Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Shell PLC and QatarEnergy on Sunday announced that Shell will take a 9.375% in a huge gas field extension offshore Qatar for an undisclosed sum.
The North Field South expansion project is expected to have capacity for 16 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas.
The overall North Field expansion project, which also includes North Field East, is "the industry's largest ever LNG project", QatarEnergy said. Starting production in 2026, it will add more than 48 million tonnes per annum to world LNG supplies by 2027.
The project has taken on particular significance in recent months, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine restricted gas supply to Europe. QatarEnergy estimates that the North Field, which extends under the Gulf into Iranian territory, holds about 10% of the world's known gas reserves.
Back in July, Shell joined the USD29 billion North Field project, taking a 6.3% stake - also for an undisclosed sum - in North Field East. The four other international partners in North Field East are TotalEnergies SE, Eni Spa, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil Corp.
In North Field South, which comprises two LNG mega trains, Shell will be joined by at least two other international partners. TotalEnergies last month said it had been selected for a 9.375% participating interest as well. QatarEnergy, which will retain 75% of the project, said a third international partner will be announced "in due course", with a 6.25% stake remaining.
The agreement with Shell was signed in Doha on Sunday with Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden and Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of state for Energy Affairs and CEO of QatarEnergy.
"The new LNG volumes, which Qatar will bring to the market, come at a time when natural gas assumes greater importance in light of recent geopolitical turmoil, and amidst the dire need for cleaner energy to meet global environmental objectives," Al-Kaabi said.
I often think that soon to be departed CEO’s should be gagged by their respective companies.
Come to think about it, they should be gagged for a further 5 years after leaving.
Maybe, but I just feel the whole energy market is so precariously balanced that oil could stay around the $90 mark so I’m hoping BP increase their divi and I can sit back and pick up the quarterly dividends.
OIL MARKET: Another significant revision **higher** in US total oil demand. New monthly data (PSM) from the @EIAgov pegs July oil demand at 20.344m b/d, that's 470,000 b/d higher than the previous estimate, based on weekly data, of 19,874 b/d | #OOTT
£6.95 (why not?)Givingthelowdown
£5.20 Gordon Albert
£ 5.13 Collin
£5.08 Bacchus
£5.02 NSS
£5.0000000 PT
£4.94 Ratboy (same as last weeks guess i think :-)) once 5.00 is broken we will be laughing
£4.80 Bobster
£4.75 Not My Job
£4.60 peterlowen
From the FT:
US shale bosses tell Europe: ‘There’s no bailout coming’
The US shale industry has warned it cannot rescue Europe with increased oil and gas supplies this winter amid fears that a plunge in Russian exports will send crude prices soaring back above $100 a barrel.
Even though oil markets have softened in recent weeks, the respite could end when an EU embargo on Russian sales comes into full effect later this year. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen this week warned the embargo “could cause a spike in oil prices”.
However, US shale executives sitting on vast oil and natural gas reserves that could be used to alleviate a European energy crunch say they will be unable to step up supplies quickly enough to prevent winter shortages.
It’s not like the US can pump a bunch more. Our production is what it is,” said Wil VanLoh, head of private equity group Quantum Energy Partners, one of the shale patch’s biggest investors.
“There’s no bailout coming,” VanLoh added. “Not on the oil side, not on the gas side.