Occidental Petroleum Jumps into Acquisition Mode
Occidental Petroleum said on Monday it would buy energy producer CrownRock in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $12 billion including debt, expanding in the lucrative Permian basin.Investors are pressing oil and gas producers to expand their inventories following Exxon Mobil's $60 billion deal for Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron's $53 billion agreement for Hess in October.Occidental will finance the purchase of privately-held oil and gas producer CrownRock with $9.1 billion of new debt…
Exxon in Advanced Talks for $60B Acquisition of Pioneer - Sources
Exxon Mobil is in advanced talks to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources in a deal that could value the Permian shale basin producer at about $60 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The acquisition would be Exxon's biggest since its $81 billion deal for Mobil in 1998 and would expand its footprint in one of the most lucrative regions of the U.S. oil patch.Pioneer's shares rose nearly 12% to $240.47 in premarket trading on Friday while Exxon slipped 1.7%.Pioneer…
Chevron to Buy PDC Energy in $7.6 bln Deal
Chevron Corp said on Monday it would acquire PDC Energy Inc in an all-stock transaction for $7.6 billion, including debt, adding new drilling inventory to its U.S. oil and gas reserves.The company has been under pressure on Wall Street to show it can keep expanding production after 2027 as its main shale holdings in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico near their peak output. The PDC Energy deal is the second in three years that bulks up Chevron's shale operations in Colorado and Wyoming.
Valero Seeks US Approval to Import Venezuelan Oil
Valero Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil refiner, is seeking Washington's permission to import Venezuelan crude, according to four people close to the matter, hoping for a repeat of the approval granted to Chevron Corp in November after a four-year ban.President Joe Biden's administration has eased some U.S. sanctions on the OPEC-member nation in an effort to encourage a political dialogue with the country's opposition. That has led to further pressure from U.S., European and Asian energy firms…
Venezuela's PDVSA Freezes Most Oil Exports for Contract Reviews
The new head of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has suspended most oil export contracts while his team reviews them in a move to avoid payment defaults, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.Since U.S. trading sanctions were first imposed on PDVSA in 2019, the company has increasingly resorted to little known middlemen to allocate its oil exports, leading to big price discounts and problems with payments affecting its cashflow.The freeze order is leading to port delays…
Chevron Awards Worley Global Services Agreement
Worley and Chevron Corporation (Chevron) entered into a global master services agreement covering Chevron’s upstream, midstream, and downstream business needs. The agreement can be used by Chevron’s business units including those involved in onshore and offshore assets as well as during project development.Under the agreement, Worley will provide engineering and project-related services. This includes working with Chevron’s digital enablement specialists to optimize ways of working…
US Steps Up Heavy Crude Imports
U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil.Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.Heavy crudes are cheaper than lighter shale oils produced in the United States and typically make more diesel and less gasoline.
US Prepares Renewal of Chevron's Venezuela License Without Broader Terms
The U.S. Treasury Department is getting ready to renew in the coming days Chevron Corp's license to operate in Venezuela, but likely without the greatly expanded terms the U.S. oil major sought, four people close to the talks said.The last U.S. energy producer in Venezuela asked President Joe Biden's government in March for a license that would allow it a greater say in its joint ventures with Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, a first step to reviving output and controlling where oil is sent.In a reversal of earlier hopes for a broadly expanded authorization…
Ship Emissions: MIT Takes the Lead Toward Net Zero
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) launched a new research consortium—the Future Energy Systems Center—to address the climate crisis and the role energy systems can play in solving it. Randall Field, Executive Director, discusses current research and the challenges ahead for the maritime sector.The reputation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is such that it can take mammoth issues — such as driving the world to net zero — head-on, and suddenly make the impossible…
Investors on Board as U.S. Oil Majors Dismiss Wind and Solar Projects
Top U.S. oil firms are doubling down on drilling, deepening a divide with European rivals on the outlook for renewables, and winning support from big investors who do not expect the stateside companies to invest in wind and solar. Among a dozen U.S. fund managers contacted by Reuters from companies overseeing about $7 trillion in assets, most said they prefer oil firms to generate returns from businesses they know best and give shareholders cash to make their own renewable bets. With oil and gas prices jumping this year, the U.S.
