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Genel plans North Africa expansion

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:15 GMT

London-listed oil explorer Genel Energy announced deals that will help it to diversify into the Mediterranean and North Africa on Thursday, building on its strategy to expand outside its core region of Kurdistan.

Genel said it would acquire 75 percent of Mediterranean Oil & Gas's interests in an offshore Malta contract for up to $30 million, with an additional agreement to assess and acquire further assets in Malta, Libya and Tunisia.

It also said it would farm in to 60 percent and assume ownership of the Sidi Moussa block offshore Morocco for up to $50 million.

Although the acquisitions are small, they mark the first foray for Genel into the region. The majority of its acreage is in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, and it also has assets in Somaliland and Cote d'Ivoire.

Genel was formed last year when former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward and financier Nathaniel Rothschild's bid vehicle bought Turkey's Genel Enerji.

Hayward, now Genel CEO, has said that the company wanted to diversify and that its Turkish background lent it a natural advantage in the North African region.

On Tuesday, it splashed out around $450 million on part of Heritage Oil's stake in a gas discovery in Kurdistan.

Thursday's deals were announced alongside Genel's results for the six months to end-June. It ended the period with a net cash pile of $1.8 billion and said it had earmarked around $1 billion to buy further assets.

With revenues for the first half of $123 million, it retained its guidance for full year sales of $250 million to $300 million.

Average production of 40,000 barrels of oil per day was still expected, it said, though that could rise if it is able to continue exporting from Kurdistan throughout 2012.

Crude oil exports from Kurdistan were halted in April due to a payment dispute between Iraq's central government and the autonomous northern region, but resumed at the beginning of August. - Reuters

Syria casts net wide in search of oil deals

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:15 GMT

The Syrian government is negotiating deals with firms in London, Singapore and the Middle East to sell crude oil in return for the fuel it needs to survive in the face of an increasingly bloody insurgency, documents seen by Reuters show.

Syria has been starved of diesel for its army and fuel to keep the economy running because US and European Union sanctions have cut off its usual suppliers. As sanctions bite, income from crude oil sales becomes increasingly important.

Despite political support from China and Russia, which have repeatedly blocked UN sanctions on Syria and opposed military intervention to end the conflict, President Bashar al-Assad's fuel and cash lifelines have all but dried up.

"The war is costing him about 1 billion euros a month and he has fewer and fewer resources. We estimate he only has a few months left without the support of Russia and Iran," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said this week.

Syria has been largely cut off from fuel supplies as sporadic diesel deliveries from Iran, its main regional ally, are meeting only a fraction of its needs and fresh deals with Russia have not yet been finalised, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamal said this week. )

Commercial documents, correspondence, shipping records and other papers reviewed by Reuters show how the Syrian government is seeking and sometimes clinching fuel deals, which even if not huge are vital for the government's survival.

Syria's new business partners include firms domiciled in Britain, Egypt and Lebanon, all countries critical of Assad's crackdown on the opposition.

In one instance, the papers show a Lebanese broker working on behalf of the Syrian government signed contracts in July and August with an Egyptian firm to trade crude oil and refined oil products and has already succeeded in making some deliveries.

While it is not illegal for firms in the Middle East and Asia to deal with the Syrian authorities, many refuse to do so for fear of being associated with a government whose forces have killed thousands of civilians.

"There is a moral threshold to pass for some of the larger actors (while) ... killing is ongoing. This is actually an important factor for the supermajors and many mid-size oil companies," said Samuel Ciszuk, an analyst for KBC Energy Economics consultancy.

Syrian oil product imports virtually ground to halt after the national fuel distribution organisation was blacklisted by the European Union in March, cutting off its usual EU suppliers including Greece's Naftomar and Monaco's Galaxy Group.

Critics say outside suppliers may be helping Assad cling to power because they are providing households with basic fuel needs and so preventing a wider humanitarian crisis.

"Assad will benefit if Syria's energy needs are somewhat met, it does make him marginally more viable in the short term," said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at Eurasia group.

Syria's thirst for diesel extends beyond the needs of its army's tanks. Industry and agriculture have been brought almost to a standstill because there is no fuel to power machinery.

One document shows an oil firm with a London billing address - Aurora Finans Limited - hired a vessel from energy company Mar-Link Offshore Services (MLOS) in July to ship 200,000 tonnes of diesel to government-controlled Syria.

The diesel was to be supplied from Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas, which declined to comment on the deal.

MLOS, which has an office in Singapore, confirmed it had entered into a deal to sub-charter the vessel to Aurora Finans in mid-July but denied the fuel was for delivery to Syria.

"The agreement for vessel charter and purchase of fuel was initially agreed for deliveries to Thailand," said MLOS director Michael Liburn in an email.

Liburn said the vessel was not authorised for trade outside Asia and that Aurora cancelled the contract in late July when MLOS declined to change the delivery port to Syria.

"We are quite happy to provide fuel to Syria as long as the port of delivery is safe and there are no international restrictions," Liburn said via Skype last week.

Aurora Finans Limited was incorporated in 2008 by Companies House - the official British body that registers companies - and is up to date with its accounts.

Individuals related to the company are all based in Cyprus and occupy similar positions at other firms registered to the same address.

Requests to speak to Aurora's agents in Malaysia and India, which MLOS said were its counterparties in the deal, went unanswered.

Plans to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) a fuel used widely in Syrian homes and businesses for cooking and heating were more successful.

At least three cargoes, each worth close to $10 million, have been delivered to Syria in recent weeks, with the latest shipment arriving in the port of Banias on Monday.

The shipments were brokered by a Lebanese oil firm called Overseas Petroleum Trading (OPT) on behalf of the Syrian oil ministry, according to commercial documents and correspondence reviewed by Reuters.

OPT in turn used a private Egyptian broker, Tri-Ocean Energy, to source the products needed and find oil tankers willing to go to Syria.

The documents make clear that Tri-Ocean Energy signed deals with OPT to help them buy and sell crude oil and refined oil products.

