Crude Oil Brokers Scam Blog
Friday, 29 September 2017
PESA offers Oil and Gas 101 seminar in Houston
PESA, the national trade association for the oilfield service, supply and manufacturing sector, is offering an introduction to the industry with the highly-acclaimed Oil and Gas 101 seminar Oct. 11-12 at Baker Hughes, a GE company. More »
Senate Republicans set the stage to unlock 12 Bbbl of oil in Alaska refuge
Senate Republicans set the stage for using the budget to end the 37-year ban on oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. More »
EIA: Natural gas inventories lower than last year, but higher than five-year average
Working natural gas inventory levels in the Lower 48 states since April have been lower than they were in 2016, according to EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR), but they are still higher than the previous five-year average (2012-2016). More »
CGG completes first full-scale TopSeis survey in Barents Sea
CGG has successfully completed acquisition of the first-ever full-scale commercial survey using TopSeis, its latest offshore broadband seismic acquisition and imaging solution. More »
ION extends new 2D multi-client program offshore Panama
ION Geophysical Corporation has announced an approximate 50% extension to its previously announced program offshore Panama, due to strong client interest and prefunding to evaluate offshore Panama in advance of the anticipated license round. More »
API: Petroleum demand last month highest for August since '07
Total petroleum deliveries in August moved up by 1.3% from August 2016 to average 20.5 MMbpd. These were the highest August deliveries in 10 years, since 2007. More »
Lundin Norway drills dry hole north of Neiden discovery
Lundin Norway AS, operator of production licence 609, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 7220/6-3. The well is dry. More »
Hedge fund manager calls shale explorers bad deal, shorts Continental
Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, who’s shorting shale driller Continental Resources Inc., said independent explorers have been a bad deal for shareholders because they rely on quickly depleting assets. More »
Pantheon Resources provides operational update regarding East Texas projects
Pantheon Resources plc, the AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration company with a working interest in several conventional projects in Tyler and Polk Counties, onshore East Texas, provides the following update. More »
Tethys Petroleum provides corporate, drilling update
The Company's subsidiary Tethys Aral Gas LLP (TAG) was recently notified by the competent authority in Kazakhstan of its approval of the continuation of the Company's Akkulka oil field Pilot Production Project (the Project) from Jan. 1, 2018 to March 10, 2019. More »
Danos secures Shell maintenance contract in Gulf of Mexico
Danos has been awarded a contract by Shell Exploration and Production Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, to provide mechanical and automation maintenance services for three of its production hubs and associated subsea infrastructure located in the Gulf of Mexico. More »
Crude’s September surge propels bull market run on demand optimism
Oil was poised for its biggest quarterly gain in more than a year on forecasts for rising demand and Turkey’s threat to halt Kurdish exports through its territory after the region voted for independence from Iraq. More »
Unstoppable force meeting immovable object stumps oil market
The oil market is battling with a paradox: what happens when the unstoppable force of OPEC production cuts and soaring global demand meets the immovable object that’s U.S. shale? More »
Thursday, 28 September 2017
Shale drillers, oil sands producers need crude above $50/bbl for boom to last
Shale drillers and oil sands producers have posted some healthy profits so far this year, but it’ll take oil consistently above $50/bbl for their investments to pay off in the long run. More »
Petrobras acquires seven blocks in 14th round of ANP bidding
Petrobras reports that it acquired seven blocks in the 14th Round of Bids under the Shared Production regime, held yesterday by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), six of which offshore and one onshore. The company will be the operator in all blocks, including the offshore blocks, where Petrobras will hold 50% participation, in partnership with ExxonMobil. More »
Profit-hungry traders prowl local gas hubs as margins erode
Profit has become so much harder to come by in the huge U.S. market for natural gas that some traders are buying and selling in lesser-known local pipeline hubs, where bigger risks offer the promise of better rewards. More »
Oil swings lower as shale drillers imperil global supply decline
Oil prices dipped, stalling a bull-market rally, as traders weighed whether rising output from U.S. shale fields will dash OPEC’s effort to trim a worldwide glut of crude. More »
Lundin Petroleum completes drilling of Børselv exploration well
Lundin Petroleum AB has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lundin Norway AS, has completed drilling of exploration well 7220/6-3 on the Børselv prospect in PL609 on the Loppa High in the southern Barents Sea. The well was dry. More »
DONG Energy receives regulatory approvals for divestment of its upstream oil, gas business
On May 24, 2017, DONG Energy announced the agreement to divest the entire share capital of DONG EandP A/S to INEOS, including that closing of the transaction was subject to certain regulatory approvals. More »
Murphy Oil announces strategic entry into deepwater Brazil
Murphy Oil Corporation has announced that its wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary, Murphy Brazil Exploração E Produção De Petróleo E Gás Ltda. (Murphy), has entered into a farm-in agreement with Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção S.A. (QGEP) to acquire a 20% working interest (WI) in Blocks SEAL-M-351 and SEAL-M-428, located in the deepwater Sergipe-Alagoas basin, offshore Brazil. More »
ExxonMobil strenghtens its position in the Permian with addition of 22,000 acres
ExxonMobil Corporation has announced that it has added 22,000 acres to its Permian basin portfolio since May through a series of acquisitions and acreage trades. More »
Permian basin pipeline transports water along 475-mi route
The pipeline has the potential to move over 2.3 MMbbl of freshwater per day for oil and gas operations located throughout the Permian basin, the nation’s highest-producing oilfield. More »
Australia's Beach Energy to buy Lattice Energy in $1.25-billion deal
Australia’s Beach Energy Ltd. agreed to buy Origin Energy Ltd.’s conventional oil and gas business, Lattice Energy, for A$1.59 billion ($1.25 billion) in a deal set to triple the Adelaide-based company’s reserves. More »
Chevron elects new CEO, chairman of the board
Chevron Corporation has announced that its board of directors elected Michael K. Wirth as chairman of the board and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2018. More »
Aker BP recieves consent for use of Songa Enabler semisubmersible at Skarv field
Aker BP ASA has received consent to use Songa Enabler for well intervention on wells 6507/5-A-3, 6507/5-B-6 and 6507/5-B-8 at Skarv field. More »
Lloyd’s Register chosen for major exploration drilling project offshore Colombia
Lloyd’s Register’s well management expertise is being used by Ecopetrol Costa Afuera S.A.S. (ECAS) of Ecopetrol, for offshore exploration drilling operations in Colombia. More »
BNK Petroleum completes frac stimulation in the SCOOP's Tishomingo field
BNK Petroleum Inc. has announced the completion of the fracture stimulation of the Brock 9-2H well (100% working interest), which is located in BNK’s Tishomingo field, in the SCOOP region of Oklahoma. More »
Iraq says Turkey backs Baghdad in feud over Kurd oil exports
Iraq said Turkey agreed to deal exclusively with its central government over exports of Kurdish crude oil, a step that could disrupt shipments from the independence-seeking Kurd region. More »
Crude extends bull run as U.S. supply drops amid rising demand
Oil rose in a bull market after data showed a surprise decline in U.S. crude stockpiles, taking OPEC and its allies closer to a goal of reducing a global glut. More »
Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Eni Norge drills dry hole near Goliat field in the Barents Sea
Eni Norge AS, operator of production licence 697, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 7122/10-1 S. The well, which was drilled about 10 km southwest of Goliat field, is dry. More »
Libya oil output gains as country faces calls to join OPEC cuts
Libya’s oil output is rising again after disruptions ended at its biggest field, with production reaching about 950,000 bpd even as OPEC and its allied suppliers step up efforts to contain a global glut. More »
Arctic drilling measure sought in budget by Alaska senator
Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan said he’s pushing for budget language that would make it easier for Congress to allow oil and gas drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve. More »
Shale Support partners with Tidewater Logistics for increased access to Marcellus, Utica
Shale Support Holdings, LLC, provider of frac-sands and logistical solutions to the oil and gas proppant market, today announced its partnership with Tidewater Logistics. More »
Hansa Hydrocarbons confirms important discovery offshore the Netherlands
Hansa Hydrocarbons Limited has announced that the N05-1 exploration well drilled offshore Netherlands on its GEms licences, has been confirmed as a significant discovery, encountering gas in the target basal Rotliegend sandstones. More »
Maersk Oil CEO to step down following Total deal closure
