據海上能源3月31日報道，總部位于休斯敦的能源公司馬拉松石油公司（Marathon Oil Corporation）通過其附屬公司馬拉松控股有限公司（Maratan E.G.Holding Limited）與赤道幾內亞共和國（E.G.）和雪佛龍Noble energy E.G.Ltd簽訂了一份協議大綱（HOA），以推進赤道幾內亞地區大型天然氣樞紐中心（GMH）的下一階段開發。

馬拉松石油公司于2023年3月20日周四披露，其將進一步開發GMH的第二階段和第三階段，因為第一階段通過將位于赤道幾內亞近海杜阿拉（Douala）盆地的阿倫（Alen）氣田與Punta Europa陸上設施進行對接，實現了天然氣的輸送，該氣田于2021年2月交付了第一批天然氣。

該公司解釋道，來自阿倫油田的天然氣通過Alba Plant LLC的陸上液化石油氣（LPG）工廠和赤道幾內亞液化天然氣控股有限公司的液化天然氣廠，根據收費和利潤共享協議進行加工。

據馬拉松石油公司稱，宣布的HOA建立在第一階段的成功基礎上，使各方在必要的商業原則上保持一致，以推進GMH的第二階段和第三階段。第二階段涉及根據新的合同條款從2024年1月1日起加工Alba Unit天然氣，此前與亨利樞紐有關的阿爾巴銷售和購買協議將于今年年底到期。

該公司預計第二階段將大幅增加對全球液化天然氣定價的影響，大幅提高公司的收益和現金流，而GMH的第三階段預計將促進來自Aseng氣田的天然氣在Punta Europa設施加工。

根據一份產量分成合同顯示，馬拉松石油在Alba氣田擁有63%的作業權益，在D區塊擁有80%的作業權益，這兩個區塊都位于赤道幾內亞近海。另一方面，與Alen氣田一樣，Aseng油氣田(前稱為Benita)也由雪佛龍在赤道幾內亞的子公司運營。

馬拉松石油公司董事長、總裁兼首席執行官李·蒂爾曼（Lee Tillman）表示，“我們對Punta Europa作為當地和地區天然氣貨幣化世界級樞紐中心持續發展的這一關鍵里程碑感到高興。這一宣布建立在我們與赤道幾內亞政府20多年成功合作的基礎上，進一步利用赤道幾內亞世界級的天然氣貨幣化基礎設施，包括關鍵的赤道幾內亞液化天然氣設施，并將其使用壽命延長到下一個十年”。

此外，馬拉松石油公司概述了赤道幾內亞和喀麥隆之間最近建立的跨境油氣開發雙邊條約，通過跨境氣田的快速貨幣化，為進一步擴大GMH提供了其他機會。

該公司表示，以礦產和碳氫化合物部為代表的該國政府在領導GMH擴建的成功實施方面發揮了積極作用，并致力于確保后續活動和談判及時取得進展。

馬拉松石油公司總結道，除了商業利益外，擴大的開發還確保了未來燃料天然氣量，以滿足赤道幾內亞的發電需求，為赤道幾內亞人提供長期就業機會，并將對當地社區的經濟產生積極影響。

郝芬 譯自 海上能源

原文如下：

Chevron, Marathon Oil and Equatorial Guinea govt pursuing further development of Gas Mega Hub

Houston-based energy company Marathon Oil Corporation, through its affiliated company Marathon E.G. Holding Limited, has inked a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (E.G.) and Chevron’s Noble Energy E.G. Ltd, to move forward with the next phases in the development of the Equatorial Guinea Regional Gas Mega Hub (GMH).

Marathon Oil disclosed on Thursday, 20 March 2023, that it would be working on further developing the GMH’s Phase II and III, as Phase I?was achieved with the tie-back of the Alen field, located in the Douala Basin offshore Equatorial Guinea, to Punta Europa onshore facilities, which delivered first gas in February 2021.

The company explains that gas from the Alen field is processed under the combination of a tolling and profit-sharing arrangement through Alba Plant LLC’s onshore liquified petroleum gas (LPG) plant and Equatorial Guinea LNG Holdings Ltd’s LNG facility.

According to Marathon Oil, the announced HOA builds on the success of Phase I, aligning all parties on necessary commercial principles to advance Phases II and III of the GMH. Phase II involves processing Alba Unit gas from 1 January 2024 under new contractual terms following the legacy Henry Hub-linked Alba sales and purchase agreement expiration at the end of this year.

The company expects Phase II to materially increase exposure to global LNG pricing, improving the firm’s earnings and cash flow significantly while Phase III of the GMH is anticipated to facilitate gas processing from the Aseng field at Punta Europa facilities.

Marathon Oil holds a 63 per cent operated working interest under a production sharing contract in the Alba field and an 80 per cent operated working interest in Block D, both of which are offshore Equatorial Guinea. On the other hand, the Aseng oil and gas field (previously known as Benita) just like the Alen field is operated by Chevron’s affiliate in Equatorial Guinea.

Lee Tillman, Marathon Oil Chairman, President, and CEO, remarked: “We are excited about this critical milestone in the ongoing development of Punta Europa as a world-class hub for the monetization of local and regional natural gas.

“This announcement builds on our successful partnership of more than 20 years with the E.G. government, further leveraging and extending the life of Equatorial Guinea’s world-class gas monetization infrastructure, including the critical Equatorial Guinea LNG facility, into the next decade.”

Moreover, Marathon Oil outlines that a recently established bilateral treaty on cross-border oil and gas development between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon provides other opportunities to further expand the GMH through fast-track monetization of cross-border wet gas fields.

The country’s government, represented by the Ministry of Mines & Hydrocarbons, has taken an active role in leading the successful implementation of this GMH expansion and is committed to ensuring subsequent activities and negotiations progress in a timely manner, says the company.

“Beyond the commercial benefits, the expanded development also secures future fuel gas?volumes?for Equatorial Guinea’s power generation needs, provides longer-term employment opportunities for Equatoguineans, and will positively impact?the?local communities’ economy,” concluded Marathon Oil.