of 54 Senvion turbines and is owned by
Northland Power (85%) and RWE Innogy (15%).
'Today's accomplishment is very exciting for everyone involved,' said Pierre Lestienne and Tim
Kittelhake, the joint managing directors of the project. 'Achieving this milestone reflects months of
effort and progress, and was a result of the hard work and cooperation of our team and project
partners.'
Nordsee One has contracted installation of the monopiles from GeoSea, an international specialist
in offshore marine engineering with experience on more than 30 offshore wind projects.
Installation will continue through the remainder of 2015 and into 2016. The monopiles were
produced by Ambau, an experienced manufacturer of towers and foundation structures for the
offshore and onshore wind energy sector. They are being installed in water depths ranging
between 25 and 29 meters.
Nordsee One is located 40 kms north of Juist Island, in an area with shallow water and high wind
speeds -- ideal conditions for an offshore wind farm. It is expected to be operational in 2017, and
to generate over 1,300 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of
400,000 German households.

'Thanks to the skill and effort of our project team, we reached this important milestone ahead of
time and on budget,' said John Brace, CEO of Northland. 'We will continue to work closely with all
of our partners in the coming months, and look forward to providing additional updates as we
move further towards completion of the project.'
Offshore wind development is a key feature of Germany's 'Energiewende' program, the official
policy supporting renewable power generation with a stated goal for offshore wind capacity of
6,500 MW of installed capacity by 2020 and 15 GW by 2030.
ABOUT NORDSEE ONE
The 332 MW Nordsee One offshore wind project is situated approx. 40km north of the Island of
Juist, in German territorial waters. With a total area of approx. 41kmÂ², the project's 54 turbines
will be located in one of the most favourable locations (high wind speed, < 30m water depth, travel
times within one-day window) in the North Sea. The project is owned by Northland Power Inc.
(85%), and RWE Innogy GmbH (15%).

UK: Fracking under national parks backed by MPs
Source: BBC News
MPs have voted to allow fracking for shale gas 1,200m below national parks and other protected
sites. The new regulations - which allow drilling from outside the protected areas - were approved
by 298 to 261. Opposition parties and campaigners criticised the lack of a Commons debate - and
accused ministers of a U-turn as they previously pledged an outright ban on fracking in national
parks.
The government said its plans would protect 'our most precious landscapes'. It said the UK had
'one of the best track records in the world for protecting our environment while developing our
industries'. MPs overwhelmingly rejected a bid to suspend drilling for shale gas in a Commons
vote in January, during which ministers also pledged an 'outright ban' on fracking in national
parks.
Labour has said the government's plans, contained in a draft regulation, represent a U-turn on
this commitment, and called for stronger safeguards. The proposals, first set out in July, would
only allow fracking 1,200m below national parks, Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, the
Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and World Heritage Sites. Sites of Special Scientific Interest, which
are designated to protect wildlife or geology, are not mentioned.
MPs opposed the passing of the draft regulation when it was read out in the Commons on
Tuesday evening. Because this happened after the conclusion of the day's main business,
parliamentary rules required the vote to be deferred - until Wednesday. Under this process of so-

called deferred divisions, MP voted on the proposal by filling in ballot papers with the result
announced later by Deputy Speaker Natascha Engel.
Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy accused ministers of using a 'parliamentary backdoor' to
try to approve the 'weak regulations' without debate. She said: 'Fracking should not go ahead in
Britain until stronger safeguards are in place to protect drinking water sources and sensitive parts
of our countryside like national parks.'
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the government had shown a 'complete lack of regard
for protecting some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK and its wildlife', while Greenpeace
criticised the use of what it called an 'arcane parliamentary process'.
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: 'The UK has one of the best track
records in the world for protecting our environment while developing our industries - these
regulations will get this vital industry moving while protecting our environment and people.
Yesterday's Task Force for Shale Gas report confirmed exactly what we have been saying for
some time - that with the right standards in place fracking can take place safely.'