Tri-Ocean Energy denied it had agreements with OPT to trade crude, but confirmed it had agreed to supply OPT with two cargoes of LPG.

"We don't have any information that this cargo has a destination of Syria or Banias," said Ali Tolba, director of trading at Tri-Ocean Energy, adding delivery had been agreed for Lebanese ports.

Tri-Ocean Energy provided contact details for a man who they said worked for OPT and was their contact for the deal. However, when contacted by Reuters, he would not confirm any relation to OPT or answer questions about the deal, asking for Reuters to speak to him at a later date.

Of two emails sent to different addresses obtained for OPT, one went unanswered, while the second received the following response: "I don't understand what you are talking about, so I can't help you and I can't reply anymore."

Egyptian and Lebanese firms are not subject to EU or US sanctions, so they are free to enter into agreements with Syria.

The three LPG shipments were supplied and delivered by oil shipping firm Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company (AMPTC), according to documents reviewed by Reuters

The first shipment of around 10,000 tonnes of LPG product was loaded from storage in international waters in the Mediterranean and delivered to Banias in mid-July.

An AMPTC official, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the press, denied the firm had known the cargo was bound for Syria. He said the cargo had been sold to Tri-Ocean Energy, who assured them it was not going to Syria but to a Lebanese broker.

"We made sure that the cargo is not ending up with a Syrian entity. That is what they assured us. We don't know whether it is allowed or not allowed (to send cargoes to Syria), but (we did this) in order to stay away from this trouble," he said.

The cargo was sold for around $10.7 million, a premium of about 55 percent above prevailing regional prices.

The deliveries that followed also arrived aboard AMPTC-managed tankers. AMPTC is based in Kuwait and has an office in Cairo, while its largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia.

Its fleet is made up mostly of vessels it is chartering from a Greek shipping company called Benelux.

Depending on the terms of the charter, Benelux's vessels could be subject to EU law and therefore sanctions.

"Under an ordinary time-charter ... the owner would be in the firing line" said Terry O'Regan head of the London International Trade Team at Eversheds, a law firm. "On a bareboat basis (no crew or provisions provided), the owners have no control as the charterers pay monthly for the empty vessel."

Benelux declined to comment because the terms of its agreement with AMPTC were confidential. A director at the firm said Benelux had not broken EU sanctions and Reuters has no evidence that Benelux was acting improperly.

A spokesman for the EU declined to comment in detail but said enforcement of sanctions was up to the 'competent authority' in each member state - in this case, the Greek government. A Greek government official said he was not aware of the case and declined to comment further.

The documents reveal the extent of the Syrian government's efforts to overcome its growing isolation, having become more dependent than ever on foreign fuel deliveries because its energy infrastructure has been targeted by rebel attacks.

It has been many months since fuel last arrived from Russia, while Venezuela sent its last diesel cargo in May. Iran has supplied only a couple of cargoes this year.

Syria is not a major oil producer, but its output of around 200,000 barrels of oil per day - according to a Syrian official earlier this month - could generate millions of dollars even at a substantial discount to market prices of around $116 a barrel.

Syria's oil and product exports were largely halted by international sanctions in September 2011. Even firms that are willing to do business in Syria face difficulties processing payments because the Syrian central bank is also blacklisted. -Reuters

IEA may release emergency oil reserves in Sept

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:15 GMT

World oil consumers are poised to tap into emergency oil inventories as soon as early September after the International Energy Agency (IEA) dropped its resistance to a US-led plan, a source and an oil journal said.

Just one week after its chief said there was no discussion of possible emergency action, the IEA is now thought to have agreed to the idea, the industry journal Petroleum Economist reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. The release could be as large or larger than last year's 60 million barrel injection.

Responding to the report, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said the agency remained in close communication with members and stood 'prepared to act as necessary in response to a physical disruption', avoiding the question of whether active consideration of a reserve release was underway.

'However, as I said as recently as last week, at this time the conditions that would warrant such a response by the IEA are not present,' she said in a statement.

But market fundamentals may not be the principal consideration. While the disruption to Iran's exports may be used as the excuse for action, US officials are also keen to temper rising prices that risk diminishing the impact of financial sanctions on Tehran, Reuters reported last week, citing sources.

While the IEA may not agree that the degree of supply disruption has met the traditional measure of what would merit emergency intervention, it is concerned that the US, France and Britain might act together to draw on stockpiles without coordinating with the rest of the group, undermining its credibility, according to Friday's media report, which was echoed by the source.

'The US is the main driver, the IEA sees no need for a release. However, if major consumers such as the US, UK and France want a release, the IEA is likely to step up and play a role,' said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

'A release could be as early as September,' the source said on Friday.

News that consumer nations could be moving quickly toward intervening in oil markets again weighed on prices, with benchmark Brent crude falling $1.42 a barrel or 1.2 per cent to close at $113.59 a barrel. The impact was muted by oil platform closures as a storm heads toward the US Gulf.

The Petroleum Economist said that the sharp decline in Iran's oil exports this year would be used as a justification, it reported in an article by editor Derek Brower, who also writes for the Economist magazine.

'Whether it's self-inflicted or not, that's still a supply disruption,' the article quoted an unnamed official at a government backing the release as saying. The Petroleum Economist has been a well-regarded energy industry publication for decades, but it is better known for its sophisticated analysis and detailed maps than for breaking news.

Talk of tapping into strategic stockpiles resurfaced last week after Reuters reported that the White House has began 'dusting off' old plans for a possible release on fears that the 30 percent rise in oil prices since June could undermine the effect of sanctions on Iran.

Analysts also have said the move could be timed to aid the reelection effort for President Barack Obama, who has shown a much more liberal approach to the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which has traditionally been reserved for major supply disruptions to be used only as a last resort.

Last year the US led a successful effort to convince the IEA to tap into emergency supplies for the third time in its history.

