Baker Hughes reports that US oil and gas drillers have cut back on rigs in the US for the first time in six-weeks.
Baker Hughes, an energy services company, said that the U.S. cut back on the number of natural gas and oil rigs for the first time since six weeks. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by one in the week ending February 27. This is the lowest level since late January. Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs is down 43 or 7% from this time last week. Baker Hughes reported that?oil?rigs dropped by two this week to 407, their lowest level since December. Gas?rigs increased by one, to 134, the highest level since July 2023.
Shell is reportedly looking to sell some of its Shell Ventures portfolio.
Shell is examining the possibility of selling investments in some companies that are part of its Shell Ventures portfolio. One source said that the British oil giant will retain a large portion of its Ventures investment. The corporate venture fund has interests in early-stage companies and start-ups, focusing on sectors such as power, emissions control and mobility. Shell's CEO Wael Sawan aims to reduce the company’s low-carbon projects to concentrate on liquefied gas trading and upstream. Shell Ventures was established in 1996 and has an initial investment range of $2 to $5 million.
Saipem is poised to return to Venezuela following the easing of U.S. sanctions
Alessandro Puliti, the chief executive of Italian oil contractor Saipem, said that it is prepared to resume operations in Venezuela after the lifting of U.S. sanction - as they expect demand from "oil majors" later this year. "Things are changing in Venezuela very quickly." We have worked in Venezuela in the past and are prepared to return as soon a client requests it," Puliti stated in a call following results. Puliti stated that contracts could be awarded by both U.S. and international oil companies. These groups are currently assessing?the situation?and developing plans for Latin America.
Angola’s national oil company is looking to diversify its business into minerals that are critical.
Sonangol, the state-owned Angolan oil company, said Wednesday it wants to diversify its business into minerals that are critical for economic growth. Sonangol's executives told a press conference that the company made a net profit of over $750 million by 2025. This is compared to 736 billion kwanzas (about $807 million) in 2024. Conglomerate owns stakes in offshore oil and gas blocks, operates a fleet and refineries. Sebastiao Gaspar Martins, the Chief Executive of Sebastiao Gaspar, said that it also had seven concessions for uranium exploration, lithium exploration, and quartz exploration.
EOG Resources exceeds profit expectations on the back of strong production and higher gas prices
EOG Resources beat estimates for the fourth quarter profit on Tuesday as higher natgas and output prices offset a drop in crude oil prices. U.S. Natural Gas Futures increased over 11% sequentially during the fourth quarter. This was due to stronger demand, and an increase in pipeline volumes. The rise ended a downward trend that began in the second quarter because of record U.S. Production. EOG said it produced approximately 1.40 million barrels per day of oil equivalent in the fourth quarter compared to 1.09 million boepd one year ago. EOG's purchase of Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 billion in May has helped to increase production in the Utica Shale…
Kazakh Kashagan oil field operators file arbitration for $4.6 billion fine
Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and other shareholders in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield, have begun arbitration proceedings to challenge a $4.6 billion environmental fine for 2023, according to a Shell spokesperson. This is the latest in an ever-growing web of legal disputes involving the hydrocarbon industry in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's government fined NCOC, a consortium of gas processing companies in Kashagan, 2.3 trillion Tenge ($5.4 billion) for environmental violations. This was a result of an inspection conducted the previous year. The authorities had claimed to have found excessive amounts of poisonous sulphur.
Indonesian Pertamina will continue to bid for US energy imports
Pertamina, the Indonesian state oil and gas company, said on Friday that imports of energy products from the U.S. will still be done 'through a competitive bidding process' following the conclusion of the trade agreement between the two nations. On Thursday, Indonesia and the U.S. signed a deal that reduced U.S. tariffs from 32% to 19%. Indonesia plans to import goods and services worth $38,4 billion from the U.S. This includes $15 billion in energy commodities. Crude oil, LPG and fuel products will be included in the planned energy imports. Pertamina CEO Simon Aloysious Mantiri told reporters that "regarding plans to import energy from the U.S.
Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have kept the number of oil and natgas drilling rigs unchanged for a second consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the number of oil and gas rigs in the United States remained unchanged this week for a second consecutive week. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, remained at 551 during the week ending February 20. This is the same as the previous week. Baker Hughes reported that despite the lack of movement this week, there were still 41 rigs or 7% less than this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs remained at 409 this week while gas rigs remained at 133. Although the total number of rigs did not change, some energy companies added rigs to certain?states while others removed them.
Indonesian Pertamina will continue to bid for US energy imports
Pertamina, the Indonesian state oil and gas company, said on Friday that imports of energy products from the U.S. will still be done 'through a competitive bidding process' following the conclusion of the trade agreement between the two nations. On Thursday, Indonesia and the U.S. signed a deal that reduced U.S. tariffs from 32% to 19%. Indonesia plans to import goods and services worth $38,4 billion from the U.S. This includes $15 billion in energy commodities. Crude oil, LPG and fuel products will be included in the planned energy imports. Pertamina CEO Simon Aloysious Mantiri told reporters that "regarding plans to import energy from the U.S.
Shell claims US general exploration licenses in Venezuela will enable it to move forward with Dragon natural gas project
Shell's Dragon gas project will be able to move forward with the general licenses issued by the U.S. for oil and natural gas exploration in Venezuela this month, according to a Shell spokesperson on Thursday. As U.S. policies toward Venezuela have shifted, the project has been plagued by a series of starts and stops. The company spokesperson said that the recent general licences are a "positive signal" and allow for progress to be made on the Dragon project. Shell hopes to export gas from Venezuela through the Atlantic LNG facility located in Trinidad and Tobago. Shell spokesperson stated that the company doesn't 'generally' comment on possible dates for investment decisions.
Exxon will determine the size of the natural gas reserves in Guyana's Stabroek Block.
Guyana’s energy minister stated that Exxon Mobil continues to work on determining the size of natural resources in Guyana’s?prolific Stabroek Block as the company pursues wider development of the resource. Previous statements by the U.S. oil giant, who leads the consortium operating the Stabroek Oilfield, have stated that ongoing efforts are being made to better understand the mixture of crude oil, associated gas and non-associated gases. It is crucial to estimate the potential of gas projects for both the domestic and export markets. Vickram Bharrat said that Exxon needs to continue to work on evaluating the amount of natural resources in Guyana.
Exxon’s Uaru project and Whiptail project in Guyana is moving ahead of schedule according to an executive.
Exxon Mobil’s President of Guyana Operations said that the company's fifth- and sixth-projects in Guyana, Uaru and Whiptail, are on schedule and within budget. Alistair Routledge (Exxon Guyana president) refused to give a timeline for the start-up of projects when asked by. Whiptail, meanwhile, is expected to begin production in 2027. Uaru will produce 250,000 barrels a day, and Whiptail - 200,000. Guyana's total output will be?1.15m bpd once Uaru begins, and 1.4m bpd after Whiptail comes online. Routledge, in a speech at the Guyana Energy Conference…
Reports from FT say that Eni, the Italian oil and gas company, is considering a return to trading.
Italian energy major Eni ?is weighing re-entering oil ?and ?gas trading ?as it seeks the outsized returns enjoyed by BP, Shell and TotalEnergies, amid geopolitically-driven price volatility, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Claudio Descalzi,?Eni's Chief Executive, told FT that he stopped trading in 2019, but other large companies were still traders. Descalzi stated that he has held preliminary discussions with several commodity companies, including Mercuria about forming a joint-venture. "It's not in our DNA." We're not very commercial. "I thought that to be commercial we would need a partner to understand the business," said he.
Sources say that Trinidad's Atlantic LNG has shut down its Train 3 facility for emergency repairs.
