Pipelines NEWS

The Israeli government on Sunday approved an agreement with European countries for the construction of a subsea pipeline that would supply Europe with natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean. The Eastmed pipeline, is meant to transport gas from offshore Israel and Cyprus to Greece and on to Italy. The pipeline is planned to initially carry 10 billion cubic meters of gas/year with the possibility of eventually doubling the capacity.

The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline has been shut down since early Saturday following an oil spill at a pump station in British Columbia. The pipeline crew are responding to a release at its Sumas Pump Station in Abbotsford, British Columbia, after an alarm was received early in the morning, Trans Mountain Corp said in a statement. The spill has been contained and cleanup is underway, the company said.

Russian oil pipeline monopoly, Transneft yesterday reported a 13% jump in the first-quarter net earnings Y/Y to 56.7 billion roubles ($822 million). The firm climbed on the back of higher sales to register a 1.3% jump in net revenue to 263.3 billion roubles. Transneft has also paid oil suppliers a whopping sum of $71 million for the April oil contamination.

Pipeline giant Energy Transfer LP claimed that operator companies in North-America have started reopening oil wells. These wells were previously shut-in, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the social lockdown that had followed. With demand creeping up, reportedly 25% of the stalled operations have been resumed. The reopening of wells may undermine POTUS’ pledge support a coalition of OPEC and allied producers like Russia in taming a global gut.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has informed that the construction of Baltic, a new pipeline, will commence soon. This major gas pipeline from Norway will mark the independence of Poland from Russian gas. Its capacity is said to be 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Italian oilfield services major, Saipem who will take care of pipeline's construction said that the contract is worth $307 million.

Chevron Corp yesterday registered a 38% jump in profits for the quarter that ended March 31st, climbing on the back of asset sales. Unlike its competitors in the market, Chevron recorded $3.6 billion in profits, in comparison to $2.6 billion during the same period last year. Chevron gained from $1.6 billion in the asset sale, which came largely from the sale of oil and pipeline properties in Azerbaijan.

A crude oil spill due to pipeline bursting prompted by a landslide this week has Ecuador sweating as it tries to limit the environmental impact in the country’s Amazon region. A statement released by the Ecuadorean Energy Ministry said that it had put barriers around the spill in an area inhabited by indigenous communities and near a drinking water source for the city of El Coca.

Midstream giant, Kinder Morgan yesterday recorded a 26% jump in the quarterly profit, climbing on the back of higher gas carryout from Permian Basin through its Gulf Coast Express pipeline. The Houston-based company filed a net income of $610 million in the fourth quarter, rising from $483 million, a year earlier. The Gulf Coast Express pipeline, which came into service in September 2019, can transport 2 billion cfd.

Downstream giant, IOCL has planned to monetise its pipelines and storage infrastructure. The state-run oil guzzler has aimed to maximize the asset utilisation and lock future revenue using special purpose vehicles (SPVs). According to sources, many PE and VC funds have agreed to invest in IOC assets because of the assurance of elevated returns given by the refining major. IOC has expected this investment to raise its profitability and dividend payout.

Energy ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel are expected to sign EastMed subsea pipeline agreement in Athens on Thursday. The collaboration has aimed to reach a final investment decision in 2022 and completion by 2025. The 1900 km long pipeline will be transporting natural gas from eastern Mediterranean’s developing gas industries to Europe. The pipeline project is owned by IGI Poseidon, a joint venture between Greek gas firm DEPA and Italian energy group Edison.

While addressing a gathering of Russia's top businessmen on Wednesday, Putin said that Russia has a “pipe-laying vessel” to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2. Russian President also informed that the construction of the pipeline will be delayed due to the sanctions. Pipe-laying vessel, Academic Cherskiy was bought by Gazprom to use if European companies denied service for Nord Stream 2.

Chinese state-run CNPC has informed about kickstarting operations at its 371-kilometer-long Ethane pipeline. A statement on CNPC’s website read that the Xinjiang oilfield unit has delivered 500,000 cubic meters of ethane after commencing operations a week ago. The pipeline connects CNPC's gas field in Junggar Basin to Dushanzi petrochemical complex. The gas field in Junggar Basin has an annual ethane capacity at 38.5 million cubic meters.

American pipeline operator, Tallgrass Energy yesterday informed about accepting Blackstone’s new buyout deal that values the company at approximately $6.3 billion. The fresh sweetened deal came after a dispute emerged over the original offer which gave Tallgrass executives a higher price for their shares than other holders. Tallgrass said that the transaction will come via $3 billion in equity and the remainder with debt.

Russia and China, yesterday, kickstarted the 3,000-km-long Power of Siberia pipeline for the transportation of gas from Siberia to northeast China. The launch was overseen by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The pipeline is being seen as an attempt to boost economic and political ties between Moscow and Beijing. The move will fortify China’s spot as Russia’s top export market.

A group of farmers in Tamil Nadu has petitioned the state government against BPCL for conducting land surveys through drones without prior knowledge. A private consultancy utilized drone cameras to conduct survey in farmland for BPCL’s Irugur-Devangonthi Petroleum and Petroleum Product Pipeline (IDPL) on October 14. A senior official from BPCL acknowledged that the consultancy had deployed the drone cameras without the company’s knowledge.

If sources were to be believed, TC Energy Corp’s Marketlink oil pipeline running from Oklahoma to Texas was shut on Thursday. The southeastern part of Texas took in heavy rains yesterday due to Tropical Depression Imelda. The 750,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Marketlink pipeline links to the Nederland terminal. Phillips 66 was also forced to shut operations at its Beaumont Terminal in Nederland, Texas.

Pipeline firm Energy Transfer LP has agreed to acquire smaller rival SemGroup Corp in a $1.35 billion deal. The acquisition will gain Energy Transfer the ownership to SemGroup’s crude oil terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, crude oil gathering assets and oil and natural gas liquids pipelines. With an enterprise value of $5 billion, the deal is expected to close in late 2019 or early 2020.

Poland has won a European Union court ruling That would reduce Russia's control on Opal pipeline in Germany. Poland challenged the European Commission's 2016 decision which allowed Gazprom to use major capacity on the Opal pipeline. “The ruling keeps Poland’s and Ukraine’s energy security at a high level”, said the Polish Energy Minister. The pipeline has the capacity to transport 36 billion cubic meters of gas per year.