NewBase 13 March -2023 Energy News issue - 1601 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf

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NewBase Energy News 13 March 2023 No. 1601 Senior Editor Eng. Khaed Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
U.A.E’s Masdar signs agreement with Ivory Coast to explore
development of solar power plant
The National - John Benny + ( NewBase)
Abu Dhabi's clean energy company Masdar has signed an agreement with the Ivory Coast to
explore the development of a solar power plant. The deal will support the West African country's
plans to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix
ww.linkedin.com/in/khaled-al-awadi-80201019/
Masdar and Ivory Coast officials at the signing ceremony.

Masdar and the Ivory Coast’s Energy and Mining Ministry will look at jointly developing solar
photovoltaic plants in the West African country, starting with a project with a capacity that is between
50 megawatts and 70MW, the company said on Friday.
“With Africa’s massive projected development and growth, and low current clean energy penetration
levels, we see enormous potential for the renewable energy sector across the continent,” said
Masdar chief executive Mohamed Al Ramahi.
“This agreement will support [the Ivory Coast's] clean energy goals and help to drive sustainable
economic development for the nation.” The West African country aims to produce 45 per cent of
electricity from clean energy sources by 2030.
The deal is a part of the UAE’s “Etihad 7" programme, which seeks to finance renewable energy
projects in Africa, with the aim of reaching a capacity of 20 gigawatts by 2035.
In January, Masdar signed agreements with three African countries to develop renewable energy
projects with a combined capacity of up to five gigawatts. Last year, it signed an agreement with
the Tanzania Electric Supply Company to develop renewable energy projects with a total capacity
of up to two gigawatts.
Mamadou Coulibaly, the Ivory Coast's Minister of Mining, Petroleum and Energy, said his country
had drawn up a master plan for the development of its plants, which integrates solar, hydroelectric
and biomass sources.
“The framework agreement [with Masdar] … will contribute, in addition to the other initiatives that
the Ivorian government is undertaking, to achieving this ambitious objective,” he said. Despite
efforts to increase power generation in Africa, it remains the least electrified continent in the world,
with about 600 million people lacking access.
The Covid-19 pandemic worsened the situation due to lockdowns, supply chain disruptions and the
diversion of funds by governments. The economic impact of the pandemic left more than 30 million
people unable to pay for electricity in 2020, mainly in Africa, according to the International Energy
Agency.
Between 2000 and 2013, eight million people in Africa gained access to electricity annually. That
number tripled to 24 million in the years between 2014 and 2019, the agency has said.
On Thursday, Infinity Power Holding — a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and Masdar — and
Conjuncta GmbH, a German project developer, signed an initial agreement with Mauritania to
develop a green hydrogen project.
The project, which will be spread over four phases, is expected to produce up to eight million tonnes
of green hydrogen or other renewable fuels of non-biological origins upon completion. Masdar is
currently active in more than 40 countries and has
invested or committed to invest in projects worth more
than $30 billion.
The company, which continues to boost its clean
energy portfolio, has an ambitious target to grow its
capacity to at least 100 gigawatts of renewable energy
capacity globally by 2030. The largest share of this
capacity will come from wind and solar technology.
Beyond the initial goals, Masdar also seeks to develop
more than 200 gigawatts of renewable energy.

Saudi Aramco’s $7bln Shaheen petrochem plant breaks ground
in South Korea .. Staff Writer, ZAWYA
State oil giant Saudi Aramco, through its affiliate S-Oil, broke ground on Thursday for the $7 billion
Shaheen petrochemical project, the Gulf company’s biggest investment in Korea. The complex is
Aramco’s biggest investment in Korea
The petrochemical steam cracker, located in S-Oil’s existing site in South Korea’s industrial city of
Ulsan, is one of the biggest international downstream investments of Saudi Aramco.
It aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock, with an annual production capacity of up
to 3.2 million tonnes. The project is scheduled for completion by 2026. Aramco President & CEO
Amin H. Nasser was at the project site on Thursday for the ground-breaking ceremony, which was
also attended by South Korean President Yoon.
“Shaheen is among Aramco’s biggest international downstream investments, representing a
significant and sizeable step forward in our liquids-to-chemicals expansion and another major
milestone in further strengthening our presence in Korea,” Nasser said.
Aramco announced the project in November last year. The steam cracker will process crude by-
products, including naptha and off-gas, to produce ethylene, which is used in the manufacture of
everyday items. The Shaheen complex is also expected to produce other basic chemicals,
including propylene and butadiene.
Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream Mohammed Al Qahtani said in November that the
Shaheen project aspires to be a gamechanger not only for S-Oil in South Korea, but also for
Aramco’s global chemicals business.
South Korean President Yoon (centre) and Aramco President & CEO
Amin H. Nasser pictured at the groundbreaking ceremony of the $7
billion Shaheen project in Ulsan, South Korea.

