OPEC+ Debates Biggest Ever Oil Output Cut as Virus Destroys Demand
OPEC and allies are working on a deal for an unprecedented production cut equivalent to around 10% of global supply, an OPEC source said after U.S. President Donald Trump called on oil nations to stop the oil rout caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting of OPEC and allies such as Russia has been scheduled for Monday, April 6, Azeri's energy ministry said, but details were still thin on the exact distribution of production cuts. Oil prices have fallen to around $20 per barrel from $65 at the start of the year as more than 3 billion people went into lockdown because of the virus…
Chevron Lummus Global Lands 'Sizeable' Deal with Asian Refiner
Oilfield services firm McDermott International has informed that its Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), McDermott's joint venture with Chevron, has been awarded a sizeable contract by a Southeast Asian refiner.The contract is for for the license, engineering, and supply of proprietary catalyst and equipment for its Lubricant Base Oil Group II Project to be built in Southeast Asia. McDermott defines a sizeable contract as between USD $1 million and USD $50 million.The new 5,200-barrels-per-day unit will employ CLG's state-of-the-art lubricant base oil technologies for premium lube base oil production.
Shell Cuts Capex, Suspends Share Buyback
Oil major Shell lowered capital expenditure for 2020 by about $5 billion on Monday and suspended the next tranche of its share buyback plan, as the company tries to weather a hit from the recent oil price crash. The company said it would reduce 2020 cash capital expenditure to $20 billion or below from a planned level of around $25 billion, adding that the initiatives would contribute $8 billion-$9 billion to free cash flow on a pre-tax basis. Shell also said underlying operating costs will be cut by $3 billion to $4 billion per annum over the next 12 months compared to 2019 levels.
U.S. Offshore Oil Lease Sale Weakest Since 2016
A major sale of oil and gas leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday generated $93 million in high bids, the lowest total for any U.S. offshore auction since 2016, reflecting caution in the drilling industry amid a steep slide in oil prices.Firing up offshore drilling is a crucial part of U.S. President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda to maximize domestic production of crude oil, natural gas, and coal. But the energy industry is in crisis as the coronavirus outbreak decimates world demand for fuel and crushes prices."While bidding did take a tough hit…
Oil Giants Set Health Checks, Work-from-home Rules
Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-from-home rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread and threatened an industry reeling from falling demand and profits.BP, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Motiva Enterprises and Royal Dutch Shell told most office staff to work from home starting Monday. Federal regulators on Friday were pressed by companies to ease work rules for pipeline operators and to limit visits to some sites. Shell and Chevron began health checks of workers and visitors at some key U.S.
ExxonMobil Calls for Tighter Methane Regulations
ExxonMobil on Tuesday called for tighter regulation of the greenhouse gas methane and offered up its own in-house rules as a model for companies and lawmakers worldwide.The largest U.S. oil company laid out the guidelines it follows - some of which have been rolled back by the Trump administration - at a time when the industry faces growing pressure from investors to reduce its environmental footprint.The move is a "clear rebuke" of the Trump administration said Ben Ratner, senior director at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Upstream Sector Leads O&A M&A in 2019
A latest research revealed that the upstream sector accounted for the bulk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global oil and gas industry in 2019, generating some high-value transactions during the process.According to GlobalData's theme report, ‘M&A in Oil and Gas – 2020’, the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum by Occidental Petroleum in April 2019 for a purchase consideration of US$57bn was the highlight of oil and gas M&A activity last year, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.Ravindra Puranik…
Saudi Aramco joins oil blockchain platform Vakt
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures has bought into blockchain-based trading platform Vakt with $5 million in new shares, Vakt said on Tuesday.Aramco Trading Co, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, will use the platform.The VAKT platform specializes in post-trade processing.
US Extends License for Chevron's Operations in Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department on Saturday renewed a license allowing Chevron, the last U.S. energy company operating in Venezuela, to continue working in the country until April 22.In January, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA in an effort to oust President Nicolas Maduro, though he remains in power. The Treasury issued Chevron a six-month license to operate, however, which has been renewed in three-month periods.Chevron has been in Venezuela for nearly 100 years and has about 300 direct employees there.
