Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict
Baghdad is repairing the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has not been operable for ten years and hopes to use it to export some 350,000 bpd to Turkey as soon as this month. Essentially, that means that Baghdad has no intention of agreeing to the restart of the Kurdish pipeline to Turkey which has been shut down for over a year now as the Iraqi federal government and the Iraqi Region of Kurdistan wrangle over control of Kurdish oil resources.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline would effectively allow Baghdad to gain full control of Kurdish oil once it is produced. Baghdad will force foreign oil companies who have contracts with the Kurds to renegotiate with Baghdad to sell their oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline instead, which will completely cut the Kurds out and eventually make it impossible for foreign companies to operate there. Incidentally, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since ISIS damaged it in 2014, and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were largely responsible for pushing ISIS back from the region.
Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy installations this week took out the entire power-generating capacity of Trypilska TPP, the largest power plant in the Kyiv region (also supplying three other regions). Ukraine says Russia launched over 80 drones and missiles at energy installations, and that the Ukrainian air force shot down around 60 of those. This is Russia’s retaliation for Ukraine’s persistent attacks on its…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict
Baghdad is repairing the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has not been operable for ten years and hopes to use it to export some 350,000 bpd to Turkey as soon as this month. Essentially, that means that Baghdad has no intention of agreeing to the restart of the Kurdish pipeline to Turkey which has been shut down for over a year now as the Iraqi federal government and the Iraqi Region of Kurdistan wrangle over control of Kurdish oil resources.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline would effectively allow Baghdad to gain full control of Kurdish oil once it is produced. Baghdad will force foreign oil companies who have contracts with the Kurds to renegotiate with Baghdad to sell their oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline instead, which will completely cut the Kurds out and eventually make it impossible for foreign companies to operate there. Incidentally, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since ISIS damaged it in 2014, and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were largely responsible for pushing ISIS back from the region.
Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy installations this week took out the entire power-generating capacity of Trypilska TPP, the largest power plant in the Kyiv region (also supplying three other regions). Ukraine says Russia launched over 80 drones and missiles at energy installations, and that the Ukrainian air force shot down around 60 of those. This is Russia’s retaliation for Ukraine’s persistent attacks on its oil refineries that have succeeded in reducing Russia’s refining capacity if not significantly, then enough to make markets nervous and prompt a rebuke from Washington. One Ukrainian attack on a refinery reached over 800 miles beyond its border with Russia.
Russia and Kazakhstan remain threatened by severe flooding after a dam burst on the Ural River, forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate and leading to the shut-down of Russia’s Orsk oil refinery. The refinery handles 6 million metric tons of oil per year.
Discovery & Development
Libya’s NOC made a new discovery in the Alihib field, with the new well producing 16.8 million cubic feet of nat gas and 626 bpd of oil.
TotalEnergies and its partners, Exxon, Santos, and JX Nippon, have pushed back FID for its LNG project in Papua until 2025. The project has already faced numerous delays. Papua LNG will have a liquefaction capacity of as much as 6 million tonnes per annum.
TotalEnergies is also acquiring the 20% interest in the Dorado leases in Texas from the Lewis Energy Group. The project is operated by EOG Resources and is in the Eagle Ford. The project will increase TotalEnergies’ nat gas production by 50 million cubic feet per day this year.
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
BP is considering a sale of oil and gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago to Perenco. The assets up for possible sale include the Amherstia, Cashima, and Immortelle fields–all of which have been producing for over 20 years and are now on the decline. BP produces 1.3 billion cubic feet per day in Trinidad and Tobago, which is exported mostly to Europe and Latin America in the form of LNG.
Lukoil has purchased a 50% stake in the Kalamkas Sea project from KazMunayGas for $200 million. KMG and Lukoil will produce oil from the Kalamkas Sea, Khazar, and Auezov. The deal was struck in February 2023 and completed in September 2023 but wasn’t disclosed until Lukoil’s annual report was released.
Shell and Saudi Aramco are in price negotiations to buy trading firm Pavilion Energy from Temasek in a deal valued at a possible $2 billion. Aramco is looking to boost its LNG production and has been purchasing stakes in LNG projects overseas. Shell, who is already a global LNG player, can’t seem to get enough of the LNG market as it sees its role in the energy transition as a crucial one.
A consortium of Trafigura and Entara LLC known as Rhone Energies is negotiating with ExxonMobil’s ESSO SAF to acquire its Fos-sur-Mer refinery in France along with its Toulouse and Villette de Vinne terminals. Traifuga said as part of the deal it would enter into a 10-year oil supply and product offtake agreement. Fos-sur-Mer has a nameplate capacity of 140,000 bpd.