UK: Metgasco Accepts A$25 mn Buyback Offer for Three New South
Wales CSG Licences
Metgasco has agreed to sell its three Northern Rivers petroleum exploration licences (PEL) to
New South Wales (NSW) government for A$25 million. According to a statement by NSW
government published Wednesday, shareholders of Metgasco voted in favour of the proposal.
Metgasco’s board endorsed the
agreement early last month following
negotiations with the Department of
Industry and assistance from NSW
Treasury.
The three licences are Petroleum
Exploration Licence (PEL) 13, Petroleum
Exploration Licence (PEL) 16 and
Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL)
426. The government will also acquire
Petroleum Production Licence
Application (PPLA) 9 and resolve all
disputed matters.
The three PELs acquired under the
agreement are the last remaining in the
Northern Rivers.
Minister for Industry, Resources and
Energy, Anthony Roberts, said under the
NSW Gas Plan, the NSW Government is
committed to pause, reset and
recommence the gas industry on its
terms. “Our new Strategic Release
Framework will ensure areas are only
released for exploration in the future
following an assessment of economic,
environmental and social factors with
community consultation conducted
upfront.”
Last year, the NSW government's Office
of Coal Seam Gas suspended Metgasco's permit to test drill a tight sands gas well on a Bentley
property. The government said that the decision was taken on the basis that Metgasco had not
met its obligations to consult with the community. The suspension was later overturned by New
South Wales Supreme Court.

Norway: Songa Offshore takes delivery of Songa Encourage - the third Category D rig
Source: Songa Offshore
Songa Offshore has today taken delivery ofSonga Encourage - the third Category D rig - from
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Korea.
'We are pleased to take delivery of Songa Encourage today the 16 December 2015. This is the
third Category D rig we take delivery of in a series of four rigs, all going on eight year contracts
with Statoil in Norway. We are now looking forward to see the rig commence drilling operations in
Norway', says CEO Bjørnar Iversen.
According to information on the Songa Offshore web site, The cat D mid-water semi-submersible
rig concept is designed for efficient year around drilling, completion, testing and intervention
operations in harsh environment. This rig type is equipped with ATA. DP class 2&3 systems in
100 to 500 meters water depth. Further the cat D unit is a flexible rig design prepared for future
deep water operations and arctic operations which can be implemented by minor post upgrades.

Norway: DEA Norge completes acquisition of E.ON’s
Norwegian oil and gas fieds .. DEA
Germany’s DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG has , through its Norwegian subsidiary DEA Norge
AS, completed the acquisition of E.ON E&P Norge AS, thus expanding its presence in
Norway’s oil and gas industry.
According to the company,
the Norwegian Ministry of
Petroleum and Energy and
the Ministry of Finance, as
well as the EU competition
authority, have approved
the transaction.
The acquisition will
increase DEA’s total
production in Norway to
75,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day (boe/d).
The deal includes 43
licenses in the North Sea,
the Norwegian Sea and
the Barents Sea.
Thomas Rappuhn, CEO
of DEA Deutsche Erdoel
AG said: “DEA’s growth
strategy has gained
momentum with this
acquisition. We are now
looking for further growth
by pursuing M&A
opportunities, exploration
and the continuation of
field development
projects.”
With the closing of the
acquisition, E.ON E&P
Norge has become a
subsidiary of DEA Norge and renamed DEA E&P Norge. In line with the requirements of
Norwegian authorities, the companies are to be consolidated by the end of 2016, and DEA will
now start the process of integrating the two companies.
DEA Norge now holds 74 licences, including the company’s existing working interests in
producing fields such as Snorre, Gjøa, Knarr and Snøhvit. The deal adds equity interests in
producing oil and gas fields, namely Skarv (28.1%), Njord (30%) and Hyme (17.5%) as well as
additional developments and discoveries, including Snilehorn, Snadd and Fogelberg.

U.S. on verge of lifting 40-yr oil export ban
Reuters + NewBase
The United States appears on the brink of ending a four-decade ban on most exports of crude oil,
which would mark an abrupt end to a years-long fight triggered by the domestic shale boom.
Late on Tuesday evening congressional negotiators wrapped up a sprawling deal to keep the U.S.
government operating through September. It included repealing the ban and granting temporary
tax breaks to boost wind and solar development, according to lawmakers involved in the talks.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers will meet separately on Wednesday to discuss the
$1.15 trillion spending bill that was negotiated in secretive talks by congressional leaders over the
last two weeks. Lawmakers hope to vote on it as soon as Friday. If it passes both the House and
the Senate, the measure to keep the government funded through September would be difficult for
President Barack Obama to veto.
Allowing oil exports would be a win for the U.S. oil industry and Republicans, who had argued that
the ban was a relic of the 1970s Arab oil embargo. With U.S. output now falling as oil prices
slump, analysts say it could be months or years before exports flow in large volumes.
Shares of some U.S. energy companies edged up in premarket trading. Exxon Mobil Corp rose
less than 0.1 percent, while Chesapeake Energy Corp added 0.8 percent. Chevron Corp gained
0.5 percent, and Marathon Oil Corp rose 0.3 percent.
Critics of the ban say eliminating it would help keep the U.S. drilling boom alive by closing the gap
which has existed for years between cheaper domestic crude prices and higher global rates, and
also give U.S. allies alternatives to Russia and OPEC for their oil supplies.
"Lifting the oil export ban is very important to our industry to enable them to compete on a global
basis," said Senator John Hoeven. The Republican from oil-producing North Dakota has
pressured Congress to axe the trade restriction.
"If we always get a lower price than the rest of the world, that obviously gives the advantage to
OPEC and Russia," he said. Many Democrats in the Senate, however, say lifting the ban would
put oil refining and shipbuilding jobs at risk and that more drilling would harm the environment and
increase the number of trains carrying crude oil.

