Advertisement

UPI Energy Watch

Qatar will delay its Barzan gas field

The development of the Barzan gas field in Qatar will be delayed because of the fall in gas prices, Deputy Premier Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said.

Advertisement

Though the project is being delayed, Qatar is still committed to developing the Barzan project, the Gulf Times reports.

"Barzan is a strategic project of Qatar; we remain committed to it. We will not abandon the project," al-Attiyah said.

Qatar shares the project with Exxon Mobil, which has a 10 percent stake in it. The project was first announced in February 2007.

The project was designed to meet increasing local gas demand, which is expected to reach 4.25 billion cubic feet per day by 2012.

Qatar's Barzan project was scheduled to be operational and producing gas by 2013. It is expected to eventually produce about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

Advertisement

"We have purposefully delayed Barzan field development to benefit from changed market conditions," al-Attiyah said. "The prices of commodities are dropping all around us. It is only natural that we take benefit from a drop in costs."

The al-Shaheen Refinery and Aromatics Complex at Mesaieed has also been delayed because of the market.


Gazprom, Eni sign acquisition deal

Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly, signed a $4.2 billion deal to acquire Italian oil company Eni's 20 percent stake in Gazprom Neft.

Control of the Russian oil company has long been a point of contention between Gazprom and Eni, the Financial Times reports.

Eni was warned for years that as soon as Gazprom could come up with the financing, an offer would be made, said Alexei Miller, Gazprom's chief executive.

Eni was not surprised by the bid and was able to use the $4.2 billion to pay down some of its debt, said Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Eni.

Gazprom Neft is a valuable asset, producing about 1 million barrels of oil per day from areas where it is relatively inexpensive to extract it.

Eni bought the 20 percent stake in Gazprom Neft at auction in 2007, and Gazprom gained the right to buy back the stake within two years.

Advertisement


Violence in Nigeria has cost $23.7 billion

An increase in violence in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta has caused disruptions in oil production and a loss in revenue estimated at $23.7 billion.

The estimate comes from a report by the Niger Delta Technical Committee that studied just the first nine months of 2008, ThisDay reports.

The report comes just three weeks after the Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. announced a shortfall in oil revenue of about $2.2 billion per month in 2008 and about $1 billion in January 2009.

The Niger Delta Technical Committee blames the losses on attacks on oil installations in the region that resulted in shut downs and spills.

The report estimates the dollars lost based on an average of 700,000 barrels of oil per day lost in each month from January to September.

For the last two years, militant attacks and thefts have resulted in the loss of more than 500,000 barrels a day of production. Prior to 2006 when the violence escalated, Nigeria produced between 2.5 million and 2.6 million barrels of oil per day. The current production fluctuates between 1.6 and 2.2 million barrels a day.

--

Closing oil prices, April 9, 3 p.m., London

Advertisement

Brent Crude oil: $53.18

West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $51.28

--

(e-mail: [email protected])

Latest Headlines