The Petroleum Economist said the White House had spent 'recent weeks' seeking to persuade other countries to join the plan, although officials in both the United States and other IEA members told Reuters that no talks had been held by last week.

On August 17, a source familiar with the matter said US officials were waiting to assess market conditions after the Labor Day holiday on September 3 before making a decision.

Plans do not appear to have reached an operational stage.

'I have received no official instruction telling me to stand ready to release stocks and I'm unaware of such plans,' Jean-Marc Tenneson, head of the steering committee of France's strategic oil reserves agency (CPSSP), said on Friday.

He said a release would not be 'reasonable' under current circumstances, and would only be legitimate if, for example, geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel worsened noticeably.

The Petroleum Economist, part of the Euromoney group, reported that France and Britain, both of which had signaled their support for releasing reserves during an earlier round of discussions in the spring, have endorsed the strategy.

It cited a diplomatic source as saying a British cabinet official had discussed the move in Washington in recent days.

Last Friday, van der Hoeven said there was 'no reason for a release,' and that no other IEA member was considering such a measure. She said then that she had not been in contact with the White House over possible intervention.

The Petroleum Economist article said that the IEA had changed its stand after 'lengthy talks with US Department of Energy officials in Washington earlier this month'.

Officials in Japan and South Korea -- both of which have cut back Iranian imports in order to avoid new US sanctions -- also dismissed the need for emergency supplies last week. The Petroleum Economist story said some IEA members were still opposed, including Germany.

US and British officials have consulted on the plan with Saudi Arabia, according to the report. The kingdom believes that there is no need for a release, but that the decision is up to consumer countries, according to the story.

Oil consultancy Petroleum Policy Intelligence (PPI) said this week that some consumer nations had discussed a possible price trigger of $115 to $120 a barrel for taking action, according to the journal's report.-Reuters

Global oil supply tightens in last 2 months

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:15 GMT

Global spare oil inventories tightened over the last two months, a US government report said, which could lend the Obama administration some support if it decides to tap emergency oil reserves as the West applies sanctions on Iran.

World crude inventories in countries other than Iran fell about 1.2 million barrels per day in July and August, due mostly to a seasonal peak in demand, said the report by the Energy Information Administration.

The report, required by the Iran sanctions law Obama signed last year, is published every two months by the Energy Information Administration.

The draw was smaller than a 1.6 million-bpd dip seen last year in the same time period. But any drop in supplies due to demand, in addition to a sharp decline in Iranian oil sales because of the sanctions, could give the Obama administration support to tap emergency oil reserves.

Stubbornly high oil prices of around $113 a barrel in the Brent futures market have left the administration wondering whether it should take action to give consumers relief.

The White House has dusted off old plans for a potential release of emergency oil reserves as tension over Iran helps keep crude prices high.

But the head of the International Energy Agency, which is charged with co-ordinating use of consumer nation's strategic reserves, said last week there is no reason for a release right now as markets are 'sufficiently supplied.'

The EIA said on Friday global spare production capacity was 'relatively tight by historical standards' at 2.4 million bpd, steady with the last report.

Global inventories fell even as Saudi produced oil in July and August at a rate that was 900,000 bpd higher than its average rate over the last three years, the EIA said.

The Opec powerhouse is producing at higher rates as output in its rival Iran gets hit by sanctions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Obama has even more flexibility for enforcing sanctions after he signed a new law on August 10 allowing consuming countries to avoid the penalties through a combination of forcing down prices of their Iranian crude purchases and cutting their volumes of the purchases, a Capitol Hill aide said.-Reuters

Bahrain to expand power distribution system

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:14 GMT

Bahrain is planning a cost-effective project to expand power distribution sub-stations vertically, said a senior government official.

The project will contribute to saving spaces, increasing productivity and achieving optimum profit, said Minister of State Electricity and Water Affairs Dr Abdulhussain Mirza as he visited the two storey sub-station in Janabiya.

The first-of-its-kind 3,000kV project will accommodate two transformers of 1,500kV each on the ground floor and main isolation and contact devices and four main low-voltage distribution boards on the second floor, he added. – TradeArabia News Service

Dodsal wins $450m Abu Dhabi pipeline

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:14 GMT

The United Arab Emirates' Dodsal Group has won an estimated $450 million contract to build two pipelines from a gas processing plant south west of Abu Dhabi to industrial users to the north east of the capital, two sources said on Sunday.

The 297- km pipeline will supply gas to Emirates Aluminium (Emal) and other industries in Taweelah, a new industrial hub between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"The contract was awarded a few weeks ago and work has begun," one source involved in the project said, adding that completion is scheduled for 2015.

A source at Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) confirmed the company awarded the contract to Dodsal. Habshan is an oil and gas hub in the western part of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Gasco is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) which owns 68 percent and Shell (15 percent), Total (15 percent) and Partex (2 percent). - Reuters

Iraq pipeline delays threaten Majnoon output

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:13 GMT

Delays in Iraq's pipeline construction threaten to stall production at Royal Dutch Shell's Majnoon oilfield for at least three months, forcing the field to miss a 2012 target of 175,000 barrels per day, oil ministry documents showed.

Wary of losses, Shell has asked Iraq for a waiver to start recovering costs if Majnoon does not meet its first commercial production target by year-end - a contract requirement before costs can be retrieved, according to documents seen by Reuters.

Shell's troubles illustrate infrastructure hurdles facing oil operators in the Opec nation. Some oil majors have begun signing deals with Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, which they say offers more attractive conditions than the country's federal government in southern oilfields. – Reuters

Global leaders to discuss Iraq energy sector

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:13 GMT

Representatives from international oil companies (IOCs) and government officials will collaborate on how to build a successful and lucrative energy sector in Iraq at an upcoming conference in Istanbul.

Organised by The Energy Exchange, the third annual Iraq Future Energy will be held from September 17 to 20.

Day one of the conference will commence with a focus on the growing need for electricity in Iraq. At present, an estimated 8,000 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity is being produced, when in fact an estimated 14,000 MW is needed.

