Argentina Grants Offshore Exploration Permits
Argentina awarded permits to begin hydrocarbon exploration in 18 areas off the coast of the country in the Malvinas West basin to companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Total SA, YPF SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the government said on Friday.The winning companies offered bids totaling $724 million, the government said, to explore the areas that are located in the South Atlantic…
Investors Push BP to Fight Climate Change
BP will face pressure at a meeting next week to set tougher targets to combat climate change, the latest signal from investors that they want the oil and gas industry to do more to clean up its act.After BP's 2018 carbon emissions rose to their highest in six years, the London-based major is being lobbied by activists and an increasing number of shareholders…
Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 Plan Approved
Norwegian authorities have formally approved the plan for development and operation (PDO) of the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup field, Equinor announced on Wednesday. The Norwegian energy company said the NOK 41 billion ($4.7 billion) project received broad support in Norway’s parliament at the end of April, and today the partnership received…
Natural Gas Liquid Market to Cross 14 mbl/day by 2025
Global Natural Gas Liquid Market is poised to cross 14 million barrels per day by 2025, said a study.Japan natural gas liquid market is projected to surpass an annual consumption of 0.2 mbl/day said the latest study by Global Market Insights.Accelerating funding’s toward chemical industry along with the manufacturing of high value-added petrochemicals will augment the industry growth.In addition…
Equinor Q1 Beats Forecast
Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor reported on Friday a small fall in quarterly operating profit, beating forecasts, and said its giant Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea remains on track to start production in November.Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), adjusted for one-off items, fell to $4.2 billion in the first quarter from $4.4 billion during the same period of 2018, higher than a forecast of $3.9 billion in a Reut
New Sonatrach CEO: Foreign Partnerships Essential
Algeria's state energy company Sonatrach wants to develop its partnerships with foreign firms to boost output and exports, its new chief executive said on Wednesday, comments that could reassure investors a week after his appointment.Algeria, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and a major gas supplier to Europe, has struggled to lift production to meet rising domestic demand…
Activists End Occupation of Arctic Drill Rig
Greenpeace activists climbed down from a Seadrill drilling rig in Norway on Tuesday and are no longer occupying it, the environmental group told Reuters.The rig, which was boarded by four activists on Monday, will be used next month by Equinor to explore for oil and gas in the Arctic.(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, Writing by Terje Solsvik, Editing by Paul Tait)
BP Invests $6 Bln in Offshore Azerbaijan Project
The British multinational oil and gas company BP and its partners will lead a $6 billion development of the giant Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil-field complex offshore Azerbaijan.The supermajor said that the Azeri Central East (ACE) project includes a new offshore platform and facilities designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
Offshore wind: The making of a (supply chain) star
Wind is “the tech of choice,” the International Energy Agency said recently, just as a new report by the University of Delaware outlined the opportunity in U.S. offshore wind: 5,000 miles of offshore cabling and 1,700 turbines, it turns out, are bundled into current state-side plans. Yet, serious observers of the first U.S. offshore wind installations saw inefficiency: unwieldy lifts…
A New York State of Mind
“A new industry is being established in New York, with the primary stimulus being a state-driven procurement process.”New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), July 12, 2018.To a great extent, this PSC comment provides direct insight into the dynamics behind New York’s pace-setting moves to establish offshore wind. First, this new energy development is deliberate – not left to chance or laissez faire markets.
Floatel Gets Martin Linge Extension
Swedish contractor Floatel International has received a new extension from Equinor for its accommodation unit Floatel Superior at the Martin Linge Field Development in Norway’s North Sea.The onshore operational support and supervision company said in a press release that Floatel Superior started its charter at Equinor’s Martin Linge project at the end of July 2018.
Aasta Hansteen Field Shut after Gas Leak
Production at Equinor's Aasta Hansteen gas field remained shut on Tuesday after a gas leak the previous day."We are focusing on finding the cause of the leakage and prepare for repairing.
E&P Sector Hits Record Free Cash Flow
The world’s publicly listed oil and gas companies are bringing in cash at the best rate ever witnessed even though oil prices have only partially recovered from the huge drop suffered in 2014 and 2015.According to a report by Rystad Energy, energy research and business intelligence company, free cash flow for public exploration and production (E&P) companies skyrocketed last year to almost $300 billion…
Norway Investigates Hammerfest LNG Outage
Norway's oil regulator said on Friday it was investigating the causes of an outage earlier this month at Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant in the north of the country.The plant converts natural gas produced from the Arctic Snoehvit field into liquid natural gas (LNG) which is exported by tankers."Equinor shut down the plant on 11 March 2019 in order to repair deficiencies in a number of safety valves there.
Petrobras, Açu Petróleo Sign for Ship to Ship Operation in Port of Açu
Petrobras and Açu Petróleo (a partnership of Prumo Logística and Oiltanking) signed a contract to carry out ship to ship operations at the company's Petroleum Terminal (T-OIL), located in the Complex of Port of Açu, in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro.The contract establishes up to 48 operations with Suezmax and VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) vessels and lasts for 24 months, which may be extended for the same period.
GoM Lease Bids Hit $244mln
Oil and gas Lease Sale 252 generated $244.3 million in high bids for 227 tracts covering 1,261,133.85 acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). According to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management data, that’s still way below the $405 million generated by the December Massachusetts offshore wind sale, but considerably better than the $178 million…
Norway to Offer More Arctic Exploration Blocks
Norway plans to expand the offshore oil and gas acreage offered to companies under its annual licensing round in so-called predefined areas (APA), oil minister Kjell-Boerge Freiberg said on Thursday.The 2019 APA round will offer 90 new blocks, of which 48 are in the Arctic Barents Sea, 37 are in the Norwegian Sea and 5 in the North Sea, he said."It's…
Equinor Extends Oceaneering Contract
Houston-based subsea engineering company Oceaneering International has secured a contract renewal from Equinor, the Norwegian multinational energy company, covering the provision of maintenance, reliability and integrity management.The oilfield provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas said in a press note that the contract…
Large Oil Firms Invest in Shale
Oil majors are readying themselves for the energy transition by investing in shale and waiting for renewable technology to be economical, said Rystad Energy, energy research and business intelligence company.A recent review of 2019 capital budgets reveals that oil majors are the only group to increase shale expenditure from 2018 to 2019.Big companies…
Norway Fund to Sell E&P Firms
Norway's trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, will sell its stakes in oil and gas explorers and producers but still invest in energy firms that have refineries and other downstream activities, according to a government plan.The proposal announced on Friday said the fund's stakes in integrated companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell…
