Gasfield NEWS

French oil and gas group Total said it would not stop producing gas on its Yadana fields in Myanmar as long as operations remained safe, in part to protect employees there who might otherwise risk repercussions from the military junta.Total has come under pressure from rights groups and Myanmar's parallel civilian government to review its operations amid allegations its payments on taxes were funding the military-controlled state.

Brazilian oil major, Petrobras has put on sale its natural gas fields in Peroa and Cangoa shallow-water, apart from the Malombe deepwater exploration concession. The state-run firm informed in securities filing about initiating the teaser phase of the sale. The fields in Peroa and Cangoa yield about 900,000 cubic meters of gas per day, while the Malombe concession will most likely be declared commercially feasible in 2019.

Santos has decided to buy 14.3% stakes in the Petroleum Retention License 3 Joint Venture. It will buy the stakes for $187 million. The effort to be a part of the PNG LNG project is in line with Santos' expansion plan. ExxonMobil being the major stakeholder of this venture has agreed to sell its holding in the P'nyang gas field in Papua New Guinea to Santos.

Petroleum Ministry of Egypt has given approval to energy major BP and UAE’s Mubadala Investment Co., enabling them to buy stakes in the Nour gas field. Mubadala will buy 20% and BP will buy 25% of the Nour concession from Eni. After this, Eni will be holding only 40% of the concession. Remaining 15% will be held by Tharwa Petroleum Company of Egypt.

After a bidding held by Oman Oil Company, Malaysia’s Petronas informed that its subsidiary, PC Oman Ventures Ltd, will buy 10% stakes in Al Khazzan gas field of Oman. The subsidiary of Petronas will procure the stakes in Block 61 of the field and its expected production capacity is 1.5 billion cubic feet per day by 2020. Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production has 40% stakes in the block.

Total has announced that the company has signed an agreement with Algeria’s Sonatrach to develop the reserves of Erg Issouane gas field in Algeria. French energy giant has also informed that the development of Erg Issouane will require an investment of $400 million. The two companies are planning to form a JV called Sonatrach Total Entreprise Polymères for a petrochemical project in Arzew.

ConocoPhillips has decided to sell its 30% stakes in Greater Sunrise gas field to the government of East Timor. This deal, worth $350 million, gives them a working interest in an important development of Timur. ConocoPhillips' Executive VP said that the company differs with the government’s plan of development but at the same time understands the importance of the field to the nation.

Argentina is suffering from recession second time in three years. Sources informed that YPF SA, which is state-run energy producer of Argentina has decided to shut some of its gas wells. The government backed production and hence, the company invested heavily in shale gas. But now, with the suffering economic condition, YPF finds the need to cut back the supply. Argentinian economy is predicted to stumble further by 1.6 %.

Total SA said on Wednesday that it will not commit any more financial investment into the Iran's South Pars 11 venture, owing to the risk associated with US sanctions. Total’s move goes onto reflect the challenges posed by the renewed US restrictions on Iran. The company said that withdrawing from the project, however, will not affect Total’s target to raise the company’s production by 5 percent/year between 2016 and 2022.