In 2011, Iraq announced its electricity master plan of spending $27 billion from 2012 to 2017. The latest update on the implementation progress of the short term plan to rehabilitate and expand the national grid by 2015 will be unveiled at this Electricity Summit.

Additionally, infrastructure challenges with regards to power generation as well as imports and exports with neighbouring countries will be discussed, along with feasible alternatives and solutions.

The main oil and gas conference begins on day two of Iraq Future Energy 2012 and will open detailing further E&P plans and upcoming bid round and its impact on the Iraqi oil, gas and power sub-sectors.

Furthermore the outcome of the fourth bid round for 12 exploration blocks in April 2012 along with the implications for pre-qualified IOCs and future projects will be discussed.

Jinanda Sheth, event director, The Energy Exchange, said: “Iraq has set a goal of reaching a target production capacity of almost 12 million barrels per day by 2017; however the lack of adequate infrastructure significantly inhibits growth.”

“Iraq Future Energy 2012 was designed to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive analysis of the building blocks required to establish a strong presence in the nation, whilst positioning themselves to capitalise on all current and future investment opportunities.”

Opec recently announced that Iraq’s crude output rose to above 3 million barrels a day in July 2012. Gati Al-Jebouri, head of Lukoil in the Middle East, suggested last year that Iraq can reach a target of about 5 million barrels a day but cautioned that output depends on pipeline infrastructure.

Currently, 80 – 90 per cent of exported oil and gas goes through only two pipelines. The Oil and Gas summit at Iraq Future Energy will explore alternative export routes including international pipelines, Nabucco pipeline and Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Speakers and government officials at the conference will highlight all the strategies, materials and technology necessary to further develop production facilities, oil and gas networks for pipelines, railways, tankers and terminals ensuring rapid growth with attractive returns on investment.

The next day of the oil and gas conference will address the increasing developments in Iraq’s refining sector that include plans for rehabilitating existing facilities to enhance capacity whilst implementing the latest strategies, as well as developing new refineries to support the increasing oil production.

In addition, a group of world renowned international contractors will convene in a panel discussion to provide a comprehensive analysis on business related opportunities and concerns in establishing a sustainable energy industry.

The day will conclude with a roundtable discussion focusing on human resource competencies in developing and training existing workforce to attain the technical know-how to enhance the future of Iraq’s hydrocarbon industry. Also, these industry professional will emphasise the need to attract foreign investments and business by easing the visa, insurance and security processes.

The fourth and final day of Iraq Future Energy 2012 will consist of two masterclass sessions. Masterclass A will provide a detailed look at the new regulations on businesses in Iraq. Masterclass B on the other hand will focus on the latest financing structures and models for energy projects in Iraq. – TradeArabia News Service

Aramco data safe after virus attack

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:12 GMT

State oil producer Saudi Aramco is still repairing damage from a virus which infected thousands of employee computers in mid-August but the control systems and oilfield data are unaffected, sources familiar with the matter said.

Eleven days after the August 15 cyber attack, the company was still trying to establish the identity of the attackers, what data had been lost, and whether affected computers could be restored, the sources said.

One of Saudi Aramco's websites, www.aramco.com, which was taken offline soon after the attack, remained down yesterday.

"Our computer systems were hacked, and this virus appears to be coming from outside and not from someone inside Aramco, but an investigation to find out what happened is still ongoing," one Saudi source said.

Immediately after the attack, Saudi Aramco announced it had isolated its electronic systems from the outside world to prevent further attacks.

An English-language posting on an online bulletin board on August 15, signed by a group called the "Cutting Sword of Justice", claimed the group had launched the attack to destroy 30,000 computers at Saudi Aramco.-Reuters

Fire shuts Iraqi crude oil pipeline to Turkey

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:33:11 GMT

A fire on a pipeline carrying about a quarter of Iraq's oil exports forced the closure of the link on Monday and halted loading at Turkey's Ceyhan export terminal, security and shipping sources said on Monday.

The cause of the fire on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey's Sirnak province near the Iraqi border was not immediately known, but authorities suspected sabotage, security sources said.

The fire was extinguished and workers tried to cool the pipeline, a 600-mile-long (970 km) double link.

Turkish energy officials in Ankara confirmed oil flows were still suspended and said it was not immediately clear how long repairs would take.

An Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman said Iraq had halted exports due to the fire, which broke out at 12:35 a.m. (2135 GMT), and that it expected Turkey to open the link's second pipe to resume exports.

'We were informed by the Turkish authorities that a blast and then a fire ignited on the 40-inch export pipeline on the Turkish side and we had to halt the crude flow,' the ministry's Asim Jihad told Reuters in Baghdad.

'We demand that the Turkish authorities work without any delay to repair the damage quickly and to help switch the flow to the second 46-inch alternate line to ensure no more disruption to Iraq's exports to Ceyhan port,' he said.

Between five and 10 tankers waited to load at Ceyhan, shippers told Reuters.

Storage tanks have about 500,000 barrels of oil, not enough to meet the tankers' capacity, one shipper said.

The pipeline, which last month exported 300,000 barrels of oil a day, is frequently shut due to sabotage. Most recently, a fire closed it on August 6.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed group fighting the Turkish military in southeastern Turkey, has targeted the link in the past, calling it a strategic asset. – Reuters

Bapco hosts business strategies workshop

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:50 GMT

Baharauin Petroleum Company (Bapco) said its public relations department organised a workshop on business strategies for its employees.

The aimed at highlighting their role in supporting strategic planning in industrial organisations.

The workshop was hosted by Bapco's public relations department in collaboration with the strategic business economics department, at the Bapco Club in Awali.

Bapco's refinery master plan was discussed at the event.

Brainstorming sessions aimed at fostering business strategies and enhancing the role of public relations in supporting overall strategies were other highlights of the event.

It also focused on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats affecting the department.

