Pacific Rubiales News

FLNG deal-making has been sporadic since Woodside Petroleum at the end of 2013 delayed a final investment decision for the giant Browse FLNG project off Northwest Australia. The previous year had seen go-aheads for most of the floating liquefied natural gas projects (FLNG) underway today, including Shell’s Prelude FLNG — Woodside’s choice, it seems, of a liquefaction solution for fields 200 kilometers offshore. Yet Prelude, “the first project out”, might not be first to produce.

Colombia, Latin America's No. 4 oil producer, is changing the slate of crudes it exports in a bid to offset the falling prices that are crimping the revenues of its top oil companies. The country has started to deemphasize exports of several heavier crudes, mainly Castilla, and increase offerings of Vasconia, a medium blend that fetches about $3.50, or 8 percent, more per barrel. But to lift output of Vasconia, Colombia must increase imports of products such as naphtha and natural gasoline, which are used as diluents to lighten the barrels for export. State-run Ecopetrol has already started to make the shift and has pushed independent producers in Colombia, including Pacific Rubiales, to do the same, brokers and industry sources said.

EXMAR stated that on June 23rd 2015 under the witness of King Philippe of Belgium and President Xi Jinping, Mr. Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of Board of ICBC and Mr. Nicolas Saverys, CEO of EXMAR, signed the financing agreement for the world’s first floating LNG unit (FLNG – Floating Liquefaction and Storage Unit). ICBC will provide financing to EXMAR for the FLNG project in a total amount of USD 200,000,000. up to now, and also the highest technology project. It is known that Belgium is China’s 5th biggest trading partner in the European Union, but the major exporting products to Belgium are low-level industrial products like steel and toys. The FLNG ordered by EXMAR is the world’s first floating natural gas liquefaction unit. offshore units.

As industry embraces gas, emissions regulations loom large and bunker logistics options develop, LNG’s fortunes nevertheless get a boost. For every gleeful consumer at the pump, and stockpiling tanker anchored offshore, there’s a corresponding trail of businesses that are struggling to ride out the worst price drop in crude since the mid-1980s. As oil giants slash CapEx, Halliburton and other industry players layoff thousands and record numbers of oil rigs go offline, less obvious is the impact of the latest oil market blow out on the growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Colombia's top energy company Ecopetrol is targeting production of 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2015, a steep recovery over this year, clouded by rebel attacks on infrastructure and exploration failures. Ecopetrol chief financial officer Magda Manosalva told a conference in London that while the primary focus would remain on Colombia, the company also planned to bid for fields in Mexico, which is opening up its energy sector. "We see the internationalization as a chance to diversify," Manosalva said, adding that the firm would focus on available onshore fields. Rebel group attacks pushed Ecopetrol's production to an average of 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day so far this year -- well below the nearly 1 million in 2013.

Canada-listed oil firm Pacific Rubiales launched a tender to sell two cargoes of Colombian Castilla crude and a cargo of Vasconia crude for delivery during September at Covenas port, according to an invitation seen by Reuters on Monday. The first cargo containing 1 million barrels of Castilla heavy crude will be loaded on Sept. 7-11 and the second one with 1.5 million barrels of the same grade will be loaded on Sept. 18-23. A 500,000 barrel cargo of Vasconia medium crude will also be loaded at Covenas on Sept. 18-23. Sellers of these cargoes will include any combination of Pacific's subsidiaries. The company will receive bids until August 6 and they must be indexed to West Texas Intermediate or Brent crudes front month prices. Pacific Rubiales, Colombia's No.

Oil companies were bidding on Wednesday for 95 oil areas Colombia is offering for exploration and production in an effort to raise output from around 1 million barrels per day and increase stagnant reserves. Rights for the onshore, offshore and nonconventional or shale oil areas will be awarded to bidders who offer the largest share of production to the government or based on how much companies commit to invest in lesser-explored regions. The government said earlier this year it hoped to attract $2.6 billion in investment into the oil sector through the so-called Colombia Round 2014. Colombia's last oil auction took place in 2012. The blocks on offer total more than 22 million hectares.

IHI Corporation (IHI) received an order for two “IHI-SPB” LNG tanks to be installed in the Floating LNG Storage & Regasification Unit (FSRU) from Wison Group of Shanghai, China (Wison) who is known as the largest private EPC contractor in China. These two tanks will be fabricated at the IHI’s Aichi Works and　delivered at Wison’s Nantong shipyard in the second half of 2015. The storage capacity of the two tanks is 25,000m3 (12,500m3 per one tank x 2 tanks), and tanks are installed into the FSRU for which Wison already received order from the Joint Venture of Exmar BV in Belgium and Pacific Rubiales Energy, Ltd. of Colombia. “IHI-SPB” (Self-supporting…

Colombia's oil reserves had risen 2.9 percent to 2.445 billion barrels by the end of 2013, up from 2.38 billion barrels a year earlier, taking reserves to their highest despite a missed exploration target, the energy ministry said on Monday. Foreign investment into the Andean nation's oil and gas sector has surged in recent years and the government is preparing to tap non-conventional or shale resources offering such blocks in its 2014 oil auction which concludes in July. Though security has improved massively in the last 10 years due to increased military pressure on the leftist FARC and ELN guerrilla groups, the rebels have intensified bomb attacks on oil pipelines, with 259 attacks in 2013 alone, the oil industry association said.