Oman's domestic production of natural gas rises 14.6%
By: ONA
The Sultanate of Oman's domestic production of natural gas, including imports, increased by 14.6
per cent until the end of January 2023 to reach 4.35 billion cubic metres, compared to 3.95 cubic
metres during the period in 2022.
The data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) indicated that the
production of associated gas increased by 11.7 per cent to reach 909 million cubic metres, while
the production of non-associated gas, including imports, increased by 15.3 per cent to reach 3.62
billion cubic metres.
Natural gas consumption increased in oil fields was 19.9 per cent, followed by
industrial zones at 19 per cent, industrial projects at 13 per cent, and gas consumption
in power plants increased by 11.6 per cent.
Amidst rising global LNG demand and the increasingly attractive domestic gas
market, international actors are preferring gas developments in Oman. The improved
gas market will help gas production levels to surpass Oman’s declining oil production,
with gas output projected to surpass oil by 2023.

Saudi Aramco Haradh, Hawiyah gas projects near full capacity
Alshareq + NewBase
Saudi Aramco’s Haradh and Hawiyah conventional gas compression projects are likely to come on
stream by year-end and go full capacity in 2023, the oil major confirmed in its nine-month 2022
results statement.
The Hawiyah gas plant expansion, part of the Haradh gas increment programme, has started pre-
commissioning activities and is expected to be on stream in 2023, the statement noted, adding that
it will provide additional facilities to process 1,070 million standard cubic feet of raw sweet gas every
day to meet the Kingdom’s energy demand.
According to the statement, Aramco’s upstream capital expenditure for the first nine months of 2022
stood at 76.77 billion Saudi riyals ($20.47 billion), an increase of 15.9 percent, compared to 66.26
billion riyals ($17,671) for the same period in 2021. This was principally attributable to drilling
activities related to increasing crude oil maximum sustainable capacity, development of crude oil
increments, and gas projects, the statement said.
Advancing in the energy transition with switch-to-gas projects
The plant will contribute towards Saudi Aramco´s objective of substituting natural gas as the primary
fuel for a number of local industries which are major consumers of fuel oil.

TR was awarded three turnkey contracts for the Gas Compression Program in Saudi Arabia that
will improve and sustain gas production from Haradh and Hawiyah fields for the next 20 years. The
new facilities will supply gas to the gas country’s network and natural gas liquids will be used as
feedstock for petrochemical facilities.
The contract scope includes engineering, supply and construction of gas compression facilities, the
liquid separation stations and the transmission lines; all this using the most advanced and energy
efficient technologies that assure large energy savings and environmental advantages over the
conventional gas process unit.
Aramco has increased daily gas processing capacity from 2 billion standard cubic
feet per day (scfd) in 2000 to around 18 billion scfd in 2022.
It plans to further expand our gas business, including accelerating the development
of the Kingdom’s unconventional gas resources, to help meet the large and growing
domestic demand for lower-cost, lower-carbon energy.
Its gas processing facilities include Berri, Fadhili, Haradh, Hawiyah, Khursaniayah,
Midyan, Shedgum, Shaybah, Uthamaniyah, Wasit, and North Arabia.