Three people familiar with the situation said that on Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago’s flagship Atlantic LNG complex, which produces liquefied gas from natural gas in Trinidad and Tobago, shut down its Train 3 facility for emergency repairs. Repairs at the unit with a 3 million tonne per year capacity are likely to take a month. A crack was found in the?flaring systems. Sources said that the shutdown could affect a quarter or more of Atlantic LNG’s production in?the island. BP and Shell did not respond immediately to Friday's requests for comments. Each company owns 45% of the complex. Atlantic LNG also did not respond to any inquiries.
Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have cut three oil rigs and added three gas rigs to their weekly count, while maintaining the same number of rigs.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. oil and gas companies this week reduced three oil rigs while adding three natural-gas rigs. The overall rig count remained unchanged. The 'oil and gas rig number, a leading indicator of future production, remained at 551 during the week ending February 13. Baker Hughes reported that the total count was down 37 rigs or 6% from this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs dropped by three this week to 409, their lowest level since early January. Gas rigs, however, rose?by three, to 133, the highest level since July 2023.
US permits oil majors to resume Venezuelan operations and broadly approves new energy investment
The U.S. eased its sanctions against Venezuela's energy industry on?Friday. It issued two general licenses allowing global energy companies? to resume oil and?gas operations in the OPEC?member?and other companies?to negotiate??contracts? on investments in???new???energy operations?. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a license allowing Chevron BP Eni Shell Repsol and Repsol resume their oil and gas operations. The second license is for companies to invest in Venezuelan oil or gas. The license does not permit transactions with Russian, Iranian, or Chinese companies or entities controlled or owned by joint ventures in these countries.
Sources say that Venezuela's PDVSA has expanded its oil fields to joint venture partners.
Three sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that PDVSA, Venezuela's state-run petroleum company, is in talks with its joint-venture partners to offer them expansions of?the oilfields assigned to their projects. This could lead to an increase in crude and natural gas production and exports. Venezuela's National Assembly approved in late January a reform of the country's oil law that grants foreign oil companies autonomy to operate, export, and cash out sale proceeds - even if they are minor partners in joint ventures. Two sources claim that the'reform' gave the 'oil ministry' of Venezuela, PDVSA, and its partners six months to renegotiate the terms of their joint projects.
Sources say that Venezuela's PDVSA has expanded its oil fields to joint venture partners.
Three sources familiar with the matter said that the state-run PDVSA of Venezuela is currently in discussions with its joint venture partners including Chevron Repsol and Maurel & Prom to expand the oilfields assigned to their respective projects. This could lead to an increase in crude and natural gas production. Venezuela's National assembly?approved a reform of the main oil law in late January, allowing foreign oil companies autonomy to export and receive cash sales proceeds even though they are minor partners in joint ventures with PDVSA. The reform…
Gulf stock markets fall due to US-Iran tensions and earnings.
Stock markets in the Gulf slowed in early trading on Thursday, pressured both by a lacklustre earnings report and investor unease over tensions between the United States and Iran. U.S. president Donald Trump met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a Wednesday. He later stated that they hadn't reached a "definitive agreement"?regarding Iran but stressed that negotiations would continue. The announcement came just a day after Trump announced that he was considering sending a second aircraft ship to the Middle East in case a deal with Iran is not reached. Oil prices rose on Thursday due to the 'persistent tensions' in the region.
MVM purchases 10% of BP's Shafag Solar Project
The oil giant announced Wednesday that it had sold a 10% share in its Shafag Solar?project? in 'Azerbaijan? to MVM Energetika Zrt of Hungary. BP?said that BP owns 40.01 % of the project. SOCAR owns 39.99% and MVM and Azerbaijan?Development?Fund each own 10 %. BP announced the news a day before, after it reported that it had taken about $4 billion of impairments in its renewables and?biogas?assets. This included its?solar unit Lightsource Bp. Lightsource bp and its joint venture partners are building the Shafag Project. British Oil Major said it made a decision in June to invest final funds on the project.