The workshop provided a platform for employees to support business strategies and improve participation as a team.-TradeArabia News Service

S.Korea to resume key Iran oil imports

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:49 GMT

South Korean refiners will resume imports of up to 200,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude from September, economy ministry sources said on Monday, ending a two-month gap due to a European Union ban on insurance cover for Iranian oil.

The resumption is unlikely to hinder South Korea's bid to extend a U.S. sanction waiver later this year as imports in 2012, which were down 17 percent in the first half, will still be almost 20 percent lower than last year.

'The imports will resume from early September loading, meaning late September arrival,' said a source at the economy ministry who has direct knowledge of the matter but declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.

'The oil will be loaded in Iran to be shipped by Iranian tankers under Iranian insurance cover,' the source said.

Japan and South Korea, Iran's third- and fourth-biggest oil buyers, both halted imports in July as they scrambled to work out how to continue imports under the EU sanctions, which have made it tough to ship, insure and pay for Iranian oil.

Like their Chinese and Indian counterparts, Korean refiners have asked Iran to deliver crude on Iranian tankers, government and industry sources said this month. This shifts the responsibility to Iran for insurance, sidestepping a ban in the EU on insurers covering Iranian shipments.

The United States, European Union, and other Western nations are trying to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons with toughened sanctions on oil exports, a major source of income for Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Sources said Iran's crude exports dropped to about 1.1 million barrels per day in June and July from more than 2 million bpd at the start of the year.

Total imports envisaged at resumption will be six million barrels per month, or 200,000 bpd. SK Energy will import four million barrels per month and Hyundai Oilbank will import two million barrels per month, the economy ministry source added.

This is the volume refiners agreed in term contracts with Iran for this year.

'We see little probability that the imports will hinder talks with the United States to extend a sanction waiver as this year's import volume will be smaller than last year's,' another source at the economy ministry said.

'There was even a halt due to the EU insurance ban.'

South Korea received in June a waiver for 180 days from U.S. financial sanctions on Iran in return for significantly cutting purchases of Iranian oil.

A spokesman at SK Innovation, which owns SK Energy, told Reuters last Friday that the talks with Iran were progressing well, and the refiner expected to resume the imports around September loading.

Tehran offered to provide up to $1 billion of insurance cover to Iranian vessels shipping oil to South Korea, Reuters reported last month.-Reuters

Iraq's south oil exports set for new record

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:49 GMT

Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports have risen by 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far in August versus last month, according to shipping data tracked by Reuters, putting shipments on course to reach a post-war record.

Exports from Iraq's south have averaged 2.25 million bpd in the first 20 days of August, the data shows. That is up from 2.22 million bpd in July - the highest since before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to the International Energy Agency.

Iraq exports most of its oil from the south, where the opening of new export outlets and investment by foreign companies are increasing shipments which had stagnated for years. A rise in Iraqi supplies this year helped to keep a lid on prices as Western sanctions targeted Iran's exports.

More oil is coming from the oilfields of southern Iraq including Rumaila, led by BP ; West Qurna-1, run by Exxon Mobil ; and Zubair, where Eni is in charge.

In addition, an Iraqi official said in July the Halfaya field operated by China National Petroleum Corp. was pumping at least 80,000 bpd, helping to boost flows.

Including about 300,000 bpd of crude shipped from Iraq's north, Iraq said its exports reached 2.52 million bpd in July. Low northern exports may limit the increase in overall Iraq supply in August.

Iraq was exporting about 400,000 bpd from the north earlier this year until the government of Iraq's Kurdistan region said in April it was halting flows because firms operating there were not getting paid by the central government in Baghdad.

Crude produced in Kurdistan is fed into Iraq's Kirkuk export stream. A Kirkuk loading programme scheduled just 197,000 bpd of shipments in August, although after it was issued the Kurdistan region restarted exports at 100,000 bpd in a bid to end the payment dispute.

According to one trader, oil shipments by pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey from northern Iraq have been below the level envisaged by the loading programme for at least part of the month.

"They have been pumping 150,000 bpd for many days in August," the trader said. "They stopped for some other days."

Flows were disrupted by an Aug. 6 sabotage attack, which damaged one of the pipelines from Kirkuk to Ceyhan. Turkish officials said a day later the flow was expected to resume soon on the unaffected line.-Reuters

Yemen gas pipeline blast ‘act of sabotage’

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:49 GMT

Yemen LNG said on Tuesday that an explosion caused by sabotage has hit a gas pipeline feeding the country's only liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal.

Yemen's oil and gas pipelines have been repeatedly sabotaged since anti-government protests created a power vacuum in 2011 that armed groups have exploited, causing fuel shortages and slashing export earnings for the country.

The explosion occurred at 0115 local time, about 170 km (105 miles) north of the Balhaf Liquefaction Plant on the Gulf of Aden run by France's Total, the company said in a statement.

The 320-km pipeline that supplies the $4.5-billion plant run by Total has been attacked several times by suspected al Qaeda-linked gunmen after military strikes on Islamist militants.

The pipeline that transports gas from fields in the interior to the export facilities in Balhaf was attacked in late April, just days after reopening following a previous attack, in response to the killing of al Qaeda militants.

It resumed production on May 23 after its latest pipeline repair and Yemeni soldiers were deployed to try to protect the pipeline in June.

The Balhaf facility, which opened in 2009, has the capacity to supply up to 6.7 million tonnes and delivers LNG - gas cooled to liquid for export by ship - under long term contracts to GDF Suez, Total and Korea Gas Corp. – Reuters

Heritage Oil to sell Iraq gas block

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:48 GMT

Heritage Oil, a London-listed oil and gas exploration company, said it will sell part of a gas block and borrow money from Genel Energy to raise $450 million, easing concerns about how it will fund oilfield purchases in Nigeria.

Heritage Oil shares jumped 15 per cent after the company said it will sell a 26 per cent stake in Miran Block in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region to Genel and will take a $294 million loan from the company.

Commenting on the move, CEO Tony Buckingham said, "We believe this sale and loan financing crystallises significant value for shareholders, demonstrating our ability to invest in and monetise assets at an appropriate stage."