Maersk Oil leaders have been appointed by Total for the first management positions in the future business. The appointments are subject to successful deal closure and will not be effective before this. More »
Wintershall Norge names new managing director
Wintershall today announced Hugo Dijkgraaf as new managing director of its Norwegian subsidiary. More »
Petrofac secures training contract for Culzean field in the North Sea
Petrofac has secured a training management services contract from Maersk Oil in relation to the North Sea HPHT development, Culzean. More »
Eni Norge drills dry well near Goliat field in the Barents Sea
Eni Norge AS, operator of production licence 697, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 7122/10-1 S. The well, which was drilled about 10 km southwest of Goliat field, is dry. More »
Bibby Offshore announces triple contract win in the North Sea
Bibby Offshore, a leading subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has successfully completed three further contracts from global oil and gas operator, Apache North Sea. More »
Future of Ugandan oil and gas sector looks bright, Siemens says
The International Monetary Fund recently stated that the oil reserves in Uganda may account for around 4% of the country’s economy annually in the next few years if managed well. More »
Oil in bull market nears $52 on signs U.S. stockpiles declined
Oil traded near $52 after entering a bull market as U.S. industry data showed an unexpected decline in crude stockpiles, the first decrease since Hurricane Harvey shuttered refineries on the Texas coast last month. More »
Starved for capital, Canada oil patch puts exploration on pause
If you think it’s hard for tech startups to get funding, try being an oil driller in Canada. More »
Oil giants to take matter of methane pollution into their own hands
An ExxonMobil subsidiary this week said it would root out methane leaks and upgrade production technology as part of an effort to manage industrial pollution, the latest move by an energy sector that’s beginning to take matters into its own hands while the Trump administration works to roll back Obama-era climate rules. More »
Total signs option agreement with Eco Atlantic on the Orinduik block, offshore Guyana
Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. has announced that its subsidiary, Eco Atlantic (Guyana) Inc., has entered into an option agreement on its Orinduik block, offshore Guyana, with Total EandP Activités Pétrolières, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total SA. More »
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
CGG completes Perdido subsalt survey for Pemex, delivers fast-track imaging
CGG has completed ahead of schedule an 11,500 km2 wide-azimuth (WAZ) survey on behalf of Pemex in the deepwater Perdido area. More »
Providence Resources provides update regarding Porcupine basin operations
Providence Resources, the Irish based Oil and Gas Exploration Company, today provides an operational update regarding Frontier Exploration Licence (FEL) 2/14 located in the southern Porcupine basin. More »
Oil rally puts bulls on top, but $60-plus oil could be tough to sustain
Oil bulls are back in the driver’s seat with $60/bbl in sight, but it could be a short ride. More »
Oil trader Trafigura heralds end of "lower for longer" era
The age of persistently weak oil prices is nearing its end, with demand booming and a supply squeeze in the offing, according to Trafigura Group. More »
Market should prepare more for oil squeeze than OPEC supply gain, Citigroup says
Those in the oil market fearing a flood of OPEC supply next year will probably be better off preparing for a shortage, according to Citigroup Inc. More »
Eni successfully drills well offshore Mexico, upgrades resource potential to 1.4 Bboe
Eni successfully drilled the Miztón-2 well, in the shallow waters of Campeche bay, offshore Mexico, boosting the estimates of the resource in place for Contractual Area 1 to over 1.4 Bboe. More »
Gazprom Neft begins pilot development of Achimov deposits
Gazpromneft-Yamal, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, has begun pilot oil production from the Achimov deposits at its Severo-Samburgskoye oil field (in the Purovsky District, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug). More »
BP starts production from giant Khazzan gas field in Oman
BP, together with the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman, today announced that production has begun from the giant Khazzan gas field, which is operated by BP in partnership with Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production. More »
Oil slips after entering bull market on Kurdish export threat
Oil prices slipped after entering a bull market amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while Trafigura Group and Citigroup Inc. both warned of a looming supply squeeze. More »
Perry tells climate hecklers that fossil fuels save lives
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has a message for those seeking to link climate change with this year’s devastating hurricanes: Fossil fuels are saving lives. More »
Sparrows Group secures three-year contract with Total in Angola
Sparrows Group has signed a three-year contract with Total to supply crane maintenance and engineering services at four of the operator’s assets in Angola. More »
IPAA: Independent producers urge withdrawal of BLM fracing rule
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and Western Energy Alliance have submitted detailed comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on its proposed rule that would rescind the March 2015 nationwide rule governing the practice of hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. More »
Cenovus sells to Lundin empire to help pay off ConocoPhillips deal
Cenovus Energy Inc. is selling oil and gas assets in Southern Alberta to the Swedish-Canadian Lundin family’s commodities empire, the latest effort to pay the tab on its takeover of ConocoPhillips’ oil-sands operations. More »
Oil ghost towns dot the landscape in Texas’s other shale patch
If Texas’s Permian basin is Exhibit A for the U.S. oil boom that refuses to die, then the Eagle Ford, a smaller shale patch some 400 mi to the east, represents all those places that have been left behind. More »
Monday, 25 September 2017
Block Energy acquires 100% interest of two fields in Georgia
Block Energy, an exploration and production company focused on the Republic of Georgia, has announced that it has agreed to acquire the outstanding 31% working interest in, and to become operator of the country's Norio field via a cash payment of $310,000 to Georgia Oil and Gas Ltd. More »
Oil soars as supply disruption looms amid Kurdish balloting
Brent crude surged to a 26-month high as Turkey threatened to shut down Kurdish crude shipments through its territory to punish the Iraqi region for holding an independence referendum. More »
Rowan in talks to acquire Maersk Drilling, sources say
Drilling firm Rowan Cos. is in talks to acquire the drilling business of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, which is selling energy assets to focus on transportation, people familiar with the matter said. More »
OPEC's role in midst of shale strength
Bassam Fattouh, director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, argues that while U.S. shale poses a threat to OPEC, the idea that the organization has no role in the oil market is unrealistic. Fattouh was interviewed via email between Sept. 21-22. Comments have been edited and condensed. More »
Permian `super basin' holds up to $3.3 trillion in untapped oil
The Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico holds 60 to 70 Bbbl of yet-to-be pumped crude oil, according to a study by IHS Markit Ltd. More »
Turkey warns Iraq's Kurds it can `close the valves' on oil exports
Turkey can choose to “close the valves” on oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdish region through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned as Kurds voted Monday in a referendum on independence from Iraq. More »
Japan's Cosmo Oil Co. seeks Canada's ‘game-changer’ crude supply
After years of economic malaise spurred a wave of cutbacks, closures and mergers that reshaped the refining industry in the world’s fourth-biggest oil user, Japan’s Cosmo Oil Co. is reckoning with the aftermath. More »
InterMoor moors first non-Pemex rig off Mexico’s coast
InterMoor, a leading provider of mooring services, foundation solutions, and offshore installations in subsea services group Acteon, has moored the first privately-operated rig in Mexico’s offshore waters since 1938. More »
Iran vows to sustain oil exports despite Trump's threat
Iran will persist with exporting its oil to global customers, unfettered by Donald Trump’s intensifying offensive against the country, according to the Middle East nation’s state-run producer. More »
Top BP executive urges OPEC to prolong cuts on oil output
OPEC and its allies need to extend their crude production cuts beyond March 2018 to rebalance the global oil market, a top executive at BP Plc’s trading arm said. More »
Statoil among firms seeking stakes in Abu Dhabi offshore blocks
Statoil ASA is among producers involved in discussions with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. about joining offshore production in the emirate, according to a Norwegian diplomatic dispatch. More »
Oman chases bigger slice of maritime oil trade with port project
Oman, the biggest Arab oil producer outside of OPEC, is turning up the heat in a regional battle for business from ships in need of fuel with a $600 million deal to build storage tanks at the port of Sohar. More »
Iran says OPEC must address rising Libya, Nigeria oil output