Egypt: Energean confirms first gas from North El Amriya and
North Idku, offshore Egypt … Source: Energean
Energean has confirmed that first gas has been safely delivered at North El Amriya and North
Idku ('NEA/NI'), offshore Egypt.
The NEA/NI development, located in shallow water, offshore Egypt, contains an estimated 39
mmboe[1] of 2P reserves (88% gas) with net working interest production expected to peak at 15 -
20 kboed (88% gas) in 2024.
The development leverages existing infrastructure and involves the subsea tieback of four wells to
Energean's North Abu Qir PIII platform. Energean sanctioned the project in January 2021,
representing a development period from final investment decision to first gas of 2 years and 2
months.
[1] Including 10 mmboe that is located in the Abu Qir licence, but will be developed through the
NEA/NI development

Mathios Rigas, Chief Executive Officer of Energean, commented:
'Our successful development of first gas at NEA/NI is a good example of our commitment to Egypt
and longstanding partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum, EGPC and EGAS, creating
value for all stakeholders.
We are delighted to bring on new production into our East Mediterranean gas-focused portfolio, as
well as meeting the needs of Egypt and Egyptians through underwriting energy security with reliable
supply that has a lower carbon footprint than alternative sources of domestic energy.'
Background
The NEA and NI concessions are both 100% owned by Energean and whilst operated through
separate 50/50 JV companies they both fall under the overall management of Abu Qir Petroleum.
NEA contains two discovered and appraised gas fields (Yazzi and Python). NI – which is split into
northern 21 and southern areas – contains four discovered gas fields, one of which is readied for
development. Both areas contain additional mapped but undrilled prospects.
These fields will be developed as satellite fields to the Abu Qir gas-condensate offshore and onshore
infrastructure. The combined development concept includes three subsea wells, to be drilled in
water depths ranging from 30 to 85 metres, and tied back to the North Abu Qir III platform. A fourth
well will be required to develop the NI-1 discovery. The infrastructure will be installed alongside the
NEA development to allow the NI-1 well to be hooked up either in parallel with NEA or afterwards.

U.S. won’t reach a new record in oil production ‘ever again,’ says
Pioneer Natural Resources CEO
Ian Thomas@BYIANTHOMAS
KEY POINTS
 Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield says refining capacity and inventory issues
means the oil industry won’t be able to grow U.S. production much higher than it already is.
 In 2022, an average of 11.9 million barrels of U.S. crude oil were produced each day, just
below the record average of 12.3 million barrels per day set in 2019.
 For consumers, this means gas prices are likely to stay in the current range, and price risk is
tilted to the upside, with the Pioneer CEO expecting $90 oil again by summer.
While oil production in the U.S. will continue its return towards pre-Covid levels, limits on
refining capacity and inventory mean it will not grow as much as some hope, according
to Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield.
“We just don’t have that potential to grow U.S. production ever again,” Sheffield told
CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on Tuesday at CERAWeek.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean no production growth. Many oil companies have outlined
production increases as part of spending plans this year, though oil companies are now
in an era of greater fiscal discipline, not shy about signaling they will favor shareholder
rewards like stock buybacks over higher production levels. Sheffield expects growth to
top out at a level that was already reached pre-pandemic.
“We may get back to 13 million barrels a day,” he said, which would match the record
high average recorded in November 2019 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But he added it will be at a “very slow pace,” taking two and half to three years to match
that previous record level.
For consumers, that means gas prices are more likely to stay within the current range,
and pricing risk be tilted to the upside later this year.
According to the EIA, an average of 11.9 million barrels of U.S. crude oil were produced
per day in 2022, below the record in 2019 of an average of 12.3 million barrels per day.
The EIA is forecasting a new record for this year, but barely higher, at an average of 12.4
million barrels per day.
“We don’t have the refining capacity … if we all add more rigs, service costs will go up
another 20%-30%, it takes away free cash flow,” Sheffield said. “And secondly, the
industry just doesn’t have the inventory.”
Drilling rigs sit unused on a companies lot located in the Permian Basin area on March 13, 2022 in Odessa, Texas.
The price of a barrel of oil has fluctuated between $75 and $80 this year, well off the
$100+ prices seen this time last year. While the level of economic slowdown in the U.S.
will be a significant factor as the Fed continues to signal its commitment to higher rates,
Sheffield said he sees these current prices as “the bottom,” citing the demand boom
expected alongside the reopening of China.
“The question is when do we break out? I predict sometime this summer to break fast
$80, on the way to $90,” he said.
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub told Sullivan at CERAWeek that the $75-$80 range for oil
prices is a “sustainable price scenario for the industry to continue to be healthy.”

