Brazil Breaks Oil Output Record in January
Oil companies produced 3.17 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in Brazil in January, a volume 20.4% larger than seen in the same month a year earlier and an output record for the country, oil regulator ANP said on Wednesday. Natural gas production increased 22% over January 2019 to 138.7 million cubic meters per day on average last month, also a record. The deepwater, pre-salt field known as Lula accounted for a third of all oil production in Brazil…
Angola May Seek International Arrest Warrant for Isabel dos Santos
Angola could issue an international arrest warrant for billionaire Isabel dos Santos if she fails to cooperate with a fraud investigation in which she has been named as a suspect, its chief prosecutor was quoted as saying.Angola has named dos Santos, the daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as a suspect over alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds while she was chairwoman of state oil firm Sonangol in 2016-2017.
Boskalis Unit Scores Mozambique FLNG Gig
Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster announced that its 50%-owned associate company Smit Lamnalco is contracted by Coral FLNG to provide marine services to the first Mozambique floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal.The 10-year contract with additional extension options marks the first terminal services contract award for the Mozambique offshore LNG developments.The…
Total Launches $16 Bln Project Offshore Angola
Africa's second largest crude producer Angola and France's Total officially inaugurated a new deep-sea oil field worth $16 billion in the Atlantic approximately 260 kilometers from the capital Luanda.The Angolan State Minister for Economic and Social Development, Manuel Nunes Junior, the Chairman and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol…
Galp, ENI Give Up On Drilling for Oil Near Portuguese Coast
Portugal's Galp Energia and its Italian partner ENI have abandoned plans to drill Portugal's first deep-water offshore exploration well due to legal problems after injunctions and protests by environmental activists.The project was being prepared by the consortium off the Alentejo region's Vicentine coast, known for its beaches and large natural park."As for Portugal, we've decided to abandon the exploration…
Total Starts Production at Offshore Angola's Kaombo Project
French energy group Total said on Friday that it had started production at the Kaombo project, which is currently the biggest, deep offshore development in Angola.Kaombo Norte, the first 'Floating Production Storage and Offloading' (FPSO) unit, was successfully brought on stream and will produce an estimated 115,000 barrels of oil per day, while the second one - Kaombo Sul - is set to start up next year…
Galp to Start Drilling Exploration Well Offshore Portugal
Portuguese oil company Galp Energia is set to start drilling the country's first deep water offshore exploration well later this year but with only modest hopes of success, its exploration and production director said on Monday.The project, being developed by a consortium of Galp and Italy's ENI off the Alentejo region's Vicentine coast, known for its beaches and large natural park…
Exxon to Buy Offshore Mozambique Gas Stake
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it would buy a 25 percent stake in a natural gas-rich block, offshore Mozambique, from Italy's Eni for $2.8 billion in cash. The offshore gas reserves discovered by Eni in Mozambique are large enough to need a giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant. The east African nation's proximity to Asian and Middle Eastern growth markets could make it a highly lucrative project.
Galp Sees Faster Brazil Oil Sector Development with More Access
The opening of new oil and gas projects in the subsalt areas off Brazil's coast to operators other than the financially strained, state-owned Petrobras is positive and should speed up development, the CEO of Portugal's Galp Energia said on Monday. Still, Carlos Gomes da Silva told reporters that Galp, which is Petrobras' minority partner in some of the biggest subsalt oilfields in Brazil…
Petrobras, Galp Extend Cooperation Accord
State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA and Galp Energia SGPS SA have broadened an existing cooperation accord between the Brazilian and Portuguese oil producers, to include offshore oil research and development projects and exploration and production partnerships. State-controlled Petrobras, as the Brazilian state-controlled producer is known, disclosed the decision in a securities filing on Tuesday. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal)
Petrobras to Gain $11 Bln on Sale of Brazil Oil Rights to Statoil
The sale of a stake in Carcara, the giant Brazilian offshore oil prospect, to Norway's Statoil ASA will gain Brazil's state-led oil company Petrobras as much as $11 billion to pay debt or invest in other projects that promise to generate cash more quickly, Petrobras' chief executive said on Tuesday. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, sold its 66 percent stake in the prospect in July for $2.5 billion.