"The proceeds provide significant financial flexibility allowing us to fund the proposed acquisition of OML 30 without any rights issue or other additional capital requirement from, or potential dilution to, our existing shareholders," he added.

The cash will partly fund Heritage Oil's acquisition of a stake in Nigeria's OML 30 oilfield assets announced last month.

'Miran sale price is attractive, but the cash is more welcome,' BMO Capital Markets' Al Stanton said.

Heritage Oil earlier planned to fund a portion of the OML 30 deal through a rights issue.

'There is no need to proceed with the rights (issue) and any capital raising is dropped,' Heritage Oil chief financial officer Paul Atherton said yesterday.

The company will sell the Miran Block stake and an interest in a related joint operating agreement for $156 million, which would increase Genel's holding in the block to 51 per cent.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service

China, India cut Iran oil imports

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:48 GMT

Iran's biggest oil buyers, China and India, sharply cut their imports in July, official data from the two countries showed, as Tehran customers came under further pressure from Western sanctions and faced big shipping complications.

China's crude oil imports from Iran fell nearly a third in July from an 11-month high in June, while shipments by India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, fell over 40 per cent.

Cuts have secured the two major oil consumers a waiver from the US on financial sanctions targeted at Tehran.

The US and Europe have levied tough sanctions on Iran in a bid to choke off oil revenues and halt a controversial nuclear programme the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons, which Iran has denied.

For China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, another month of rising imports could have jeopardised a last-minute waiver the US granted it for six months from June 28, after Iran's top oil buyer showed significant cuts in imports in the first months of the year on an unrelated pricing dispute with the Middle Eastern country.

"China's crude imports from Iran recovered quickly in May and June," said a Beijing-based oil analyst.

"The Chinese government might have had some pressure of not boosting imports too much because the US had just given China a waiver," he added.-Reuters

Energy, health sectors teamwork urged

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:47 GMT

More collaboration between the health and energy sectors in the Gulf region is needed to reduce health risks related to oil production and development, said a top official from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr Qudsia Huda, technical officer for emergency preparedness and health risk reduction at WHO’s regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that risk assessment and partnerships are key to reducing health concerns attributed to the oil and gas sector, while previous regional industrial disasters can provide valuable lessons in managing health risks.

Dr Huda will be a headline speaker at the eighth annual HSE Forum in Energy, taking place from October 8 to 10 at the Doha Grand Hyatt Hotel, where she will address delegates on the importance of bridging the gaps between the health and energy sectors to prevent and reduce associated public health risks in the Gulf region.

“Based on real time assessment of public health risks prevailing in oil and gas producing areas, the health and energy sectors need to come together to raise awareness and advocate the issue to safeguard people’s health,” said Dr Huda.

“Both sectors can work together to develop policy guidelines to specify the roles and responsibilities of each entity in averting health problems, and integrating these at national levels by generating intelligence. Risk assessment and building optimum capacities are very critical areas where health and energy sectors can work together.”

Health impacts believed to be linked to oil development activities in the Gulf region include respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, auto-immune diseases, liver failure, cancer, skin diseases and other ailments such as headaches, nausea and sleeplessness.

“There are health risks to workers in the oil and gas industries, as well as communities in which oil development is continuing,” added Huda. “Environmental pollution and pollution in the food chain are also directly associated with oil development, as well as mass casualties in catastrophic events such as oil spills and oil tanker accidents.”

Held under the patronage of Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy & Industry and chairman of Qatar Petroleum, the HSE Forum in Energy will host more than 45 regional and international HSE experts.

The dedicated industry conference and exhibition will put a spotlight on the latest developments and technological solutions essential to ensuring the effective health and safety management and sustainable environmental practices in the energy sector.

“The HSE Forum in Energy can create a vital platform for relevant actors to address the need for building capacity for potential industrial disasters in the oil and gas industry. As a health lead agency, we can bring in a global perspective into this conference to reduce health risks from oil industries,” Dr Huda added.

The conference will feature 30 presentations, two panel discussions and five hours of networking sessions, before culminating with four half-day post conference workshops on the final day. – TradeArabia News Service

Aramco to use Quadrise refinery technology

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:47 GMT

Saudi Aramco has approved the use of technology from Quadrise Fuels, a British fuel technology firm, in its refineries under a partnership deal it struck with Saudi-based company Rafid Group.

Quadrise expects to generate commercial revenues from Saudi Arabia within two years, after signing the deal which it believes could transform the kingdom's power generation sector, its chairman said.

'This is a major milestone,' said Ian Williams in an interview with Reuters.

Shares in the company gained 53 percent, giving it a market capitalisation of about 67 million pounds ($106 million), as analysts at Westhouse said the deal signalled 'tangible progress' and provided it with access to one of the world's largest fuel oil markets.

Quadrise's technology can produce a lower-cost version of heavy fuel oil, made when high-sulphur tarry residue left after the distillation of crude is blended with low-sulphur diesel, which in Saudi Arabia is used for power generation.

A special chemical process means Quadrise can produce fuel oil without using diesel, saving on costs, and potentially making power generation in Saudi Arabia cheaper, something which the company said can offer the kingdom 'major economic benefits' as it currently imports some of the diesel used to make fuel oil.

The agreement with Rafid means that Quadrise's technology is a step closer to being put into a Saudi refinery, following which the company said it expects a larger scale programme to use its expertise in refineries across the country.

'It would be reasonable to expect commercial revenues in Saudi before the end of 2014,' Williams said.

The candidate refinery selected for Quadrise's technology, which produces the substitute fuel, called MSAR, alone would represent 'a company-maker' in terms of business, Williams added.

Westhouse analysts said the relationship with Saudi Aramco could also attract new potential customers in the shape of other oil companies looking to produce cheaper fuel oil, a product which is also used by the shipping industry, an area where Quadrise is also developing a customer base.