“I think gas prices at the pump are not so bad at this price, so I think it’s optimal,” she
said.
The EIA forecast for gas prices is an average $3.57/gallon this year, down from the
$3.97/gallon seen in 2022.
The White House has pushed oil companies to use their record profits to ramp up
production instead of on buybacks or increasing dividends.
“My message to the American energy companies is this: You should not be using your
profits to buy back stock or for dividends. Not now. Not while a war is raging,” President
Joe Biden said at a press conference in October. “You should be using these record-
breaking profits to increase production and refining.”
During his State of the Union address in February, Biden noted that “Big Oil just reported
record profits…last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis.”
Biden said U.S. oil majors invested “too little of that profit” to ramp up domestic production
to help keep gas prices down. “Instead, they used those record profits to buy back their
own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders.”
Occidental, which was the No. 1-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2022, completed $3
billion in share repurposes last year. In 2023, the company has already authorized a new
$3 billion share repurpose authorization and a 38% increase to its dividend.
While Hollub told CNBC’s Sullivan on Monday at CERAWeek that the company does
have the ability to produce more oil — it is forecasting 12% production growth this year
— “We have a value proposition that includes an active buyback program and also a

growing dividend and we always want to make sure we max out our return on capital
employed.”
“So, we are very careful with how we structure our capital program on an annual basis
to make sure we still have sufficient cash to buy back shares,” Hollub said.
She cited the lack of new oil capacity, which is still near the same level as it was pre-
pandemic, and the contraction in the refining sector. “We’re still limited,” she said.
While the industry can balance the supply issues by importing more of the heavy crude
handled by U.S. refiners and exporting more of its own light crude, and existing refiners
can add capacity, Hollub said it’s not likely that many new refining complexes will be
built.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told S&P Global vice chairman Daniel Yergin during an on-
stage interview at CERAWeek that he has concerns about the exogenous events that
can lead to an abrupt supply-demand imbalance in a world which has created new limits
on the flow of oil to markets, including the ban on Russia oil in the EU and U.S.
“What concerns me is we have introduced new rigidities into these systems,” Wirth said.
“Normally, it’s one big just-in-time delivery machine and demand grows slowly and
production grows slowly,” he said. “There’s not a lot of swing capacity or inventory
capacity. … The market is tight and the logistics system has been stretched in ways it
normally isn’t.”
Hess CEO John Hess said on Tuesday at CERAWeek that “biggest challenge is
investment and having policies that encourage that investment.”
“Energy has a supply chain, and the energy industry has a structural deficit in
investment,” Hess said. “We have higher interest rates, we have tighter financial markets;
all of this makes the mountain steeper.”

Germany Turns Page on Economic Abyss With Sign of Green Shoots
Bloomberg + NewBase
Germany is approaching the end of the first quarter with a sense of quiet optimism that its crisis of
2022 has been consigned to history.
Forecasters no longer predict Europe’s biggest economy will shrink this year, escaping instead with
a mild recession that it’s likely to exit in the spring. Some, including Goldman Sachs, even reckon
that short downturn can still just be averted.
Germany’s corporate sector provides grounds for hope. Industrial output and business expectations
have reached the highest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine. So has the benchmark DAX stock
index.
There’s also anecdotal cause for cheer — not least with carmaker Volkswagen AG’s projection of a
possible 15% jump in revenue this year. Meanwhile China’s reopening offers bright prospects for
exporters. In a taste of what could transpire, German factories saw a surge in orders from abroad
as 2023 began.
There’s no cause for complacency as a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living shock reverberates
among consumers, the housing market teeters and aggressive European Central Bank interest-rate
hikes start to bite.
But the prevailing sentiment in a country whose prior Russian energy dependency left it staring into
an “abyss” last year — according to Economy Minister Robert Habeck — is that a winter once feared
with dread really wasn’t so bad after all, and that spring will soon be in the air.
What Bloomberg Economics Says...
“Germany’s economy has proved surprisingly robust over the winter and recent indicators provide
some optimism for the coming months. However, on the back of tighter monetary policy, economic
activity is unlikely to develop much momentum in 2023.” , —Martin Ademmer, economist