OPEC’s commitment to cutting production to clear a global glut is working, but the group needs to address rising output from Libya and Nigeria, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. More »
APPEC '17: Oil traders turn bullish
When the who’s who of the oil trading industry gathered in Singapore last year for the annual Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC), the talk was about a painful year ahead. Of the dozen or so senior oil traders canvassed, all but one expected prices to be capped at about $50/bbl. More »
China curbs oil product exports to North Korea, bans condensate
China slapped fresh sanctions on North Korea, curbing some oil product exports to the country, after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions this week. More »
Brent rises to 8-month high as OPEC and Russia say cuts working
Brent crude rose to the highest in more than seven months after OPEC and Russia said they were well on the way to clearing a global glut. More »
Improving oil market lures hedge fund traders
Things are looking up for crude oil and it’s bringing hedge funds back. More »
In Permian basin, jitters mount that a bust is near
Steve Pruett has seen more than his share of booms in three decades in the oil business. None, though, as strange as the one gripping the Permian basin right now. More »
Friday, 22 September 2017
Hyperdynamics seeks two-year appraisal period for offshore Guinea program
Hyperdynamics Corp. has announced that it has notified the government of the Republic of Guinea that it will be seeking a two-year appraisal period under its oil and gas production sharing contract. More »
Transocean retires six floaters
Transocean announced today its intent to retire six ultra-deepwater floaters. All six rigs were previously cold-stacked. The company will recognize an impairment charge of approximately $1.4 billion during the third quarter of 2017 associated with these actions. More »
Transocean to retire six floaters
Transocean announced today its intent to retire six ultra-deepwater floaters. All six rigs were previously cold-stacked. The company will recognize an impairment charge of approximately $1.4 billion during the third quarter of 2017 associated with these actions. More »
Burisma Group deploys most powerful drilling rig in Ukraine
Burisma Group, an international energy group with assets in Ukraine, purchased a U.S. drilling rig SK 3000 with load capacity of 680 tonnes. The 3,000-HP drilling rig, produced by Service King Manufacturing, Inc., was brought into operation in May 2017 at the well No. 6 of the Vodyanovske field (Kharkiv region). More »
Twice-rejected U.S. LNG exporter gives Oregon project another shot
The developer of a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Oregon that has already twice been denied permits by U.S. regulators is giving it another shot. More »
Scorching-hot American Midwest burns the most Canadian gas since May
The U.S. Midwest is sizzling and it’s taking all the natural gas it can get from Western Canada to keep cool. More »
Russia remains open to longer output cuts with OPEC, but mulls exit plan
Russia signaled that it would be willing to prolong the production cuts it agreed with OPEC beyond the first quarter of next year if needed, while also making clear its commitment to the deal wasn’t open ended. More »
Russia remains open to longer OPEC cuts, but mulls exit plan
Russia signaled that it would be willing to prolong the production cuts it agreed with OPEC beyond the first quarter of next year if needed, while also making clear its commitment to the deal wasn’t open ended. More »
Oil treads water as OPEC prolongs decision to extend, deepen output cuts
Oil barely moved after an OPEC gathering concluded with no decision on an extension or deepening of supply cuts. More »
Flowserve appoints Lee Eckert to CFO
Flowserve Corporation, a provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, announced that Lee Eckert will join Flowserve as senior vice president and CFO, effective Oct. 9. More »
Hyperdynamics to seek two-year appraisal period for offshore Guinea program
Hyperdynamics Corp. has announced that it has notified the government of the Republic of Guinea that it will be seeking a two-year appraisal period under its oil and gas production sharing contract. More »
Aker Solutions wins Troll FEED contract with EPCI option from Statoil
Aker Solutions won a contract from Statoil for front end engineering and design of a module that will increase output at Troll, one of Norway's largest natural gas fields. More »
Gazprom Neft begins development of its Otdelnoye oil field
Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz has brought its Otdelnoye field located in the northern part of the Surgut District of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, 70 km from Novosibirsk, into commercial production. Two production wells are currently in operation at the field, with total production running at 170 tonnes/day. More »
Crude oil heads for third weekly gain as OPEC urges commitment to supply cuts
Oil was heading for a third weekly gain as OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna urged a continued commitment to supply cuts they said are making good progress in draining a global glut. More »
Shale pioneer Harold Hamm slams “exaggerated” U.S. oil projections
Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm says the government was way too optimistic with its prediction of more than 1 MM new bpd in U.S. production, and the snafu is “distorting" global crude prices. More »
Crude oil heads for third weekly gain
Oil was heading for a third weekly gain as OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna urged a continued commitment to supply cuts they said are making good progress in draining a global glut. More »
Total signs agreement with Chevron on exploration in deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Total announced it has entered into an agreement to capture seven prospects operated by Chevron in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. More »
OPEC and Russia stay focused on cuts as oil market improves
OPEC and Russia said they were about halfway toward clearing a global oil glut and urged fellow producers to stay focused and finish the job. More »
Thursday, 21 September 2017
IPAA responds to dismissal of hydraulic fracturing rule case
Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President and CEO Barry Russell issued a statement in response to a U.S. appeals court's dismissal of a hydraulic fracturing rule case. More »
ExxonMobil's coastal facilities ramp up to normal operations
ExxonMobil said today that its Baytown and Beaumont refineries have begun producing fuels at reduced rates and that crude oil and refined product pipelines in the Gulf and other regions of Texas have restarted as recovery continues from Hurricane Harvey. More »
Mohawk Energy to release new domestic distribution system
Mohawk Energy, a developer of expandable tubular technology, has announced the release of its OnePatch system for domestic distribution on the RigUp Oilfield Marketplace. More »
Oil near $50 as traders gauge OPEC's mixed signals
Oil hovered close to $50 a barrel amid conflicting signals from OPEC ministers about whether an extension of supply limits is on the table for the cartel’s meeting on Friday. More »
BSEE director charts path for robust offshore U.S. energy production
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Scott Angelle is moving the Outer Continental Shelf energy program toward energy dominance for America. Angelle discussed the work underway at BSEE with industry members at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Fall Meeting Tuesday in Lafayette. More »
Oil near $50 as traders gauge OPEC's mixed signals on production
Oil hovered close to $50 a barrel amid conflicting signals from OPEC ministers about whether an extension of supply limits is on the table for the cartel’s meeting on Friday. More »
Trump orders sanctions on companies dealing with North Korea
President Donald Trump Thursday ordered new sanctions on individuals, companies and banks doing business with North Korea as the U.S. increases pressure on Pyongyang for its weapons programs. More »
OPEC keeps oil market guessing over further production cuts
Ministers from OPEC and its allies look set to keep everyone waiting longer for confirmation of further action to rebalance the oil market, sending conflicting signals on whether they’ll discuss extending or deepening supply cuts in Vienna on Friday. More »
OPEC keeps oil market guessing over further action on production cuts
Ministers from OPEC and its allies look set to keep everyone waiting longer for confirmation of further action to rebalance the oil market, sending conflicting signals on whether they’ll discuss extending or deepening supply cuts in Vienna on Friday. More »
BSEE director charts path for robust offshore energy production
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Scott Angelle is moving the Outer Continental Shelf energy program toward energy dominance for America. Angelle discussed the work underway at BSEE with industry members at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Fall Meeting Tuesday in Lafayette. More »
API lauds effort to strengthen U.S. energy infrastructure, create jobs
API has welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation that would increase certainty, transparency, and efficiency in the permitting process for natural gas pipelines at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). S. 1844, the Coordinating Interagency Review of Natural Gas Infrastructure Act of 2017, was introduced by Sens. Inhofe, R-Okla., and King, I-Maine. More »
DNV GL-led collaboration leads to first guidance on inspection, evaluation of non-metallic seals
