COLOMBIA TO SEND MOORE TROOPS TO OIL REGION PAG 7 PLATTS OILGRAM NEWS JULY 29 2014. ARTICULO SOBRE PETROLEO EN COLOMBIA REGION PUTUMAYO
Text of Platts oilgram news julio 29 2014 articulo pag 7 Colombia oil Orlando Hernandez
Volume 92 / Number 147 / Tuesday, July 29, 2014 [OIL ] www.platts.com OILGRAM NEWS Top stories Asia Pacific Jordan Cove eyes Asia for 25% of LNG sales 2 Aussie group buys Canadian LNG to serve Europe 2 Europe, Middle East & Africa Galps refining margin slips into the red 3 UK launches shale gas exploration bid round 3 UKs JKX eyes more gas from Ukrainian field 4 Israeli gas output to hit 3.6 Bcf/d by 2017 5 Algeria appoints new chief at state Sonatrach 5 The Americas US refiners should rethink export stance: Murkowski 6 Markets & Data Colombia to send more troops to oil region 7 Tesoros Uinta Express pipe runs into zoning snag 7 Argentina crude imports steady in June, gas up 2.7% 7 ICE Brent lower amid bearish refined products 8 Iraq threatens to sue if Kurdish oil delivered to US WashingtonWith the latest battle between Baghdad and Erbil over crude sales reaching US shores Monday, the Iraqi central govern- ment sent warnings to lightering companies in Galveston, Texas, not to offload a cargo of Kurdish oil on the United Kalavrvta, a Suez- max tanker currently anchored 60 miles off the port. Letters were sent to all of the lightering companies to make sure they are aware this crude oil doesnt belong to the party pur- porting to sell it, a senior Iraqi Oil Ministry official told Platts on condition of anonymity. The entire market is on notice. The tanker, which loaded Kurdish crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan more than a month ago, has yet to offload its cargo, according to officials at the US State Depart- ment and the US Coast Guard. Earlier Monday, Coast Guard inspectors examined the ship and gave it clearance to begin lightering the crude. Theres nothing else prohibiting it from doing business from the Coast Guards point of view, Petty Officer Andy Kendrick said. Its free to conduct the lightering, [but] nothing has taken place yet. A woman who answered the phone at the Galveston Pilots Association said officials there were under orders not to discuss the tanker and its activities. The Iraqi central government has sent similar letters to ports where other cargoes of Kurdish crude have approached. The letters warn that Iraq may pursue legal action against any entity that receives oil exported from the northern semiautonomous region of Kurdistan. The KRG has maintained its right to sell and market the crude produced in its fields. US crude trading and shipping sources said the owner of the United Kalavrvtas cargo (continued on page 6) Yukos shareholders claim $50 billion win But Moscow vows to appeal Dutch court ruling LondonThe Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague Monday ordered Russia to pay over $50 billion to Yukos shareholders, ruling the oil company was subject to a politically motivated attack to appropriate its assets and to remove main shareholder Mikhail Khodorkovsky from the political stage. Russia vowed to challenge the judgment in the Dutch courts, but in London Emmanuel Gaillard, head of the Shearman and Sterling legal team that conducted the case in a pro- cess lasting 10 years, emphasized the out- come is final and binding. Yukos was declared bankrupt in 2006 after buckling under unprecedented tax demands and its assets, notably its 1 million b/d upstream subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz, ended up largely in the hands of state-owned Rosneft, with some also going to Gazprom. Yukos founder Khodorkovsky and busi- ness partner Platon Lebedev were sen- tenced to eight years in prison for tax fraud in 2005 and in a later case were found guilty of money laundering and embezzle- ment, pushing their sentences to 2014. They were pardoned in December and Janu- ary, respectively. Russia, as a party to the international arbitration court, is likely to pay up eventu- ally, despite current diplomatic tensions over Ukraine, the shareholders representatives said Monday. Were thrilled with this decision. We know its not the end of the road, but it is a giant step forward, said Tim Osborne, director of GML, the holding company that indirectly owned the majority of Yukos shares. It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision, Osborne said. It also demonstrates the vital role that international arbitration plays in resolving disputes of this nature. Without the bind- (continued on page 4) Russia vows to fight verdict Rosneft says operations unaffected Claimants see long fight ahead United Kalavrvta yet to be offloaded Coast Guard says will not block lightering Cargos buyer remains mystery