Little more than four months ago, European Union officials reckoned Germany faced the euro zone’s
deepest contraction in 2023. Chancellor Olaf Scholz began the year by bullishly declaring he was
convinced the slump wouldn’t come to pass. Habeck was less positive, but insisted worst-case
scenarios had been avoided.
As it turned out, the economy shrank 0.4% in the fourth quarter — less than half the European
Commission’s prediction at the time.
The median forecast in Bloomberg’s monthly analyst survey remains for a 0.3% drop in gross
domestic product between January and March. But projections for the whole year have improved to
suggest GDP will be unchanged.
There’s also optimism that the outcome may turn out even better.
The Ifo index’s expectations gauge rose more than anticipated last month to its highest in a year.
Industrial production soared by 3.5% in January — more than twice as much as forecast. Factory
orders unexpectedly increased, too.
Volkswagen is an example of the rosier mood. Europe’s biggest carmaker this month predicted
sales will jump thanks to a full order book and an easing in the supply squeeze on semiconductors.
Auto-parts maker Continental AG is another beacon of hope.
“We can go for an outlook which is striving for increased growth, higher sales, as well as higher
earnings,” Chief Executive Officer Nikolai Setzer told Bloomberg Television this week after
lamenting the “extremely challenging and difficult year” just passed.
What saved the economy was the combination of a mild winter that required less energy use, and
government efforts to secure alternative sources of natural gas and expand storage.
Germany isn’t totally out of the woods. The VDMA association of machinery and equipment
manufacturers reported a drastic annual drop in orders in January, citing continuing uncertainty —
even if supply snarls have moderated.
Consumers remain weak, with inflation still at 9.3%, and retail sales fell for a second month in
January. Bundesbank Chief Economist Jens Ulbrich has warned housing investment could sink,
risking a “perfect storm.”
Another ECB rate hike next week — adding to more
than 300 basis points of increases to date — will also
crimp growth.
More broadly, a composite index of indicators
compiled by the DIW Berlin institute declined in
February. Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, an analyst there,
said the economy hasn’t “bottomed out” yet, though
she did concede that things look more positive than
late last year.
In truth, even if Germany succumbs to a contraction
this quarter, it’s already clear the recession that would entail has been far less damaging than it
could have been. Unemployment, for one, hasn’t climbed beyond 5.5%, while government aid to
households facing high energy bills has also helped.
China’s pickup now offers firm prospects for manufacturing: The factory-order report for January
was already buoyed by an 11.2% increase from outside the euro area.

French Nuclear Revival Hits Trouble as New Reactor Defects Found
(Bloomberg)
France’s troubled nuclear industry is supposed to be in revival, but the discovery of further defects
at some reactors this week is stoking fears that the year ahead could be just as difficult as the last.
Electricite de France SA’s fleet of 56 atomic power plants has long been the backbone of Europe’s
energy system, but in 2022 it was more of a millstone. As reactors were shut down to fix cracked
pipes, the company’s nuclear power generation slumped to the lowest since 1988, making the
region more dependent on fossil fuels just as Russia squeezed natural gas exports.
The continent is still grappling with the long-term consequences for energy security of the invasion
of Ukraine. Everyone from power traders to political leaders had been hoping that France would
finally be able to switch from hindrance to help this year, but that’s looking less likely as the country’s
nuclear watchdog asks EDF to revise its maintenance program in light of the new flaws.
“If EDF is not able to have a strong comeback in 2023 with a large uptick in generation compared
to the very low levels in 2022, the fear is that 2022 can end up being the new normal for the French
nuclear generation,” said Fabian Ronningen, a senior analyst for power and renewables research
at Norwegian consultant Rystad Energy AS.
As traders digested the week’s news, French power for delivery in 2024 jumped almost a third to
about €220 ($235) per megawatt hour, the highest since January.
Following the discovery of so-called stress corrosion cracking at a reactor in late 2021, EDF opened
a wide-ranging investigation. The probe found that the company’s 16 newest units were prone to

