NLNG Okays Train 7
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, Total, and ENI on Friday signed the final investment decision (FID) to give the go-ahead for the construction of Train 7 of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project.The new train is expected to boost output by 35% to 30 million tonnes per year, NLNG said in a statement, and will arrest a decline in Nigeria’s LNG output. NLNG operates six LNG processing units, known as trains, on Bonny Island.
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…
Indonesia Mulls Production Contract Schemes
Indonesia considers allowing for production sharing oil and gas contracts optionsIndonesia is considering letting energy companies stick with the "cost recovery" system for oil and gas production sharing contracts, the energy minister said on Monday, after the government decided to adopt a new scheme in 2017.In 2017, Indonesia adopted a scheme known as "gross split" for oil and gas production deals…
US Nearing Energy Independence
In just a few months, the U.S. will be fully energy independent and by 2030, the country's total primary energy production will outpace primary energy demand by 30 percent.According to the Norwegian market research consultancy Rystad Energy, this milestone follows a strong period of growth in both hydrocarbon and renewable resources."We forecast that the US will have primary energy surplus – and not a deficit – by February or March 2020…
Sinopec Gets Weirong Green Light
China's Sinopec has received approval from the ministry of natural resources to develop shale gas at the Weirong gas field in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the refiner said on Tuesday.The company plans to build 166 wells at the gas field with total production capacity of 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) each year.The first phase of construction is underway, with two testing wells reaching daily output of 313…
Oil Is Our Gold and We Aim to Use All of It -ADNOC
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co aims to exhaust its vast oil and gas reserves even as many consumers switch to cleaner sources of energy, a senior executive in the Gulf oil company said.The world's transition away from fossil fuel in an effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions is expected to accelerate in coming decades, leaving many oil companies and producing nations pondering their long-term future.But for state-run ADNOC…
China Expects Balanced Energy Supply/Demand
China's state planner expects this winter's energy supply and demand to be generally balanced amid increasing natural gas output and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.Citing unidentified officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Xinhua reported natural gas demand from residential users will grow by more than 3.8 billion…
U.S. NatGas Prices Near 25-year Low as Glut Weighs
In the shale field that helped launch the U.S. natural gas boom a decade ago, Chesapeake Energy Corp this month set aside its last drilling rig. The problem for the once No. 2 U.S. gas producer was not a lack of gas, but too much of it.A long, steady increase in U.S. gas production – much of it a byproduct of the shale oil boom – has prices for the fuel heading toward a 25-year low, with output outpacing U.S.
China Crude Runs Hit Record High
China's crude oil throughput rose 9.4% in September from a year earlier to its highest level on record, official data showed on Friday, led by increases from new refineries and as some independent plants returned from maintenance.Refinery runs hit 56.49 million tonnes, or about 13.75 million barrels per day (bpd), according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The September rate was also up around 8% from 12.72 million bpd in August and beat the previous daily record of 1
Angola Seeks to Reduce Gas Flaring to Capture Revenue
Angola wants to cash in on the roughly 3 billion cubic feet per day of associated natural gas it produces, most of which is now flared, the petroleum minister said on Wednesday.The announcement of efforts to generate more revenues by reducing gas flaring comes as Africa's second largest crude producer faces a fall in output from its mature oil fields."Over the years, Angola has somewhat neglected to capitalize on the natural resources that it has to offer…
Sinopec Resumes Production at Sichuan Gas Processing Unit
China's Sinopec Corp last month resumed production at a key natural gas processing plant in southwestern Sichuan province after a planned maintenance, the parent company of the state oil and gas group said on Tuesday.By August-end, Sinopec had completed maintenance at a desulphurising facility at Puguang gas field - the firm's largest gas-producing asset in China - ahead of the heating season,…
CNOOC Earnings on the Rise
China's national offshore producer CNOOC Ltd reported a near 19% rise in first-half profit on Thursday, as higher sales of oil and gas offset weaker global oil prices.The listed arm of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp said that it was able to manage the impact on its business of the China-U.S. trade war and CNOOC President Xu Keqiang said the company would boost oil output to offset…
ME Gas Output to Exceed Russia
The Middle East is cruising into the second half of 2019 with spectacular gas production, and is expected to surpass powerhouse Russia by the end of the year.According to Rystad Energy, the Middle Eastern region will produce over 730 billion cubic meters of gas by 2020, increasing to about 920 billion cubic meters by 2030.Nevertheless, international markets may not feel the full effect as demand in the region is also expected to see rapid growth.
Storm Cut 73% of US Offshore Production
Tropical Storm Barry has cut 73%, or 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd), of crude oil production in the U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Sunday.Natural gas output from the northern Gulf of Mexico is down 62%, or 1.7 billion cubic feet per day, BSEE said.A total of 283 production platforms, or 42%, remain shut in the Gulf of Mexico, BSEE said.(Reporting by Erwin Seba Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Strike Would Cut Norway's Output 11%/Day
Norway's oil and gas output could be cut by about 440,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day, or about 11% of total production, if workers go on strike from June 4, industry association Norwegian Oil and Gas (NOG) said on Monday.A government-appointed mediator is leading negotiations between oil companies and employees represented by the Lederne union in a bid to avert a strike.Altogether nine fields would have to shut in the event of industrial action…
Oxy Plans to Sell Parts of Anadarko
Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum.It also quadrupled its debt - to $40 billion - at a time when investors are calling for spending cuts and higher dividends.That means the acquisition's success will depend on how quickly Occidental can sell off some of Anadarko's assets and focus on optimizing and integrating the assets it keeps - especially prime U.S.
Norway's April Oil Output Lags Forecast
Norway's oil production fell 8.8 percent year-on-year in April to 1.38 million barrels per day, lagging the official forecast for the month by 0.6 percent, Norway's Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Wednesday.Including condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL), the overall liquids production stood at 1.729 million barrels of oil equivalents per day, lagging the NPD prediction by 1.3 percent.Technical problems at some fields were among the main reasons why production came in below forecast…
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 to ensure its operations are in line…
Total Profits Take a Hit
French energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell 4 percent to $2.8 billion compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs, despite record oil and gas output.The firm kept its investments, and cost savings target for the year unchanged, and said production growth should exceed 9 percent during the year, thanks to the ramp-up of projects started in 2018…
ExxonMobil Misses Q1 Profit Estimates
Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a 49 percent fall in first-quarter profit that missed forecasts due to weakness across its major businesses that showed the turnaround at the company remains a work in progress.The largest U.S. oil producer posted its first loss in its refining business since 2009 on higher maintenance costs and reported lower profits in chemicals and oil and gas."It was a tough market environment for us this quarter…