DNV GL is now launching the first industry guidance, DNVGL-RP-B301, on inspecting, testing and evaluating non-metallic seals in operation. More »
Anasuria FPSO reaches safety milestone, awarded Order of Distinction
The Anasuria FPSO has been recognized by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) once again. More »
Trump vows new sanctions on North Korea over weapons program
President Donald Trump promised to slap new sanctions on North Korea as he prepared to meet Thursday with leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss the growing crisis over Pyongyang’s weapons program. More »
Kuwait GDP seen contracting 0.5% in 2017 after oil output cut
Economists now see Kuwait’s economy contracting by 0.5 percent this year after the gulf nation reduced its crude oil production to 2.7 MMbpd, in line with the agreed OPEC target. More »
Iraq's Kurds seek independence, impact oil markets
Iraq’s Kurdish provinces plan to vote in a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, a poll that regional and Western powers, not to mention the central government in Baghdad, have decried as a catalyst for greater instability in a region gutted by war. More »
Oil above $50 as fuel-stockpile drop counters crude-supply gain
Oil held above $50 a barrel as a decline in U.S. fuel inventories countered a bigger-than-forecast increase in crude stockpiles. More »
Wednesday, 20 September 2017
CNOOC accelerates Green Dragon's asset development via supplementary agreements
Green Dragon Gas Ltd. has announced that it has finalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on five production sharing contracts (PSC) and two supplementary agreements with China United Coalbed Methane Corporation (CUCBM). More »
Oil traders empty key crude storage hub as global demand booms
Oil traders are emptying one of the world’s largest crude storage facilities, located near the southernmost tip of Africa, as the physical market tightens amid booming demand and OPEC production cuts. More »
Halcón Resources sells remaining Williston basin assets for $104 million
Halcón Resources Corporation has announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its remaining non-operated assets in the Williston basin to a private company for approximately $104 million in cash, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments. More »
Wood Mackenzie study weighs cost of carbon on upstream sector
Wood Mackenzie has released Positioning for the Future, the first comprehensive study ever carried out into carbon emissions in the upstream oil and gas sector. More »
Statoil, Techstars launch global accelerator program for energy innovators
Statoil is partnering with Techstars to create a global accelerator program for innovators and entrepreneurs who aspire to shape the future of energy. More »
Gazprom Neft undertakes its largest-ever maritime oil shipment
Gazprom Neft Badra, operator of Badra field, Iraq, has undertaken the largest-ever maritime shipment of oil for export in the company’s history, with 1.78 MMbbl of hydrocarbons being despatched for the United States in the New Solution crude oil tanker. More »
South Africa minister wants assurance on KPMG investigation of oil sale
South Africa’s probe into the sale of 10 MMbbl of its crude oil reserves may be delayed after Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said she has some concerns because a key financial analysis in the investigation was conducted by KPMG LLP. More »
Weatherford introduces V0-qualified retrievable well barrier
Weatherford International plc announced the commercial release of the ISO Extreme retrievable well barrier, which is qualified to ISO 14310 V0 standards for gas-tight isolation. More »
Rosneft to finalize pipeline project in Iraqi Kurdistan
Rosneft has completed its due diligence on infrastructure of the export oil pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan (KROP) and will shortly finalize the legally binding documents on oil pipeline project under the Investment Agreement signed at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2017. More »
Gas Plus Khalakan provides operational update on Shewashan field in Iraq
Gas Plus Khalakan (GPK), the operator of the Shewashan oil field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, is pleased to provide an update on the operations and activity that has been delivered to further develop the Shewashan oil field. More »
Baker Hughes awarded contract by Nigeria LNG in digital agreement for Sub-Saharan Africa
PARIS -- Baker Hughes, a GE company has signed an agreement for the provision of asset performance management software and services for LNG trains and related balance of plant by Nigeria LNG Limited. More »
Two words show why U.S. oil may finally be turning a corner
Oil futures have been stuck in glut mode, but that may be starting to change as backwardation, begins to replace contango. More »
OPEC has success at last, but oil revival may be short-lived
When OPEC and its allies gather this week, they’ll have the best evidence yet that their efforts to clear a global oil glut are succeeding. It may prove short-lived. More »
Tuesday, 19 September 2017
BNK Petroleum commences Brock 9-2H well fracture stimulation in Oklahoma
BNK Petroleum Inc. has announced that fracture stimulation completion operations on the previously drilled Brock 9-2H well have commenced. More »
Northwest Energy encounters hydrocarbons in Xanadu prospect
Northwest Energy has confirmed that Xanadu-1 has intersected hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs demonstrated by elevated gas readings, oil shows, fluorescence and cut-fluorescence whilst drilling reservoir sections. More »
Petro Matad announces postponed drilling campaign in Mongolia, CEO search
Petro Matad, the AIM quoted Mongolian oil explorer has provided an operational update. More »
BP supplies natural gas to Mexico under energy reform measures
BP EnergÃa México, BP’s natural gas marketing and trading arm in Mexico, has started to deliver approximately 200,000 MMBtu a day of natural gas to Mexico, making BP one of the first private companies to supply natural gas to the domestic market under the country’s energy reform measures. More »
Rosneft completes pipeline project in Iraqi Kurdistan
Rosneft has completed its due diligence on infrastructure of the export oil pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan (KROP) and will shortly finalize the legally binding documents on oil pipeline project under the Investment Agreement signed at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2017. More »
Gazprom Neft begins full-scale hydrocarbon prospecting of pre-Jurassic deposits
Gazprom Neft has begun geological investigations in Paleozoic hydrocarbon deposits in the Tomsk Oblast. Thus far, the complex structure of the pre-Jurassic complex has not been deemed an independent geological prospect, investigations into which demand the modification of traditional prospecting methodologies. More »
Baker Hughes, KBC partner to provide integrated software solutions to oil and gas
Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), and KBC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corporation, have announced a preferred partnership that will provide a combination of process simulation, asset performance management and operational software solutions to the oil and gas industry. More »
Lebanon passes oil tax law ahead of first energy-rights auction
Lebanon’s parliament approved a law to tax revenue from oil operations, weeks before its first sale of offshore energy exploration rights to interested companies like Total SA and ExxonMobil Corp. More »
Crude rises above $50/bbl on prospect of more OPEC action
Crude extended gains above $50/bbl in New York as the prospect of OPEC taking further steps to clear a global supply glut. More »
Aramco plans to buy non-Saudi crude in global trading expansion
Saudi Aramco plans to expand its trading business by buying and selling non-Saudi crude as the world’s biggest exporter prepares for what could be a record initial public offering. More »
Iraq says OPEC mulls deeper, longer oil cuts to end 2018
Iraq thinks OPEC should reduce supply by an additional 1% to help re-balance the market. More »
Monday, 18 September 2017
Oil hits another wall, fails to sustain rally above $50
Oil hit a wall again, failing to sustain a rally above $50/bbl for a third straight session. More »
Algeria to lean on central bank to plug deficit amid oil slump
Algeria’s prime minister laid out a sweeping plan to plug the budget deficit that would include direct borrowing from the central bank, as the OPEC member looks to compensate for lower oil revenue without tapping international debt markets. More »
Halliburton introduces new drill bit for high energy applications
Halliburton has announced the release of GeoTech HE, a robust drill bit that incorporates new features and materials to deliver enhanced performance and increased reliability in today’s high energy drilling systems characterized by very high weight-on-bit and drilling torque. More »
Hunting, ExxonMobil move to next phase of Autonomous Project for field testing
Hunting’s Titan Division and ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. entered into a joint agreement in 2015 to develop autonomous tool technology that creates a revolutionary step change in well completion and PandA. After meeting several development milestones, Hunting and ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. announced that field trials for the autonomous tools will begin in late 2018. More »
Resolute Energy turns to Delaware basin for stronger balance sheet
Resolute Energy Corporation has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its subsidiary, which holds interests in Aneth field in the Paradox basin of Southeastern Utah for total potential consideration of $195 million to an affiliate of Elk Petroleum Limited. More »