2 Oilgram News / Volume 92 / Number 147 / Tuesday, July 29, 2014 Asia Pacific Aussie group buys Canadian LNG to serve Europe SydneyAustralias Liquefied Natural Gas Limited has agreed to buy 100% of Anadarko Petroleums Bear Head LNG project in Cana- das Nova Scotia for $11 million and plans to develop the former proposed import terminal into an export facility to serve markets in Europe, the company said Monday. LNG Limited is already aiming to become a North American LNG exporter from its Magnolia project in Louisiana, where it is planning to spend $2.2 billion developing an export facility with an initial capacity of 4 million mt/year. The company now intends to replicate that project model to develop a 4 million mt/year export plant at Bear Head with capacity for future expansion as more gas becomes available. Anadarko had invested significantly in the Bear Head site as a proposed 11.3 million mt/year LNG import terminal, LNG Limited said. Bear Head was likely to have signifi- cantly lower development costs and a faster approval schedule than Magnolia due to work already completed, the company added. The key assets to be acquired include the 255-acre site, comprising 180 acres of industrial-zoned land and foundations in place for two 180,000 cubic meter LNG tanks. The land has been cleared, most of the site works completed and roads constructed, LNG Lim- ited said. The company said it has already devel- oped gas supply and transportation plans, and has interest from several parties to enter into tolling agreements at Bear Head, like it has at Magnolia. LNG Limited is in discussions with gas transportation compa- nies and owners of gas reserves onshore and offshore Canada and in the US Marcel- lus Shale gas play to supply the Bear Head LNG project site. Under the proposed timetable, the pur- chase of Bear Head would close before the end of August this year. The LNG facility is fore- cast to begin commercial operations in 2019. Magnolia on track Meanwhile, the companys Magnolia LNG project at Lake Charles remains on schedule and budget, with financial close expected in mid-2015. Operations at Magnolia are tar- geted to start in mid-2018. The Magnolia project is to be developed in two phases, the first of which would comprise two LNG production trains, each with a capac- ity of 2 million mt/year, two 160,000 cubic meter storage tanks, and a jetty and ship loading facilities to accommodate tankers of up to 180,000 cu m. LNG Limited expects to double capacity to 8 million mt/year in the second development stage. Magnolia has signed four preliminary tolling agreements for a total of up to 6.7 million mt/year of LNG with AES Corporation Group, Brightshore Overseas, Gas Natural Fenosa Group and LNG Holdings. The project has already received approval from the Department of Energy to export 4 million mt/year of LNG to coun- tries which have free trade agreements with the US. LNG Limited has applied to increase the current approval by another 4 million mt/year and has sought approval to export 8 million mt/year of LNG to coun- tries that do not have free trade agree- ments with the US. Christine Forster TokyoThe Jordan Cove LNG project on the US West Coast aims to sell at least a quar- ter of its output to Asia, Don Althoff, presi- dent and CEO of operator Veresen said last week during a visit to Tokyo. The company hopes to conclude binding agreements with offtakers this year for all of its initial output of 6 million mt/year at the planned tolling facility on Oregons southern coast, Althoff said. We do continue to market the project throughout Asia and look for really high- quality customers who could take at least the quarter of the output, he told Platts in an interview. We are going to look for customers who already have infrastructures in place and strong credit rating. Althoff declined to elaborate on whether the prospective customers in Asia included Japanese companies. All of our customers, especially the ones [with which] we have signed the heads of agreements, considered their identity to be important to maintain con- fidentiality, and we respect that, he said. Althoff told delegates at the Canada Alber- ta LNG Seminar that Veresen has signed a number of non-binding heads of agreements with large-scale prospective customers locat- ed in various Asian countries. The Jordan Cove project, which is currently wholly owned by Calgary-based Veresen, might make its prospective offtakers equity part- ners, he added. We are talking to potential offtakers about equity as well, Althoff said, adding that the majority of the potential customers had expressed interest in participating in the project. Veresen plans to conclude binding con- tracts first and then negotiate for potential ownership shares afterward, Althoff said. The company is aiming to secure an engi- neering, procurement and construction con- tractor this fall, he added. The Jordan Cove export project will be a tolling facility linked to gas prices, likely to be one or a combination of three North American benchmarks: Henry Hub, Malin Hub in south- west Oregon and Albertas AECO. Althoff said the price linkages would be up to customers risk tolerance and gas posi- tions. All three of the options are very viable for the Jordan Cove, he said. In shopping the project to potential customers, Althof
