MILAN (Reuters) – Italian energy services group Saipem SPMI.MI said on Wednesday it had signed a framework agreement with Saudi Aramco covering engineering and ground construction activities.
It said the agreement, which will last 12 years, is part of Saudi Aramco’s broader long-term plan to upgrade its facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
The agreement requires efficiency activities at the existing facilities, Saipem said.
Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Giulia Segreti
MILAN, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Italy has set guidelines for a national hydrogen strategy to help decarbonize the economy as it gradually phases out coal and increases production of renewable energy to meet long-term climate targets.
In a draft document called the National Hydrogen Strategy Preliminary Guide, seen by Reuters, the Ministry of Industry said it was targeting investment in the sector at around 10 billion euros ($ 12 billion) by 2030, with half of that coming from European funds and private investment. .
To help increase “green” hydrogen production, about 5 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity to extract gas from water will be introduced during the period, the document says.
Electrolysis can be a carbon-free process if the power used is generated from renewable energy. Hydrogen is now mostly produced from fossil fuels or other carbon emission processes, because electrolysis is too expensive because of the large power required.
By 2030, hydrogen could account for 2% of Italy’s final energy demand and help remove up to 8 million tonnes of CO2, the document said. As the scale of the industry goes up and costs fall, this could reach up to 20% by 2050, he said.
The document, when published, will form the basis of consultations before a final hydrogen strategy is approved, possibly early next year.
Brussels mapped out plans this year to promote hydrogen as it strives to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. France, Germany and Spain have set their own targets.
Hydrogen is currently too expensive to be widely used but as costs go down, governments around the world see it as a substitute for fossil fuels in areas where electrification is not an easy solution.
The ministry document, which says the plan could create more than 200,000 jobs and generate up to 27 billion euros in Italy’s gross domestic product, said hydrogen could be used in transportation, heavy industry and natural gas pipelines.
Italian gas group Snam has been experimenting with a 10% hydrogen mixture in part of its natural gas network, while power company Enel and energy company Eni both have hydrogen plans.
$ 1 = 0.8458 euros Reported by Stephen Jewkes; Edited by Edmund Blair
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Petroleo Brasileiro SA from Brazil PETR4.SA is preparing to sell a 50% stake in the marine oil cluster in its legacy, the company said Monday in a filing.
In production since the 1980s in the Campos Atlantic Ocean basin, the giant Marlim cluster has four fields – Marlim, Voador, Marlim Leste and Marlim Sul – producing 217,000 barrels of oil per day, or nearly 10% of the company’s total production.
The sale, at an early stage, is part of Petrobras’ plan to sell non-core assets to cut debt and focus investment in the world’s largest deepwater discovery this century, in the so-called pre-salt region.
Newer pre-saline deposits, found under a thick layer of salt on the seabed in Brazilian waters, have increased rapidly in the last decade and are responsible for more than 70% of Petrobras production.
Marlim was once the largest oil field with more than 500,000 barrels per day, Marlim has experienced a decline in production in the last decade. At present, Marlim Sul and Marlim are Brazil’s sixth and eighth largest oil fields, respectively. Marlim Sul has the largest number of producing wells in Brazil, 67.
The four fields which also produce 3.6 million cubic meters of natural gas are located between 90-150 kilometers offshore and up to 2,500 meters below the seabed.
Petrobras shares rose more than 4% in Sao Paulo following the announcement.
Reporting by Sabrina Valle, editing by Louise Heavens and Steve Orlofsky
BRASILIA, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Brazil must pay 1,200 reais ($ 219.68) to every low-income resident in the northern state of Amapá that has recently been affected by widespread power outages, a federal court ruling on Friday.
The northern state, with a population of 750,000, has been plagued by blackouts that haven’t been completely resolved for more than 10 days.
The judge also ordered electric utility Linhas de Macapá Transmissora de Energia SA to end the blackout, under a potential fine of 50 million reais if it fails to do so.
Earlier this week, electricity service in the state was back up to 80%, authorities said. ($ 1 = 5,4625 reais) (Reported by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Richard Chang)
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Woodside Petroleum suspended talks to sell a stake in a gas field and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Chinese companies several months ago due to a growing diplomatic row between Australia and China, the company chief said on Thursday.
Chief Executive Peter Coleman said he hoped to revive the talks when the fighting died down.
Woodside has been negotiating with China’s national oil companies, including PetroChina Co. 601857.SS, and a second tier company to sell a “modest” stake in the connected Scarborough gas field and the Pluto 2 LNG Train project, which will cover a portion of the gas sale.
“They told us a few months ago that they cannot continue at this time because of the relationship between China and Australia,” said Coleman.
“So we were a little frustrated and disappointed by that. But we hope things will get better and we will be able to bring them back to the standings, ”he said in an interview.
Diplomatic relations with China, Australia’s main trading partner, have deteriorated after Canberra called for an international investigation into the source of the coronavirus.
The damaged relationship has hit exports of Australian coal, barley, wine, timber and lobster, but analysts expect LNG to be immune because Australia is the largest LNG supplier to China.
“The restrictions, so far, do not appear to be affecting Australian LNG exports to China,” research firm EnergyQuest said in a report on Thursday.
EnergyQuest estimates China imported 23.5 million tonnes of Australian LNG in the first 10 months of this year, in line with the first 10 months of last year.
Coleman said the diplomatic spat did not hurt Woodside’s existing partnerships with Chinese companies in Australia and Myanmar, where he said relations were “very good”.
Woodside also wants to sell its recently enlarged stake in the Sangomar oil project in Senegal.
CNOOC China has ties to Woodside’s former Senegal partner, FAR Ltd. FAR.AX, for a project in West Africa. Coleman said he did not see any diplomatic spatter stopping CNOOC from offering for shares in Sangomar.
“No. The Australia-China thing is very specific for investment in Australia. This is not a general problem,” Coleman said.
The collapse of Woodside’s talks with China was first reported by the Australian Financial Review on Wednesday.
Reporting by Sonali Paul; Edited by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry
