Oil Search Boss to Retire in 2020
Papua New Guinea's biggest company Oil Search Ltd said on Tuesday long-serving Managing Director Peter Botten will retire from the firm next year after 25 years in the role, just as the company enters a major growth phase in PNG and Alaska.Botten will be succeeded by senior executive Keiran Wulff in February and will step down from the board on Aug. 25."Under his leadership…
Seaborne Nuclear Power Plant Docks in Russia
Russia's first-floating nuclear power plant has arrived to its permanent base near an isolated Russian town across the Bering Strait from Alaska, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom said on Saturday.Developed by Rosatom, the plant, known as "Akademik Lomonosov", set off on a 5,000 km (3,100 mile) journey on Aug. 23 through Arctic waters to reach the Chukotka region.
BP Exits Alaska with $5.6Bln Sale
British oil major BP Alaska announced that it is selling its entire business to Hilcorp Alaska, marking the exit from Alaska after six decades.The $5.6 billion sale includes Opens a New Window. interests in the Prudhoe Bay oil field, Point Thomson gas field and the trans-Alaska pipeline system, BP said in a release.Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said: "Alaska…
BP Exits Alaska in $5.6 Bln Sale
British oil major BP Plc on Tuesday agreed to sell all its Alaskan properties for $5.6 billion to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co, exiting a region where it operated for 60 years.The deal, which includes interests in the most prolific oil field in U.S. history at Prudhoe Bay, and the 800-mile (1,300-km) Trans Alaska Pipeline, is part of BP's plan to raise $10 billion over the next two years through asset sales to further strengthen its balance sheet…
Wood Promotes Leonard in Americas Role
Engineering firm Wood said it has appointed Paul Leonard as President of Operations Services in its Americas business to succeed Tim O’Leary, who is retiring from the company after a 20-year tenure.Wood’s Operations Services business complements the company’s capital projects businesses through the provision of operations, maintenance, modifications, asset management…
Green Group Asks Cosco to Avoid HFO in Arctic
Clean Arctic Alliance has sent its second letter to Cosco, in which the NGOs urge the Chinese liner company to make public what fuel types its vessels use in the Arctic.Responding to reports that the 190m-long COSCO-owned cargo vessel Tian’en is due to arrive in the Swedish port of Gävle on August 18, having traversed the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route between the Pacific and the Atlantic…
Baker Hughes: U.S. Cuts Rigs for Fifth Straight Week
U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fifth week in a row as most independent producers cut spending even though majors were still pushing ahead with investments in new drilling.Drillers cut six oil rigs in the week to Aug. 2, bringing the total count down to 770, the lowest since February 2018, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.
NOIA Weighs in on The COASTAL Act
National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Tim Charters issued the following statement after the introduction of the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act:“It is vital that American offshore energy production promote equity for the states immediately adjacent to these offshore areas.
ConocoPhillips Profit Slides
ConocoPhillips missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday as it spent more than expected and took a hit from lower crude prices due to fears of a slowing global economy.The OPEC and Russia have put a lid on production, but that has not translated into higher prices due to surging shale oil output from the United States.Shares of Conoco fell 2% as the Houston…
First ANS Cargo in One Year on Way to China
One million barrels of Alaskan crude is due in China next week, the first such shipment in almost a year, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon and vessel-tracking firm Kpler.China's imports of U.S. crude have fallen amid the two countries' trade dispute to 41,600 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months ended February, from 377,000 bpd in the first half of 2018, according to the U.S.
Russian Pipeline: Bringing Gas and Building Trust
A discussion over energy at the summit last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has excited the government in South Korea, where the government is desperately looking to entice the North Koreans to come in out of the cold.Among the topics that came up was access for the North Koreans to Russian electricity supplies and…
Trump, Saudi Arabia at Odds Over Oil Price
U.S. President Donald Trump and the Saudi government have closely aligned views on most issues but they disagree significantly on the desirable level for oil prices, which could become a source of volatility in 2019/2020.In keeping with his iconoclastic approach to governing, Trump has kept up a public commentary on oil prices and the role of Saudi-led OPEC in messages on Twitter as well as television interviews.So far in 2018/19…
US Offshore Drilling Takes Center Stage
U.S. lawmakers will quiz President Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the Interior Department on Thursday, focusing on the former energy and mining lobbyist’s plans to expand fossil fuels production from the United States' public lands and waters.The Interior Department, which oversees more than a fifth of the U.S. land surface from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, has been central to Trump's policy of boosting domestic crude oil…
BP, ExxonMobil in Alaska LNG Deal
Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC) has signed an agreement with BP and Exxon Mobil to help advance the state-owned company's proposed $43.4 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.According to the agreement, the concerned parties would work together to identify ways to improve the Alaska LNG project ’s competitiveness, and progress the Federal Energy…
BP, Exxon Sign On Alaska LNG Export Project
Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC) said it signed an agreement with BP PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp to help advance the state-owned company's proposed $43.4 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project."Our respective organizations share an interest in the successful commercialization of Alaska's stranded North Slope natural gas," AGDC Interim President Joe…
Seismic Surveys Delayed in US Arctic
There will be no seismic exploration this winter on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Interior Department said on Friday, after the company seeking permission to conduct the tests ran out of time to get the required permit."We can confirm that seismic surveys will not take place until December 2019," said Alex Hinson, U.S. Department of the Interior spokesman…
Alaska Officials Probe BP's Prudhoe Bay Wells After Spill
Regulators in the U.S. state of Alaska will investigate all of the oil and natural gas wells operated by BP Plc at its Prudhoe Bay oil field after the release of a small amount of crude oil and gas from a well that had earlier been shut.The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing “to assess the mechanical integrity of Prudhoe Bay wells operated by BP Exploration (Alaska)…
US Working on Arctic Oil Leases Despite Shutdown
Even as a partial shutdown halts the functions of many U.S. government departments, forcing the Department of the Interior to close national parks, the Trump administration is continuing to push for the expansion of oil drilling on sensitive, federally owned lands in Arctic Alaska.The Alaska Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the Interior Department, was scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday night in Wainwright…
Eni Acquires 70% stake in Oooguruk Field Offshore Alaska
Italian oil and gas company Eni has agreed to acquire a 70% stake in the Oooguruk oil field located offshore Alaska from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska for an undisclosed price.With Eni already holding 30% working interest in the oilfield, the Italian energy major’s operating stake in the same, following the closing of the deal, will be 100%.The Oooguruk oil field…
Hess, Conoco Raise 2019 Production Outlook
Oil and gas producer Hess Corp and Conocophillips both expect production for 2019 to be higher than this year even as they spend roughly the same amount of money on exploration, the companies said on Monday.Investors have been urging U.S. oil companies to increase returns on tight spending at a time when they are also looking beyond the Permian Basin, which is getting…