New hope for Jersey Oil and Gas’ Verbier well as Statoil recommends side-track
Jersey Oil and Gas has given investors some fresh hope that value could be salvaged from the Verbier exploration well, with news that a side-track is being drilled to test another target. More »
OMV Norge delineates Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea
OMV (Norge) AS, operator of production licence 537, has completed the drilling of appraisal well 7324/8-3 on oil discovery 7324/8-1 (Wisting) in the Barents Sea. More »
SDX Energy spuds KSR-14 development well in Morocco
SDX Energy Inc., the North Africa focused oil and gas company, has announced the spud of its KSR-14 development well on the Sebou permit in Morocco. More »
Equatorial Guinea inks LNG sales, infrastructure agreement with Burkina Faso
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, representing the Government of Equatorial Guinea, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Burkina Faso to supply the West African country with LNG and build critical infrastructure to import, store and transport gas. More »
Hedge funds bet on fuels over crude as storm trade persists
Since the storm battered the heart of America’s refining industry last month, bets on rising gasoline and diesel prices have surged for three straight weeks to the most bullish in years. But when it comes to West Texas Intermediate crude, skepticism is prevailing. More »
Crude trades near $50/bbl after decline in U.S. drilling
Oil traded near $50/bbl in New York, close to a three-month high, as a further reduction in U.S. drilling added to signs the global crude surplus is abating. More »
Crude trades near $50 a barrel after decline in U.S. drilling
Oil traded near $50/bbl in New York, close to a three-month high, as a further reduction in U.S. drilling added to signs the global crude surplus is abating. More »
Major energy companies reducing emissions without government oversight
The world’s energy producers are reducing their carbon emissions on a year-over-year basis. More »
Sunday, 17 September 2017
IEA sees risk of volatile oil prices on weak upstream investment
A dearth of new investment in oil production is stoking a risk of tighter crude supply and unstable prices, even as demand growth is expected to slow over the next five years, a senior International Energy Agency official. More »
Friday, 15 September 2017
China's Cnooc in search of partner to develop Mexico's deepwater prospects
Cnooc Ltd. is searching for partners to develop oil prospects deep into the Gulf of Mexico as the Chinese giant extends its global reach. More »
Cheniere's Sabine Pass to "push the limits" after Gulf Coast flooding
Two weeks after Hurricane Harvey flooded the U.S. Gulf Coast, brought shipping to a halt and knocked out power to millions, the only company sending U.S. shale gas overseas is back in business. More »
Inpex to acquire interest in exploration license PL767 in western Barents Sea
Inpex has announced that through its subsidiary Inpex Norge AS, it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 40% participating interest in exploration license PL767 located in the western Barents Sea, offshore the Kingdom of Norway from Bayerngas Norge. More »
EIA: Natural gas spot prices at Henry Hub decrease in days following Hurricane Harvey
In the days following Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, prices at the Henry Hub in Louisiana—generally considered the U.S. price—actually decreased. More »
Oil heads for best week since July as demand forecasts improve
Oil was on track to post its biggest weekly gain since late July as Texas refineries recovering from Hurricane Harvey processed more crude and global demand forecasts brightened. More »
Perry highlights need for U.S. oil reserve in rebuke of Trump's plan to sell
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma demonstrate the importance of keeping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said, in a not-so-subtle rebuke to President Donald Trump. More »
Devon Energy restores production to pre-Harvey levels
Devon Energy Corp. has reported that it has restored production to pre-storm levels across its U.S. operations following Hurricane Harvey. More »
TechnipFMC secures EPCI contract for Lancaster EPS Project, West of Shetland
TechnipFMC has been awarded an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation contract from Hurricane Energy. More »
Echo Energy awarded 3D seismic reprocessing contract onshore Bolivia
Echo Energy, the South and Central American focused upstream gas company, is pleased to announce the award of a seismic reprocessing contract for the 3D seismic data over the Huayco and Rio Salado blocks, onshore Bolivia. More »
Xodus Group awarded two ESIA contracts offshore Senegal
Xodus Group has been awarded two Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) contracts for projects in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) blocks in Senegal, West Africa. More »
SM Energy reports effects of Hurricane Harvey
SM Energy Company has announced updated information regarding the effects of Hurricane Harvey on the Company's operations. More »
North Korea may copy Nazi Germany if total oil ban takes effect
As the U.S. and its allies look to impose even stricter measures against North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un could find inspiration from oppressive regimes of yesteryear in Nazi Germany and Apartheid-era South Africa. More »
Water set to join oil, gas as key commodity for pipeline companies
The torrent of dirty water coming out of almost every American oil well is the next big bet for a former fund manager for billionaire Paul Allen. More »
Thursday, 14 September 2017
Azerbaijan, co-venturers sign amended PSA for Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli
The Azerbaijan government and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), together with BP, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil, TP, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh today signed the amended and restated agreement on the joint development and production sharing (PSA) for the Azeri, Chirag fields and the deepwater portion of Gunashli field (ACG) in the Azerbaijan Sector of the Caspian Sea. More »
Sonoro Energy reports arrival of drilling rig in West Sulawesi, Indonesia
Sonoro Energy has announced that the drilling rig from PT Advanced Services Indonesia (ASI) has mobilized from Balikpapan, sailed across the Makassar Strait, and is now moored and being unloaded in the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi. More »
Oil breaches $50 for first time in more than a month amid demand resurgence
Oil topped $50/bbl for the first time in more than a month amid heightened optimism that a demand resurgence is in the offing. More »
API Pennsylvania responds to proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus
API Pennsylvania (API-PA) responded to the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) proposal to ban hydraulic fracturing in the region. More »
Altus Intervention, Qinterra Technologies unite to form new global well service company
Qinterra Group’s North Sea well intervention specialist Altus Intervention and its international technology arm, Qinterra Technologies have united to form one global force in well services. More »
Pantheon Resources provides operational update following East Texas flooding
Pantheon Resources, the AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration company with a working interest in several conventional projects in Tyler and Polk Counties, onshore East Texas, provides the following update following the recent extreme weather in Texas, caused by tropical storm Harvey. More »
Wood Group secures subsea contract supporting CNOOC in the South China Sea
Wood Group has been awarded a new contract by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to support their Lingshui 17-2 gas development in the Qiongdongnan basin of the South China Sea. More »
Ashtead Technology signs five-year collaboration agreement with TSC
Global subsea equipment specialist, Ashtead Technology has signed a five-year global collaboration agreement with Technical Software Consultants Limited (TSC), part of Eddyfi Technologies, for its Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) instruments. More »
Canada gas set to strike back against U.S. shale as glut eases
Canadian natural gas, locked in a fierce battle for market share with U.S. shale, may stage a modest recovery as output from some longtime producers wanes and pipeline maintenance ends. More »
India plans larger oil auctions as Modi pursues import cuts
India will offer larger areas with higher oil and natural gas reserves in the next auction of discovered fields later this year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government seeks to curtail rising crude oil imports. More »
Schlumberger announces new digital well construction planning solution
Schlumberger has introduced DrillPlan digital well construction planning solution at the SIS Global Forum—the first step in the DELFI cognitive EandP environment. More »
Abrado’s chemical system saves rig time with single-trip deepwater fluid displacement in GOM
Abrado announced today that it has completed another successful single-trip deepwater displacement for a major operator in the Gulf of Mexico using its proprietary VeriClean 200X chemical system. More »
Weatherford introduces automated pipe makeup, connection evaluation system
Weatherford International plc today announced the commercial release of the AutoTong system featuring AutoEvaluate connection-makeup software. The AutoTong system is the world’s first technology to automate pipe makeup and to provide autonomous connection evaluation. More »