Statoil buys Petrobras stake in Brazil oil find
Statoil aims to offset declining output from mature fields. Norway's Statoil agreed on Friday to buy Petrobras' stake in an exploration licence off Brazil for $2.5 billion, a rare deal in an oil industry struggling with low prices. The purchase of the 66 percent stake from Brazil's state-led Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) will help Statoil secure future production as output from its mature fields declines.
Galp Energia Holds Five-year Sell Tender of Nigerian LNG
Portugal's Galp Energia is holding a tender to sell four to six Nigerian liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes annually over five years, trade sources said. Galp is a long-term buyer from the Nigerian LNG export project on Bonny Island, and has regularly sought to offload supply onto the spot market in recent years. One of the sources said the tender could be awarded at the end of the month.
Heavy LIfting: Moving Modules for Brazilian FPSO
On April 6, Mammoet, a service provider specializing in engineered heavy lifting and transport, completed a load-out of the first set of four modules bound for the FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) P66 vessel. This is the first of eight FPSOs currently under construction for oil production in Brazil. The end client, TUPI BV, is a consortium composed of Petrobras Netherlands BV (PNBV…
LNG Tanker Creole Spirit Headed for Portugal from US
The Creole Spirit liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is destined for Portugal from the U.S. Sabine Pass project, two trade sources said. Creole Spirit is the sixth cargo to be exported by Cheniere Energy Inc's project and the first to come to Europe. The cargo was purchased by Portugal's Galp Energia , one source said. (Reporting by Sarah McFarlane)
Brazil October Oil Output Near Flat as Subsalt Output Falls
Brazil's oil output was little changed in October compared with September as production from the country's largest offshore subsalt fields fell, erasing gains from older fields ramping up output following maintenance, the country's oil regulator said on Wednesday. Brazil produced 3.02 million barrels a day of oil and natural gas equivalent (boepd) in the month, 0.3 percent more than the previous month, ANP said.
Brazil Approves First 12 companies for Oil Auction
Brazil oil regulator ANP named the first 12 companies on Friday that have been approved to participate in an upcoming auction of oil and natural gas exploration areas. The companies that will take part in the auction, scheduled for Oct. 7, include Portugal's Galp Energia, Petro Rio , Royal Dutch Shell, Angola state oil company Sonangol and Engie, the ANP said. Petro Rio was previously known as HRT Participacoes SA, while Engie was formerly GDF Suez.
Brazil: Former Petrobras Executive Favored Saipem
Prosecutors in Brazil said on Wednesday former Petrobras executive Renato Duque had unfairly favored Italy's Saipem SpA on a contract for an undersea gas pipeline for the Lula and Cernambi offshore subsalt fields. The accusations came in an emailed summary of charges against Duque, who is on trial over allegations of corruption, and four other people in a price-fixing, bribery and political kickback scheme at Brazil's state-run oil firm.
Petrobras Deploys new production ship in Lula field
A new oil and gas production ship arrived in the Iracema Norte area of the Lula field, Petrobras said on Friday, a key step in efforts by the Brazilian state-run oil company and its partners to boost output from one of the country's most prolific areas. The ship, the FPSO Cidade de Itaguaí MV26, has the capacity to produce as much as 150,000 barrels of oil and 8 million cubic meters (282 million cubic feet) of natural gas a day…
Large Oil Discovery Confirmed in Brazil
Brazil's state-run Petrobras, Portugal's Galp and Brazilian oil companies QGEP Participações SA and Barra Energia have confirmed that the giant Carcará offshore find extends far beyond the initial discovery, Barra said in a statement. Drilling in the 3-SPS-105 well in the Carcará N evaluation well bout 250 km south of Rio de Janeiro has discovered light oil at 31 degrees on the American Petroleum Institute scale, Barra said.
