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Nord Stream 2 seeks change to Danish permit

  • : Natural gas
  • 20/06/17

The project developer of Russian state-controlled Gazprom's 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 2 pipeline has applied for an amendment to its Danish construction permit that would allow pipe-laying work using a broader variety of vessels.

The request relates to the potential deployment of pipe-laying vessels that use anchors for positioning, Nord Stream 2 told Argus. The current permit — issued by the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) in October 2019 — allows only for the use of vessels with dynamic positioning systems, meaning that they would not be required to drop anchor to carry out pipe-laying work, to reduce the risk of setting off unexploded ordnance. The DEA had said this was a "key" condition of the permit.

Nord Stream 2 expects the agency to process the request within about one month, it said.

Anchored pipe-laying vessels were used successfully in Danish waters during the installation of Gazprom's 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 1 pipeline and for already-completed pipe-laying work at Nord Stream 2 in German waters, the developer said. The amendment is a "precautionary measure", submitted in accordance with the guidance received from the DEA, Nord Stream 2 said.

No offshore work has been done on the project since contractor Allseas suspended work just before Christmas last year owing to US sanctions targeting pipe-laying vessels. Russian state-owned vessel Akademik Cherskiy could be suitable to complete the work in line with current permit conditions. But Nord Stream 2 did not confirm whether the vessel would be involved in completing the project and has said it will make public its plans "in due time". Nord Stream 2 is 94pc complete, with only 144km of pipeline still to be laid in Danish and German waters.

The Akademik Cherskiy has remained at Mukran on the German Baltic Sea island of Rugen since arriving in mid-May from Russia's far east. Russia-flagged pipe-laying barge Fortuna — owned by Russian firm MRTS — has also remained docked at Mukran in recent months. Unlike the Akademik Cherskiy, the vessel is not equipped with a dynamic positioning system.

The restart of pipe-laying work could expose any involved vessels to US sanctions. And a proposed amendment to the US law enacting sanctions would widen the scope of sanctions, if passed and signed into law. The amended law would target any entity that "provided services for the testing, inspection, or certification necessary for, or associated with the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline", as well as entities that provide underwriting and insurance to pipe-laying vessels or that facilitate ship retrofitting and upgrading.

German regulator Bnetza is responsible for the possible certification of Nord Stream 2. The regulator will issue the certification to the relevant transport network operator if the operator can prove that it is organised in accordance with respective unbundling requirements, Bnetza said.

But provisions on technical investigations and tests that have to be carried out before commissioning do not fall within Bnetza's responsibility, the regulator said. These tests, inspections and certifications must be carried out during pipe-laying and pre-commissioning prior to the final approval of such a pipeline, the Stralsund mining authority said. The authority is responsible for final approval for commissioning, including the review of all results of such tests and inspection reports provided by the permit holder, in this case Nord Stream 2, it said.