Republicans had made lifting the ban a top priority in the bill and swapped it for measures
Democrats wanted to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.
While many Democrats, including President Obama, have opposed lifting the ban, a drop in oil
prices, which briefly touched nearly 11-year lows this week below $40 a barrel, helped ease their
worries that doing so would boost gasoline prices for consumers.
The bill, posted early on Wednesday morni ng, allows the U.S. president to stop oil exports for one
year if he or she declares a national emergency, or if the administration decides that the exports
are causing a domestic oil shortage or raising U.S. oil prices.

Shale Drillers Are Now Free to Export U.S. Oil Into Global Glut
Bloomberg - Joe Carroll
U.S. shale drillers will soon be able to sell their oil all over the world. Too bad no one needs it right
now. A congressional deal to lift the 1970s-era prohibition on shipping crude overseas has the
potential to unleash a flood of oil from Texas and North Dakota shale fields into markets already
flush with cheap supplies from the Persian Gulf, Russia and Africa.
The arrival of U.S. barrels in trading hubs from Rotterdam to Singapore will intensify competition
for market share between oil-rich nations, publicly traded producers and trading houses, adding
pressure to prices that have tumbled 67 percent in the past 18 months. In the longer term, it may
also extend a lifeline to shale drillers strapped for cash after amassing huge debt loads during the
boom years.
“The winners in all of this are the U.S. oil producers who now have a bigger market for their shale”
output, said Gianna Bern, founder of Brookshire Advisory and Research Inc. in Chicago and a
former BP Plc oil trader. “Unfortunately, it’s coming at a time when there’s already way too much
crude on the global market.”
U.S. oil explorers from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Continental Resources Inc. have been agitating for
an end to the export ban for most of this decade as technological advances in drilling and fracking
opened up vast, untapped reserves of crude. The so-called shale revolution has lifted U.S. oil
output for seven straight years, making the nation the world’s third-biggest producer behind
Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Trapped Oil
Outside of shipments to Canada, oil pumped from U.S. fields stayed in the country, helping boost
supply to the highest for this time of year since 1930. As the glut swelled, U.S. crude sank to more
than $27 a barrel below overseas prices. Now the glut has spread across the world, and West
Texas Intermediate oil is less than $1 below international benchmark Brent.
“We have to have an outlet for our crude,” ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance
said during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. U.S. oil has fetched
a lower price than international crude because it’s been “trapped” by the export ban, he said.

Oil producers, rig owners, drill-bit manufacturers and oilfield service providers around the world
have been canceling exploration projects, reducing budgets and firing hundreds of thousands of
workers to cope with the worst price slump in a generation.
Still Limping
Moody’s Investors Service said on Wednesday that it expects the industry to continue limping at
least through 2017 as weak cash flows discourage drilling and the declining values for oil and gas
fields make asset sales less effective tools to generate cash.
Although the end of the export ban may eventually hurt U.S. refiners who have almost exclusive
access to shale crude, the narrower discount means there’s little difference between buying
domestic and foreign oil.
Refiners in the U.S., which have gained 18 percent this year compared with a 51 percent slump
for producers, also benefit from lower costs than their overseas competitors, helped by the
cheapest natural gas in 20 years.
Hiring Frenzy
Lifting the ban may also trigger a hiring frenzy for traders and shipping schedulers in Houston, as
U.S. oil producers that never before had a presence in overseas markets build trading desks, said
Christopher Geier, an energy investment banker at Sikich Investment Banking in Chicago.
The prospect of unfettered exports offers is a boon commodity trading houses such as Vitol Group
and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd, which have built up their oil trading desks and invested in ports,
pipelines and export facilities even as a slump in commodities prices to the lowest in 16 years
hurts other parts of their businesses.
“It provides a bunch of new trading opportunities and it is also a market with lots of access to
capital” Olivier Jakob, managing director of industry consultant Petromatrix GmbH in Zug,
Switzerland, said in an interview on Wednesday. “For the traders, it is a very significant new
development and opportunity.”

