New base 701 special 06 october 2015

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,

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NewBase 06 October 2015 - Issue No. 701 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE

Qatar: Al Attiyah to launch ME’s first energy think-tank The Peninsula

Qatar’s former Minister of Energy and Deputy Prime Minister H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah (pictured) will launch the Middle East’s first think-tank committed to the creation of knowledge and solutions critical to the future of the regional and international energy system.

The mission of The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development will be to provide information, programmes, research and publications so that the knowledge, insights and wisdom of Al Attiyah may be preserved and built upon for the benefit of future generations in Qatar and for a global audience of stakeholders. The Foundation will look to help tackle such challenges as energy efficiency. As the rest of the world grows more energy efficient in economic terms, most of the GCC is going the other way, using ever more energy to produce a unit of economic growth and becoming less competitive in the process. If these long-term consumption trends continue, the

Gulf States are forecast to be just a few decades away from relinquishing their long-held roles as global energy suppliers. “I am a man who smells energy, lives energy. I cannot change,” said Al Attiyah, who will host the gala launch for the institute bearing his name on November 1 in Doha. “I would like to see the Foundation become the leading think-tank in the region and one of the world’s leading institutions in the areas of energy and sustainable development,” he said. The Board of the Al Attiyah Foundation will consist of a group of distinguished individuals from the past and present leadership of Qatar Petroleum, including Saad Al Kaabi, President & CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Dr Ibrahim Ibrahim, Economic Adviser to Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. All the board members, who currently hold multiple directorships in Qatari oil and gas companies, financial institutions and in the diplomatic service, served with Al Attiyah during his 20 year-tenure leading the transformation of Qatar’s oil and gas industry. “We will advise governments and companies on how to build their own projects; how to cut the fat in their expenses; how to avoid market shocks; how to make the right calculations and how to plan ahead both in the short-term and the long-term,” he said.




UAE: DEWA awards construction contract for Solar Innovation Centre WAM ( images by NewBase )

DUBAI, 5th October, 2015 (WAM) -- Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has appointed Hadeed Emirates Contracting Company as contractor for the construction of the Solar Innovation Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. This supports the initiatives launched by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum .

The Solar Innovation Centre has been designed with sustainability in mind to support the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The landmark design celebrates the unique identity of the energy park, reinforcing a sense of green Dubai as a leading example of sustainable development, regionally and internationally.

The building will be a platform to showcase the latest solar and renewable energy technologies. It will enable DEWA to demonstrate its own achievements in renewable energy and sustainability, and highlight the green strategies incorporated in the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and the vision of a Future Dubai.

The Solar Innovation Centre will act as a museum and exhibition for solar and renewable energy. It is expected to attract tourists, universities, schools, companies, and partners. It will be open to solar energy manufacturers and developers as it has a specialised area and permanent convention centre for events and conferences, business meetings, training and meetings on subjects related to solar and renewable energy and other green initiatives. The centre is planned to be completed by the 1st quarter of 2017.

"DEWA is committed to implementing the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to develop green technologies to achieve the sustainable development. This is a priority for DEWA’s strategy," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA




Oman: plans to award oil block 54 before year-end Times of Oman + NewBase

Oman government plans to award an oil and gas block to an international oil company on production sharing basis before the end of 2015, a senior official of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, told Times of Oman.

This is close on the heels of awarding Block 54 to Oman Lasso Exploration and Production Karwan last month. "We have signed an agreement recently and I expect may be one more before the end of the year," said Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas. He said that the block identified for awarding is Block 7, which is currently in operation in central Oman. Al Aufi said that with oil prices dipping to recent lows, multinational energy firms are either slowing down their investment in new concession areas in Oman or asking for much more favourable terms. Oman government has been encouraging multinational oil giants to find new reservoirs in a move to sustain production levels. As huge

investment is required for bringing crude oil and natural gas above the ground in view of the peculiar nature of reservoirs in the Sultanate, the government has been encouraging multinational firms to undertake exploration on production sharing basis. However, with oil prices dipping by more than 45 per cent in less than a year, few companies have discarded their concession areas. Al Aufi expects the Sultanate's average daily crude oil production to touch 980,000 barrels this year, which is in line with the projection early this year. In July, Oman's daily average production crossed one million barrels for the first time. Last month, the Ministry of Oil and Gas signed a new exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) with Oman Lasso Exploration and Production Karwan. The US firm will explore oil and natural gas in Block 54, which has an area of 5,632 square kilometres and located in Al Wusta Governorate. The agreement allows the company to drill several wells. The government does not bear any financial commitments during exploration period. According to latest available figures, twenty-nine oil blocks have already been awarded to international firms for exploration and in recent years. Some of these blocks started producing oil, while others are in various stages of studies and development. Presently, multinational oil companies contribute 30 per cent of total crude production, while majority state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) constitutes the remaining 70 per cent oil output.