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25/03/07

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024

Sao Paulo, 7 March (Argus) — Brazil's economic growth accelerated to an annual 3.4pc last year, the fastest growth since 2021, as gains in the services and industry sectors offset contractions in the agriculture sector, according to government statistics agency IBGE. Growth accelerated from 3.2pc in 2023 and 3pc the prior year. Growth was at 4.8pc in 2021 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 induced contraction of 3.3pc in 2020. Agriculture contracted by 3.2pc in 2024 after a 15.1pc gain the year prior. The sector's weak performance came as Brazil faced extreme climate events last year that damaged crops , IBGE said. Corn and soybean output fell by 4.6pc and 12.5pc, respectively, according to IBGE. The industrial sector grew by 3.3pc last year after a 1.6pc gain in 2023. Manufacturing industries rose by 3.8pc, driven by a higher output of vehicles, transport equipment, machinery and electric equipment, according to IBGE. Electricity and gas, water and sewage management increased by 3.6pc in 2024 but still decelerated from a 6.5pc gain a year earlier. Higher temperatures throughout 2024 drove the increase, IBGE said. On the other hand, the climate was unfavorable for power generation. The oil, natural gas and mining industry grew by 0.5pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Gross fixed capital formation — which measures how much companies increased their capital goods — rose by 7.3pc from a 3pc contraction in 2023, led by higher domestic output and capital goods imports. Exports rose by 2.9pc, while imports rose by 14.7pc last year. Investment grew by 17pc. Household consumption increased by 4.8pc from a year prior, driven by a 6.6pc unemployment rate — the lowest registered since IBGE started its historic record in 2012 — federal social aid programs and increased lending. Government spending rose by 1.9pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Quarterly GDP Brazil's GDP growth slowed to an annual 3.6pc in the fourth quarter from 4pc in the third quarter, with several sectors contracting, according to IBGE. Agriculture contracted by an annual 1.5pc in the fourth quarter, with 2.9pc and 0.9pc contractions in the wheat and sugarcane crops, respectively, IBGE said. But the industrial sector grew by an annual 2.5pc in the quarter. Manufacturing posted 5.3pc growth, led by the steel sector and higher output of machinery, equipment, vehicles and chemicals. The services sector grew by 3.4pc. The oil, natural gas and mining industry contracted by 3.6pc from a year earlier thanks to a decrease in oil, gas and iron output, IBGE said. Electricity and gas, water, and sewage management fell by an annual 3.5pc, on lower power consumption as power rates became more expensive amid a drought that struck the country in mid-2024. Household consumption grew by an annual 3.7pc, while government spending grew by 1.2pc in the fourth quarter. Gross fixed capital formation increased by an annual 9.4pc in the fourth quarter, according to IBGE. Exports fell by 0.7pc, while imports, which subtract from growth, rose by 16pc. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Libya unveils upstream licensing round details


25/03/07
25/03/07

Libya unveils upstream licensing round details

London, 7 March (Argus) — Libya has unveiled new details from its first upstream oil and gas licensing round in 18 years. The licensing round offers 22 blocks for exploration and development, split equally between onshore and offshore, according to a summary brochure seen by Argus . State-owned NOC said the blocks are estimated to hold in-place resources of more than 10bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe), while nine of the blocks contain undeveloped discoveries with estimated in place reserves of 1.68bn boe. The bid round is being offered up with a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model, replacing the outdated Epsa 4 contract model of Libya's last licensing round in 2007. NOC said the new PSA could increase contractor internal rate of return (IRR) to 35.8pc compared with 2.5pc under existing terms. Contractors would also share profits with NOC from day one, while a fixed rate for cost recovery would shorten the investment payback period. While the licensing round was officially launched on 3 March in Tripoli, little or no detail had been unveiled until today. There still appears to be no publicly available information on the timeline for bid submissions and awards. Libya also appears to have updated its long-standing crude production target of 2mn b/d. The brochure accompanying the licensing round now mentions a "vision to produce 2mn-3mn b/d." Libya currently produces about 1.4mn b/d of crude and 1.2bn ft³/d of gas, which it wants to increase to 4bn ft³/d. Oil minister Khalifa Abdulsadek previously told Argus that the licensing round was primarily aimed at boosting reserves and keeping output steady. The country's political divisions remain a key risk to the success of Libya's output goals and its latest licensing round. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up


25/03/07
25/03/07

US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up

Houston, 7 March (Argus) — The US added 151,000 nonfarm jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked higher, but federal jobs fell, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration. The job growth was under the 160,000 jobs forecast by analysts surveyed by Trading Economics. It followed upwardly revised job growth of 323,000 in January and downwardly revised growth of 125,000 in December, marking downward combined revisions of 2,000 reported Friday by the Labor Department. Monthly job gains averaged 168,000 over the prior 12 months. Unemployment rose to 4.1pc from 4pc. Average hourly earnings grew at a 4pc annual rate, down from 4.1pc in the prior period. Manufacturing added 10,000 jobs in February, with motor vehicles and parts adding 9,000 jobs. Mining and logging added 5,000. Health care added 52,000 jobs in February, financial activities added 21,000 jobs and transportation and warehousing added 18,000 jobs. Retail trade fell by 11,000. Federal jobs fell by 10,000 in February, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration earlier last month. While federal government jobs fell, state and local government jobs grew by 20,000. The employment report comes one day after employment consultancy Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that US-based employers announced 172,000 job cuts in February, the highest for the month since 2009 , led by federal job cuts. Federal government job cuts totaled 62,242 announced by 17 different agencies as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s mass layoffs and contract cancellations, Challenger said. Most of the job cuts captured by Challenger were in the latter part of the month, while the government employment report is based on a survey that includes the pay period encompassing the 12th of the month. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Hedge funds slash nearly 120TWh off Ice TTF net long


