Libya eyes 2024 oil and gas bid round
Libya is gearing up to hold an oil and gas licensing round in 2024, the country's state-owned NOC chief Farhat ben Gudara said this week at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston.
The bid round — if it happens — would be the first since 2007 and signal Libya's return to business after more than a decade of political instability which has sapped the lifeblood out of the country's upstream sector.
Libya has already signed an $8bn offshore gas project deal with Italy's Eni this year which is set to unlock around 760mn ft³/d of gas to bolster domestic production and exports. But the agreement is mired in uncertainty with several political factions rejecting it.
Eni has yet to take FID on the Structures A&E project, which has a targeted start-up date of 2026.
Ben Gudara also said NOC is working with Eni to cut gas flaring at offshore production facilities as part of a $1.2bn project. This presumably includes the 85mn ft³/d Bouri Gas Utilisation project meant to capture flared gas at the 25,000 b/d Bouri oil field.
"We are coming for big potential. We are coming for more investment in Libya and the deal with Eni is just the first step in a long way for more and more investment," Ben Gudara said.
Libya has been starved of international capex since 2011, with planned projects still stuck on the drawing board. NOC plans to boost output to 2mn b/d within three-five years. The country produced 1.13mn b/d of crude in January, according to Argus estimates.
Libya remains politically fragmented, with loosely aligned western and eastern factions vying for power. UN Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily has outlined a plan for the country to hold elections this year, but internal squabbling and competing international interests are key obstacles.
Drilling plans
The NOC chief also confirmed upcoming exploration drilling plans by Eni and BP after the two finalised a long-delayed deal late last year, which was first reported by Argus.
The deal comprises three large blocks, two onshore in the Ghadames basin and one offshore in the Sirte basin, operated by Eni. Ben Gudara said offshore drilling is targeted for 2024.
"That's potentially quite a sizeable asset of gas for export to Europe. I think ‘Area C' is bigger than some countries. It would potentially produce more than [Egypt's] Zohr according to the geological and seismic studies we have done so far."
Egypt's Zohr field is the country's largest, with a current capped capacity of 2.6bn ft³/d. This is equal to around 40pc of Egypt's total output of around 6.4bn ft³/d.
Such large ambitions on the part of Libya would need to be backed up with sizeable investments in infrastructure. Ben Gudara talked about the possibility of an LNG liquefaction plant, presumably a replacement for Libya's Marsa el Brega LNG facility which has been mothballed since the 2011 civil war.
The NOC chief also floated the possibility of building a gas pipeline to Egypt for potential tie-ins to the 7.2mn t/yr Idku facility and the 5.5mn t/yr Damietta terminals which the country plans to expand over the coming years.
While Libya has in recent months talked of boosting its gas export capacity, the reality is that the country currently barely produces enough gas to feed itself. Libya regularly has blackouts in peak summer months because of a lack of fuel for power plants.
Current gas output stands at around 1.3bn ft³/d.
Meeting domestic demand is Libya's most pressing challenge. Gas exports through the 775mn ft³/d Greenstream pipeline — Libya's only gas export outlet — are regularly capped to meet domestic needs and hit their lowest since the 2011 revolution last year, averaging 250mn ft³/d — a third of nameplate capacity. Volumes so far this year have edged up slightly to 265mn ft³/d.
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Pemex bajo presión para mantener refinación alta
Pemex bajo presión para mantener refinación alta
Mexico City, 7 May (Argus) — La refinación de crudo de Pemex, propiedad estatal de México, en marzo alcanzó sus niveles más altos en casi ocho años antes de las elecciones presidenciales del 2 de junio, pero la empresa podría enfrentarse a desafíos para mantener niveles de refinadoaltos en los próximos meses. Las seis refinerías nacionales de Pemex procesaron más de 1 millón b/d de crudo en marzo por primera vez desde junio de 2016, impulsadas por el progreso en la rehabilitación de las refinerías y una disminución de las exportaciones de crudo para alimentar el sistema de refinación. El presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador busca reducir las importaciones de combustible en su último año en el cargo, en línea con su promesa de campaña de volver a México más independiente en energía. Sin embargo, los niveles de proceso de crudo podrían disminuir en abril-mayo después de que se produjeran incendios en las refinerías Minatitlán y Salina Cruz a finales de abril. Además, las refinerías de Salina Cruz (330,000 b/d) y Tula (315,000 b/d), las más grandes de México, siguen batallando con una producción elevada de combustóleo con alto contenido de azufre, lo que limita las capacidades de las refinerías para operar a altas tasas simultáneamente. Pemex lleva mucho tiempo luchando con la elevada producción de combustóleo, ya que México produce principalmente crudo pesado, lo que crea una serie de desafíos operativos. El combustóleo suele ocupar valioso espacio de almacenamiento necesario para productos de mayor valor, lo que puede limitar la producción de combustibles más ligeros. Las exportaciones récord de combustóleo en marzo, impulsadas por un aumento de la demanda en la costa del Golfo de EE. UU. después de los reacondicionamientos de la refinería, permitieron a Pemex elevar las operaciones en ambas refinerías simultáneamente. 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En cambio, López Obrador invirtió al menos $3.7 mil millones en mantenimiento para las refinerías antiguas de Pemex de 2019-2023, excluyendo proyectos importantes como las coquizadoras en construcción, además de $17 mil millones para la nueva refinería Olmeca. Cambios en el flujo de crudo y combustible Los mayores niveles de refinación de Pemex han disminuido el flujo de crudo y combustible entre México y EE. UU., y el arranque de Olmeca podría alterar aún más los flujos. Pemex redujo sus importaciones de gasolina y diésel en 25pc a 419,000 b/d en marzo, comparado con 562,000 b/d el año pasado, como resultado de un mejor rendimiento de las refinerías. Las exportaciones de crudo de México cayeron un 29pc hasta un mínimo histórico de 687,000 b/d en marzo, por una menor producción y mayores niveles de refinación. El flujo de crudo y combustible entre México y EE. 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Pero la candidata del partido gobernante Claudia Sheinbaum lidera la votación con doble dígito y se espera que continúe el proyecto actual del gobierno para reforzar Pemex y aumentar los niveles de refinación de la empresa. Por Antonio Gozain Exportaciones de crudo, importaciones de combustible de Pemex ’000 b/d Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US set to resume crude purchases for SPR
US set to resume crude purchases for SPR
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Australia’s Gorgon LNG train to be out for five weeks
Australia’s Gorgon LNG train to be out for five weeks
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Panama's new president faces copper, canal issues
Panama's new president faces copper, canal issues
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