Iraq vows to work with BP on controversial oil field

AFP

Iraq said Wednesday it would proceed with work alongside British energy giant BP on a controversial northern oilfield, in a move likely to spark anger in the country's Kurdish region.

The development of the Kirkuk oilfield, which lies amid a swathe of disputed territory in north Iraq, is at the heart of a row over land, oil revenues and the powers of the central government that has been raging for years between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Iraqi Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi, Kirkuk provincial Governor Najm al-Din Omar Karim and BP chief executive Bob Dudley visited the field after holding talks in the province's eponymous capital.

"The contract with the British company will be executed by treating the decline in oil production at Kirkuk oilfield, which has reached 230,000 barrels (per day), and the company will work on surveying the fields and sites of Kirkuk oilfield throughout the contract period," Luaybi told AFP.

Current output represents a significant drop off from the field's peak, and Iraqi officials hope to increase production to 500,000 barrels per day in three years.
 

BP, SOCAR, Total and Fluxys join the TAP project

TAP

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) today announced that BP, SOCAR and Total - members of the international consortium developing the giant Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan - have exercised their option to join the Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG.

BP and SOCAR have each taken a 20% share while Total has acquired 10%.  In addition, Fluxys, a major gas transit operator in Europe, has opted to join TAP, taking a 16% stake in the project. TAP’s shareholders, Axpo of Switzerland, Statoil of Norway and E.ON of Germany also continue their support of the project.

TAP’s shareholding is now comprised of BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (16%), Total (10%), E.ON (9%) and Axpo (5%).

Kjetil Tungland, Managing Director for TAP said: “I would like to welcome the Shah Deniz shareholders and Fluxys to the TAP project. Our new shareholders will significantly enhance TAP’s strategic position in becoming an integral link between both their upstream and downstream businesses. This will further strengthen the integration of the entire Southern Gas Corridor value chain and support TAP’s delivery of the project on time and on budget. ”

TAP’s shareholders remain open to further strategic partners joining the project in the future.

Black Sea Region and Natural Gas Prospects

Natural Gas Europe

The recent international Black Sea Oil & Gas Forum held in Bulgaria highlighted culminations surrounding natural gas trade and investments in the region, which are gaining strong pace.

The president of the Bulgarian energy regulatory authority, Mrs. Evgenia Haritonova, pointed out that Bulgaria's immediate target is to increase the production of domestic natural gas while at the same time diversifying its import sources, based on the current pipeline projects, such as the Southern Corridor and the interconnectors with its neighbors - Greece, Serbia and Romania, which will be finalized within the next 18 months. Further she added that the Bulgarian government had already signed with an energy consortium comprised of the France's Total SA, Austrian OMV and Spanish Repsol to conduct research for gas in the Black Sea field of Khan Asparuh. Identical competitions with international companies will take place in due time for the offshore locations of Silistar, Sveta Marina and Teres.

Regarding shale gas, Haritonova stated that for the moment the energy Ministry is following the moratorium of the Parliament, and until it is lifted no research could be made.  It is interesting to note that Bulgaria's special advisor of the ministry of economy Petar Poptchev noted that Chevron was not so much interested in shale gas exploration, but in conventional gas.

One more gas pipeline to be built for Shah Deniz gas transportation

 

Rufat ABBASOV     News.Az

 

There is a plan to lay an additional pipeline on par with existing South Caucasus gas corridor. 

 

Existing or new infrastructure will be used to transport Azerbaijani gas produced within the framework of Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz field development, according to the report of BP-Azerbaijan for 2010.

The report says the company is currently evaluating all existing variants and defining the route meeting all demands of the concerned parties. “A negotiation export group from among the representatives of BP, SOCAR, Statoil and Total was created to negotiate with Turkish and European gas consumers”, the report says.

Earlier, the president of BP-Azerbaijan Rashid Javanshir said there is a need to expand existing transport infrastructure to ensure export of gas within the framework of the second phase of the Shah Deniz field development.