'Big oil companies tend to sit up and listen when they observe their competitors entering geographies or business streams,' the analysts said. – Reuters

Total eyes big investment in N Africa

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:46 GMT

Total has big plans for developing its E&P activities in North Africa and is eager to invest more widely in Libya and explore and develop new resources, said the vice president of Total E&P North Africa.

Jean Daniel Blasco was speaking in an interview with The Energy Exchange to discuss the organisation’s opportunities in Libya and North Africa.

“For the year to come, we have two development projects in Algeria, Timimoun and Ahnet, that we would like to move forward,” Blasco added.

Libya has commenced activities on rebuilding its economy at an accelerated rate. The

IMF has reported that the Libyan economy is expected to surge by nearly 117 per cent in 2012 with oil production levels reaching 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.95 million bpd by 2015.

The offshore Al Jurf field has a capacity of 45,000 bpd. Oil production by Total had reached 55,000 bpd in Libya, but had decreased drastically when the civil war began.

“After the civil war, Total’s main challenge was to support its common operating company with National Oil Company Libya (NOC Libya), Mabruk Oil Operations, to resume production,” said Blasco.

“The two fields Al Jurf (offshore) and Mabruk (onshore) are now back to their pre-war production level.”

According to Blasco, the challenges faced by Total in Libya in addition to supporting development activities of Mabruk Oil Operations, were to re-start its exploration activities.

Libya’s proven oil reserves amount to 47 billion barrels and Total is interested in expanding its opportunities in Libya, such as new exploration rounds.

Total is active in exploring potential offshore resources in Libya and other countries of North Africa.

“In Libya, we are already participating in production from Al Jurf field, located offshore Tripoli. Two exploration wells are planned in 2013 for this area,” Blasco said.

“In Egypt, we are operating the East El Burrulus Block, located deep offshore, where two exploration wells should be drilled in 2013. We are also interested in the recent exploration round launched by EGAS. In Mauritania, we are operators of the Block C9, where we plan to start a 3D seismic campaign by year-end.”

“There is a lot to do with Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) activities on existing fields before starting costly Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects,” he added.

Blasco stated that the last development project in Usan, deep offshore in Nigeria, has involved a record 60 per cent of local content man-hours.

“We hope to be successful in Egyptian offshore. In Mauritania, we expect our frontier exploration, both onshore and offshore to be successful. For the long term, non-conventional hydrocarbons in mature basins might represent bright perspectives for the oil industry,” Blasco concluded.

Blasco will participate at the seventh annual North Africa Oil and Gas Summit to be held from November 6 to 8 in Vienna, Austria. This summit is the only event that covers the entire North African region with representation from Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania. – TradeArabia News Service

Dubai sees peak loads up 7pc in July

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:40:45 GMT

Dubai recorded a power peak load increase of 7 per cent in July to 6637 MW compared with 6206 MW for 2011, said the chief executive of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

“We are fully committed to maintaining and improving the capacity and efficiency of our substations and transmission networks to continue offering world-class sustainable and environment friendly services, which will achieve high levels of customer satisfaction," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.

"Part of our strategy is to expand our transmission and distribution networks catering to Dubai’s construction business growth. Dewa is currently one of the leading global utility providers in comparison with other utilities around the world.”

“We recorded high levels of excellence in services, reliability, sustainability, and infrastructure management. The increase in electricity and water services demand in Dubai is a clear indicator of the booming economy in the Emirate,” added Al Tayer. – TradeArabia News Service

UAE group inks synthetic natural gas deal

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:36:10 GMT

Lootah BCGas, a part of the UAE-based business conglomerate SS Lootah Group, said it has signed a co-operation agreement with US-based Algas-SDI to pursue delivery of comprehensive synthetic natural gas (SNG) solutions in the region.

Abdullah Bin Saeed Al Lootah, the executive director of SS Lootah Group and Randy Ervin, the president of Algas-SDI signed an MoU in this regard at Seattle, Washington.

As per the deal, the duo will jointly source viable projects to provide comprehensive turn-key SNG solutions, expanding their footprint in Pakistan and other developing regions, said Lootah BCGas in a statement.

Abdullah Lootah said the group in co-operation with Algas-SDI aims to offer customers an excellent single source for total SNG system needs, supported by expert application engineering services.

'The decision comes as part of sharing the group’s strategy with key partners to further strengthen our position as a leader in comprehensive gas infrastructure services,' Lootah observed.

Commenting on the partnership, Ervin said, “We are pleased to work with a well-established partner like Lootah to provide the highest and latest standards in SNG facility and related services. We are confident that working together will bring optimal solutions to the most challenging opportunities.”

As pioneers in natural gas infrastructure with comprehensive services from design, engineering and construction to operations and maintenance, Lootah BCGas is viewed as the leading comprehensive operating ‘Gas Utility’ in Dubai with principle branch offices in the UAE and internationally.

Headquartered in Seattle, Algas-SDI is a leading producer of SNG equipment with the resources and products to provide optimal solutions for the evolving energy needs and challenges.

It is the global leader in this field having provided nearly 100 large CityGas SNG systems worldwide, including extensive SNG infrastructure development projects in South Korea and China, as well as Europe, South America, the Middle East and the US.-TradeArabia News Service

UK, Russia firms to develop Iraqi oil block

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:36:10 GMT

Britain's Premier Oil is teaming up with Russia's Bashneft to develop Iraq's oil block 12, an Iraqi oil official said on Sunday.

Last month Iraq awarded Bashneft rights to develop the field. Bashneft has now chosen Premier Oil as a partner, Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate, told reporters.

Bashneft will hold 70 per cent and Premier Oil 30 per cent in the project, he said.

'If another partner entered, we would not object and we would welcome this on the condition that the partner is one of the qualified companies,' he added.

Opec member Iraq holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves and is expected to be a major source of future oil supplies.

In May, a group comprising Premier Oil, Bashneft and Petro Vietnam initially rejected a government offer to develop the block in Iraq's fourth energy bidding round.

