Eni CEO Sues Lawyer for Defamation
The head of Italian oil group Eni has sued a former legal adviser to the company for defamation after excerpts of the lawyer's written testimony relating to a Nigerian corruption case were published in several newspapers on Wednesday.Eni said Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi had taken the legal action after newspapers quoted from the testimony, which was given by Piero Amara in an investigation into allegations of obstruction…
Venezuela Sells Oil to Tiny Turkish Firm
With U.S. sanctions blocking Venezuela from selling oil to the United States, state-owned energy firm PDVSA has turned to several little-known buyers that include a tiny Turkish company with no refineries but ties to President Nicolas Maduro's government, according to internal documents and a PDVSA source.Until recently, some of the world's largest petroleum and refining firms, including U.S. companies Chevron and Valero Energy…
US Leads World Oil Reserves
The United States has a world-leading 293 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, which is 20Bbbl more than Saudi Arabia and 100Bbbl more than Russia, with the Permian Basin leading that charge.Rystad Energy’s estimate of US recoverable oil is also five times more than officially reported proven reserves as published in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019.Tight oil plays in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico now hold 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, according to Rystad Energy’s analysis.
US Oil Output Heads for More Records in 2019
U.S. total oil production, which is already off to an amazing start in 2019, is on track to set another record for this year.New records are expected both when the final numbers for May emerge and at the end of the year, said Rystad Energy.The energy research and business intelligence company is raising its forecast for US crude output to 13.4 million barrels per day (bpd) by December 2019. For May 2019, our research and calculations point to crude oil production averaging 12.5 million bpd.
Record Number of VLCC Liftings at LOOP
Medium-sour crudes from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico are being snapped up by overseas buyers, paving way for a record six supertankers to load at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) in a matter of weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.The six scheduled loadings in late May and early June would double the record of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) reached in December. An unusual influx of Gulf of Mexico crudes to the U.S.
Total Takes Over Toshiba's U.S. LNG Biz
French energy giant Total takes over the liquefied natural gas business of Japanese outfit Toshiba's Freeport LNG train tolling agreement and gains $800 million.The French oil and gas company will is paying $15 million for the shares in the Texan assets, the firms said. Toshiba will also pay Total $815 million to take over all the contracts linked to the business, Total added."It includes a 20-year tolling agreement for 2.2 million…
Foreign Oil Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
Gunman kidnapped two foreign workers from an oil rig in Nigeria's Delta region on Saturday, the military said - the second abduction there in less than a week.The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the spokesman for the area's military operations, Major Ibrahim Abubakar, said.Troops were searching surrounding swamps, he added.The Niger Delta produces the bulk of Nigeria's crude.
Saudi Arabia Can Replace Lost Iranian Oil
The decision by the US government not to extend sanctions wavers for eight countries importing crude oil from Iran could remove around 1.1 million b/d from the market. But Saudi Arabia and several allies can replace the lost barrels, says a report.According to Rystad Energy, the production will drop to 2.27 million bpd for the second half of 2019, reaching this level by July 2019, which equates to a drop of 0.43 million barrels per day (bpd) from current March 2019 levels.The net effect for the oil market is bullish…
Guanghui Signs 10-year LNG SPA with Total
France’s Total and Guanghui Energy, a China-based company, principally engaged in the natural gas and coal business, have signed a long-term sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for the supply of 0.7 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a period of 10 years.According to Total, the gas will be delivered to Guanghui’s regasification terminal in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, from Total’s global LNG portfolio.“We are delighted to start a long-term relationship with Guanghui…
Eni Slander Probe Could Prompt Management Changes
Italy's Eni has carried out internal audits in a slander case relating in part to a Nigeria corruption scandal, and a source with knowledge of the matter said the review could prompt some management changes at the oil major.Eni and its Anglo-Dutch peer Royal Dutch Shell are on trial for allegedly paying $1.1 billion in bribes to buy Nigeria's OPL 245 offshore oilfield in 2011, one of the oil industry's biggest graft cases.Both companies deny any wrongdoing.Milan prosecutors opened in 2018 a separate case involving allegations tha
