UAE merges energy and infrastructure ministries
The UAE has merged its energy and infrastructure ministries into a new body to be headed by the current energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei. The merger comes as part of wider federal government restructuring that was announced today.
UAE prime minister and emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said the reshuffle should create a more agile government that is "faster in decision-making, and more up to date with changes."
It also included the creation of a new ministry of industry and advanced technology, to be led by Sultan al-Jaber, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc. This will not have any impact on his role at the UAE's biggest oil producer, a source familiar with the matter told Argus.
Al-Jaber was made UAE minister of state and a member of the UAE Council of Ministers in March 2013, and then appointed Adnoc CEO in February 2016. He has also been chief executive of Abu Dhabi's renewable energy group Masdar since it was established in 2006.
Al-Jaber is widely seen as a modernizing and innovative figure, whose appointment represented a major change of direction for the UAE oil industry, launching major upstream and downstream investment schemes, opening up the sector to international investment beyond oil concessions, and even the public listing of Adnoc's fuel retail business.
Abu Dhabi's pipeline infrastructure has become an increasingly import feature of the sector, enabling the emirate to tap into new pools of global investment capital while maintaining full operating control over its assets. For its partners, it means investing in high-quality energy infrastructure assets with a low-risk profile to generate stable cash flows.
Abu Dhabi has previously issued bonds worth $3bn, backed by the Adnoc subsidiary Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipelines (Adcop), which transports crude from Habshan on the Gulf to Fujairah for export.
And in the last 18 months, Adnoc has sold off 49pc stakes in midstream units Adnoc Oil Pipelines (AOP) and Adnoc Gas Pipelines (AGP) for a combined $15bn.
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India’s Gail to shut Dabhol LNG terminal for monsoon
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Mumbai, 25 April (Argus) — Indian state-controlled gas distributor Gail is planning to shut its 5mn t/yr Dabhol LNG terminal on the west coast from 15 May, ahead of monsoon rains. Gail will also stop importing LNG from mid-May at the terminal, a company official told Argus . This is because of the lack of a breakwater facility at the terminal, which prevents it from anchoring ships in turbulent seas. The breakwater facility was expected to be completed in January, but the cause of the delay is unknown. The terminal is likely to resume operations from the end of September, similar to its plans in 2023 , as this shutdown over the monsoon season is routine. Gail is set to receive a total of 139,635t LNG at the Dabhol terminal in May, which will arrive in two separate shipments from the US' 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point export facility. Both cargoes will be the last that the terminal will receive before it shuts in mid-May. It has received 583,326t of LNG at the terminal since the beginning of the year, lower by 4pc on the year, data from market analytics firm Kpler show. The Dabhol terminal only receives about 2.9mn t/yr of LNG, despite having a nameplate capacity of 5mn t/yr, because it is not used during the monsoon season. Gail intends to gradually increase the capacity of the Dabhol terminal to 12mn t/yr by April 2030–March 2031. By Rituparna Ghosh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Houston, 24 April (Argus) — Barges are facing lengthy delays at the Algiers lock near New Orleans as vessels reroute around closures at the Port Allen lock and the Algiers Canal. Delays at the Algiers Lock —at the interconnection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway— have reached around 37 hours in the past day, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers' lock report. Around 50 vessels are waiting to cross the Algiers lock. Another 70 vessels were waiting at the nearby Harvey lock with a six-hour wait in the past day. The closure at Port Allen lock has spurred the delays, causing vessels to reroute through the Algiers lock. The Port Allen lock is expected to reopen on 28 April, which should relieve pressure on the Algiers lock. Some traffic has been rerouted through the nearby Harvey lock since the Algiers Canal was closed by a collapsed powerline, the US Coast Guard said. The powerline fell on two barges, but no injuries or damages were reported. The wire is being removed by energy company Entergy. The canal is anticipated to reopen at midnight on 25 April. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras
Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras
