New base 588 special 23 april 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,

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

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NewBase 23 April 2015 - Issue No. 589 Khaled Al Awadi

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

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City Launches Solar-Powered Eco-Villas

Abu Dhabi-based clean energy firm Masdar has announced the launch of new sustainable villas that will generate solar energy to power themselves throughout the year.

The eco-villas, located within Masdar City, are designed to accommodate future population growth and meet a growing demand for sustainable family homes, the company said in a statement.

The four-bedroom villa concept includes an array of solar panels that will

generate approximately 40,000 KWh per year.

“Careful orientation of the home, optimised natural lighting, a high-

performance envelope, low-energy LED lighting” and

other design techniques will reduce the home’s annual energy demand to an estimated 39,000 KWh each year, slightly less energy than the panels are expected to generate.

The eco-villa design will divert an estimated 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere while reducing demand on the national electrical grid. The homes are also expected to use 35 per cent less water than standard villas, thanks to low-flow toilets, faucets and showers, and other water conservation measures, the company said.

“With nearly eight million people expected to live in the UAE’s urban centres by 2020, this rising population increases the imperative to design high-quality sustainable homes that use fewer natural resources than existing homes,” said Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar.

“The eco-villas are central to Masdar City’s goals to meet the lifestyle needs of a growing urban population, while reducing these buildings’ consumption of water, energy and waste.”

Masdar also announced on Wednesday that it is launching a new solar hub in collaboration with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, to expedite the development of solar technologies.




Masdar Solar Hub, the first independent solar testing and R&D facility in the UAE, aims to facilitate new product development, enable more co-operation with local and international companies and create new solar companies in Abu Dhabi.

The hub will provide research, development, testing, evaluation and certification of solar technologies and systems and consulting and information services.

Solar energy deployment is increasing across the Middle East, and a report released by the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) in January found that solar projects worth a combined $2.7 billion are set to be launched in the MENA region this year.

The report also stated that projects having capacity to produce up to 1,800

megawatts(MW) of power are to be awarded or tendered over the next 12 months in the region.




Egypt: Gamesa wins 220MW wind farm contract www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view + NewBase

Spanish-based Gamesa, a global technological leader in the wind industry, has won a tender for turnkey construction of a 220-MW wind farm in Egypt. The project, which was awarded by the NREA (New & Renewable Energy Authority) by means of an international tender, will receive public financing from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The company will install 110 of its G80-2.0 MW turbines at the Gulf of El Zayt wind farm, located along the Red Sea coast. "The fact that Gamesa was selected for this project, for which all the major global OEMs bid, evidences yet again our products' tremendous competitiveness,” said Ricardo Chocarro, CEO of Gamesa Europe & RoW (Rest of World).

Under the scope of the agreement, Gamesa will handle the supply, installation and commissioning of a total of 110 of its G80-2.0 MW turbines, starting in September. The reliability and adaptability of this robust turbine make it ideal for the desert land, corrosive atmosphere and high temperatures typical of the Egyptian market. The company will also handle construction of the civil engineering and electric infrastructure needed to install and operate the facility and will provide operations and maintenance services for three years. The wind farm is expected to be commissioned during the second half of 2017. Gamesa entered the Egyptian market in 2004 when it won its first turbine supply contract, specifically for the Zafarana wind farm. Since then, the

company has installed more than 600 MW in this market and services nearly 500 MW under O&M agreements . Egypt, which boasts excellent wind resources, is aiming to cover 20 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, which would mean an increase in installed capacity from just under 700 MW today to 7.2 GW. Besides Egypt, Gamesa is present in other African countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Kenya, in its capacity as turbine supplier and installer and wind farm O&M service provider. The company is the leading OEM in Africa, where it has installed 1,110 MW and maintains close to 900 MW.




Egypt: BP to Begin Investing in Egyptian Gas Project This Year Sputnik News + NewBase

British Petroleum (BP) will begin investing in a gas project in Egypt’s Nile Delta this year, Sputnik News quoted Group CEO Robert Dudley as saying.

“The investment will start this year, and will bring on new gas…it could be as early as 2017,” Dudley announced on Tuesday at an energy conference in Houston, Texas. “We should be reaching peak production in 2019, and will then supply around 30 percent of the country’s gas needs and products.”