the phenomenon mostly because of the design of the pipes aimed at cooling the reactor in case of
an accident. Cracks may also have been caused by welding and other defects.
The utility’s nuclear output sank by 23% in 2022 as it halted about a dozen of its 56 reactors to
replace cracked pipes. France went from being a major electricity exporter to its neighbors into a
net importer for the first time since 1980.
EDF’s nuclear output hit a low point in August and gradually began to recover. Crucially, a surge of
plant restarts in December helped France avoid the blackouts it had been fearing and preparing for
during a severe cold snap.
Power generation peaked briefly near 46 gigawatts in early February, but has declined by almost
30% since as more plants were taken offline for safety checks and maintenance, plus the impact of
workers’ strikes, according to data from grid operator RTE. Repairs continue at several units and
more pipe replacements are planned later this year at a handful of plants. The rest of the fleet is
due to be progressively checked up until 2025.
More Problems
These maintenance shutdowns have been uncovering more problems. On Tuesday, France’s
nuclear safety authority asked EDF to revise its program of reactor checks following the utility’s
discovery of a “significant” corrosion crack at its Penly-1 plant. The defect is located near a weld
that had been mended twice during construction of the facility, which was commissioned in the early
1990s.
The watchdog also said EDF would have to extend areas where it looks for signs of so-called
thermal fatigue — a different type of defect — after such flaws were found on pipes at the Penly-2
and Cattenom-3 reactors.
So far, the company and nuclear watchdog haven’t been able to give a clear answer on how the
discovery of these flaws will affect the recovery in nuclear output.

“This shouldn’t jeopardize the planning of stoppages, but this will have consequences on the
duration of halts,” Julien Collet, Deputy General Director of France’s nuclear safety authority, told
Agence France-Presse.
The pipes affected by thermal fatigue have now been replaced as part of the broader program of
repairs tackling the issue of stress corrosion, according to the watchdog. EDF said it will propose
an update of its reactor-check strategy in the coming days. It’s a bleak start to the year that raises
questions about EDF’s target to boost its atomic output by between 7.5% and 18% in 2023.
“Market confidence in nuclear availability levels has not been very high as EDF hasn’t stuck to its
schedule,” said Jean-Paul Harreman, a director at consultant EnAppSys. “This is definitely not
helpful in combination with the low snow cover in the Alps that may lead to more issues this summer
if it’s dry.”
EDF’s nuclear woes are being exacerbated by difficulties with French hydropower production, which
sank by 22% to 32.4 terawatt-hours last year due to prolonged droughts. Rainfall has barely
rebounded so far this year. On the top of that, the company’s power output is being regularly curbed
by striking workers, who are protesting against a government plan to increase the retirement age.
In 2023, for a second year, neighboring countries won’t be able to rely much on power imports from
France. They may have to use more fossil fuels to generate electricity, making them more vulnerable
to the gas squeeze that Russia has imposed on Europe in retaliation for its military support of
Ukraine.
This makes it less likely that Europe can move past the current energy crisis, and all the sacrifices
it has entailed in terms of demand reduction and high prices.
“We went through the winter unscathed because it was an average one with some cold spells,
mostly because we had a massive destruction in demand,” said Emeric de Vigan, vice president in
charge of power markets at consultant Kpler. “Next winter may require the same level of vigilance.”

