PetroVietnam and foreign partners to build $1.27bn gas pipeline

Vietnamese government has awarded a licence to state-owned Petrovietnam and its foreign partners to invest $1.27bn in a gas pipeline in southern Vietnam, the country’s foreign investment agency (FIA) said in a report published April 26.

The Block B-O Mon project pipeline will be built in Kien Giang province. The licence was granted April 20 to a joint venture between PV Gas, a subsidiary of Petrovietnam, and “a Japanese investor”, FIA said.

Petrovietnam's website listed the pipeline project partners as itself, subsidiary PV Gas, Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration and Thai PTTEP. The pipeline is expected to be operational by 2Q 2020. The pipelines have total length of 431km with design capacity of 20.3mn m3/d (7.4bn m3/yr). It will supply gas to power plants in Kien Giang and Can Tho provinces.

Galoc project worker killed in Labuan

An accident has claimed the life of a worker during supply operations related to the drilling of the Galoc-7 appraisal well in the Philippines.

The accident occured on Saturday 22 April 2017 in Labuan, Malaysia.

A contractor of Tiger Oilfield Services was killed while carrying out support vessel tank cleaning operations, reported Nido Petroleum, the Galoc field operator.

"The Malaysian police have been notified of the accident and Nido will co-operate fully with any official investigations. Nido will also undertake a comprehensive internal investigation. Our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased," said the operator.

Sumatec to increase output at thier West Kazakhstan plant

Sumatec Resources Bhd has announced plans to ramp up oil production at the Rakushechnoye oil and gas field in West Kazakhstan as its external auditor warns of a possible risk that the company may not be able to sustain its operations.

The oil and gas operator said that under its instruction, the field’s concession owner CaspiOilGas LLP (COG) had conducted a formal open tender exercise for the development of the oilfield.

Under the joint investment agreement signed in March 2012, Sumatec is entitled to 100% of the profit for the first two million barrels while from the third year onwards, the profit will be split 50:50 between Sumatec and COG.

COG is a unit of Markmore Energy (Labuan) Ltd (MELL), which Sumatec is also in the process of acquiring from Tan Sri Halim Saad (via his 99.9%-owned Markmore Sdn Bhd) for US$205mil (RM890mil). Sumatec signed a heads of agreement on the proposed purchase in the middle of last year.

TechnipFMC confirms Liza field development contract for ExxonMobil

TechnipFMC has landed a contract for the engineering, manufacturing and delivery of subsea equipment for ExxonMobil's proposed Liza field development off Guyana.

The company said in a statement that it would be handling orders for "17 total enhanced vertical deep-water trees and associated tooling, as well as five manifolds and associated controls and tie-in equipment."

"We value our long-term, collaborative relationship with ExxonMobil and we are committed to execution excellence and the successful long-term development of the project in Guyana," Hallvard Hasselknipe, president of subsea projects at TechnipFMC, said in a statements.

Upstream had previously reported TechnipFMC to be in the lead for the subsea production systems (SPS) portion of the equipment.

Malaysian FPSO company wins contract from Talisman Vietnam

Oil and gas services provider Yinson Holdings Bhd has been awarded a RM4.4bil Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) contract from Talisman Vietnam BV.

The 10-year contract is for the supply, operation and maintenance of a FPSO for Ca Rong Do field development, offshore Vietnam, with five yearly extensions options exercisable by Talisman Vietnam.

The estimated total aggregate value of the bareboat charter is US$1bil (RM4.4bil) for the entire 15-year charter, inclusive of five-yearly extension options.

Talisman Vietnam is a wholly-owned subsidiary of global integrated oil company Repsol S.A, which is listed on the Madrid stock exchange, and the operator of the Ca Rong Do field.

Brooke Dockyard benefits from Bokor

Sarawak-based oil and gas fabricator Brooke Dockyard and Engineering has been awarded a significant contract to build wellhead platforms for the Bokor phase three re-development project. .

Brooke will provide front-end engineering and design services plus the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of three wellhead platforms, said project operator Petronas.

The three wellhead platforms will be installed at the Bokor field, about 45 kilometres north-west of Lutong, Miri.

The project is part of the Baram Delta Enhanced Oil Recovery production sharing contract owned jointly by operator Petronas on behalf of joint venture partner Shell.

Wasco begins CWC for Nord Stream 2 pipes

Wasco Coating has started work on the concrete weight coating of the Nord Stream 2 pipes. The pipes will be part of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which carry Russian gas through the Baltic Sea to the EU.

Concrete weight coating done by Wasco will add stability of the pipeline on the seabed. Wasco is conducting the work in its plant in Kotka, Finland, where the pipe coating and logistics operations will employ 300 persons during peak production.

The Nord Stream 2 company, a said on Friday that almost half of the 200,000 pipes needed for the entire project would be concrete weight coated in Wasco’s plant in the Port of HaminaKotka.

Petronas selecting partner, not buyer for SK316 gas field

Petronas is in the process of selecting a partner to co-develop its SK316 gas field in Sarawak and not wanting to sell it as reported by some media, said its president and chief executive officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

“SK316 exercise is to find partners that have the technology to develop and do more explorations in that block and now we are the process of selecting our partner,” he said in clarifying reports that Petronas was considering selling its stake in the SK316 offshore gas block.

SK316 involves very high sour gas and very high carbon dioxide content which are of high risk, thus, requiring high technology to develop the field.

Reuters in a recent report said that Petronas was considering selling up to 49% stake in the SK316 offshore gas block for up to US$1bil (RM4.41bil) in a move to raise cash and cut development costs.

US crude futures finish below $50

Oil prices tumbled more than 2% on Friday, notching the biggest weekly decline in more than a month on mounting evidence that US production and inventory growth were offsetting Opec's attempts to reduce the global crude glut.

Brent futures settled at $51.96 a barrel, down $1.03, or 2% at the market's close. US crude futures ended at $49.62 a barrel, down 2.2%, or $1.09.

Volumes were heavy, with more than 665,000 WTI futures changing hands, surpassing the daily average of 525,000 contracts.

For the week, Brent fell 7%, while US crude lost 6.7%. It was the largest percentage drop for both benchmarks since the week of 10 March, when rising concern about the supply glut undermined big bets on an oil rally.

KBR to provide engineering and construction management services to Chevron Indonesia

KBR has been awarded a five-year contract by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia for engineering, project and construction management services for Chevron's operating fields in Sumatra, Indonesia.

A consortium formed between KBR and its Indonesian partner, PT Singgar Mulia Engineering Consultants, will be responsible for executing the contract.

The project scope of KBR includes project and portfolio management, engineering design and construction management for Chevron's hydrocarbon production surface facilities at the Minas, Duri and Dumai fields in Sumatra, Indonesia.

The consortium will provide in-country services to manage daily operational activities for Chevron's production facilities such as providing local and global personnel, tools and procedures, best work practices and processes, as well as establishing and maintaining infrastructure and providing health, environment and safety training to the workforce.

As part of the contract, the consortium will impart training to help the local work community develop essential skills for current and future employees on these projects.