In March this year, BP announced that it has signed the final agreements of the West Nile Delta (WND) project to develop 5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources and 55 million barrels (mmbbls) of condensates. Estimated total investment would be around $12 billion by BP and its partner. Dudley noted that in the last six months Egypt cut through all of the red tape that is holding up the project, Sputnik reported.




India: H Energy to Set Up 4 MMTPA LNG FSRU in West Bengal H Energy + NewBase

India’s H Energy plans to set up a 4 MMTPA FSRU project off Haldia in the state of West Bengal, and supply imported gas to users in Eastern India.

This information was presented by company in an application it has submitted to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying pipelines to connect the onshore terminal to users. The company wants to lay, build, operate or expand natural gas pipeline from Contai in West Bengal) to Dattapulia in West Bengal and Paradip in Orissa.

The FSRU project is scheduled to be commence operation in first quarter of 2019, the company said in the application adding that total demand for natural gas along the proposed pipeline is expected to be 14.4 million standard cubic meters per day by 2019. H Energy expects Indian Oil Corp's (IOC) Paradip and Haldia refineries to be potential customers of the gas along with some entities in Bangladesh.




Mozambique Gas Will be Very Competitive Due to Low Extraction Cost, Says Eni. Reuters + NewBase

LNG produced in Mozambique will be very competitive because of low extraction cost of natural gas in the country, Eni’s Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said on Wednesday, Eni's LNG

facilities would become operational in Mozambique in 2020, Descalzi said speaking at IHS CERAWeek in Houston. “Mozambique is good because the upstream side is not very expensive,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “It is fast and cheap, so it can be very competitive in the market.”

In its 2014 annual report published earlier this month, the Italian firm said it plans to make final investment decision regarding the Coral

FLNG project in Mozambique during the second of this year. “In Mozambique, where Eni has made the greatest discovery in its exploration history with a mineral potential of about 2,500 billion cubic meters of gas in place, we plan to finalize gas contracts and obtain the necessary production licences, in order to make a final investment decision for the project Coral floating LNG in the second half of 2015,” Eni said in the annual report.

The Coral project scheme comprises construction of a floating unit for the treatment, liquefaction and storage of natural gas (Floating LNG - FLNG) fed by subsea wells. The development plan was formally submitted to the local authorities at the end of 2014.

The award of the relevant EPCIC contracts for the construction, installation and commissioning of the floating unit is expected by the end of 2015 and production start-up is expected for the end of 2019, Eni said.

As part of the Mamba development plan, the first stage would involve construction and commissioning of two onshore LNG trains and the drilling of 16 subsea wells. Eni expects to make the FID regarding the Mamba project in 2016-2017.




Cameroon: Sterling Energy, SNH clash over Ntem permit lapse Offshore Energy Today Staff

Sterling Energy has received notice from Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) that the First Renewal Period of the Ntem Concession, offshore Cameroon, has expired on April 22, 2015 and that the Ntem Concession has lapsed. However, according to Sterling, the First Renewal Period has not expired.

Namely, after drilling the Bamboo-1 well, an assessment of remaining prospectivity of the Ntem Concession led to the conclusion that the area of greatest potential lay in an area subject to overlapping maritime border claims by the Republic of Cameroon and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Therefore as a result, the company notified SNH of force majeure pending formal resolution of the border claims. SNH refused to recognize the declaration of force majeure, but Sterling believes that its declaration on May 6, 2014 is valid.

As such, the First Renewal Period has been suspended since May 6, 2014 and therefore has not expired. In the event force majeure is lifted, approximately 10 months remain in the First Renewal Period, Sterling said.

Eskil Jersing, Chief Executive of Sterling said:

“Sterling is committed to working collaboratively with SNH and the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Technological Development of Cameroon to determine the forward plan for the Ntem Concession given the declaration of force majeure and the notice from the Ministry. We will update the market as appropriate in due course.”

Sterling Energy’s subsidiary, Sterling Cameroon Limited, holds a 100% working interest in, and is operator of, the Ntem Concession. 22, 2015




UK’s renewable energy targets drive increases in U.S. wood pellet exports Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on U.S. International Trade Commission

In 2014, almost three-quarters of all U.S. wood pellet exports were delivered to the United Kingdom (UK), mainly for the purpose of generating electricity. Overall, U.S. wood pellet exports increased by nearly 40% between 2013 and 2014, from 3.2 million short tons to 4.4 million short tons, as the United States continues to be the largest wood pellet exporter in the world.