Oman: 8 global firms prequalified for Salalah ammonia project Oman Obsorver + NewBase

Salalah Methanol Company (SMC), which owns and operates a world-scale methanol scheme in Salalah Free Zone, has prequalified eight prominent international engineering firms to bid for a contract to build a major ammonia plant downstream of its facilities.

The state-run petrochemical company, jointly owned by Oman Oil Company (90 per cent) and Takamul Investment Company (10 per cent), plans to develop a 1,000 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) capacity ammonia plant using rich hydrogen purge gas fed from the adjacent 3,000 MTPD methanol plant.

Analysts have estimated the cost of the ammonia project at a ballpark $750 million.

Making the cut in the prequalification round are: Samsung Engineering Co Ltd, Daelim Industrial Co Ltd, Hanwa Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Construction Corp, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering, CTCI Corporation, SNC-Lavalin, and Tecnicas Reunidas SA. They were selected at the end of a “comprehensive bid evaluation process”, said Salalah Methanol in a statement.

An ‘Invitation to Bid’ is due to be floated in the current quarter, with efforts under way to finalise the tender documentation and obtain

the necessary approvals, the company said. It follows the completion of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment, it noted.

The successful bidder will secure a contract for the Engineering-Procurement-Construction-Commissioning (EPCC) of the ammonia project. German-based Linde AG, a leading technology partner for plant engineering and construction worldwide, has completed the front end engineering design (FEED) for the ammonia project.

“The design has followed stringent environmental specifications to ensure no adverse impact to the society and nature,” said Salalah Methanol. The proposed project, it said, has been conceived as part of the company’s growth strategy with the goal of contributing to value addition, as well as the nation’s economic diversification.

“The project will provide greater opportunities for service providers both in construction and operation. In addition, it will support society through direct and indirect employment,” it stated. It is expected that the ammonia project will catalyse investments in a wider value-added chemicals cluster at the free zone.

This proposed downstream cluster, coupled with the base petrochemical projects already in operation or under development at the free zone, promises to stimulate the growth of a major liquids hub adjoining the Port of Salalah.




Libya oil output falls to 300,000 bpd: Official Reuters + NewBase

Libya’s oil production has dropped to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), less than a quarter of what it produced before the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi, mostly because of insecurity and closed pipelines, a top official said.

The North African state is caught in a conflict between two rival governments and their armed allies—one internationally recognised, and the other a self-declared administration that took over Tripoli last year.

Naji Moghrab, the top state oil official with the recognised government, told a local television channel late on Sunday output was at 300,000 bpd because of fighting between various armed factions and the closure of 50,000 km of oil pipeline.

Following the government split, Libya now has two rival state oil companies. One is with the recognised government and one with the Tripoli government, yielding often conflicting accounts of who controls what oil assets.

“The main problem behind the low production is insecurity, and of course the presence of Daesh near the oilfields,” Moghrab said, referring the Islamic State militants who have gained ground in Libya in the chaos.

Fighters allied with Islamic State, the militant group controlling parts of Iraq and Syria, attacked forces guarding one of Libya’s main oil ports on Thursday with a gun assault and an attempted car bomb.

But that eastern port, Es Sider, and the other main port, Ras Lanuf, have been closed since December because of fighting between armed factions allied to the opposing governments. Several oilfields have been shut for months by protesters blocking pipelines.

Before the 2011 uprising that ousted Gaddafi, Libya produced around 1.6mn bpd. But in recent years, its production has been almost constantly less than half that because of fighting or protests over jobs and salaries by local residents and workers. The internationally recognised government has been campaigning for oil companies to abandon contracts signed with Tripoli’s National Oil Corp, but many partners are wary given that much of the state oil company’s infrastructure and contracts remain in the capital.




Iraq: Oil exports from north rise to 600,463 bpd in September Reuters + NewBase

Oil exports from northern Iraq rose in September to an average of 600,463 barrels per day (bpd), the Kurdistan region's ministry of natural resources said. That represents an increase of around 127,000 bpd from August, when exports were hit by repeated sabotage of the pipeline carrying crude to Turkey's Ceyhan port from the autonomous Kurdistan region and Kirkuk fields.