NewBase March 13 -2023 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Oil prices rise as concerns over rate hikes rattle investors
Reuters + NewBase
Oil prices cautiously rose after slipping in Monday Asian morning trade as concerns about possible
further U.S. interest rate hikes continue to rattle investors, though a recovery in Chinese demand
and a weaker dollar provided some support.
Brent crude futures rise 21 cents, or 25%, to $82.99 per barrel by 03.44 GMT. West Texas
Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rise 21 cents, or -0.27%, to $76.89 a barrel.
Market sentiment was fragile as worries about further monetary tightening by the Fed have been
exacerbated by high crude oil inventories in the U.S., analysts from ANZ Bank observed in a note
on Monday morning.
A weaker greenback , which makes oil cheaper for holders of other currencies, helped lend support
to oil prices.
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and New York-based Signature Bank and concerns about possible
contagion led to a selloff in U.S. assets at the end of last week, has put downward pressure on the
dollar. The dollar index was down 0.2% in Asian morning trade on Monday.
Oil price special
coverage

Comments on Sunday from Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser on crude demand from China also
provided some support.
"If you considered China opening up and a pick up in jet fuels and very limited spare capacity, we
are talking 2 million barrels, so as I said we are cautiously optimistic in the short to midterm and the
market will remain tightly balanced," he said.
The comments come in the wake of the announcement that Riyadh and Tehran had agreed to
restore diplomatic relations in a China-brokered deal, potentially paving the way to the revival of a
nuclear deal that would allow exports of currently-sanctioned Iranian crude.
Oil's weak start to the week represents a slowing of positive momentum from Friday, when U.S.
employment data surprised to the upside. Data for February beat expectations with nonfarm payrolls
rising by 311,000, compared with expectations of 205,000 jobs added, according to a Reuters
survey.
From a medium to long-term supply perspective, energy services firm Baker Hughes
Co (BKR.O) said on Friday U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs
operating for a fourth week in a row for the first time since July 2020.

NewBase Specual Coverage
The Energy world –March -13 -2023
CLEAN ENERGY
Oil Frackers Hold a Crucial Piece of the Net Zero Puzzle
Bloomberg - David Fickling , is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. Previously,
he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. @davidfickling
Technology, as science fiction writers like to warn us, has no sense of morality. Create life, and your
monster might end up turning on you. Build an artificial intelligence system, and you might provoke
a robot apocalyse.
That rule goes for good as well as bad. Microwave ovens are a spinoff from World War II-era military
radar technology. Epipen injectors were developed for soldiers to use against nerve gas.
Technology used to produce bad old fossil fuels is now being turned to clean renewable purposes.
What matters is how companies manage the risks.
Geothermal electricity is a relative rarity. ,Photographer: George Frey/Getty Images
Increasingly, we’re seeing similar technology spillovers in the energy transition, with expertise
generated in producing bad old fossil fuels being turned to clean renewable purposes. The offshore
wind industry has learned important lessons from the decades we’ve spent drilling for offshore oil
and gas. In many parts of the world, it’s already taken the baton from petroleum as the largest
contributor to offshore energy investment.

It’s a similar story with fracking. Knowledge gained forcing oil and gas from deep rocks over the past
few decades may provide a crucial piece of the puzzle to build zero-carbon grids, by turning
geothermal energy from a niche industry into a powerhouse.
At present, geothermal electricity — using hot rocks buried deep in the earth to force fluids to the
surface and drive turbines — is a relative rarity. Volcanic areas such as Iceland, Kenya, New
Zealand, the Philippines and the western US use it quite extensively, thanks to high
temperatures close to the surface that fuel mineral springs like those in Yellowstone and Rotorua in
New Zealand.
Under the Volcano
Most of the world's geothermal generation is still in countries with active volcanoes or geological
plate boundaries
Source: Salhein et al., "Forecasting Installation Capacity for the Top 10 Countries Utilizing Geothermal Energy
by 2030", Thermo 2, 334-351 (2022)
Elsewhere, the useful rocks are either too deep or too impermeable to be much use. While wind
and solar power generation increased by about 2,600 terawatt-hours between 2009 and 2021,
geothermal added just 28 TWh. It’s stuck in similar doldrums to the ones fracking was in 20 years
ago, before the boom took hold in the US.
The industries have a surprising amount in common. Both drill holes deep in the ground and hope
to extract energy by forcing fluids to the surface. Both originated in the middle of the 20th century
but remained small-scale for decades, with technology and economics barring wider deployment.