Canada, formerly the global leader in wood pellet exports, fell behind U.S. exports in 2012. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. wood pellet exports accounted for more than $500 million of trade in 2014.

Wood pellets can be used for heating homes and businesses and as fuel for small-scale industrial boilers, but in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands, wood pellets are used predominantly for utility-scale electricity generation.

The main driver for growing wood pellet consumption in Europe is the European Commission's 2020 climate and energy plan, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the contribution of renewables to total energy consumption in the European Union. Individual member states are assigned national renewable energy targets.

The United Kingdom in particular is relying on the use of wood pellets in cofiring or dedicated biomass power plants as part of its compliance plan. Cofiring is the simultaneous combustion of two different fuels, while dedicated biomass plants run completely on biomass.

The United Kingdom's plan states that 15% of energy demand must be met by renewable sources by 2020. Arenewables obligation credit (ROC) program has caused plant operators of large coal-fired power plants to retrofit existing units to either cofire with wood pellets or convert to dedicated biomass.

Data from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change indicate that electricity generation from plant-based biomass (which includes wood pellets) increased 47% from 8,933 gigawatthours




(GWh) in 2013 to 13,138 GWh in 2014, driven by the continuing conversion of the Drax power plant in north-central England from coal to biomass. In 2014, the Drax plant's wood pellet supply alone accounted for more than 80% of all of the United Kingdom's wood pellet imports from the United States, and almost 60% of all U.S. wood pellet exports to all countries.

While the United States is the largest supplier of pellets to the UK, it is not the UK's sole supplier; in 2014, imports of U.S. pellets only met 58% of Drax's demand. Canada provided another 22% of the wood pellet supply. Only 2.8% of Drax's wood pellet supply was domestically produced.

The Drax plant, located east of Leeds, England, is made up of six units that together are rated at nearly 4 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generating capacity. Data released by the Drax Group indicate that the first of six units were converted to dedicated biomass in 2013, and biomass provided 1.8 million short tons of fuel supply that year.

A second unit was converted in 2014, and biomass supplied to the plant increased by more than 150%, providing 4.5 million short tons of fuel. There are plans to convert a third unit by 2016.

To facilitate large volumes of pellet imports from the United States, Drax Biomass, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Drax Group, owns and operates several pellet manufacturing mills in the southern United States to supply Drax power plants in the United Kingdom.

Drax's Amite Bioenergy and Morehouse BioEnergy plants in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively, have a combined annual capacity of nearly 1 million short tons. Additional Drax pellet mills in the southern United States are expected in the future, as well as new mills in other international locations.

As part of an effort to track recent growth of the wood pellet market, EIA's proposed new Densified Biomass Fuel Report survey will track domestic pellet manufacturing. This survey is expected to begin data collection in 2016.




Norway: Det norske completes geo pilot wells at Ivar Aasen field

Source: Det norske

Det norske has as operator of the Ivar Aasen field completed drilling of two geo pilot wells. The operation increases the understanding of the reservoir and provides valuable information for location of wells. The primary target of the wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A, was to investigate reservoir rocks and the reservoir quality, in addition, the extension of an overlying gas cap in the eastern part of the field.

Well 16/1-21 S encountered a total oil column of 54 meters, of which 25 meters of good to very good reservoir quality in the Skagerrak formation. Gas was not encountered in the well. In the Heimdal formation, the well encountered 27 meters of water filled sandstone of good to very good quality.

16/1-21 A encountered a total oil column of 41 meters and a gas column of 4 meters, of which a total of 29 meters of very good reservoir quality in the Sleipner and Skagerrak Formation. The oil/water contact was not encountered.

'We are very pleased with the operation, and the result. This was Maersk Interceptors first well, and the operation were carried out according to plan. The operation has given us a greater understanding of the field, and the results will be used in the efforts to determine the final location of the production- and injection wells', says Tor-Ole Jøssund, Subsurface Manager Ivar Aasen

Drilling on the Ivar Aasen field is carried out with the drilling rig Maersk Interceptor, the world’s largest jackup rig. Interceptor arrived Norway in October 2014, and the pilot wells were the rigs first operation.

Det norske has a contract with the rig for five years, with an option for two years. Ivar Aasen field will be developed with a total of 15 wells, respectively eight production wells and seven water injection wells. The rig will now continue drilling at Ivar Aasen field, with appraisal well 16/1-22 S in the western part of the field.




