Diamondback Cuts Drilling Activity as Oil Prices Tumble
Diamondback Energy Inc said on Monday it was reducing drilling activity immediately, as the oil and gas producer tackles one of the steepest declines in oil prices in decades.Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in the biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War, after Saudi Arabia signaled it would hike output to win market share at a time when the coronavirus epidemic has left the market oversupplied.The company's shares were down nearly 22% in light premarket trading amid a broader fall in oil and gas related stocks.Diamondback expects to drop two rigs in April and a third later in the second quarter.
Saudi Aramco Launches Largest Shale Gas Development Outside US
Saudi Aramco is launching the biggest shale gas development outside of the United States to boost domestic gas supply and end the burning of oil at its power generation plants, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser told Reuters on Monday.The world's top crude oil exporter has for years battled for market share with rapidly expanding shale oil producers in the United States, which in just a decade have developed capacity to pump millions of barrels per day of oil from rock formations that were previously too costly to tap.Saudi Arabia fought a price war aimed at putting the U.S.
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, ‘Arctic Exploitation’, discusses how Russia is keen on hydrocarbon appraisal and development from the Arctic region…
Castleton Closes Shell Shale Deal
Houston-based Castleton Resources said that its subsidiary Castleton Commodities International LLC (CCI) has closed on the acquisition of the East Texas and North Louisiana Haynesville Shale assets of BG US Production Company LLC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc. Pro forma for the acquisition, Castleton Resources will hold approximately 222,400 net acres in the region and produce approximately 334 MMcfe/d (net). Castleton Resources is owned by CCI and Tokyo Gas America Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. Concurrent with the transaction, Tokyo Gas America Ltd.
Yamal LNG Starts Using New Storage Tank
Novatek, the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, started using a dedicated LNG transshipment tank at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium.Novatek booked the tank’s capacity as part of a 20-year transshipment agreement between Yamal LNG’s unit Yamal Trade and Fluxys LNG.The dedicated LNG tank was built specifically for the transshipment needs of Yamal LNG with a capacity of 180,000 cubic meters, allowing the Project to transship up to 8 million tons of LNG per annum.“The LNG tank construction for Yamal LNG began in Zeebrugge in 2015 and its commissioning is a key milestone for the Project…
China's Longest Ethane Pipeline Starts Operation
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said its Xinjiang oilfield unit has delivered 500,000 cubic meters of ethane after being put into operation a week ago, the company stated on its website on Wednesday.Construction work on the 371 kilometer-long pipeline, which is expected to be China's longest ethane pipeline, began on June 20. It links CNPC's gas field in Junggar Basin and Dushanzi petrochemical complex, the company said.The gas field in Junggar Basin, which started operation in October, has annual ethane capacity at 38.5 million cubic meters…
Woodside Finalizes Gas Deal with Uniper
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to German utility Uniper SE for 13 years starting 2021.Under the agreement, Woodside said it would initially supply up to 0.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG, which could increase to 1 Mtpa from 2025.However, supply from 2025 remains conditional upon a final investment decision related to the company's Scarborough project off northwestern Australia.Woodside is looking to develop Scarborough to feed a new 5 Mtpa production unit, called a train, at its Pluto LNG plant in Western Australia.The finalization
Wison Begins Arctic LNG 2 Project
Wison Offshore & Marine (WOM), the upstream oil and gas division of Chinese conglomerate Wison Group Holding, announced the fabrication of Arctic LNG 2 Project (ALNG2 Project) commenced in Zhoushan Yard.The module fabrication contract was awarded by Technip France S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of TechnipFMC.Novatek, client of ALNG2 project, is the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia. ALNG2 project comprises three LNG trains at 6.6 million tons per annum each. WOM’s work scope is engineering…
Energean Targets Net Zero Carbon Output by 2050
Mediterranean-focused oil and gas producer Energean has joined a U.N.-backed initiative and committed to reducing its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, its chief executive said on Monday.Oil and gas producers have come under heavy pressure in recent years to tackle greenhouse gas emissions as the world battles climate change.Energean's pledge came as the 25th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference — also known as COP 25 — begins in Madrid.The company said in a statement it was the first London-listed oil and gas exploration and production company to commit to the UN's efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsi
Husky Pares Capital Spending
Canadian oil and gas producer Husky Energy Inc said on Monday it would lower its capital spending by C$500 million over the next two years when compared to its 2019 outlook in a bid to increase free cash flow.Oil producers have been under pressure from investors to cut activities and use the cash to improve shareholder returns through dividends and buybacks. The company said it expects 2020 capital expenditure to be between C$3.2 billion ($2.41 billion) and C$3.4 billion, C$100 million lower than its 2019 forecast of C$3.3 billion to C$3.5 billion.For 2021…
Energean Seeks to Pipe Karish Gas to Cyprus
Energean Oil & Gas said on Tuesday its Energean International unit submitted an application to import and supply natural gas to Cyprus starting in 2021.In its application to Cypriot authorities, it said it sought to supply gas through a pipeline from the Karish block offshore Israel to Vassiliko, Cyprus.The pipeline would be 215 kilometers long and transport natural gas from the Karish North field, which contains 25 billion cubic meters of discovered recoverable resources.Total investment, Energean said, will be about $350 million and will be funded by Energean.