Saudis are said to prep for possible Aramco IPO delay
Saudi Arabia is preparing contingency plans for a possible delay to the initial public offering of its state-owned oil company by a few months into 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. More »
New China energy star still hungry after $9 billion Rosneft deal
A $9 billion stake in one of the world’s biggest oil companies may not be enough for CEFC China Energy Co. More »
Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Africa Energy Corp. acquires shares in Namibia
Africa Energy Corp. has announced the acquisition of one-third of the shares in a subsidiary of Pancontinental Oil and Gas N.L. that holds a 30% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 37 (PEL 37) offshore the Republic of Namibia. More »
Emerson launches industry-first controller for automation versatility, IIoT-enabled operations
Emerson is launching the DeltaV PK Controller, making the advanced automation of its DeltaV distributed control system (DCS) available to fast-growth industries traditionally less reliant on large-scale automation. More »
Oil giant drafts Libya vet amid Italian olive grove skirmish
Eni SpA has been adept at producing oil in some of the world’s most hostile environments, from the deserts of North Africa to the Arctic Ocean. It’s proving less sure-footed at keeping the crude flowing in the olive groves of its own backyard in southern Italy. More »
NuVista Energy provides operational update, Pipestone well test results
NuVista Energy Ltd. has provided a significant operational update, including the startup at Bilbo block--its largest pad drilled to date; powerful IP30 success from Elmworth block high intensity fractured wells (HiFi); the successful and on-time conclusion of the Keyera Simonette gas plant planned turnaround; and the achievement of a compelling well test in our emerging Pipestone block. More »
Archer wins additional PandA service contracts for Repsol Norge
Archer has announced that Repsol has awarded Archer Wireline and Archer Oiltools four-year frame agreement contracts for additional PandA services for Repsol Norge AS. More »
CNPC, Eni sign EandP cooperation agreement
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Eni signed cooperation agreement in order to cooperate in oil and gas exploration and production, gas and LNG value chain opportunities, trading and logistics opportunities, refining and petrochemicals. More »
Kuwait says OPEC to decide on extending cuts in March 2018
Kuwait says OPEC to decide on extending cuts in March 2018 More »
Qatar says it's fulfilling oil and gas deals despite Gulf crisis
Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is fulfilling all of its contracted shipments of oil and gas despite a regional political crisis that led to the severing of ties with some of its neighbors, the Gulf country’s energy minister said. More »
Chevron contributes $1 million to Hurricane Irma relief
Chevron has announced a contribution of $1 million from Chevron and the Chevron Global Community Fund to assist with efforts to recover from the damage done by Hurricane Irma. More »
Seadrill files for bankruptcy in effort to shrink debt burden
Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection after working out a deal with most of its lenders to inject $1 billion of new money into the company. More »
IEA sees strongest global oil-demand growth in two years
Global oil demand will climb this year by the most since 2015, the IEA said, amid stronger-than-expected consumption in Europe and the U.S. More »
Schlumberger announces DELFI cognitive EandP environment
Schlumberger unveiled the new DELFI cognitive EandP environment at the SIS Global Forum. This environment enables collaboration across EandP teams and leverages the full potential of all available data and science to optimize assets. More »
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
UN sanctions to cut North Korea's fuel imports as crude keeps flowing
New United Nations sanctions on North Korea will cut imports of fuels such as gasoline and diesel by almost 56% while capping shipments of crude at current levels, according to the U.S. More »
Norway prime minister wins second term as insurgency against oil fizzles
Prime Minister Erna Solberg became Norway’s first Conservative Party leader in over three decades to be re-elected as a movement to stop further oil exploration in western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer fizzled. More »
OPEC increases global oil demand forecasts on Europe, China
OPEC raised estimates for the amount of crude it will need to supply next year amid a stronger outlook for global oil demand. More »
Oil steadies near $48 as U.S. refiners return after Irma, Harvey
Oil steadied near $48/bbl as refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast continued to recover following two strikes from Hurricane Harvey, while Irma weakened further after moving inland. More »
Sanctions to cut North Korea's fuel imports as crude keeps flowing
New United Nations sanctions on North Korea will cut imports of fuels such as gasoline and diesel by almost 56% while capping shipments of crude at current levels, according to the U.S. More »
Oil steadies near $48 as U.S. refiners return after storms
Oil steadied near $48/bbl as refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast continued to recover following two strikes from Hurricane Harvey, while Irma weakened further after moving inland. More »
OPEC is said to discuss extending cuts by more than three months
OPEC is discussing extending by more than three months the oil production cuts that expire in March 2018 in an effort to boost prices. More »
Flood hit India's oil demand falls the most in 14 years
India’s oil consumption in August shrank 6.1%, the most since April 2003, as floods ravaged several parts of the country curbing demand for diesel and gasoline. More »
Faroe Petroleum reports Goanna exploration well results
Faroe Petroleum announces that drilling has reached the target depth on the exploration well 33/9-22 S (Faroe carried interest 30%) in licence PL 881. More »
Premier Oil sells Wytch Farm field for $200 million
Premier has announced pleased to announce that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell its entire interests in Licences PL089 and P534, which contain Wytch Farm field, to Verus Petroleum SNS Limited for a cash consideration of $200 million. More »
Shell, Petrobras strengthen deepwater partnership in Brazil's pre-salt fields
Royal Dutch Shell and Petrobras signed last week in The Hague, Netherlands, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a long-term mutual collaboration in developing pre-salt fields in Brazil. More »
Monday, 11 September 2017
Hedge funds flip-flop as Harvey shakes up crude market
Harvey’s got hedge funds caught in a whirlwind. More »
U.S. said to water down North Korea sanctions before vote
The U.S. has watered down a proposal to punish North Korea for its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, omitting an oil embargo and a freeze of Kim Jong Un’s assets, according to a European diplomat. More »
Goldman sees spent Harvey hurting oil use more than raging Irma
As Hurricane Irma continues to leave destruction in its wake across Florida, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says Harvey, the storm that struck Texas more than two weeks ago, remains a bigger concern for the oil market. More »
BP, Bridas to combine PAE and Axion Energy, forming new integrated energy company
BP today announced that it has agreed with Bridas Corporation to form a new integrated energy company by combining their interests in the oil and gas producer Pan American Energy (PAE) and the refiner and marketer Axion Energy in a cash-free transaction. More »
India swaps cheaper LNG for more volume in second reworked deal with Exxon
Petronet LNG Ltd. has reached an agreement to rework a liquefied natural gas supply agreement with ExxonMobil Corp., the second such renegotiation by the Indian company for gas supplies after reaching a similar deal with Qatar. More »
China oil investors shrug off future fossil-fuel vehicle ban
The prospect of China banning fossil fuel-powered vehicles is failing to alarm investors in the oil producers likely to lose out. More »
Norway oil rouses Wintershall as MandA deals set to gain momentum
When a recovery in crude prices sparks more deals in Norway’s oil industry, BASF SE’s Wintershall AG unit will be among those looking for opportunities. More »
Saudi Arabia open to another OPEC cuts extension
Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih agreed with his Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts to keep all options open in their push to re-balance world oil markets, including the possible extension of output cuts beyond next March. More »
InterMoor wins mooring contract on BP's Mad Dog 2 project
InterMoor, a leading provider of mooring services, foundation solutions and offshore installations in subsea services group Acteon, has been awarded a service contract with Subsea 7 to provide mooring and tow services for BP’s new Mad Dog 2 project. More »
China deepens oil ties with Russia in $9-billion Rosneft deal
A closely-held Chinese oil company agreed to buy a minority stake in Rosneft PJSC for about $9 billion, deepening energy and political ties with Russia amid increasing tensions with the U.S. More »
Sunday, 10 September 2017
Baker Hughes awarded subsea contract for Zohr gas field, offshore Egypt
In a signing ceremony hosted by H.E. Eng. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Egypt, Baker Hughes, a GE company announced a major subsea contract from Petrobel for phase two of the “supergiant” Zohr Gas field situated in the Mediterranean Sea. More »