London, 24 April (Argus) — Spanish refiner and bunker fuel supplier Cepsa has recently delivered 150t of 100pc hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) by truck to the Ramform Hyperion at the port of Algeciras. The supply follows market participants reporting firmer buying interest for HVO as a marine fuel from ferry lines in the Mediterranean in recent sessions. The supplied HVO is said to be of class II, with used cooking oil (UCO) as the feedstock. Cepsa added that the supply was completed in cooperation with Bunker Holding subsidiary Glander International Bunkering, and could bring about a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of up to 90pc compared with conventional fuel oil. Cepsa will also look to obtain capability to supply marine biodiesel blends exceeding 25pc biodiesel content by the end of the year, delegates heard at the International Bunker Conference (IBC) 2024 in Norway. This also follows plans by Cepsa to build a 500,000 t/yr HVO plant in Huelva , set to start production in the first half of 2026. Argus assessed the price of class II HVO on a fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis at an average of $1,765.54/t in April so far, a premium of $906.41/t to marine gasoil (MGO) dob Algeciras prices in the same month. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
Iraq to keep 3.3mn b/d crude export cap until year end
Dubai, 24 April (Argus) — Iraq will stick to its pledge to cap crude exports at 3.3mn b/d until the end of the year, regardless of what the Opec+ coalition decides at its June meeting, sources with knowledge of the matter told Argus. Baghdad announced the 3.3mn b/d export limit last month , representing a 100,000 b/d cut compared with the first-quarter average. April's exports will be in line with recent months, according to the sources, indicating that Iraq has yet to adhere to the cap. The self-imposed limit on exports is part of Iraq's commitment to compensate for exceeding its 4mn b/d Opec+ production target in the first three months of 2024. It produced 211,000 b/d above target in January, then overshot by 217,000 b/d and 194,000 b/d in February and March, respectively, according to an average of secondary sources including Argus . Prior to that, Iraq exceeded its then 4.22mn b/d output ceiling in each of the last six months of 2023. The persistent overproduction has drawn scrutiny within Opec+, prompting repeated reassurances from Baghdad in recent months that it is committed to its output pledges. Iraq blames it on its inability to oversee production in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north of the country. Most Iraqi Kurdish crude output is being directed to local refineries or sold on the black market following the closure of the export pipeline that links oil fields in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan just over a year ago. Iraq's federal oil ministry says its Kurdish counterpart has stopped providing production data. Baghdad recently sent the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) an official request to hand over oil produced in the region to federal marketer Somo in order to resume Kurdish exports through Turkey, the sources said. Baghdad also urged the KRG back in January to curb output to help Iraq adhere to its lower Opec+ production quota. Ever-widening gap The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (Apikur) said international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region were hoping that a long-awaited visit to Baghdad by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 22 April might help pave the way for a restart in exports. "We definitely believe the Iraqi government seems more serious about resolving the issues after prime minister [Mohammed Shia] al-Sudani's visit to the US," an IOC source told Argus. But differences between the KRG and Baghdad, mainly over contracts that the former signed with international oil companies (IOCs) in Kurdistan, continue to delay the restart. And tensions between the two sides show little sign of easing. In a statement on 22 April, the KRG's ministry of natural resources accused Baghdad of misleading statements by seeking to blame the KRG for the export shut-in, adding that there is no provision in Iraq's constitution that gives power to the federal government to approve contracts issued by the KRG. With the help of multiple federal court rulings, Baghdad has been attempting to downgrade the KRG's autonomy over its finances and energy sector. A court ruling in February 2022 overturned a law governing Kurdish oil and gas exports and upheld Baghdad's request that all KRG production-sharing contracts be placed under federal oil ministry oversight. The judgment rendered the KRG's 2007 oil and gas law unconstitutional, raising questions over the future of the KRG's active contracts. The KRG's natural resources ministry has dismissed the February 2022 court order, saying it was delivered by a "committee of political appointees in Baghdad". While the federal Iraqi oil ministry "publicly refers to that committee as the 'Federal Supreme Court', everyone knows that it is no such thing", the ministry said. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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