Icahn Sells Nearly a Third of His Oxy Stake
Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been waging a bitter battle against Occidental Petroleum Corp's board over its $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum, cut his holdings in the oil and gas producer by nearly a third, according to an open letter to shareholders released on Friday.Icahn has opposed the deal as "hugely overpriced" and a misplaced bet-the-company gamble on oil prices rising, and urged Occidental's board to instead put the company on the market.Icahn sold 10 million shares and now holds 23 million shares, valued around $900 million, he said.
U.S. Ingenuity Will Solve Climate Challenge: US DOE
The United States can tackle threats to the climate through technological advances as fossil fuels will remain a priority for the U.S. government and business, the assistant secretary for fossil energy said on Tuesday.The world should look to the United States' ability to reduce its emissions, the Department of Energy's Steven Winberg said at an oil conference in South Africa a day after the Trump administration formally moved to exit the Paris Agreement."We can solve any climate issue with technology development, one thing you see back in U.S.
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. consumption and expected to hit 91.6 billion cubic feet, up 10% over last year, according to government and industry estimates.Producers have sought to turn much of the U.S. surplus to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and export it.
ConocoPhillips Profit Beats Estimates
US oil and gas company ConocoPhillips' quarterly profit shot ahead of analysts' estimates on Tuesday, as higher shale production offset the impact from lower crude prices and higher exploration costs.Total production, excluding Libya, rose 98,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to 1.322 million boe/d, with output from U.S. basins including Eagle Ford, Bakken and the Permian rising 21% in the quarter.The company's results kick off a quarter for U.S. shale producers that is expected to see sharp earnings declines on a year-over-year basis…
PetroChina Sets Changqing Production Goals
China's top oil and gas producer, PetroChina, aims to produce 25 million tonnes of crude oil per annum and 42 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas at its Changqing field by 2020, the Gansu provincial government backed media reported on Monday, citing a company spokesman.The spokesman said that the Changqing field also set a target of churning out 28 million tonnes per annum of crude and 45 bcm of gas by 2025.Changqing, in the Ordos basin in Inner Mongolia, is China's biggest gas field.PetroChina in September said in a statement that it found additional proved original oil in-place of 358 million tonnes at the Qingcheng oilfield
Tankers Sail after U.S. Provides Sanctions Relief
At least three tankers are on their way to Asia with U.S. oil cargoes after Washington gave temporary approval to wind down transactions with a Chinese shipping company that it sanctioned last month, according to data and shipping sources.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S. government since its crackdown on Iranian oil exports, Washington on Sept. 25 announced sanctions on Chinese tanker companies, including COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), a subsidiary of China's state-owned shipping group COSCO.The surprise move by Washington and concern over shippers falling foul of U.S.
Asian Producers to Boost Winter Gas Supply
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, known as Sinopec, said it has secured 8.81 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas for northern China for the upcoming winter heating season, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.That was up 15.5% from 7.63 bcm in the previous heating season.CNOOC Group, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, plans to supply around 24.5 bcm gas, or 1.5 bcm more than last year, across the country, Xinhua reported.The country's top oil and gas producer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) did not give the amount of gas it will supply in the winter, but said that it will boost output in major ga
Santos Posts Record High Output
Australia's number two independent gas producer Santos Ltd on Thursday said third-quarter production and sales volumes peaked to record levels, benefiting from higher output from its Western Australia assets.Revenue of $1.03 billion was the second highest quarterly sales on record, the company said in a statement, while production surged 32% to 19.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), beating an estimate of 18.9 mmboe by UBS."Another highlight of the quarter was the successful appraisal of the Dorado field which is one of the most exciting growth projects in our portfolio.
Woodside Targets Scarborough FID in Early 2020
Woodside Petroleum Ltd has pushed out the final approval date for its mammoth Browse gas project but slightly brought forward plans to sign off on its smaller Scarborough project as it races to fill an anticipated global supply gap.Woodside, Australia's top independent gas producer, said on Thursday it is now targeting a final investment decision on the $20.5 billion Browse project in the first half of 2021 as it continues to wrangle with its partners. It had previously expected approval in late 2020.However…