Exports via the pipeline to Turkey have steadily increased this year, but since June the Kurds have cut allocations to Iraq's state oil marketing firm Somo to increase their own independent crude sales. That has effectively nullified a deal reached late last year whereby the Kurds agreed to transfer an average of 550,000 bpd to Somo in 2015, in exchange for the full reinstatement of budget payments from Baghdad.




Kurdistan transferred just 22,000 bpd to Somo in September, the Iraqi oil ministry said last week, compared with 50,935 bpd in August.

"In September, the KRG continued to increase its direct oil sales in Ceyhan to compensate the region for the budget shortfalls from the federal government in Baghdad," the ministry said. The oil pumped through the pipeline comes mainly from fields within the Kurdistan region, which accounted for 448,340 bpd in September. The rest came from the disputed Kirkuk fields operated by Iraq's state-run North Oil Company (NOC) but under Kurdish control. The bulk of Iraq's oil exports are produced and shipped from the southern provinces, which amounted to 3.03 million bpd in September, the federal oil ministry said in a statement last week.




Tanzania: Aminex provides Kiliwani North update - TPDC to exercise back-in right Source: Aminex

Aminex has advised that the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ('TPDC') has notified the Company of its intention to acquire a 5% working interest in the Kiliwani North Development Licence ('KNDL') and will become a full working interest partner going forward. Under the terms of the Nyuni East Songo-Songo Production Sharing Agreement which governs the KNDL, TPDC has the right to acquire a 5% interest and it is this right which is now being exercised. The assignment of this working interest will be subject to TPDC:

1. reimbursing the Joint Venture Partners with TPDC’s proportionate share of development capital expenditure on the licence to date; and

2. becoming a party to the KNDL Joint Operating Agreement.

Once concluded, Aminex’s interest in the KNDL will become 55.575% (current interest 58.5%).

The KNDL contains the Kiliwani North gas field which the Company expects to produce initially at up to approx. 30 mmcfd. Production from Kiliwani North will be a significant milestone for Aminex. The KN-1 well has now been tied into the main pipeline infrastructure and is awaiting completion of the adjacent Songo Songo processing plant. The Company has been advised that this will be completed shortly and commissioning gas is to be produced thereafter.

The Company would like to thank all shareholders for their continued patience regarding the Gas Sales Agreement ('GSA'). Terms have been largely completed for some time and the Company is waiting for final payment protection terms to enable the GSA to be signed. The Company will continue to keep shareholders informed on progress.

Aminex CEO, Jay Bhattacherjee, commented: 'We are pleased and encouraged to welcome TPDC as a working interest partner in Kiliwani North. By exercising this option, TPDC confirms the importance to Tanzania of gas from the Kiliwani North project and aligns its interests with those of the joint venture partners.'




U.S. reactor operators increase uranium purchases from Kazakhstan Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Uranium Marketing Annual Report

Kazakhstan became the leading supplier of uranium for the 100 operating U.S. nuclear power reactors in 2014, supplying 12 million pounds, or 23%, of the 53.3 million pounds of uranium purchased by owners and operators of U.S. reactors.

This level is almost double the 6.5 million pounds of Kazakh-origin uranium purchased in 2013. In previous years, Australia, Canada, and Russia have been leading suppliers of uranium to the United States. The amount of U.S.-origin uranium purchased in 2014 decreased 65% compared with 2013.

Average Kazakh uranium prices have been lower than other major supplying countries' prices for the past two years. Uranium from Kazakhstan was $44.47 per pound in 2014, compared with the overall weighted-average price of $46.65 per pound for the 41.3 million pounds of uranium purchased from producers outside Kazakhstan in 2014.

Kazakhstan became the world's leading producer of uranium in 2009 when it surpassed Canada. Uranium production in Kazakhstan has more than tripled since 2007, while production in Canada has been relatively constant, and production in Australia decreased 42%.

Uranium production and exports are controlled by Kazatomprom, a national atomic company created in 1997 by the Kazakhstan government in an effort to revive the country's nuclear industry. Kazatomprom has attempted to increase domestic uranium production capacity by working with international companies to encourage investment in uranium mining projects in Kazakhstan.

The company also worked to expand Kazakhstan's uranium export markets, as the country's sole nuclear power reactor, which began operation in 1972, was shut down in 1999. Kazakhstan's ability to export uranium increased after the U.S. International Trade Administration terminated the 1992 antidumping investigation on uranium from Kazakhstan and lifted restrictions on the sale of uranium from Kazakhstan to the United States in 1999.




