When is a Cargo of Oil Certified "Carbon Neutral"? Ask Lundin Energy
Sweden's Lundin Energy has sold to Italian refiner Saras what it said is the world's first oil cargo certified as carbon neutral at the point of production, the two companies said on Monday.Oil companies are increasingly trying to market their products as cleaner in an effort to secure a future for the fossil fuel industry in a world where investors, activists and regulators are demanding action…
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…
ConocoPhillips Posts Smaller-than-expected Loss
Oil producer ConocoPhillips, which is buying Concho Resources Inc for $8.3 billion, posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as it benefited from a recovery in crude oil prices from pandemic-driven lows.Oil prices began recovering in the third quarter after a number of countries started easing their months-long cornonavirus-led lockdowns, which has slammed fuel demand and forced some oil companies to merge for survival.ConocoPhillips reported a loss of $450 million…
ConocoPhillips to Reverse Most Output Cuts by End of Q3
ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it expects production curtailments in the current quarter to be roughly half as much as last quarter and will restore most of its output by the end of September, after the oil and gas producer slashed about a third of its output in April as oil prices plunged 41%.The company restored part of its curtailed volumes earlier in June, as crude prices recovered some…
U.S. Oil Firms Hit Brakes on Return-to-work as Virus Cases Soar
U.S. energy companies slammed the brakes on returning staff to their Houston offices as COVID-19 cases soared and top hospitals warned they could soon run out of beds for the most severely ill patients.A record number of new illnesses in Texas this week spurred local officials to impose restrictions as new cases topped 5,000 on two days in a row. Intensive care unit (ICU) beds were 97% full at Houston's Texas Medical Center…
ConocoPhillips CEO Says Surprised by Quick Rebound in Oil Prices
ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance on Wednesday expressed surprise at the quick rebound in U.S. oil prices that slipped into the negative territory in April and said he expects prices to remain volatile in the near term.Oil is now trading at near $40 per barrel, almost double of $20 it averaged in April, the same month prices had briefly slumped to minus $38 per barrel due to low demand as countries halted travel to curb the spread of the new coronavirus…
Qatar Petroleum to Cut Spending by 30%
Qatar Petroleum will slash its spending by around 30% this year in the face of the sharp drop in oil and gas prices due to the coronavirus epidemic, its Chief Executive said on Thursday.Speaking during a webcast organized by the U.S-Qatar Business Council, Saad al-Kaabi however said that plans to sharply expand Qatar Petroleum's liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity by the middle of the decade remain on track."We are going through budget revisions...
Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts
Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture.
Oil, Fishing, Tourism: Alaska Economy Faces Triple Hit from Coronavirus
The U.S. state of Alaska is so far distant from the worst medical ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, but its economy is in critical condition. Alaska is especially vulnerable because it depends on oil, tourism and fisheries – basic industries that are reeling from the global coronavirus pandemic – and the state government gets most of its revenue from investment earnings that have now evaporated."Alaska is experiencing a perfect storm…
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…
Coronavirus Paralyzes Oil, Gas Sales into China
Short-term sales of crude oil and liquefied natural gas into China almost ground to a halt this week as the coronavirus slows economic activity and cuts demand and buyers ponder legal action to avoid having to honor purchase agreements, trade sources said.Typically, trade would have revived after the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, but China has extended the break into February to try to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus…
Russia Leads E&P Race in Arctic Region
Russian and Norwegian exploration and production (E&P) operators have been expanding their operations in the Arctic continental shelf, which is estimated to hold vast deposits of hydrocarbons and rare earth minerals.Warming temperatures in the Barents Sea and northern coastline of Russia are giving an added impetus to resource development in this region, according to GlobalData.GlobalData's report…
50 years of LNG imports in Japan
Japanese gas buyers marked the 50th anniversary since the first cargo of liquefied natural gas arrived in Japan, now the world’s biggest importer of the fuel.On November 4th, 1969, LNG was first imported to Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Company (now JERA Co., Inc.) and Tokyo Gas, through Mitsubishi Corporation acting as a buyer’s agent, started receiving LNG in 1969 from the Alaska LNG Project…
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…
Indonesia Inks 20-year PSC for Corridor Block
Indonesia's government signed on Monday a production sharing contract with units of ConocoPhillips, PT Pertamina and Repsol SA for the Corridor natural gas blocks, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif told reporters.The contract will extend by 20 years the current contract with the same companies that will expire in late 2023.Under the new contract, the companies will have 53.5% of the gas produced from the block and 48.5% of the oil."The government considers the existin
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.
Japan Marks 50 years of LNG Imports
Japanese gas buyers on Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary since the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived in Japan, now the world's biggest importer of the fuel.The arrival of the cargo on Nov. 4, 1969 helped transform Japan's energy system, which had relied on oil, coal and gas from coal in an era of high growth, before nuclear power was developed.But Japan's energy situation is undergoing huge changes in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011…
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…
ConocoPhillips targets $50 bln free cash flow over next decade
ConocoPhillips unveiled a long-term plan on Tuesday to boost oil and gas production by about 3% per year, restrain annual spending to about $7 billion and return $50 billion to shareholders over the next decade.The announcement comes as investors, frustrated by weak commodity prices for 5 years, have been pressuring oil and gas companies to cut back on drilling and shore up cash to return to…
Malaysia Spot Crude Premiums Hit Multi-year High
Asia-Pacific refineries are forking out multi-year high premiums for sweet crude produced in the region as alternative supplies from the West have become more expensive with the rise in shipping costs, several trade sources said on Monday.Lower exports from Indonesia and Vietnam and rising demand for very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) have also helped push up premiums for crude produced in Malaysia such as Labuan and Kimanis to the highest in years…