US: Golden Pass LNG storage Terminal, to receive LNG from Qatar Gulf TIMES + NewBase

The Golden Pass LNG Terminal in the US - built jointly by Qatar Petroleum (QP), ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips - will receive gas from Qatar for “redistribution to other markets” in the North American region.

In this regard, US Undersecretary of Commerce for

International Trade Stefan M Selig had talks with top Qatari officials, including QP chief executive Saad Sherida al-

Kaabi. “The gas will be exported to other countries in the region with which the US has trade agreements,” said Selig, who is on a maiden visit to Qatar to hold wide-ranging talks over possible future business alliances.

He did not elaborate. The US undersecretary’s statement assumes significance in the backdrop of lesser demand from Washington for Qatar’s LNG due to its shale fracking and that Qatar can now aim for more markets in the American region.

The Golden Pass LNG Terminal, near Sabine Pass, Texas, has a 70% stake by QP, 17.6% by ExxonMobil and 12.4% by ConocoPhillips. According to the company website, it is capable

importing approximately 2bn cu ft of natural gas per day through its dual berth ship docks.

ExxonMobil in 2013 signed a pact with Qatar Petroleum International outlining a plan for construction of a $10bn natural gas export terminal in Texas. As the US has made fast progress in its shale gas development, the Golden Pass terminal, which was meant to bring Middle Eastern

gas to the US, has been lying idle for the last three years.

Asked about the future of US investments in the Gulf region’s hydrocarbon sector in view of America fast turning to a net exporter of energy; Selig said, “I expect that to continue regardless

of the progress that we are making in the US as energy is a global market.”

Elaborating on his trade mission to Qatar, with which the US two-way trade was $7bn in 2014 (against $1.4bn in 2005), Selig said, “Our commercial ties will mean not only a win-win situation

but also serve as an important engine for greater trade and investment.

” Appreciative of Qatar’s diversification efforts, he said, it has opened many promising potential for co-operation, especially in the areas of IT, infrastructure development, healthcare and education. Qatar’s total foreign direct investment stock (which includes private investments) in

the US amounted to $3.2bn as of 2014.

“Our commercial ties can strengthen and deepen our strategic relations with Qatar,” he said, adding commercial ties are an essential dimension to the strategic relations. Selig also had talks with Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and other senior officials of government as well as businesses.




Oil Price Drop Special Coverage

Oil prices edge lower on rising US inventories Reuters + NewBase

Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday as rising U.S. crude inventories due to robust shale production outweighed concerns over renewed air strikes in Yemen. Saudi-led coalition warplanes continued bombing Yemen on Wednesday despite an announcement by Riyadh a day earlier that it was ending its campaign of air strikes.

While Yemen is not among the biggest producers in the Middle East, others in the region ship crude bound for Europe along the Gulf of Aden on Yemen's southern coast and through the narrow straits of Bab el-Mandeb, between Yemen and Djibouti.

Oil prices have risen as much as $10 this month due to concerns over potential supply disruption as well as signs of stronger global demand. Brent crude for June delivery was down 40 cents at $62.33 a barrel by 0724 GMT, after settling 65 cents higher.




U.S. crude for June delivery was trading 30 cents lower at $55.86 a barrel. The contract closed 45 cents lower in the previous session. The U.S. benchmark was weighed down by Wednesday's government data showing crude stockpiles rose 5.3 million barrels last week, higher than the 2.9-million-barrel build expected by analysts in a Reuters survey.

It was the 15th consecutive weekly build for crude stocks and pushed U.S. commercial inventories to a record peak. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also said that domestic oil production saw its third weekly decline last week in four.

But some experts said the weekly government data is misleading and that output probably hasn't started falling yet, despite a lower number of rigs drilling for oil. "We still see a fundamental excess of crude supplies persisting, at least for the next few months," analysts at BNP Paribas said in a note, pointing to little prospect for significant increases in crude demand amid already high refinery run rates.

Executives at the CERA industry gathering in Houston said with costs of fracking a shale well in the United States falling faster than expected, producers could keep working in oilfields that just months ago looked uncompetitive after the oil price crash.




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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

NewBase 09 April 2015 K. Al Awadi







Economy & Finance

New base 588 special 23 april 2015