25/03/07
25/03/07

Hedge funds slash nearly 120TWh off Ice TTF net long

London, 7 March (Argus) — Investment funds have slashed close to 120TWh off their near record-high TTF gas net long position on the Intercontinental Exchange (Ice) in the past three weeks, according to the most recent Ice Commitment of Traders (CoT) report. Investment firms' net long position plummeted to around 175TWh in the week ending 28 February, down by 57TWh from the previous week and by nearly 118TWh from the first week of February. This is investment firms' smallest net long position since the week ending 26 July 2024 ( see net positions graph ). Investment firms cut 151TWh of long positions across the three-week period and closed 34TWh of shorts. This led to an aggregate open position of 520TWh, down from 705TWh in the week ending 7 February. Over the same period, Argus ' benchmark TTF front-month assessment dropped from a peak of €58.16/MWh on 10 February to €44.39/MWh on 28 February, while other prices further down the curve dropped by similar amounts ( see prices graph ). This suggests that the shift in investment firms' positions contributed to the drop in prices. A growing sentiment in the market that Russian gas transit through Ukraine could resume, signalling from the European Commission on more flexibility in meeting storage filling targets, and a mild weather outlook across Europe for March, all contributed to the recent drop in European gas prices. Many market participants have pointed towards a desire to take profits over the past few weeks while prices remained elevated and cut risk exposure as unpredictable geopolitical events, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine and US president Trump's tariff policies, have upended many commodity markets. But while investment funds cut their net long position, commercial undertakings — predominantly firms with retail portfolios — flipped to a small 3TWh net long position for the first time since late December and before that September. Their net short position had been as high as 54TWh on 7 February. This was driven mostly through firms closing their short positions, with commercial undertakings cutting 57TWh of risk reduction short contracts — generally used for hedging purposes — between the weeks ending 7 and 28 February, compared with 20TWh of risk reduction longs. In addition to commercial undertakings moving to a net long position, the other main category of market participant, investment/credit firms, slashed their net short position by 80TWh in these three weeks to end at 159TWh. By Brendan A'Hearn Net positions on ICE TTF TWh Argus TTF prices in February €/MWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Enquest in talks to take over North Sea rival Serica


25/03/07
25/03/07

Enquest in talks to take over North Sea rival Serica

London, 7 March (Argus) — London-listed oil and gas producer Enquest is discussing a possible takeover of rival North Sea firm Serica Energy. The news was confirmed by Serica today in a stock exchange announcement in which the company said its board believes "there are substantial potential benefits" to merging with Enquest. These include "increasing scale and diversification, unlocking significant synergies and providing a stronger platform for further growth", Serica said. The firm added that any transaction would probably be structured as an all-share offer by Enquest by way of a reverse takeover. The two companies are equally matched in terms of production. Enquest expects to produce 40,000-45,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) this year, while Serica's guidance is around 40,000 boe/d. Enquest's portfolio is dominated by UK North Sea assets, although it does have a presence in Malaysia and earlier this year agreed a deal to buy London-listed Harbour Energy's business in Vietnam. Serica operates in the UK North Sea only and its production is a broadly even mix of oil and gas. Consolidation among oil and gas firms in the North Sea is accelerating as operators seek economies of scale in the mature basin. Only today, North Sea and Middle East-focused independent DNO announced a $450mn deal to buy Norwegian rival Sval Energi. Other recent deals include Harbour Energy buying most of German firm Wintershall Dea's assets and UK independent Ithaca Energy's takeover of Italian firm Eni's UK assets, both of which completed last year. Tax rises and ongoing production decline are among the factors driving consolidation in the UK sector of the North Sea. By James Keates Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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