Last Friday, in a meeting between the German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, the possibility of starting an agreement in the energy field was discussed. Germany, to avoid dependency on single suppliers and to replace imports from Russia, is turning to Iraq to secure essential fossil fuels, in particular, for its own industry1.
Better exploitation of his country's resources could have a much greater impact on the local economy, Al Sudani said. Furthermore, German companies could favor the containment of the so-called gas flaring that is, the waste of resources that occurs when excess gas is burned during oil production.
The meeting between the two heads of state came in conjunction with an agreement between the Middle Eastern country and the German company Siemens Energy which provides for a modernization of the Iraqi electricity grid.
Iraq wants to help meet global energy needs and at the same time stimulate its domestic economyAl Sudani said, adding that gas supplies to Europe could be made through Turkey.
The Chinese Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas (CAPEIC), instead, it signed a contract with the Afghan administration for the production of oil from the Amu Darya basin in an area between the provinces of Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul and Faryab.
Taliban Deputy Prime Minister of Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar said the deal "it will strengthen Afghanistan's economy and raise its level of oil independence."2
The Afghans say the Chinese giant will invest 150 million dollars a year for 25 years and the Taliban administration will earn royalties of 15%.
It's not the first deal of its kind. As early as 2012 the Chinese state-owned company National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) signed a contract with the former Afghan government to extract oil from the Amu Darya Basin.
Meanwhile, in Norway, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has awarded 47 new exploration licenses offshore of oil and gas to 25 oil companies.
Minister Terje Aasland said: "the annual allocation of exploration area is a pillar in facilitating a stable level of activity on the Norwegian continental shelf and in achieving the main oil policy objectives of the government. The oil and gas sector is a highly productive industry that contributes to large revenues, value creation and employment. Today's area allocation is also an important contribution to ensuring Norway remains a secure and predictable supplier of oil and gas to Europe".3
Scotland, for its part, with a new energy strategy, seeks to implement the fastest possible transition from the extraction of oil and gas. This would increase employment in the sector and the export of renewable energy as well as reduce any fluctuations in the global energy market. Secretary Michel Matheson said: “At a time of unprecedented uncertainty in our energy sector, accelerating the transition to building a renewable power plant makes sense for a variety of reasons, most notably to help mitigate future global market volatility and high energy prices. power".4
In our country Litasco SA, an international marketing and trading company of Lukoil, has established an agreement to sell the ISAB refinery, located near Syracuse, to the Cypriot group GOI Energy. The whole operation, subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of the necessary approvals from the authorities, in particular from the Italian government, should close next March.
1 reuters
2 bloomberg
Photo: Federal Government/Bergmann