US Refiners Grab HSFO on Back of IMO 2020
U.S. refiners are scooping up cheap high-sulfur fuel oil for processing from Russia and the Baltic states as they take advantage of new shipping rules that have cut demand for the dirtier marine fuel, according to oil traders and shipping data.U.S. refiners Valero Corp, Chevron Corp and Phillips 66 have been buying HSFO, traders said, taking advantage of their complex operations to turn HSFO blended with crude oils into products like diesel, gasoil and gasoline.This month, 2.2 million tonnes of fuel oil…
Oxy Slashing Jobs 'Significantly'
Occidental Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday it would begin dismissing workers in a new cost-cutting move following its $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum.The company has already "significantly" cut staff through a voluntary program, spokeswoman Melissa Schoeb said in an email. She did not respond to requests for information about the number of employees to be cut or any potential charge to earnings.The combined company had about 16,000 workers when it merged.Occidental has been selling assets and cutting costs since it outbid Chevron Corp last year for Anadarko…
Chevron Pulls Staff from Northern Iraq
Chevron Corp removed its expatriate staff operating in northern Iraq as a security precaution, a spokeswoman said on Monday, joining other oil companies pulling staff following the U.S. killing of an Iranian general in the country.U.S. officials last week called for American citizens to leave Iraq hours after a drone strike killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.Chevron said a small contingent of expatriate employees and contractors temporarily left its Kurdistan region operations as a precautionary measure. Other U.S.
Puma Energy Sells Fuels Business to Chevron Australia
Singapore's Puma Energy, the retail and midstream arm of global commodities trader Trafigura, said on Thursday it would sell its Australian commercial and retail fuels business to Chevron Australia for A$425 million ($288 million).Puma Energy is 49%-owned by Geneva-based Trafigura, which is under pressure to rebalance its books after a decade-long buying spree.Trafigura last week reported its lowest annual net profit in nearly a decade after a string of losses in its physical asset portfolio.Puma Energy was among Trafigura's loss-making businesses…
Nigeria LNG Inks FID for Train 7
Nigeria LNG (NLNG) signed a long-awaited final investment decision on its Train 7 processing unit in Abuja on Friday, taking a step forward in increasing its liquefied natural gas production.NNPC and partners Eni, Total and Shell attended the signing ceremony for Train 7, which is expected to boost Nigeria's LNG output by 35% to 30 million tonnes per year.The agreement is a bright spot for Nigeria, a nation rich in oil and gas that has been working for years, with limited success…
Shell Wins Auction for Guyana's First Liza Cargoes
Royal Dutch Shell won the rights to market Guyana's first cargoes of crude oil, the government said on Tuesday, just days after oil production began and launched the impoverished South American country into the ranks of world suppliers.An ExxonMobil-led consortium, which includes Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd, began producing crude from the Liza well on Friday. The companies have discovered more than six billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas in a massive offshore block.Guyana has no history of oil production…
Big Oil to Bid for Guyana Crude Cargoes
Large oil companies Exxon Mobil, Hess Corp, CNOOC, BP, Chevron, Total, and Eni are expected to present bids to buy the first three cargoes of Liza crude offered by Guyana's government, the South American country's director of energy said on Monday.A consortium of Exxon, Hess, and China's CNOOC has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources off the country's coast. The companies plan to begin exporting crude from the country, which has no history of oil production…
Majors Face New Shareholder Climate Resolutions
An activist group is increasing the pressure on five big U.S. and European oil companies with shareholder resolutions urging them to meet the Paris climate goals and cut carbon emissions.Dutch group Follow This is targeting U.S. giants ExxonMobil, Chevron and their European rivals Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Equinor with climate resolutions ahead of next year's annual general meetings (AGMs) scheduled for the first half of 2020.Follow This owns minor stakes in the companies which enables it to file shareholder resolutions.The Exxon and Chevron resolutions are vaguer than the European text…
U.S. Drillers Add Rigs for first Week in Eight
U.S. energy firms added rigs for the first time in eight weeks even as producers follow through on plans to reduce spending on new drilling.Companies added 4 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 13, bringing the total count to 667, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.In the same week a year ago, there were 873 active rigs.That keeps the oil rig count on track to fall for the first year since 2016. The decline, however, only totals 218, which is much smaller than 2015's record 963 rig decline…
Chevron: GoM Anchor Project Needs $5.7 bln
Chevron Corp said on Thursday its Anchor project in the Gulf of Mexico would need an investment of about $5.7 billion.Announcing its final investment decision on the planned facility, the oil major said first oil from the field is expected in 2024.The Anchor field is located about 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana and is in water depths of 5,000 feet.The planned facility has a design capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The total potentially recoverable oil-equivalent resources for Anchor are estimated to exceed 440 million barrels.Chevron…
Chevron Plans Assets Sale
U.S. oil major Chevron Corp said on Tuesday it is evaluating strategic alternatives, including divestment of gas-related assets in Appalachia shale, Kitimat LNG, and other international projects.Chevron, which set a 2020 spending program of $20 billion, said these actions are estimated to result in non-cash, after tax impairment charges of $10 billion to $11 billion in its fourth quarter, with more than half related to the Appalachia shale.The second-largest U.S. oil company also…
