Home » Posts tagged 'eni'

Tag Archives: eni

Olduvai
Click on image to purchase

Olduvai III: Catacylsm
Click on image to purchase

Post categories

Post Archives by Category

NT’s Blacktip gas field production drops, forcing shutdown of Northern Gas Pipeline

October 22, 2022

NT’s Blacktip gas field production drops, forcing shutdown of Northern Gas Pipeline

photo from a height of a power station with the sea in the background
The Channel Island power station is the main provider of electricity to the Darwin-Katherine interconnected system.(Supplied: Territory Generation)

Production from the offshore field which supplies gas for the Top End’s electricity generation has decreased by nearly 50 per cent this year — raising concerns about the long-term security of the resource.

Power and Water Corporation (PWC) has an agreement with Italian company ENI to buy gas from its Blacktip field until 2031, using the gas to generate electricity for the Darwin to Katherine grid.

But over the past 12 months, gas output from the field has been steadily dropping.

Blacktip’s production has decreased so much that there is not enough gas to run the Tennant Creek to Mount Isa pipeline, where PWC normally sends its excess supply.

Wood Mackenzie energy research analyst Anne Forbes said it was common for gas fields to have production issues, but Blacktip’s problems seemed particularly bad.

“There’s been quite a significant [production] decline, much more severe than we would generally assume would happen for this type of gas field,” she said.

“It’s been quite unexpected.”

Aging electricity infrastructure in the Northern Territory
Most of the Northern Territory’s electricity is provided by gas-fired power stations.(ABC News)

The Blacktip field is made up of 12 separate stacked reservoirs across four different geological formations — meaning it is difficult to extract gas from.

“[A gas reservoir] will always not perform as you expect — it might be better or it might be worse,” Ms Forbes said.

“In this case it’s not been as good as [ENI] had hoped.”

…click on the above link to read the rest…

U.S. Navy Boosts Mediterranean Presence As Exxon Set To Explore Offshore Cyprus

March 6, 2018

U.S. Navy Boosts Mediterranean Presence As Exxon Set To Explore Offshore Cyprus

US 6th fleet

The U.S. Navy has increased its Mediterranean fleet, just a couple of weeks before Exxon is due to send two surveying vessels to explore offshore Cyprus near the area where Turkey blocked an Eni drilling ship from prospecting in February, Turkish news outlet Ahval reports.

Last year, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum signed an exploration and production (E&P) sharing contract with the Cyprus government, under which the companies will start drilling in a block offshore Cyprus this year.

Two weeks ago, Turkish Navy vessels threatened to sink a drilling ship that oil major Eni has hired to explore for oil and gas offshore Cyprus—a divided island whose northern part is run by Turkish Cypriots and is recognized only by Turkey.

According to local media reports, four or five ships of the Turkish Navy tried to prevent Saipem’s 12000 drilling vessel from performing exploration in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus.

Turkey, which recognizes the northern Turkish Cypriot government and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with the internationally recognized government of Cyprus, claims that part of the Cyprus offshore area is under the jurisdiction of Turkish Cypriots or Turkey.

Earlier this month, Eni said that together with France’s Total, it had made a promising gas discovery offshore Cyprus, confirming that the Zohr-like play—where Eni found the biggest gas deposit in the Mediterranean offshore Egypt—extends into the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

According to Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, Exxon is intent on surveying its block offshore Cyprus despite the Turkish Navy activities and the blockade on Eni’s prospecting in the area.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Turkish Warships Block Cypriot Drilling Rig In Dispute Over Mediterranean Gas Field

February 13, 2018

Turkish Warships Block Cypriot Drilling Rig In Dispute Over Mediterranean Gas Field

Amid escalating tensions between Cyprus and Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea, the two countries could be headed towards a resource war.

On Monday, the Cypriot government released a report according to which Turkish warships continue to heavily restrict one of its deepwater drilling rigs from reaching its intended site off the Cyprus coast, where Italian energy company Eni is planning to conduct a drilling operation.