The number of floating production systems continues to grow;  349 floating production units are now in service, on order or off-field/being remarketed. This inventory is 5% higher than a year ago, 27% higher than five years ago. Current Inventory: Of the total, 320 units are used for oil/gas production. Included in this figure are 211 FPSOs. They are the most common type system, comprising 65% of the existing systems and 72% of the systems on order. The remaining consists of 10 production barges, 48 semis, 23 spars and 28 TLPs. Another 29 units are floating LNG processing systems.

Reuters - A unit in Colombia of Toronto-based oil firm Pacific Rubiales launched a tender to sell two 1-million-barrel cargoes of heavy Castilla crude for delivery in April, according to an invitation seen by Reuters on Monday. Pacific sold to Norway's Statoil one 500,000-barrel cargo of Colombian Vasconia medium crude earlier this month and offered on the open market a cargo of Castilla crude that will be delivered at the end of March. The first Castilla cargo being offered this time will be loaded at Covenas port between April 1 and April 15 and the second one will be delivered in the second half of the month. Bidders should submit offers indexed to WTI or Brent front month prices until March 4, the company said.

EXMAR LPG has been awarded Statoil ASA’s time charter requirement for two environment-friendly 38,000 m³ (Midsize) LPG newbuildings intended for LPG trading within North West Europe. Both performing vessels are part of EXMAR LPG’s existing orderbook and are being built at Hanjin Subic Bay. The duration of each Time-Charter is for a period of minimum five years up to maximum 10 years basis delivery within 2016. EXMAR LPG has further extended with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan the time charters of Libramont (38…

In order to tap into Colombian stranded gas reserves, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corporation and EXMAR nv have partnered in a project to build and operate a floating LNG liquefaction, and storage unit, the Caribbean FLNG, which will be stationed at a jetty several kilometers off the Caribbean coast of Colombia for at least 15 years. In order to protect the hull of the Caribbean FLNG, keep it clean and facilitate class inspections over that time period without recourse to drydock and without causing harm to the local marine environment…

Pacific Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales, is developing the multipurpose terminal Puerto Bahia in the South of Cartagena Bay on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. In September 2012 Pacific Infrastructure awarded the construction of the multipurpose terminal to a consortium formed by Isolux Corsán (Spain), Tradeco (Mexico) and Tampa Tanks (U.S.). The construction of Puerto Bahía is scheduled to be completed during the first half of 2015. The total…

EXMAR announced two keystone events in its Caribbean FLNG project. On November 5, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE) and Gazprom Marketing & Trade Ltd. (GM&T) announced the execution of a heads of agreement with respect to a five year sale and purchase agreement covering approximately 500,000 tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) FOB Colombia (Caribbean Sea) commencing commercial operations in the second quarter of 2015. This LNG cargo will be produced in, and loaded from, EXMAR’s Caribbean FLNG barge. Last week, Wison Offshore & Marine Ltd.

In support of energy infrastructure in Latin America, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented Itaú BBA S.A. in providing a $370 million loan for construction of a new multipurpose port facility and terminal in Cartagena Bay, Colombia. The new Puerto Bahia terminal, located on Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast, is one of the most significant investments in the country’s energy infrastructure sector to date. When operational in early 2015, the crude oil and products terminal…

AVEVA has  announced additional speaker, sponsor and agenda details for this year’s AVEVA World Summit. This global event is being held from 30 October – 1 November in Boston, Massachusetts, USA where author Dan Roam will stimulate delegates’ imagination in an engaging keynote session. Based on his bestselling book ‘The Back of the Napkin’, Dan will explore how visual thinking can be used to improve business communication. This will be followed by the launch of several exciting new AVEVA products…

Wison Offshore & Marine Announces Award for construction of World’s First Floating LNG Liquefaction Unit. Shanghai-based Wison Offshore & Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of the Wison Group, announced today the successful award of a contract by the Exmar group for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the world’s first Floating LNG Liquefaction, Regasification and Storage Unit (FLRSU). The facility will be used by Exmar under a Build, Own, and Operate contract with Pacific Rubiales Energy Corporation, and located on the Caribbean coast offshore Colombia.

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., acting through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corp. (“PSE”), announced the signing of a natural gas/ LNG Liquefaction, Regasification, Storage and Loading Services Agreement with Belgium based EXMAR NV (“EXMAR”). The Agreement calls for EXMAR to build, operate and maintain a Floating Liquefaction Regasification & Storage Unit (“FLRSU”), to be located on the Colombian Caribbean coast. The Agreement grants PSE exclusive guaranteed rights to supply and liquefy up to 69.5 MMscf/d (+/- 0.5 million tons of LNG per annum) over a 15 year period, under a tolling structure. The FLRSU will have a storage capacity of 14,000 m3 of LNG and will be able to accommodate alongside a 140,000 m3 LNG Floating Storage Unit (“FSU”).

EXMAR has teamed up with Pacific Rubiales to build a small-scale LNG export project in northern Colombia. The Colombian-Canadian exploration and production player and EXMAR have begun front-end engineering and design for the scheme. Plans involve building a small liquefaction barge and a pipeline from the company’s La Creciente gas field to the Caribbean coast and shipping to the targeted markets. The project is targeting Caribbean and Central American markets. Pacific Rubiales…