Dutch Prosecutors Target Shell Over Nigeria Oil Deal
Dutch prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Royal Dutch Shell over the $1.3 billion acquisition of an Nigerian offshore oilfield, ramping up pressure on the energy firm that already faces bribery charges in Italy over the case.Within hours of Friday's announcement on the Nigerian case, the Dutch prosecution said the oil and gas giant would also be charged in two domestic cases relating to an explosion at a petrochemical facility and emissions.Although the cases are unrelated…
Yinson, First E&P in $902 Mln FPSO Deal
Malaysia’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) operator Yinson and Nigerian oil company First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Ltd (First E&P) have executed a contract for an FPSO to be deployed offshore Nigeria.The contracts worth $901.79 million were entered into via its wholly-owned subsidiary Yinson Nepeta Production Ltd (YNPL) and indirect subsidiary Yinson Operations & Production West Africa Ltd…
Shell: Nigeria Tax Claim May Delay Offshore Field
Shell upstream boss Brown sees 'no merit' in tax claim. Separately, Shell to fast track Whale development in Gulf of Mexico.Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that Nigeria's claims that it was owed billions in taxes could delay the development of a major oil field off the coast of the West African nation.Nigeria ordered several major foreign oil and gas companies to pay nearly $20 billion in taxes it says are owed to local states…
KCA Deutag Wins Multiple Drilling Contracts
Global drilling and engineering contractor KCA Deutag (KCAD) has been awarded new contracts and contract extensions worth $110m to perform onshore drilling in the Middle East, Russia and Africa.In the Middle East, KCAD has been successful in winning a total of seven years of contract extensions for five heavy rigs operating in Oman. The extension for each rig ranges from one to two years. In addition to this, we have also signed a contract with a new client in Oman for one of our 2000hp rigs.
Total Starts Production at Egina Oilfield
Total SA said on Wednesday it had started production from the Egina oilfield off Nigeria's coast, part of a shift by the French energy firm towards deepwater oil and gas projects to its drive cashflow.Output from Egina, which is located in waters about 1,600 metres (5,250 ft) deep, is expected to plateau at 200,000 barrels per day of oil, Total said. That rate is equivalent to about 10 percent of Nigeria's current production."Egina will significantly boost the group's production and cashflow from 2019 onwards…
Record LNG Capacity to Get Green Light in 2019
A record amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production is expected to get the green light in 2019 amid strong global demand, especially from China, analysts said.A final investment decision (FID) could be taken on more than 60 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity this year, well above the previous record of about 45 million tonnes in 2005 and triple last year's 21 million tonnes, Wood Mackenzie's research director for global gas and LNG…
Total Green-lights Ikike Oil Project in Nigeria
French oil group Total will approve plans to proceed with the Ikike project in Nigeria in the coming months, and also aims to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the country, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Monday.Total is one of the strongest players in the African oil sector, holding more proven reserves on the continent than any of the other top global oil companies.The 60,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Ikike project is one of several projects the group has earmarked in Nigeria for a final investment decision…
Eni Continues High-speed Gulf Drive
In less than 12 months Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi has turned the Middle East from a sideshow to a strategic hub for the Italian energy major. And the shift is not over.Since last March the 63-year-old has clinched nine deals in the United Arab Emirates, gained a toehold in Bahrain and expanded in Oman to reshape the group's future.In the latest deal on Sunday, Eni pledged $3.3 billion to buy part of the world's fourth-biggest refinery in the UAE…
Deepwater Oil Output to Reach 10 mb/d in 2019
Global deepwater oil production was expected to grow 700,000 barrels per day (b/d) this year to hit a record high of more than 10 million b/d.Norwegian research group Rystad Energy said that it "expects global deepwater production to reach record high level and surpass 10 million bb/d.""With new fields starting up in Brazil and Gulf of Mexico, we expect the total deepwater liquid production to reach 10.3 million bbl/d in 2019.
Record Production Lifts Total's Profits
French energy major Total said its net adjusted profit rose 10 percent in the final quarter of 2018, lifting its full year earnings by more than a quarter after record oil and gas production.Total said on Thursday that output reached an all-time high of 2.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2018 thanks to the start-ups of various operations and increased production in Australia, Angola, Nigeria and Russia.It reported a 28 percent rise in full-year profit to $13.6 billion…