Cyprus officials announced on Monday that Turkey is breaching “international law” by blocking the Italian ship from the drilling site, said the Russian Times. According to the Cyprus News Agency, Italy’s energy giant Eni S.p.A. said that its gas drilling ship was ordered to halt its travels by Turkish warships last Friday, citing “military activities in the destination area” as it sailed through Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

Cyprus Government Spokesperson Nicos Christodoulides told state broadcaster RIK that the rig remains moored about 30miles (50 kilometers) from the drill site located off the island’s southeastern coast. Christodoulides further noted that Turkey’s military maneuvers expire Feb. 22. Nevertheless, Cyprus strongly condemns the illegal actions by Turkish warships. According to Marine Traffic, the rig’s status remains in “restricted maneuverability” with two other support vessels.

“We are keeping calm in order to avoid any crisis and taking all diplomatic steps necessary so that finally the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign rights can be respected,” President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters on Sunday adding that “we are handling the situation by trying to avoid anything that could worsen the situation without ignoring the fact that Turkey’s actions are in breach of international law.”

View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter

Euripides Evriviades✔@eevriviades

When a powerful country doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, it resorts to gunboat diplomacy & bullying to achieve its otherwise unattainable claims. War Ships Harass Drillship off coast http://www.ekathimerini.com/225726/article/ekathimerini/news/turkey-ships-harass-drillship-off-cyprus-coast …

· Kensington, London

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Oil Majors Sacrifice Production To Protect Dividends

September 26, 2015

Oil Majors Sacrifice Production To Protect Dividends

The French oil company Total released a downward revision to its production forecast, lowering its target from 2.8 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2017, to 2.6 mb/d, a sign that low oil prices continue to cut into long-term oil production for even the largest companies.

Total’s CEO said part of the reason for the more modest target was spending cuts, amid falling oil prices. Lower investment will lead to lower output in the future. The other part of the problem is delays to projects that the company already has in the works.

It is no secret that low oil prices are eating into the resources that major oil companies have to use at their disposal. Less revenue from lower oil prices leaves less capital to invest. But, the oil majors do have choices, and for now they are choosing to find savings in their capital spending budgets in order to protect their dividend policies. Dividends are seen as sacred, something that cannot be touched for fear of losing their sterling reputation with major investors. That means that even profitable oil projects get the axe in order to protect payouts to shareholders.

Related: VW Scandal Bad News For Diesel

There are few exceptions to this approach, save for Italian oil giant Eni, which became the first oil major to slash its dividend in March of this year. “We are building a much more robust Eni capable of facing a period of lower oil prices,” CEO Claudio Descalzi said at the time, explaining the company’s decision to trim its dividend. Eni’s share price plummeted in the days following the news, but has not performed noticeably worse than its peers in the intervening months.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

 

 

Does Arctic Drilling Have A Future With Sub $50 Oil?

August 25, 2015

Does Arctic Drilling Have A Future With Sub $50 Oil?

Italian oil group ENI is expected to begin production from the Goliat Field off Norway in a few short weeks. The project, which has cost $5.6 billion, is expected to produce 34 million barrels of oil per year by the second year of production.

Yet ENI seems to be bucking the global trend, as would-be Arctic drillers in other parts of the region hand back leases or allow them to expire, citing high risks and high costs as major contributing factors. Successful environmental campaigns as well as an increased global awareness – and political will – to address climate change have also been influential.

All this against a backdrop of global oil prices below $50 a barrel and an outlook of continued oil market volatility.

With Arctic exploration and production being so expensive, the risks so great, and the current market conditions relatively unfavorable, one might ask why Shell, ENI, and others would continue.

Related: Low Oil Prices: Assessing The Damage So Far In 2015

The main reason is resource potential. The Arctic holds the last, great, untapped oil and gas reserves. The U.S. Geological Survey in 2008 estimated that the Arctic contains 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered hydrocarbon resources, totaling 90 billion barrels of oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

But those resrources come at a significant cost. One estimate put project costs in the Alaskan Arctic at 50 – 100 percent greater than an equivalent project in Texas.

Shell has discovered this first hand. The company has sunk $6 billion into its arctic ambitions, and experienced several high-profile setbacks, including the abandonment of its drilling campaign in the Beaufort Sea after its oil rig ran aground in 2012.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
Click on image to read excerpts

Olduvai II: Exodus
Click on image to purchase

Click on image to purchase @ FriesenPress