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Producción y mercados energéticos 02/01/19

Latest Energy News

02 January 2019

TOP STORY: BP announces FID on Greater Tortue LNG project (Senegal-Mauritania) Oil and gas company BP and its partner Kosmos Energy have taken a final investment decision (FID) on the first phase of the Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim offshore gas project, which straddles the maritime boundaries of Mauritania and Senegal. The field will produce gas from an ultra-deepwater subsea system and then ship it to a 2.5 Mt/year (3.4 bcm/year) floating LNG (FLNG) plant, which will process the gas for Senegal, Mauritania and exports to global markets, with potential for expansion to 10 Mt/year. The Greater Tortue and Ahmeyim fields are estimated to hold around 15 tcf (around 425 bcm) of gas and their resources will be equally split between the two countries. BP and Kosmos plan to move the project through the development phase to production by the first half of 2022. BP farmed in at the end of 2016 and holds a significant part of the project while Kosmos Energy, Société des Pétroles du Sénégal (Petrosen) and Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier (SMHPM) hold the remainder. Equity interests differ according to the country: in Mauritania, BP holds a 62% in the project, while Kosmos Energy holds 28% and SMHPM 10%. In Senegal, BP detains 60%, while Kosmos Energy and Petrosen hold respectively 30% and 10%. As for the Tortue unit, the stakes are different again: BP holds a 61% interest while Kosmos Energy, Petrosen and SMHPM hold respectively 29%, 5% and 5%.

Energy Markets Orano commissions new uranium conversion plant (France) Following the completion of a comprehensive test programme, the French nuclear company Orano has commissioned the €850m Philippe Coste uranium conversion plant at the Tricastin site in southern France. The flame reactor, the major equipment of the plant’s industrial process, is now operational. The converted uranium will then be enriched in the neighbouring George Besse II facility,… Read more Total and Sonangol will launch a fuel retail network in Angola French energy company Total and Angolese state-run oil and gas company Sonangol have agreed to set up a joint venture (JV) to develop a common retail and distribution activity in Angola. The transaction is subject to the relevant competition authorities’ review. Read more Vietnam’s coal sector commits to supplying fuel for EVN power projects Vietnamese state-held power generation company Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has signed a long-term coal supply contract with the domestic coal producer Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Joint Stock Corporation (Vinacomin). The deal will enable EVN to avoid electricity shortages and receive sufficient coal supplies for its thermal power plants. Read more Forecasts Coal and nuclear retirements might threaten US power grid stability The United States North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has achieved a “stress test” of the United States bulk power system and has used data provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to identify power generation capacities set to be shut down through 2025 in 10 assessment areas,… Read more Infrastructure & Investments EIB grants €335m to Endesa for wind and solar projects (785 MW) in Spain The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a green loan to the Spanish energy group Endesa, helping it to build 15 wind park projects with a capacity of 446 MW and three solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a capacity of 339 MW across the country. The facilities are slated to be built in six autonomous communities, namely Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León, Extremadura,… Read more Equinor acquires 50% stake in Bałtyk I offshore wind project (Poland) Norwegian state-run energy company Equinor has exercised an option to acquire a 50 % interest in the offshore wind development project Bałtyk I in the Baltic Sea (Poland) from Polish utility Polenergia. Read more