Baghdad has signed a series of contracts with foreign oil companies that target total oil production capacity of 12 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2017, up from about 3 million bpd. Most analysts see 6 million to 7 million bpd as a more realistic goal. – Reuters

UAE ships oil via Fujairah amid Iran threats

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:36:10 GMT

As Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz grew louder over the weekend, the UAE quietly loaded its first cargo on Sunday from its long-awaited new oil export terminal on the Gulf of Oman.

UAE oil officials and executives from oil majors such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Total gathered on the eastern coast of the country to open an alternative route for up to 75 per cent of UAE's exports.

A European Union ban on Iranian crude imports came into effect on July 1 and Iran has been intensifying its threats to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf. Two Iranian military officials warned over the weekend that Iran could stop oil from sailing through the vital shipping lane.

Alarmed by the Iranian threats, the UAE has completed its long-delayed project to pump up to 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) to an export terminal on the eastern port of Fujairah.

Over the next few months, the Gulf Opec member hopes to increase exports from the new facility to around 1.5 million bpd, nearly two-thirds of the 2.4 million it typically exports each day, and the new pipeline could carry three-quarters of the UAE's oil exports if needed.

'This is a very strategic project, it gives the options to our clients to transport larger quantities (of oil),' UAE's oil minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said. 'I consider this project to be complementary, so we have an alternative... to give us choice to have more than one trade route.'

The 370-km (231-mile) Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries oil from fields in the UAE's western desert to Fujairah, a major oil storage and fuel bunkering hub on the east coast. The new terminal also has eight crude oil storage tanks each with a capacity of one million barrels.

The first cargo loaded on Sunday with oil pumped from western fields in Abu Dhabi across the mountainous north-east tip of the Arabian Peninsula is to be shipped to Pakistan. The bulk of UAE's oil is exported to Asia.

'It will make other projects viable in this area, and will also avoid more insurance and also will give access to the open sea,' Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, the head of state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said after the opening ceremony.

Exports from the new facility would start at a few hundred thousand barrels a day and rise gradually over the next few months, Suwaidi said.

Until now, the UAE, like Qatar and Kuwait, had been entirely dependent on Hormuz to export its crude and the pipeline ends its dependence on a shipping artery that Iran has increasingly threatened to block as Western sanctions on its oil exports have tightened.

Saudi Arabia too has opened a bypass in the last few months, giving Riyadh scope to export more of its crude from Red Sea terminals should Iran try to block the Strait of Hormuz, but other Gulf oil exporters remain dependent on it.

Flows through the Strait last year accounted for about 35 per cent of all sea-borne traded oil, or almost 20 per cent of oil traded worldwide.

Almost 17 million barrels of oil were shipped between the northern tip of Oman and the southern coast of Iran in 2011, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

'By the end of the year this 1.5 mln bpd will be fully operational which is almost 70 per cent of the UAE's crude,' IPIC's managing director Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi said.

Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) undertook the pipeline project and Adnoc's onshore unit Adco will be the operator.

Ipic is also planning to build a $3 billion refinery in Fujiarah with a capacity of 200,000 bpd, due to be completed in mid-2016. Qubaisi said the project was at its front end engineering design (Feed) and construction was yet to start. – Reuters

Iraq warns Turkey over 'illegal' oil exports

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:36:10 GMT

Iraq said on Sunday that oil exports from Kurdistan to Turkey by truck were 'illegal', warning Ankara that such trade with the autonomous region could damage its relations with the central government in Baghdad.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, which borders Turkey, is locked in a dispute with the central Iraqi government over oil exports and energy policy has become a very sensitive topic.

Turkey said on Friday it had begun importing 5 to 10 road tankers of crude a day from the northern region of Iraq and the volume could rise to 100-200 tankers per day.

'Exporting oil from Kurdistan to Turkey is illegal and illegitimate,' Iraq government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.

He said that the oil is the property of all Iraqis and that any exports and revenue collection should be organised by the central government.

'Turkey, in doing this, is participating in the smuggling of Iraqi oil and putting itself in a position which we don't wish from a neighbour with which we have broad and large interests,' he said.

'This issue will influence the relationships between the two countries, especially economic ones, which will be harmed.'

A Kurdistan regional government source said last week that it had sent a small amount of oil to Turkey by trucks in exchange for diesel, adding it needed the refined product to run power stations.

Ankara has increasingly courted Iraqi Kurds as its relations with the Shi'ite-led central government in Baghdad have soured. Turkey is a major investment and trading partner for Iraq, especially for Kurdistan.

The Kurdish government source said last week Kurdistan was not getting enough of the refined product under supplies controlled by the central Iraqi government, making the trade with Turkey necessary to fill the gap.

Kurdistan infuriated Baghdad last year by signing production sharing contracts with US group Exxon Mobil. A provincial governor said earlier this month he would also like to enter into talks with Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded energy company.-Reuters

Taqa wins $355m financing for Ghana project

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:36:08 GMT

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), a state-owned oil explorer and power supplier, secured a $355 million project financing and government approval to expand its power plant in Ghana, it said on Monday.

Taqa, which is owned 75 per cent by the government of Abu Dhabi, will expand the Takoradi 2 (T2) power plant's capacity from 220 MW to MW, the firm said in a statement.

Japan's Mitsui & Company and Korea's Kepco will start construction of the plant this month, the statement added.

The Taqa-operated T2 power plant currently represents 15 per cent of Ghana's installed power production capacity. The expansion is expected to be commissioned in 2015.

The $355 million project financing will come from World Bank unit International Finance Corp and a consortium of financial institutions that include FMO, the majority Dutch government-owned development bank, the African Development Bank, Agence Francaise de Development and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft.

The T2 power plant is owned by Takoradi International Company (Tico), a joint venture between Taqa, which owns 90 per cent of the plant and Volta River Authority, the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana which owns the remaining 10 per cent stake.

The Abu Dhabi company is the operator of the facility through its wholly-owned subsidiary Taqa Generation International Operating.