Shell takes FID on Nigeria’s Bonga North oil project

: Crude oil
24/12/16

Shell has taken a final investment decision (FID) on Nigeria's Bonga North field, aiming for first oil from the deepwater project by 2030. The firm expects crude production from Bonga North to peak at 110,000 b/d but it has not given a timeframe.

Bonga North — which currently has estimated recoverable resources of over 300mn bl of oil equivalent (boe) — will involve drilling up to 16 wells and will be tied back to the existing 225,000 b/d Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility.

The FPSO already handles output from the Bonga Main and Bonga North West fields, which started up in 2005 and 2014, respectively. Crude production from the FPSO averaged 120,000 b/d in January-November, with output in November rising by 9pc on the month to 135,000 b/d, according to Nigeria's upstream regulator NUPRC.

Shell said modifications to the FPSO will be required to accommodate Bonga North, but a source told Argus today that these will largely be limited to the facility's topsides. The company previously told Argus that a separate and more thoroughgoing FPSO life-extension programme, which "will run well into 2029", had been put in place because the facility was originally designed to operate only until 2025.

Shell's Nigerian offshore subsidiary operates the Bonga North project with a 55pc stake under a production-sharing contract with state-owned NNPC. ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies and Italy's Eni are the other project partners with 20pc 12.5pc and 12.5pc stakes, respectively.

The Bonga fields are located in Nigeria's OML 118 licence at water depths exceeding 1,000m. In addition to Bonga Main, Bonga North West and Bonga North, the block also holds the undeveloped Bonga South West oil field, which NNPC said will be developed in three phases. Bonga South West will have its own separate FPSO and produce 150,000 b/d at peak between 2027 and 2031, NNPC said.

By Adebiyi Olusolape

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24/12/15

Libya declares force majeure at Zawiya refinery

London, 15 December (Argus) — Libya's state-owned NOC declared force majeure at its 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery today following clashes between armed groups near the facility. NOC said a number of storage tanks were hit, causing fires. These were subsequently brought under control, it added. Zawiya is Libya's largest operational refinery, with most of its production absorbed domestically. It runs on crude from Libya's Repsol-led El Sharara oil field. The rest of the field's crude is exported as the Esharara grade from a nearby loading terminal which forms part of the wider Zawiya complex. Any prolonged fighting and wider damage to the Zawiya complex could threaten production at El Sharara, particularly if exports are forced to stop. Zawiya exported 160,000 b/d of Esharara crude last month, according to Kpler, and is scheduled to load eight cargoes also worth about 160,000 b/d in December. Political instability has led to several forced shutdowns of oil production facilities over the past decade or so. El Sharara only just returned to production in early October following a forced outage which also affected other fields throughout the country. Libya produced 1.24mn b/d of crude in November, Argus estimates. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

24/12/13

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

London, 13 December (Argus) — Canada has set a new 2035 climate goal, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50pc by 2035, from a 2005 baseline. This builds on its 2030 target of a 40-45pc emissions reduction, again from 2005 levels. Canada's emissions had been in 2015 projected to rise by 9pc by 2030, from 2005 levels, "but we are now successfully bending the curve", the Canadian environment and climate change ministry said. The newly-announced target is in line with a pledge Canada made at the UN Cop 29 climate summit last month. Countries that are party to the Paris climate accord must submit new national climate plans by 10 February 2025, to cover a timeframe up to 2035. Canada, the EU, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland committed at Cop 29 to set out new plans with "steep emissions cuts" that are consistent with the global 1.5°C temperature increase limit sought by the Paris Agreement. The plans are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Canada's NDC is being considered by the cabinet, and the country plans to submit it by the deadline, Canadian climate change ambassador Catherine Stewart told Cop 29 delegates on 21 November. Tackling climate change is "both an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity", she added. The target was informed "by the best available science, Indigenous Knowledge, international climate change commitments, consultations with provinces and territories and expert advice", the ministry said. Canada will also "seek feedback on how to help companies take advantage of the economic opportunities that come with building a clean economy" in the near term, it added. Although the plan is not yet available, the ministry said that it will examine the role of carbon removal technologies for the energy transition. "Canadians are increasingly experiencing record-breaking extreme weather," the ministry noted. The country experienced record wildfires in 2023. Carbon emissions from wildfires this year were second only to the "unprecedented" levels in 2023, EU earth-monitoring service Copernicus found this month. Canada has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec+ decision reduces potential supply surplus: IEA

