News
News
An exciting acquisition for LCC
With plenty of news about infrastructure on the UK mainland being refurbished and opened , it was also good to hear positive terminal news from Northern Ireland with the announcement that the LCC Group has purchased the Cloghan Point oil terminal .
Acquired from AES Power , LCC ’ s new terminal is situated on the shores of Belfast Lough near Carrickfergus and was originally used by Northern Ireland Electricity to supply fuel to two power stations . The facility has a jetty which stretches 1,225 metres into Belfast Lough .
LCC has plans to enhance the terminal with a £ 15m makeover , making it the only commercial terminal in Ireland where 120,000 tonne tankers are able to dock . Taggart Design & Project Engineers are working with the company on the plans to improve the terminal ’ s infrastructure .
Speaking to the Irish Times LCC director Daniel Loughran said : “ This is an exciting acquisition for LCC Group .
“ We were attracted to Cloghan Point because of its sheer scale in both storage capacity and with a 17-metre draft of water , we ’ ll soon be able to bring in larger tankers from around the world including the US , the Middle East and South America .”
News from the North Sea
BP and INEOS have reputedly both confirmed that they are in talks with respect to the former selling the Forties pipeline system to the latter . Made up of 100 miles of pipeline , the Forties system transports around 450,000 barrels of oil each day which equates to 40 % of the UK ’ s production from the North Sea .
Proud owners Daniel ( l ) and Michael Loughran at the recently acquired Cloghan Point oil terminal where LCC looks forward to bringing in larger oil tankers from around the world
With the prospect of a second referendum in Scotland now looking like a distinct possibility , the amount of oil that remains to be extracted from the North Sea , and its potential revenue contribution to an independent Scotland , is once again under discussion .
After much talk of the revenue figure being over-inflated during the first referendum , Andrew Wilson , described by the Daily Record as ‘ Nicola Sturgeon ’ s own economics guru ’, is expected to give a report on the economy of an independent Scotland in the near future .
The original estimate for oil revenues in 2016 / 17 was around £ 6.8 – £ 7.9 billion but that was based on a price of $ 100 a barrel . With oil having dipped significantly lower – it now hovers round $ 50 a barrel with rising costs for extraction – the view on oil revenues has shifted to zero revenues !
Total CEO named as petroleum executive of the year
Last month Patrick Pouyanné , chairman and chief executive officer of Total S . A . was named as the 2017 Energy Intelligence petroleum executive of the year .
“ The past few years have presented enormous challenges for the oil and gas industry , and no company has responded to those challenges more dynamically than Total ,” said Jim Washer , executive editor of Energy Intelligence .
“ That dynamism reflects the leadership of Patrick Pouyanné , who in less than three years as chief executive has led an overhaul of Total ’ s strategy aimed at preparing the company
4 Fuel Oil News | April 2017 for a future of ‘ lower-for-longer ’ oil prices and uncertainty over the transition to lower carbon energy sources .”
Pouyanné has consolidated Total ’ s leadership position among major international oil companies with respect to clean energy technologies and climate change policy . He has said explicitly that Total will use the UN ’ s 2015 Paris climate agreement , which aims to keep global temperature increases to less than 2 ° C , as a “ bible ” for its future investments .
Under Pouyanné , Total has backed up this talk with investment , building on the controlling stake in US solar panel maker SunPower it bought for $ 1.4 billion in 2011 . Last year , Total moved into high-tech energy storage with the $ 1.1 billion acquisition of French battery maker Saft , and also expanded its energy delivery capabilities through the takeover of Belgian gas distribution and renewable power provider Lampiris .
Total has also continued to invest in oil , but again with a clear strategic focus on large , lowcost resources that will work under a wider range of price conditions .
Pouyanné , who is the 21st winner , will be presented with his award in October during the 38th annual Oil & Money conference in London .