Offshore staff
LONDON – Oil and gas companies in the Asia/Pacific region are having to re-assess timelines for ongoing and future projects in light of current developments, according to GlobalData.
Exceptions are in China, which claims to be in the recovery phase from the impact of COVID-19, with various NOCs likely to focus on their domestic output growth goals.
Cao Chai, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said: “Field developments in India have already been disrupted and more are likely to be at risk as the country is currently enduring a 21-day lockdown.
“The latest news that India reduced its domestic natural gas price to a record low of US$2.39 per MMBtu will further impact the country’s top gas producer ONGC.
“Elsewhere in the region, the construction at the Merakes field [offshore] Indonesia is disrupted due to a shortage of workers and challenge of logistic supply. Operator Eni has declared force majeure on the project as a result of COVID-19.”
In China, which was the center of the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, planned projects look set to progress although minor delays may still occur, the analyst said.
CNOOC could prioritize domestic developments in China over international investment following its recent capex review, with plans to trim its annual budget by 10-15%.
Chai said: “While Chinese NOCs are focusing on raising domestic output and cutting overseas operations, elsewhere in Asia delays and disruptions are seen across the upstream sector in 2020.
“The projects under development are at risk of slowdowns and operational disruptions as countries have taken stricter measures to control the spread of COVID-19, a multi-year low in upstream project FIDs is also expected in the region.”
04/15/2020
