In 2013 Wintershall continued its cooperation with ADNOC, the national oil company of Abu Dhabi, in the Shuwaihat sour gas and condensate project. Together with the Austrian oil and gas company OMV and ADNOC, Wintershall, which is the operator, is preparing the first appraisal. The project takes an important step to establishing a greater presence in the Middle East region. Wintershall will also work together with Mubadala Petroleum from Abu Dhabi on potential projects in the MENA region. Off the coast of Qatar Wintershall is involved in the exploration of Block 4N in the Khuff formation, where natural gas was proven in 2013. The commercial and technical development of this new reservoir, Al Radeef, is still being examined.
Wintershall operates eight oil fields in Libya in the onshore concessions 96 and 97. Strikes at export terminals forced the company to suspend the entire crude oil and gas production in July 2013. The Al Jurf offshore oil field in Libya, in which Wintershall has an investment, was able to remain in normal operation all year. “At the moment it is unclear when the export blockade will be lifted. But we do expect to be able to resume onshore production in Libya,” Seele said.
Wintershall is the fourth largest natural gas producer in Argentina and holds shares in 15 onshore and offshore fields there. In the Neuquen Basin Wintershall continues technology projects to explore the potential for shale gas and oil. In 2013, Wintershall and Gas y Petroleo del Neuquen (GyP) signed a joint venture agreement on the exploration and possible further development of the Aguada Federal block. Very promising shale is expected from the Vaca Muerte formation in the 97-square-kilometre block in the east of the Neuquen province. Wintershall is acquiring a share of 50 percent in Aguada Federal from GyP and will take over the operatorship of the block. The Argentinean government created various incentives to encourage investment in the oil and gas sector. Wintershall therefore was able to achieve, for example, significantly higher earnings contributions for gas volumes exceeding a certain base production level. These improved conditions support the search for new deposits, in which Wintershall is increasingly exploring unconventional resources.
Wintershall also produces oil and gas in its home country. About twelve percent of natural gas requirements in Germany are currently supplied by domestic reservoirs. Because of the very complex geological conditions, the production of natural resources in Germany is technologically demanding and often only possible with considerable additional expenditure and special techniques. But this means that domestic production also serves as a center of innovation for new technologies for Wintershall.
There is particular interest internationally in the research project with the biopolymer Schizophyllan, which is being developed together with BASF. The biopolymer produced by an indigenous fungus thickens the water that is injected into the reservoir to enhance oil production. Experts expect this technology to allow an effective and environmentally sound exploitation of mature oil fields. At the Bockstedt oil field Wintershall continued the field test for increasing recovery rates with the biopolymer Schizophyllan.
Wintershall contributes to a secure supply of natural gas in Europe with its participation in the Nord Stream pipeline, amongst other things. The pipeline runs from Russia through the Baltic Sea to the German coast and has an overall capacity of 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The gas is then being further transported by the connecting pipelines OPAL and NEL. OPAL has been in operation since 2011. The North European Natural Gas pipeline, NEL, was completed in October 2013. With its full transport capacity of around 20 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year, the NEL is now ready for commercial operation.
In addition to Nord Stream, Wintershall is also participating in the construction of the offshore part of the South Stream natural gas pipeline through the Black Sea. Agreements to this effect were signed in 2012. The aim of South Stream is to create a new transport possibility for Russian natural gas to South and South-East Europe. The gradual expansion to a transport capacity of 63 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year is scheduled to begin at the end of 2015.
“We expect the oil price in 2014 to be at approximately the same level as the previous year,” Seele said: “We are anticipating a yearly average for the oil price of 110 US dollars and an exchange rate of 1.30 US dollars to the euro. We expect sales considerably below the 2013 level as a result of the divestiture of the gas trading and storage business planned for the middle of 2014.” In 2014 the company expects a slight increase in income from operations before special items.
06 Февраля 2025 | четверг | 02:55
