From Bloomberg, by Mohammed Sergie,Tsuyoshi Inajima, and Anthony Dipaola 2017 M06 5 05:06 GMT-5

«Qatar, the world’s biggest seller of liquefied natural gas, can still access shipping routes to deliver oil and gas to buyers after Saudi Arabia and other neighboring states barred the emirate from exporting through their territorial waters.»

«State producer Qatargas told Japan’s Jera Co. that it would keep supplying LNG as normal in spite of the Saudi-led severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar, Jera spokesman Atsuo Sawaki said by phone. Jera is Japan’s biggest buyer of Qatari LNG under long-term contracts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.»

«The escalation of tensions in the energy-rich Persian Gulf probably won’t disrupt LNG supplies to Qatar’s main customers in Asia, according to Robin Mills, head of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy. “In principle Qatar should still be able to export via its own waters, Iran and Oman,” Mills said.»

«Saudi Arabia and three allied Arab countries cut ties with Qatar on Monday, escalating a crisis that started over the emirate’s relationship with Iran, a Saudi rival in the region. The governments of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said in statements they will suspend air and sea travel to and from Qatar. «

«Qatar exported 79.62 million tons of LNG last year, or 30 percent of global supply, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers, known by its French acronym GIINGL. State-run Qatar Petroleum, the world’s fourth-largest oil and natural gas producer, has only five Middle Eastern customers for its gas — Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, the U.A.E. and Egypt. LNG exports to these countries comprised about 10 percent of Qatar’s total shipments in 2016, GIINGL data show.»

«“I presume LNG exports to the U.A.E. will stop,” Qamar Energy’s Mills said. “The U.A.E. will have to use other suppliers, but there are plenty of cargoes around at the moment.”»

«Qatar, like Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., is also a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The emirate is the group’s third-smallest producer, pumping 620,000 barrels a day of crude oil in May, data compiled by Bloomberg show, and ships most of its crude and condensate to Asia.»

«Aside from sending LNG and oil by ship, Qatar exports natural gas through a pipeline operated by Dolphin Energy, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co., Total SA and Occidental Petroleum Corp. The link supplies gas to the U.A.E. and Oman and can send 3.2 billion cubic feet per day, though it only uses about two-thirds of that capacity.»

«Gas continues to flow normally through the Dolphin pipeline to the U.A.E. and Oman, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. There is no sign that supplies will be cut, they said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.»

«A potential shutdown of the pipeline would cause a “severe problem” in the U.A.E. as demand for electricity peaks in the summer, Mills said. But he played down the likelihood that either country would halt supplies due to the hardship this would cause the U.A.E. and the damage it would inflict on Qatar’s reputation as a reliable energy provider.»

«Qatar Petroleum, Qatar’s LNG producers Qatargas and RasGas, and Dolphin Energy didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.»

Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-05/saudi-led-isolation-of-lng-giant-doesn-t-stop-gas-or-oil-exports

Wed May 17, 2017 | 1:15pm EDT

REUTERS   By David Alire Garcia

“BP Plc’s first foray into Mexico’s recently opened energy market is proving more promising than expected, and the government should offer more big projects to lure investment, the British oil major’s Mexico boss said in an interview.»

«Chris Sladen, country manager for Mexico, said BP expects to increase investment in everything from exploration to retail fuel sales, and looks forward to partnering with state oil company Pemex [PEMX.UL] after losing an early chance for a lucrative tie-up.»

«Mexico wants to attract major investors to reverse years of declining crude output and rising dependence on U.S. natural gas and fuel imports.»

«»To turn that ship around, you need a substantial number of large projects,» Sladen said at BP headquarters in Mexico City on Tuesday. «I would encourage Mexico to offer substantial numbers of large projects because that’s what it takes.»»

«BP and others are expanding their presence in Mexico after a 2013 energy overhaul ended Pemex’s decades-long monopoly.»

«»The British firm is already involved in three offshore projects, two in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep waters and another in shallow waters. Sladen said initial company investment in all three could total many hundreds of millions of dollars.»

«»That investment would grow significantly, he added, if the projects are successful.»

«In 2015, Argentina-based Pan American Energy LLC [BPPAE.UL], which is 60 percent BP-owned, won the rights to develop the Hokchi field in the Gulf’s shallow waters.»

«Sladen said three of four committed exploration and appraisal wells have already been drilled there, and early data is promising.»

«»The initial results have suggested that the reservoir volume might be slightly higher than initially modeled. Perhaps it’s 20 percent higher,» he said.»

«During the auction for the Hokchi field, Mexico’s oil regulator estimated that the 15 square mile (40 sq km) area contained 334 million barrels in remaining oil resources.»

«At current prices for Mexico’s crude exports at around $46 per barrel, a 20 percent larger reservoir volume would mean more than $3 billion in additional value from nearly 67 million additional barrels.»

«Sladen said that data from the Hokchi wells is still being analyzed, and while the drilling program should be completed later this year, investment decisions are still «some months away.»»

«Late last year, BP partnered with Norway’s Statoil [STLBR.UL] and France’s Total SA to win development rights for two deep water blocks in the southern Gulf of Mexico’s Salina basin.»

«Exploration plans for each of the blocks will be submitted to regulators by September, Sladen said.»

«While each of the three companies in the consortium has a one-third stake in both blocks, Statoil is the operator, responsible for development.»

«BP has maintained a presence in Latin America’s second-biggest economy dating back to the 1960s, and Sladen has been country manager since 2007.»

«The company narrowly lost out in December to Australian mining and oil giant BHP Billiton in its bid to partner with Pemex on its Trion deep water project, but Sladen still expects to tie up with Mexico’s former oil monopoly.»

«»I see a future of us co-investing with Pemex on major projects,» he said, without going into further detail.»

«BP is still evaluating a range of projects at oil auctions scheduled for later this year, as well as possible investments in ports or storage facilities needed to import fuel, he added.»

«The company has created hundreds of local jobs with hundreds more likely in the near future as it cements its status as Mexico’s first-ever integrated international oil firm, he said.»

«Beyond the three offshore projects, BP has recently won so-called open season rights to surplus capacity on some natural gas pipelines owned by Pemex, Sladen noted.»

«The company also launched Mexico’s first foreign-branded gas station, with plans to open some 1,500 stations over five years. Sladen said that by the end of this year BP could open 200 gas stations.»

«The first station, which opened in March just outside Mexico City, has already become one of the country’s top three retail sellers by volume, he added.»

«There are about 11,400 gas stations in Mexico.”»

Wed May 17, 2017 | 1:15pm EDT