Both suffer decline rates: Oil gets harder to extract as crude is pumped out and underground
pressures fall, while geothermal reservoirs can gradually get cooler over time and lose their ability
to force steam to the surface.
Some of the most crucial information needed for working out the ideal locations for geothermal
reservoirs is locked in the vast database of sedimentary rock basins that the petroleum industry has
assembled over the past century.
There’s already signs that spillovers are happening. The US government has developed a fluid
to fracture impermeable rocks to open up more geothermal reservoirs, a process identical to the
one that frackers use in petroleum deposits. Start-up Eavor Technologies Inc. plans to use the
horizontal drilling pioneered by the unconventional oil and gas industry to build radiator-like
networks of pipes in areas that would otherwise be unsuitable for development.
Shell Plc set up a geothermal division in 2018 that’s been exploring the potential of the technology
to provide heat for buildings and industry in the Netherlands. Baker Hughes Co., the former oilfield
services division of General Electric Co., has developed deep, high-temperature
drilling technologies to tap reservoirs that can produce heat more efficiently than conventional ones.
There’s even proposals to use the technologies to produce other materials crucial to the energy
transition. Current geothermal wells operating near California’s Salton Sea might be able to
extract enough lithium from underground brines to meet US demand 10 times over. One of the
world’s few operating green hydrogen facilities is powered by a geothermal plant just outside
Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.
Simmer Down
Solar and wind have taken off over the past decade. Geothermal has been left behind
Source: International Renewable Energy Agency, BP
The question is whether innovations developed by oil and gas producers will be sufficient to
overcome geothermal’s high upfront costs, which don’t appear to fall the way they do for wind and
solar projects.
Petroleum and mining companies normally enjoy periods of super-profits to compensate for the
haphazard nature of resource exploration, while utilities churn out unspectacular but reliable
margins year after year. Geothermal appears to get the worst of both worlds, its costs at the mercy
of unpredictable geology while its revenues are set by stolid regulated power grids.

Clearing away red tape and local opposition to projects will be essential. It can be harder to get a
permit for a geothermal well than a petroleum one in the US. In Japan — on paper, one of the
countries with most potential for the technology — owners of onsen hot spring
bathhouses frequently block development because of fears the industry will deplete reservoirs of
hot rock. The hurdles aren’t pure NIMBYism, either.
Some of the problems that fracking can cause in terms of minor earthquakes and contamination of
groundwater are also risks that geothermal developers have to address.
The potential remains substantial. Geothermal doesn’t stop generating if the sun goes down or the
wind stops blowing. That should allow it to capitalize on higher peak pricing as variable renewables
take up an increasing share of power grids. If we’re to shift to clean energy over the coming decades,
we’ll need every tool at our disposal. Geothermal should be part of that mix.
Some of the problems that fracking can cause in terms of minor earthquakes and contamination of
groundwater are also risks that geothermal developers.

NewBase Energy News 13 March 2023 - Issue No. 1601 call on +971504822502, UAE
The Editor:” Khaled Al Awadi” Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced Twice a week and sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
For additional free subscriptions, please email us.
About: Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
www.linkedin.com/in/khaled-al-awadi-38b995b
Mobile: +971504822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net or khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with over 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas
sector. Has Mechanical Engineering BSc. & MSc. Degrees from leading U.S.
Universities. Currently working as self leading external Energy consultant for the
GCC area via many leading Energy Services companies. Khaled is the Founder of
the NewBase Energy news articles issues, Khaled is an international consultant,
advisor, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise in Gas & Oil pipeline Networks,
waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection
and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Middle East,
Africa and Asia. Khaled has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in
the areas of Gas & Oil with extensive works on Gas Pipeline Network Facilities & gas
compressor stations. Executed projects in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &
regulating stations and in the engineering of gas/oil supply routes.
Has drafted & finalized many contracts/agreements in products sale, transportation, operation &
maintenance agreements. Along with many MOUs & JVs for organizations & governments authorities.
Currently dealing for biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has
participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and
panelist.
Khaled is the Editor-in-Chief of NewBase Energy News and is a professional environmental writer with over
1400 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable
energy, waste management, plant Automation IA and environmental sustainability in different parts of the
world. Khaled has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences and for many Energy program
broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels. Khaled can be reached at any time, see
contact details above.

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