Friday, 8 September 2017
Oil sinks as Irma imperils demand in gas-thirsty Florida
Oil pared its first weekly gain since July as Hurricane Irma threatened to slash energy demand that had only just begun to recover from the wrath of Harvey. More »
LLOG Exploration begins execution of Buckskin Project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico
LLOG Exploration Company, LLC, has announced that the Company and all of its working interest partners have taken several key steps to begin execution of the previously-approved Buckskin Project. More »
BP’s Glen Lyon FPSO classed by DNV GL
DNV GL has awarded class to BP’s Glen Lyon Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel located West of Shetland. More »
Energean receives approval to develop Katakolo field in Western Greece
Energean Oil and Gas has announced that it has received approval for its Field Development Plan (FDP) for the development of Kataloko field in Western Greece from Hellenic Hydrocarbons Resources Management. More »
DNO joins ExxonMobil on Baeshiqa license in Kurdistan region of Iraq
DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced an agreement with ExxonMobil to join the Baeshiqa license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. More »
LNG glut may flip to deficit as Cheniere sees China growth
The global glut plaguing liquefied natural gas markets may start to dwindle in five years, threatening to spur a deficit equivalent to twice the output of leading producer Qatar. More »
Oil's post-Harvey rally stalls with refinery restarts still iffy
Oil barely budged on Thursday as doubts linger over the restart of refineries that are flickering back to life in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. More »
BP, Reliance close in on India gas field near missile site
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and its partner BP Plc are reviving investment plans for a gas block close to a military missile launching facility in the Bay of Bengal. More »
Fredriksen's Arcadia Petroleum said to scale back business
Arcadia Petroleum Ltd., the commodities house owned by shipping billionaire John Fredriksen, is dramatically scaling back in oil trading and cutting jobs, according to people familiar with the matter. More »
Oil cash habit could be hard to kick for Norway's vote winner
Most politicians will talk tough on fiscal discipline before they get their hands on the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. More »
Thursday, 7 September 2017
GE's slump to deepen even after $64-billion slide, JPMorgan says
General Electric Co.’s stock slide is poised to get worse, according to JPMorgan Chase and Co., extending a slump that already has wiped out $64 billion in market value this year. More »
OPEC deal extension would benefit Russia, finance minister says
Russia would benefit from extending the accord with OPEC to limit oil production, said the country’s finance minister. More »
API: Pro-growth economic policies will strenghten America's energy infrastructure
API President and CEO Jack Gerard welcomed the President’s commitment to advancing our nation’s energy security through pro-growth tax reform and economic policies during his remarks at a North Dakota oil refinery. More »
Rosneft, Statoil to move development of North-Komsomolskoye field into the next phase
RN-Exploration and Production LLC, Rosneft subsidiary and Statoil Russia AS, Statoil ASA subsidiary, signed the shareholders and operating agreement at the Eastern Economic Forum. The document is signed with regards to SevKomNeftegaz LLC, an enterprise that will serve as a basis for a future North-Komsomolskoye joint field development. More »
Gazprom, Mitsui ink framework agreement on small- and mid-scale LNG in Japan
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Masami Iijima, chairman of the board of directors of Mitsui and Co., Ltd., took place at the Eastern Economic Forum 2017 in Vladivostok. More »
Downhole testing added to C-Kore Systems' subsea services
C-Kore Systems recently expanded the application of their subsea testing technology to downhole testing. More »
Subsea 7 awards letter of intent for new reel-lay vessel
Subsea 7 S.A. has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Royal IHC in the Netherlands for the construction of a new reel-lay vessel and associated pipe lay equipment. More »
Statoil adds exploration licenses in South Africa
Statoil has acquired participating interests in two additional offshore frontier blocks, including one operatorship. More »
Calima Energy advances its liquids-rich Montney play
Calima Energy Limited continues to advance the liquids rich Montney play and has licensed a high-quality 3D seismic database covering a significant portion of Calima’s landholding. More »
U.S. said to seek ban at UN on crude oil to North Korea
The U.S. is circulating a draft resolution at the United Nations that would bar crude oil shipments to North Korea, ban the nation’s exports of textiles and prohibit employment of its guest workers by other countries, according to a diplomat at the world body. More »
Oil for U.S. hawked to others as storm snarls flows of crude
Sellers of crude to U.S. refineries that are still assessing the damage from Hurricane Harvey are seeking an alternative home for their supply. More »
Wednesday, 6 September 2017
Sea highlights new connectivity technology for offshore EandP operations
Cohort plc company SEA is showcasing an enhanced secure voice and data communications system for remote applications such as offshore ships and platforms at Offshore Europe 17. More »
EIC launches new OandM database at Offshore Europe
The Energy Industries Council (EIC), the leading trade association for companies that supply goods and services to the energy industries worldwide, has launched its newest business development tool, EICAssetMap, at Offshore Europe 2017. More »
Oil heads for four-week high as demand for crude rises
Oil approached a four-week high as refiners revved up plants pounded by Hurricane Harvey, sparking demand for crude. More »
Petrofac awarded $700-million contract on Sakhalin Island
Petrofac has been awarded a contract worth more than $700 million by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. for its onshore processing facility (OPF) on Sakhalin Island. More »
New subsea construction vessel launched in Baku to support Shah Deniz Stage 2
The Shah Deniz consortium is pleased to announce the launch of the Khankendi - a new flagship vessel for the Caspian. The state-of-the-art subsea construction vessel has been specifically designed and built to install the biggest subsea production system in the Caspian Sea as part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project. More »
Devon Energy provides preliminary update regarding impact of Hurricane Harvey
Devon Energy Corp. today provided a preliminary update on the impact of Hurricane Harvey to the company’s Eagle Ford operations in South Texas. More »
Emerald Bay to drill Kuhn 4 well in South Texas' Wooden Horse play
Emerald Bay Energy Inc. has provided an update on the Company’s Wooden Horse play in South Texas. More »
Xodus advises Japan on decommissioning trends
Xodus Group has delivered a decommissioning ‘trend survey’ to JOGMEC (Japan Oil and Gas and Metals National Corporation) to provide Japanese oil and gas companies with a better understanding of the decommissioning process and how to manage their global asset and abandonment liabilities. More »
Shell sees gas shortage risk triggering Australia LNG export cut
The world’s second-biggest liquefied natural gas exporting nation will probably curb shipments next year to avoid a domestic shortfall of the fuel, according to the Australian head of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. More »
Zenith Energy provides Azerbaijan field rehabilitation update
Zenith Energy Ltd., the dual listed international oil and gas production company operating the largest onshore oilfield in Azerbaijan, is pleased to release an update regarding the progress of its field rehabilitation activities in Azerbaijan. More »
Frontera Resources announces mobilization of workover rig in Georgia
Frontera Resources Corp., a European focused independent oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to announce the mobilization of a workover rig to Ud-2 well, situated inside the 950 km2 Mtsare Khevi Gas Complex area located in onshore Block 12 in Georgia. More »
Wood Group wins five-year contract supporting INPEX's Ichthys LNG development
Wood Group has secured a new, five-year contract with INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd. to provide subsea engineering services for the integrity of the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project, offshore Western Australia. More »
NEL starts build of £16-million subsea development center
NEL, the flow measurement RandD specialist, has commenced the build of its £16-million Centre of Excellence (CoE) for subsea development. The new high pressure multi-phase flow test facility will have the largest test range in the world, positioning Scotland as a world leader in multi-phase flow measurement. More »
Libya's biggest oil field is said to resume pumping crude
Libya’s largest oil field resumed production after a halt of more than two weeks, putting pressure on OPEC and other producers seeking to rein in a global supply glut and firm up prices. More »
France plans to end oil output by 2040 with exploration ban
France will stop granting new exploration permits next year as it seeks to end all oil and gas production by 2040, according to a draft bill presented at a cabinet meeting Wednesday. More »
Oil giants still love North Sea despite asset sales
Europe’s biggest energy companies have a message for the aging UK North Sea oil industry: We may be selling assets, but that doesn’t mean we’re heading for the exit. More »
