OPEC may extend yet

Saudi Arabia has been working tirelessly behind the scenes and appears to be gaining good momentum with the major actors of OPEC + 1 (i.e. Russia) for extending the OPEC output agreement beyond April 2018. Saudi Arabia and its new ally, Russia, are keenly in favour of maintaining the cuts until June 2018 and several other producers have recently signaled their support for an extension as well. Iran: Initially one of the tougher partners at the...

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Senegal moves ahead

Cairn Energy, the operator of the SNE field in Senegal, released a resource update on 22nd August as part of its half-year announcement. The updated 2C resource base is 563mmbbl gross (vs. 473mmbbl in May 2016) and now brings it in line with Woodside's estimate of 560mmbbl, but is still far below that of partner FAR which carries 641mmbbl (assessed by RISC). The differing resource estimates is nothing new and we constantly see the other partners...

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Sail-away to Catcher

The Catcher FPSO sailed away on 26th August from Singapore. It will take around 45 days to reach the UK North Sea, following which it will be connected and commissioned, a process expected to take 60-65 days with first oil targeting December. The project is on schedule and c.30% below budget. Development drilling results have been promising with 30% more net pay and 40% better well deliverability. Expected plateau will now increase by 20% to 60mboepd with a potential for reserves upgrade from the 96mboe 2P at sanction. The Catcher field partners...

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Kosmos London listing at risk as company and advisors face potential legal action

Kosmos' secondary listing is at risk as the Saharawi government had strongly condemned the company's move to list on the LSE. The Sahrawi government has threatened the company's licences in the region as well as legal action against Kosmos and its advisors. The listing would set a precedent for legal proceedings regarding companies operating in the disputed region which could drag out for years to come. The press release by the Saharwi government is below. -------------------------------------- Media release – Communiqué For immediate release Saharawi...

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Kurdistan's outstanding debts to Turkey

A year ago, at the height of the oil price downturn, Kurdistan turned to Turkey for financial aid. At the time, USD1.15 billion was owed to Turkey in the form of loans together with c.USD500 million in outstanding payments to TEC for services provided to the KRG. The Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, Dr Ashti Hawrami, proposed to the Turkish Energy Minister, Berat Albayrak, that more funding be provided by Turkey to help Kurdistan with upcoming expenses. The proposal effectively asked Turkey to quadruple its funding to USD4.7 billion (including...

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Canacol on track with Sabanas pipeline

Canacol has signed an agreement for the construction, operation and ownership of the Sabanas flowline. The 82km pipeline will connect the gas processing plant at Jobo to the Promigas trunkline at Bremen. Source: Canacol June 2017 investor presentation The USD41 million pipeline will be funded by: USD30.5 million from a group of private investors USD10.5 million from Canacol Canacol’s contribution has been almost entirely satisfied by costs...

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Kurdistan referendum: Barzani's legacy

With the Kurdistan referendum fast approaching on 25th September, OGInsights reviews the latest developments in this run-up period. What is important to note is that the question being put to the Kurdistan people is sufficiently vague – the meaning of an “independent” Kurdish state is intentionally not set out. Independence can mean self-rule and independent governance with varying degrees of autonomy from Federal Iraq or complete separation from Baghdad at the extreme. The referendum should be viewed as an opinion poll, something that reminds...

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