Natural Gas Daily: September 22nd, 2020

ExxonMobil Collects Bids for UK Business: Press

ExxonMobil has invited bids for its UK North Sea oil and gas fields by October 28, Reuters reported on September 21 citing sources. Not part of the offer are its southern North Sea operations which are primarily gas.

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• The company sold its Norwegian business to Var Energi for $4.5bn in 2019, and is seeking buyers for its stake in an offshore Romanian project as well.

• Its Dutch production, managed by another JV with Shell, NAM, is losing its core money-spinner, the Groningen field which is being closed ahead of time.

Groningen Output Capped at 8.1bn m3 in 2020-21

The Dutch government said on September 21 that production at the giant Groningen field would be limited at 8.1bn m³ in the gas year starting October 1 2020, down from 11.8bn m³ in the previous 12 months.

• This is 1.2bn m³ less supply than Dutch gas regulator SodM had forecast in June and much less than the recommended safe maximum of 12bn m³.
  

• Production is due to end completely in mid-2022, but the government wants to keep some facilities on stand-by in case an extremely cold winter causes a spike in demand.

India's LNG Imports in August Up 5% Yr/yr

India’s LNG imports saw a 5.4% yr/yr growth in August to 2.97bn m³ (2mn metric tons), according to the data published by the Indian oil and gas ministry's PPAC on September 21. Imports were unchanged month on month.

• India’s natural gas consumption during July was 4.41bn m³, down 8.1% yr/yr.
  

• India’s LNG imports saw a 6% yr/yr growth in July to 2.96bn m³ (2mn metric tons), following a 7% decrease in June.
  

Egypt Ramps up Output 12.4% in 2019-20

Egypt increased its gas production by 12.4% year on year to a record 7.2bn ft³/day in the 12 months ending June 30, the CEO of state-owned supplier Egas, Magdy Galal, said on September 20.

• Egyptian gas production began rising again in 2017 after the launch of the 30-trillion ft³ Zohr field by Italy's Eni, ending years of decline. Eni and its partners have found a number of other offshore fields since then – most recently one at the Abu Madi West lease in the Nile Delta.

GE to No Longer Build Coal Plants

General Electric announced on September 21 it would stop building new coal-fired power plants and focus more on cleaner sources of power instead, saying the decision was motivated by economics. 

• The company has recently won orders to supply generation equipment for a combined-cycle gas power unit in Russia's Tatarstan region and to provide five combined-cycle gas power units for two power plants in Taiwan.

Wintershall Dea Hires Odfjell Rig for Norwegian Drilling

Germany's Wintershall has hired the Deepsea Aberdeen semi-submersible rig from Norway's Odfjell Drilling to drill exploration and infill production wells on the Norwegian shelf, the companies said on September 21.

• Wintershall kept output stable in the second quarter of 2020, averaging 606,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/day, compared with 614,000 boe/d in Q2 2020, it reported August 19.

• Last month, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Algerian state producer Sonatrach that could lead to further co-operation upstream in Algeria and internationally.