Shell seeks to boost LNG demand to build new plants
Europe’s biggest energy company is investing in projects to boost global gas demand and aims to continue feeding the market it’s nurturing with new liquefied natural gas export plants. More »
Threat to oil gets real as climate crashes Norway election
Politicians and activists who have been fighting to rein in Norway’s mighty oil industry are eyeing a breakthrough. More »
Tuesday, 5 September 2017
Energy MandA seen as merely slowed as Houston moves to recovery
Houston’s devastating floods have slowed but not stopped work by MandA bankers at the epicenter of U.S. energy-sector deals. More »
Canadian Natural Resources buys Cenovus' Pelican Lake project for $787 million
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. agreed to buy Cenovus Energy Inc.’s Pelican Lake heavy-oil project and other assets in northern Alberta for C$975 million ($788 million), bulking up its operations in the area. More »
BNK Petroleum reports 405-boed flowrate at Hartgraves 1-6H well in Oklahoma
BNK Petroleum Inc. has announced that the Hartgraves 1-6H well averaged about 405 boed, of which 324 bbl are oil, for the last six days, while still producing back completion fluid. More »
Expro secures multi-million-dollar well services contract with Repsol Sinopec
International oilfield services company, Expro, has secured a five-year master services agreement with Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited, for well services across its UK North Sea assets. More »
Consortium to tackle major North Sea NDT challenge
A consortium of organizations has set out to tackle one of the most enduring challenges in the North Sea: the non-destructive testing (NDT) of corroded pipes under insulation and engineered temporary pipe wraps. More »
Bibby Offshore bolsters North Sea presence with multiple contract wins
Bibby Offshore, a subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, continues to strengthen its North Sea presence through successful completion of two further contracts with oil and gas majors, Perenco and Endeavour Energy UK. More »
Gas to become world's primary energy source by 2035, says DNV GL
Oil and gas will be crucial components of the world’s energy future, according to DNV GL’s forecast of the energy transition. More »
Service companies team up on project to develop better maintenance for offshore cables
Cohort plc company SEA has teamed with research and technology organization Fraunhofer, the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre test centre (EMEC), and optical fiber sensor specialists Synaptec on a new project looking at developing multi-functional monitoring solutions to existing power transmission cables used in the offshore energy industry. More »
Wood Group launches flexible pipe integrity report following industry-wide project
Wood Group has led a global project to improve industry knowledge and understanding of flexible pipe integrity management. More »
CNOOC signs PSC with SK Innovation Co. for Pearl River Mouth basin block
CNOOC Limited has announced that its parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), has signed production sharing contract (PSC) with SK Innovation Co., Ltd. (SK) for Block 17/08 in the South China Sea. More »
Crude climbs as Texas works to recover from Harvey
Crude oil rose, and gasoline fell to the lowest in more than a week, as Gulf Coast refiners continued their recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. More »
Trump's sanction threat puts chinese banks, oil giants on notice
President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about imposing widespread sanctions on China for propping up North Korea’s economy may put pressure on some of its banks and oil companies. More »
Goldman sees oil gloom clearing as demand rises in Harvey's wake
Reconstruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey’s deadly gash through Texas could prove positive for the oil market in a few months, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. More »
Monday, 4 September 2017
Offshore oil companies reboarding platforms, rigs in U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are reboarding platforms and rigs and restoring normal operations following Tropical Storm Harvey. More »
Expro secures 26-well abandonment contract for UK North Sea
International oilfield services company, Expro, has been awarded a substantial contract from global oil and gas company Maersk Oil for the provision of subsea and well test services on two offshore units in the North Sea. More »
Total divests remaining 15% interest in Gina Krog field in Norway, sells to Kuwaiti company
Total has signed an agreement to divest its remaining 15% interest in the Gina Krog field in Norway to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC). More »
World energy demand to plateau from 2030, says DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook
The world is approaching a watershed moment as energy demand is set to plateau from 2030, driven by greater efficiency with wider application of electricity. A rapid decarbonization of the energy supply is underway with renewables set to make up almost half of the energy mix by 2050, although natural gas will become the biggest single source of energy. More »
Johan Sverdrup project more than halfway complete, says Lundin Petroleum
Lundin Petroleum AB has announced that Phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup project is more than halfway complete, and that the partnership has further reduced the gross capital expenditure to NOK 92 billion. More »
Russia likely to back extension of OPEC deal as prices stabilize
Russia is likely to back a further extension of the OPEC agreement cutting oil output, judging that it has helped to stabilize the market, the country’s deputy prime minister said. More »
Mexico seeks to add energy reform to Nafta, negotiators said to tackle labor and rules of origin
Officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will start to tackle some of the tougher issues in the North American Free Trade Agreement as they discuss labor, dispute resolution and rules of origin for products at a negotiating session in Mexico City, according to two people familiar with the schedule. More »
Harvey's wrath lays bare Mexico's U.S. natural gas addiction
Hurricane Harvey’s crushing blow to the U.S. energy industry reveals just how dependent Mexico has become on natural gas from its northern neighbor. More »
UK North Sea oilfield startups surge to 10-year high
The UK North Sea is on track for the biggest year of oil and gas field startups in a decade, continuing the aging province’s surprising resilience to the crude-market slump. More »
China's oil lifeline to North Korea targeted after nuclear blast
Even before North Korea detonated its most powerful nuclear bomb yet, Japan was calling for moves to cut off its oil supply. More »
Friday, 1 September 2017
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate hires new exploration director
Torgeir Stordal has been hired as the exploration director in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. More »
Hess Corp. donates $1 million to Harvey relief efforts in Houston
Hess Corporation has announced that it is donating $1 million to relief efforts in Houston following Hurricane Harvey. More »
Noble Energy contributes $1 million to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts
Earlier this week, Noble Energy, Inc., committed to contribute a total of $1 million to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. More »
Harvey's muddy roadways could delay 10% of U.S. fracing
As much as 10% of U.S. fracing work could be delayed after Hurricane Harvey ripped through southeast Texas, soaking thousands of miles of dirt roads snaking through one of the nation’s busiest oilfields. More »
Harvey spurs emergency oil from reserve Trump wants to sell
A deadly storm ravaging the Texas and Louisiana coasts has led to a rare release of oil from emergency U.S. stockpiles that President Donald Trump wants to slash. More »
NCS Multistage finalizes acquisition of Spectrum Tracer Services
NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc., has announced that it has finalized its acquisition of Spectrum Tracer Services, LLC. NCS previously announced, on Aug. 30, 2017, that it entered into a merger agreement to acquire Spectrum. More »
Swire Oilfield Services wins seven-figure contract for Johan Sverdrup platform
Global offshore container company Swire Oilfield Services has been awarded a seven-figure contract with Aker Solutions. More »
China Merchants Group said to explore offshore rig deals
State-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group is exploring acquisitions of offshore rig operators, which have struggled to recover from a collapse in oil-industry spending, people with knowledge of the matter said. More »
Iraq says it's gone deeper than pledged OPEC production cut
Iraq said it has gone deeper than its pledged oil-output cut, potentially ending a seven-month period in which OPEC saw the nation falling short of its agreed curbs. More »
Oil firms that cheered regulatory rollback are quaking on NAFTA
The Trump administration is easing environmental regulations and opening up territory for drilling as part of the president’s bid to unleash the "vast energy wealth" of the U.S. Yet Donald Trump’s push to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement could have the opposite effect. More »
Cheap oil and costly fuel are Harvey windfall for top market
The shutdown of almost a quarter of U.S. crude refining capacity in the wake of Hurricane Harvey is presenting a rare opportunity for fuel traders in Asia. More »
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