Shell Exits Permian with $9.5B Sale to ConocoPhillips. Its U.S. Output Now Mostly Offshore
Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday it would sell its Permian Basin assets to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash, an exit from the largest U.S. oilfield for the energy major shifting its focus to the clean energy transition.For ConocoPhillips, it is the second sizable acquisition in a year in the heart of the U.S. shale industry, as American and European producers diverge in whether to focus on hydrocarbons going forward.Like all of the world's largest oil companies, Shell is under…
Williams Inks Deal for Whale Deepwater Transport Services
Williams (NYSE: WMB) reached an agreement with Shell Offshore Inc. and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. to provide offshore natural gas gathering and crude oil transportation services as well as onshore natural gas processing services for the Whale development located approximately 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido host facility.Williams plans to expand its existing Gulf of Mexico offshore infrastructure via a 25-mile gas lateral pipeline build from the Whale platform to the existing Perdido gas pipeline and a new 125-mile oil pipeline to the existing Williams-owned GA-A244 junction platform.
15 Bids in To Market Guyana Governent Crude
Guyana received bids from 15 different companies aiming to market the government's share of the crude produced off the South American country's coast, according to Guyana's National Procurement and Tender Board Administration website on Wednesday.The government re-launched the search last month after a previous tender was discarded. Bids were due on Aug. 3, and companies were asked to indicate the commission they would charge per barrel of crude exported. The board did not indicate…
New York City Sues Exxon, BP, Shell Over Climate Change
New York City on Thursday sued three major oil companies and the top industry trade group in state court, arguing that the companies are misrepresenting themselves by selling fuels as "cleaner" and advertising themselves as leaders in fighting climate change.The lawsuit comes after a federal appeals court this month rejected the city's effort to hold five major oil companies liable to help pay the costs of harm caused by global warming.The lawsuit said Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, Royal…
Chevron Shareholders to Vote on Climate Change Proposals, Emissions Targets
Chevron Corp shareholders will vote on proposals aiming to require the No. 2 U.S.
Chevron, Microsoft, Schlumberger to Build Carbon Capture Plant in California
Chevron Corp is partnering with Microsoft Corp, oilfield services firm Schlumberger and privately held Clean Energy Systems to build a carbon capture plant in California, as the U.S. oil major expands investments in renewable technology.Fossil fuel companies have faced increased pressure in recent years to reduce emissions, spend more on low-carbon energy and disclose the impact their production has on climate change.Chevron said on Thursday the plant, located in the city of Mendota…
Saudi Aramco, Chevron Chiefs See Global Oil Demand Recovery
Global oil demand is recovering and could return to around pre-pandemic levels next year, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco told an oil and gas conference on Tuesday.Global demand for oil is likely to recover from the second half of the year and could reach 99 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2022, Amin Nasser said at IHS Markit's online CERAWeek conference.Diesel demand has recovered globally due to door-to-door deliveries, though jet fuel lags as people avoid long flights, said Chevron CEO Michael Wirth, who spoke on a panel with Nasser.Oil demand improving in China, India and East Asia, with v
VLSFO Plus Older Engines Can Presents New Maintenance Challenges
As shipowners mull the pros and cons associated with new fuels to meet tightening emissions rules, Chevron Marine is finding that some ship owners that switched older engines to very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) are reporting build-up of red deposits on piston crowns and top edges, sometimes combined with red iron burrs in scavenge ports. The deposits are associated with abnormal liner wear since the fuel switch, particularly on older two-stroke marine engines.“While newer ships do not have a problem using these fuels, engines already closer to an overhaul did struggle sometimes.
Video: The Floating Production Market Faces Headwinds, But Opportunities Exist
There are around 200 offshore oil and gas projects currently being planned for development using a floating production system, however, at around $2B apiece – some up to $5B – final investment decisions will depend on the market situation and the outlook for oil and gas doesn’t seem too bright. Still, around 60 units are expected to be ordered by 2025, per World Energy Reports.In an interview for Offshore Engineer TV on the outlook for floating production systems, Jim McCaul, head of International Maritime Associates and World Energy Reports…
Coronavirus, Consolidation Taking Toll On Energy Jobs
Oil and gas companies worldwide are taking an axe to their employment rolls, shedding workers to survive what is expected to be a prolonged stretch of weak demand.Exxon Mobil Corp said it will cut its workforce by 15%, or about 14,000 people, along with oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.All told, more than 400,000 oil and gas sector jobs have been cut this year, according to Rystad Energy, with about half of those in the United States, where several big exploration…