NewBase 17 December - 2015 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Crude rises after US fed rate hike, gains limited
Reuters + NewBase
Crude futures rose in Asian trade on Thursday recouping some of the losses from the previous
session, when they fell sharply after the Federal Reserve raised rates and official figures showed
a surprise build in U.S. inventories.
West Texas Intermediate for January delivery, the front-month contract, rose 17 cents to $35.69 a
barrel by 0100 GMT after finishing settled down nearly 5 percent on Wednesday. Brent crude for
February delivery, the front-month contract from Thursday was up 17 cents at $37.56. The global
benchmark fell $1.34 to $37.39 the previous session.
U.S. crude stocks increased last week as imports into the Gulf Coast rose, data from the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday, surprising analysts who expected
inventories to decline. The EIA data showed crude inventories rose 4.8 million barrels last week
to near record highs, while analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a drop of 1.4 million barrels.
Adding to the overall bearish global picture, OPEC producers see scant chance of a significant
rise oil prices in 2016 as extra Iranian production could add to the ongoing glut and the prospect of
voluntary output restraint remains remote.
The U.S. Fed hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday, a sign it
believes that the U.S. economy had largely overcome the calamity that was the 2007-2009
financial crisis. Higher U.S. rates typically support the dollar, making oil and other commodities
denominated in the greenback more expensive, undermining demand.
Oil price special
coverage

Oil in $20s a Risk as Citigroup Sees Crude Storage Tanks Fill Up
Bloomberg - Grant Smith
U.S. oil prices may fall into the $20s if tanks used to store crude start to fill up before producers sufficiently
curb output, Citigroup Inc. predicted.
Prices would need to fall low enough to force some production to be halted if supplies overwhelm storage
capacity, a scenario that looks set to be tested in the first half of next year, the bank said in a report. That
would require West Texas Intermediate crude, the American benchmark, to slump “to the high $20s” from
about $37 currently, the bank said. Brent, the global marker, would need to decline to about $30.
Global oil markets are already oversupplied as a result of the boom in U.S. output and the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries’ refusal to curb its own production. Brent and WTI slumped to the lowest
price in more than six years this week and Citigroup predicts that markets will face further pressure next
year as Iran revives exports with the end of international sanctions.
“The quarter ahead looks a good deal more bearish than the quarter just ending,” New York-based
managing director Ed Morse said in the report. “The already oversupplied market now faces the imminent
return of Iranian barrels and onshore storage capacity constraints look set to be tested in the first half.”
Iran’s Return
International sanctions could be lifted on Iranian crude as early as January with the completion of the accord
on the country’s nuclear program, Morse said. The OPEC member “appears to be returning to the market a
lot sooner than had been forecast,” he said. Iranian supply “could even hit the market as or before winter
demand peaks” and as demand from refiners tails off during their seasonal maintenance period, he said.
The bank maintained forecasts for average prices in 2016 of $51 a barrel for Brent and $48 for WTI. There’s
still “upside potential” for prices because the global surplus, equivalent to about 1.5 percent of total
supplies, isn’t especially large by historical standards, it said.

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 17 Dec.. 2015
China Has Something to Tell OPEC: Oil Prices Have Fallen Too Far
Bloomberg News
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
The world’s biggest energy consumer may have a message for OPEC.
China’s decision to suspend fuel price cuts as crude continues its decline is sending a signal to
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that prices are too low, according to a report
from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The move gives oil a price floor around $38, according to the
analysis.
“China’s decision to not cut refined product (gasoline, diesel) prices is a first,” analysts including
Neil Beveridge wrote in the report. The move “sends a signal to OPEC that its largest customer
(China) believes that oil prices are too cheap.”
China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, said it will suspend fuel price cuts while crude
continues to fall in order to slow consumption growth and trim automobile emissions. Gasoline
demand in the country increased 10.4 percent in the first 10 months of the year from the same
period of 2014, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
OPEC raised crude production to the highest in more than three years in November and scrapped
its output ceiling at a Dec. 4 meeting as it pressed on with a strategy to protect market share and

pressure competing producers. Brent crude, a benchmark for most of the world’s oil, has fallen
about 14 percent this month.
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced daily (Sunday to Thursday) and
sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
For additional free subscription emails please contact Hawk Energy
Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
Mobile: +97150-4822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net
khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in
the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for
Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy
consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE
operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations
Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility &
gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great
experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &
regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, &
compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the
local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the
UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.

NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
NewBase 17 December 2015 K. Al Awadi

New base 750 special 17 december 2015r

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