24/12/12

Opec+ decision reduces potential supply surplus: IEA

London, 12 December (Argus) — The recent decision by Opec+ members to delay a planned output increase has "materially reduced" a potential supply surplus next year, the IEA said today. Opec+ producers earlier this month pushed back a plan to start unwinding 2.2mn b/d of voluntary crude production cuts by three months to April 2025 and to return the full amount over 18 months rather than a year. Still, the oil market in 2025 is still likely to be significantly oversupplied, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report (OMR), given persistent overproduction by some Opec+ members, strong supply growth from outside the alliance and modest global oil demand growth. The Paris-based agency's base case forecasts show supply exceeding demand by 950,000 b/d next year, even if all Opec+ cuts remain in place. The supply surplus would increase to 1.4mn b/d if alliance members start increasing output from April as planned, the IEA said. This is far from guaranteed. Opec+ has already delayed its plan to increase output three times and continues to say a decision to unwind will depend on market conditions. While the IEA expects oil demand growth to remain subdued next year, its latest forecasts show a slightly higher outlook than in its previous report . The agency revised up its oil demand growth forecast for 2025 by 90,000 b/d to 1.1mn b/d, largely because of China's recently announced economic stimulus measures. This would see global consumption rise to 103.9mn b/d. But the IEA downgraded its oil demand growth forecast for this year by 80,000 b/d, to 840,000 b/d, mostly because of "weaker-than-expected non-OECD deliveries in countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia." It said non-OECD oil demand growth in the third quarter, at 320,000 b/d, was the lowest since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The IEA said lacklustre demand growth this year and next reflects "a generally sub-par macroeconomic environment and changing patterns of oil use." Increases will be driven by petrochemical feedstocks, and demand for transport fuels "will continue to be constrained by behavioural and technological progress." On supply, the IEA downgraded its growth estimates for 2025 by 110,000 b/d to 1.9mn b/d. Most of this will come from non-Opec+ countries such as the US, Canada, Guyana, Brazil and Argentina. The agency nudged lower its supply forecasts for this year, by 10,000 b/d to 630,000 b/d. The IEA said global observed oil stocks declined by 39.3mn bl in October, led by an "exceptionally sharp" fall in oil product inventories due to low refinery activity coupled with higher demand. It said preliminary data show a rebound in global inventories in November. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec trims oil demand growth forecasts again

24/12/11

Opec trims oil demand growth forecasts again

London, 11 December (Argus) — Opec has revised down its global oil demand growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025 for a fifth time in a row. In its final Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) of the year, the producer group has cut its 2025 oil demand growth forecast by 90,000 b/d to 1.45mn b/d. This is entirely driven by a downgrade in its demand projection for the Middle East. From the start of this year right up until July, Opec had been forecasting global demand growth of 1.85mn b/d for next year. The group has also lowered its demand growth forecast for this year — by 210,000 b/d to 1.61mn b/d, mostly driven by reduced growth projections in the Middle East, India and the Americas. Up until July, Opec had been predicting that demand would increase by 2.25mn b/d this year. Opec's downward demand growth revisions slightly close the gap with other forecasters such as the IEA and EIA, which project much lower levels of consumption growth. The IEA sees oil demand growing by 920,000 b/d this year and by 990,000 b/d next year, while the EIA projects 890,000 b/d and 1.29mn b/d, respectively. On supply, Opec has kept its non-Opec+ liquids supply growth forecast for next year unchanged at 1.11mn b/d. But it has upgraded its estimate for this year by 50,000 b/d to 1.28mn b/d, underpinned by stronger-than-expected US production. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — increased by 323,000 b/d to 40.665mn b/d in November, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . The call on Opec+ crude remains 42.4mn b/d for this year and 42.7mn b/d for next year, according to the MOMR. Opec+ producers agreed earlier this month to delay a plan to start unwinding 2.2mn b/d of voluntary cuts by three months to April 2025 and to return the full amount over 18 months rather than a year. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

24/12/10

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

London, 10 December (Argus) — Norway will from January no longer provide public finance for new unabated international fossil fuel projects, in line with a commitment it made in December last year. Norway's export credit agency, Eksfin, provides most of the country's financing for overseas fossil fuel projects. Eksfin provided between 8.78bn Norwegian kroner and 10.98bn NKr ($786mn- 983mn) over July 2021-June 2023 for fossil fuel projects, civil society organisation Oil Change International found. Norway signed the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in 2023. The CETP aims to shift international public finance "from the unabated fossil fuel energy sector to the clean energy transition". The CETP, which now has 41 signatories, was launched at Cop 26 in 2021, with an initial 39 signatories including most G7 nations and several development banks. Signatories commit to ending new direct public support for overseas unabated fossil fuel projects within a year of joining. Abatement, under the CETP, refers to "a high level of emissions reductions" through operational carbon capture technology or "other effective technologies". It does not count offsets or credits. Australia, which also signed the CETP at Cop 28, said last week that it would no longer finance overseas fossil fuel projects. "Norway is also working to introduce common regulations for financing fossil energy within the international main agreement for state export financing in the OECD", the Norwegian government said today. Norway's policy "helps increase momentum" for an OECD deal that could end $41bn/yr in oil and gas export financing, Oil Change said. Countries are involved in "final negotiations" on the deal today, Oil Change added. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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