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…
Majors Press Mexico to Resume Oil Auctions
Big oil companies operating in Mexico have launched a drive to convince leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to resume auctions of oil and gas contracts he has branded a failure in reviving the industry.Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, among other firms in Mexico's Association of Hydrocarbon Companies (Amexhi), say they have met output targets and investment pledges worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the initial phases of their contracts."We've been complying (with contractual obligations)…
ABB Tests Subsea Power Technology System
The completion of a final 3,000-hour test phase of the Swiss-Swedish technology multinational ABB’s subsea power infrastructure signals the culmination of a $100m partnership with world oil majors.The company has officially announced the completion of shallow water test proving that its subsea power distribution and conversion technology system for the offshore oil and gas industry is commercially viable.For the first time worldwide, energy companies will be able to access a reliable supply of up to 100 megawatts of power…
Oil Companies Swap Stakes in Mexico
With Mexico's government insisting that energy companies increase oil and gas output before it auctions off more of the country's vast reserves or offers more partnerships with state-run Pemex, firms ranging from foreign majors to local players are scrambling to buy and sell blocks they already own.The negotiations are creating a dynamic secondary market for oil acreage, which could be the only investment opportunity left for firms until leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador…
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…
MOL Purchases Azerbaijan ACG, BTC Pipeline Stakes
MOL has signed an agreement with Chevron Global Ventures Ltd and Chevron BTC Pipeline, Ltd to acquire their non-operated E&P and mid-stream interests in Azerbaijan, including a 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil field, and an effective 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that transports the crude to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, for total consideration of $1.57bn (subject to adjustments at closing). Once completed, this transaction will make MOL…
Oil Majors to Raise $27Bln in Selling Spree
Global giants of the oil and gas industry – the so-called supermajors – are looking to sell assets that could fetch a total of $27.5 billion, according to Rystad Energy’s latest assessment.These companies are actively shedding mature assets on a massive scale in a bid to finance higher-yielding investments elsewhere, with the added benefit of pleasing shareholders who are calling for stricter capital discipline.“The expected transactions mean some of the majors are poised to exit certain regions…
Hunting Warns on Profit
British oilfield services firm Hunting Plc warned on Tuesday that annual core profit would be at the lower end of market expectations as it grapples with a slowdown in the U.S. onshore drilling market, sending its shares down as much as 7%.Without giving numbers, Hunting said profit for the third-quarter had declined compared with the two preceding quarters while quarterly revenue and operating profit at its biggest unit Hunting Titan also fell.It reported underlying earnings before interest…
Chevron Seeks to Shrink Nigerian Presence
Chevron is seeking to sell several Nigerian oilfields as part of a global drive to reshape its portfolio as it focuses on growing its U.S.
Allan Joins RMEC
Oilfield services firm RMEC has appointed an oil and gas industry veteran to boost its operations as it prepares for its next stage of international growth.Vic Allan has joined the company from American multinational corporation Halliburton, where he spent 28 years working his way up through the slickline division. Most recently, he oversaw a team of 120 in the department servicing a large portfolio of clients in the UK and Europe. In this role, he was responsible for ensuring the company delivered efficient slickline operations and met challenging customer requirements.
Chevron Profit Falls
Chevron Corp reported a larger-than-expected 36% drop in third-quarter profit on Friday, hit by lower oil and gas prices despite an overall increase in its output.Results mirrored weaker earnings at BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell, which indicated they might delay dividend increases or a buyback program due to low prices. Exxon Mobil earlier on Friday reported its profits fell by nearly half from a year ago, citing lower oil and gas prices."Lower crude oil and natural gas prices more than offset" production increases…
West of Shetlands Ups Offshore Production
West of Shetland production likely to overtake North Sea for Shell and BP’s UK portfolios by 2020, said a report.Over the last four years oil and gas production in the West of Shetlands has risen and with that, a growing relevance for the biggest players still active in the UK continental shelf (UKCS), says GlobalData.The company’s latest research reveals that the West of Shetland (WoS) area retains the attention of major Exploration and Production (E&P) players in the region; however infrastructure restraints could hinder future growth potential in the basin.Despite the US based E&P majors…
US Gives Chevron More Time in Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday renewed a license allowing Chevron, the last U.S. operating energy company in Venezuela, to continue drilling in the country for another three months through Jan. 22.The license has been a subject of intense debate within the Trump administration as it pursues a campaign to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Its renewal represented a win by some in the administration, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who see keeping a U.S. company…
Shell Consortium, Petronas Win Oil Blocks Off Brazilian Coast
A consortium of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp and Qatar Petroleum won oil exploration and production rights in the C-M-713 block off the coast of Brazil on Thursday, paying the government a signing bonus of roughly 551 million reais ($133 million).Shortly before, Petronas won a separate offshore block, C-M-661, with a signing bonus of roughly 1.116 billion reais.(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Marta Noguiera and Rodrigo Viga Gaier, editing by Deepa Babington)
Woodside Targets Scarborough FID in Early 2020
Woodside Petroleum Ltd has pushed out the final approval date for its mammoth Browse gas project but slightly brought forward plans to sign off on its smaller Scarborough project as it races to fill an anticipated global supply gap.Woodside, Australia's top independent gas producer, said on Thursday it is now targeting a final investment decision on the $20.5 billion Browse project in the first half of 2021 as it continues to wrangle with its partners. It had previously expected approval in late 2020.However…
ExxonMobil Looks to Sell Australian Assets
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it was looking to sell its 50% stake in the Gippsland Basin oil and gas development in Australia's Bass Strait as part of a broader review of its global portfolio of assets.The sale could fetch up to $3 billion, however decommissioning costs for the ageing fields could dent the price tag, analysts and bankers said.The Gippsland Basin joint venture, off the state of Victoria, has long been the mainstay oil and gas supplier for southeastern Australia…
Angola Seeks to Reduce Gas Flaring to Capture Revenue
Angola wants to cash in on the roughly 3 billion cubic feet per day of associated natural gas it produces, most of which is now flared, the petroleum minister said on Wednesday.The announcement of efforts to generate more revenues by reducing gas flaring comes as Africa's second largest crude producer faces a fall in output from its mature oil fields."Over the years, Angola has somewhat neglected to capitalize on the natural resources that it has to offer," Mineral Resources and Petroleum…
Digitalization: Oil Industry Could Save up to $100Bln
The global oil and gas industry can save as much as $100 billion through automation and digitalization in the 2020s, energy research firm Rystad Energy said."As much as $100 billion can be eliminated from E&P upstream budgets through automation and digitalization initiatives in the 2020s. Service companies are reinventing themselves to help operators unlock these savings," said the study by Rystad.In 2018, $1 trillion was spent on operational expenditures, wells, facilities and subsea capital expenditures across more than 3,000 companies in the upstream space.
Oil Companies Push Carbon-capture Efforts
A group of 13 major oil companies charted out a plan on Monday to promote investments in carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), ahead of a gathering in New York.Oil chiefs grappling with growing demand for action to fight climate change have looked to invest in carbon-capture and sequestration techniques that some executives, including Occidental Petroleum Corp CEO Vicki Hollub, say could make drilling carbon neutral.With fossil fuel development growing worldwide, the oil and gas…
