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ENERGY NEWS
Europe
Energy Review By Tsvetana Paraskova
Oil & Gas Germany suspended on 16 November the process of certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Federal Network Agency of Germany, Bundesnetzagentur, said it suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator until an operator of the pipeline in Germany is incorporated under German law. The suspension delays by at least a few weeks the completion of certification and the potential increase of gas supply from Russia to Europe that would come with the start of gas flows via Nord Stream 2. Shell said it plans to drop ‘Royal Dutch’ from its name, move its tax residence to the country of incorporation in the UK, simplify its share structure to a single line of shares simpler for investors to understand and value, and move its CEO and CFO to the UK. “The simplification will normalise our share structure under the tax and legal jurisdictions of a single country and make us more competitive. As a result, Shell will be better positioned to seize opportunities and play a leading role in the energy transition,” Shell’s
www.ogv.energy I December 2021 2021
New discoveries, developments, and divestment in oil and gas, the suspension of the certification of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in Germany, Shell moving from the Netherlands to the UK, Scotland’s hydrogen strategy, and many agreements for development of low-carbon energy sources were the highlights in Europe’s energy sector in November. Chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, said about the move, which is pending shareholder approval on 10 December. Equinor, together with partners PGNiG Upstream Norway and Longboat Energy Norway, announced an oil discovery of 19-62 million barrels in exploration well 6407 / 1-9 - Egyptian Vulture in the Norwegian Sea. The discovery, announced on 1 November, is the sixth Equinor has made on the Norwegian shelf so far this year. On behalf of the Wisting licence partners, Equinor signed later in November a contract with Aker Solutions for front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a floating production and storage vessel (FPSO) for the Wisting field, a standalone field development in the
Barents Sea containing close to 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. bp and Aker said on 11 November they successfully sold 18,010,000 Aker BP shares, representing a combined 5 percent of shares in the company, at a price of NOK 310 a share. bp sold 7,718,571 shares, representing an approximate 2.1-percent stake in Aker BP, for a total of NOK 2.39 billion, equal to around $266 million. Neptune Energy has signed agreements with OKEA ASA and M Vest Energy AS whereby Neptune will divest its non-operated working interests in three producing fields and two export pipelines offshore Norway. The asset stakes Neptune is divesting include the producing Draugen, Brage, and Ivar Aasen fields, as well as the Edvard Grieg Oil Pipeline and the Utsira High Gas Pipeline.