NewBase 06 October - 2015 Khaled Al Awadi

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE

Crude prices steady in Asian trade, Russia mulls oil talks REUTERS + NEWBASE

Crude oil held steady in Asia on Tuesday, following big gains in the previous session after Russia signaled it was prepared to discuss the global oil market with other big producers. Brent crude LCOc1, the global crude benchmark, edged up 10 cents to $49.35 a barrel at 2255 EDT. It rose 2.3 percent on Monday to settle at $49.25 a barrel.

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1, was flat at $46.27. The contract gained 1.6 percent in the previous session. Investors are awaiting U.S. government data on crude inventories this week. Some analysts are predicting the data will show further builds in crude stocks, putting oil prices under renewed pressure.

A Reuters poll on Monday indicated U.S. crude stockpiles rose last week for a second straight week, gaining 1.8 million barrels on average in the week to Oct. 2. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, which reports official storage data on Wednesday, said last week that inventories were up about 4 million barrels in the week to Sept. 25.

"We see Brent staying under pressure until first quarter of next year, close to $44 in 2016 Q1 and then rising steadily to $54 in 2016 Q4," Abhishek Deshpande, oil analyst at French bank Natixis, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum. "We expect WTI to trade at a discount of $4 - $5 to Brent in 2015," he said.

Russia, one of the world's top three oil producers, said on the weekend it was prepared to meet OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to discuss the market if such a gathering is called. A separate meeting between Russian and Saudi officials was being planned for the end of October, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said.

Oil price special

coverage




NewBase Special Coverage

News Agencies News Release 06 Oct.. 2015

BP's Record Oil Spill Settlement Rises to More Than $20 Billion BloomBerg - Rakteem Katakey

The value of BP Plc’s settlement with the U.S. government and five Gulf states over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill rose to $20.8 billion in the latest tally of costs from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The settlement is the largest in the department’s history and resolves the government’s civil claims under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act, as well as economic damage claims from regional authorities, according to a U.S. Justice Department statement Monday.

The pact is designed “to not only compensate for the damages and provide for a way forward for the health and safety of the Gulf, but let other companies know they are going to be responsible for the harm that occurs should accidents like this happen in the future,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told reporters at a briefing in Washington.

BP’s total settlement cost of $18.7 billion announced in July didn’t include some reimbursements, interest payments and committed expenditures for early restoration of damages to natural resources. The London-based company has set aside a total of $53.7 billion to pay for the disaster in 2010, when an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The announcement Monday includes $700 million for injuries and losses related to the spill that aren’t yet known, $232 million of which was announced earlier. It also adds $350 million for the reimbursement of assessment costs and $250 million related to the cost of responding to the spill, lost royalties and to resolve a False Claims Act investigation, according to a consent decree filed by the Justice Department at the U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

Final Stamp

“This pretty much puts a final stamp on the settlement and the pain of the past five years can come to an end,” said Iain Armstrong, a London-based oil sector analyst at Brewin Dolphin Ltd.

The consent decree will become final only after completion of a public-comment period of at least 60 days, according to the documents. The accord gives the U.S. and the states the right to back out or withhold support from the deal “if comments received during the public comment procedure disclose facts or considerations indicating that the proposed consent decree or any of its terms is inappropriate, improper or inadequate.”




“Today we are another step closer to finalizing the settlement we announced on July 2, fulfilling our commitment to help restore the Gulf economy and environment,” BP said in an e-mailed statement.

The U.S. government filing does not reflect a new settlement or any new payments and covers the same details disclosed by BP in July, the company said. BP’s payments will include $5.5 billion of federal penalties under the U.S. Clean Water Act -- the highest ever for that law -- as well as $7.1 billion for natural resource damages claims by the five Gulf states, $4.9 billion to the states for economic claims and $1 billion to local governments in the area.

The company agreed to pay the natural resource claims over 18 years and the others over 15 years.

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Eleven men died aboard the rig and oil gushed from the site for weeks before the well was capped. The accident sparked thousands of lawsuits a gainst BP and its contractors, Transocean Ltd., the rig owner, and Halliburton Co., which provided cementing services for the project. BP has shed billions of dollars of assets to pay for the accident and lost more than a third of its market value.




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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 [email protected] [email protected]

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

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New base 701 special 06 october 2015