7 oil and gas projects to watch in 2015

1.Another new Russia – China pipeline
In the wake of the $400bn deal Russia signed this May to sell its gas to China through the under-construction Power of Siberia pipeline, a second November agreement between the two countries may have not made quite as many headlines as it should.
The new contract will see Gazprom supply 30 bcm of gas a year to the Chinese state oil company CNPC, and it will involve more major pipeline work in Russia. China will receive its gas through a new 2,600km pipeline network called Altai, named after one of the regions of western Siberia it will run through on its way to China’s northwestern border with Russia.

2.TAPI – getting Turkmen gas to India
Another big project that will meet Asia’s hunger for gas is TAPI – a $10bn, 1,700 km pipeline bringing Turkmen gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally massive net importer India.

3. A new pipeline for Ugandan oil
New oil and gas finds have been coming thick and fast inEast Africa this year, but development of infrastructure is not keeping pace – according to the Commissioner for Petroleum at Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Martin Heya, there is a ‘significant mismatch’ between the pace of discovery and the implementation of infrastructure projects.

4. New LNG terminals on the Baltic Sea
Russia and Ukraine have finally come to an agreement on unpaid gas bills and the pipeline between the two countries is flowing again, but Europe knows how important it is to diversify supply. The EU, andUkraine in particular, is thinking long-term by improving energy efficiency to reduce imports as a whole, but shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could offer a more immediate solution.

5. Shale gas exploration in Western Ukraine and Poland – a way out of Russian dependence?
Ukraine’s gas woes are well documented, but its position on the eastern edge of Poland’s Lublin shale basin means it could meet some of its demand through its own resources. Italy’s Eni has signed service deals to begin shale gas exploration next year at its holdings in the Lviv and Volyn areas of western Ukraine, after the political situation forced it to delay drilling in the blocks, which it bought operating rights for in 2012.

6.Progress on South Stream at last?
Many of 2014’s energy developments have been in some way connected to Europe reducing imports from Russia. However, EU demand for gas is only going one way, and 2015 could see progress finally made on the $40bn South Stream pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Austria via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.

7. More exploration blocks on offer in Myanmar
Although it is one of the world’s oldest oil and gas producers (it exported its first barrel in 1853),Myanmar’s huge oil and gas potential – estimated to be on a par with Brazil’s – is still largely unexplored.