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…
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)…
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…
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 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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
