Petrobras Nears Terms Over TAG Pipeline Sale
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro could present a new sale and purchase agreement (SPA) before the end of December for the sale of the Transportadora Associada de Gás (TAG) pipeline, after a Brazilian Supreme Court injunction in July stalled the sale.The sale of TAG, which operates natural gas pipelines in Brazil’s north and northeast, could fetch Petrobras as much as US$7bn, in one of the company’s largest-ever asset sales, three sources familiar with the process said.
After Trump Calls, Gulf OPEC Members Cover Most of Iran Oil Loss
OPEC oil supply has fallen in November from a two-year high due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, a Reuters survey found, although most of the output gap left by Iran was plugged by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in response to calls from U.S. President Donald Trump.The 15-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 33.11 million barrels per day this month, the survey on Friday found, down 160,000 bpd from October…
Oil Slips Below $60
Oil slipped to below $60 a barrel on Wednesday, pressured by rising U.S. inventories and doubts over whether an OPEC-led output cut will be agreed next week.U.S. crude stockpiles rose last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group said on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia on Wednesday dampened hopes of production cuts by OPEC and its allies by saying it would not act alone and Nigeria stopped short of committing to a new push to curb supplies.The outcome of next week's OPEC meeting "remains clouded by uncertainty"…
Aquaterra to Install Two Platforms for FIRST E&P in Nigeria
Global offshore engineering solutions provider Aquaterra Energy in conjunction with Maerlin Nigeria Ltd, its local partner, has been awarded a contract by FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Ltd (FIRST E&P) to design, engineer and install two non-identical Sea Swift conductor-supported offshore platforms in the Niger Delta Basin.The provider of offshore engineering solutions and technical support for the oil and…
Addax Petroleum Extends Yinson’s Adoon FPSO Deal
Nigeria-focused oil company Addax has extended the charter for the Yinson-owned FPSO Adoon for another three months, pending discussion for a potential longer-term deal."Unless otherwise expressly defined in this announcement, terms and expressions used in this announcement shall have the same meaning as ascribed to them in our earlier announcements made in October 2018," the Malaysian-based Floating, Production, Storage and…
Nigeria senate to probe state oil firm over Nigeria LNG funds
Nigeria's Senate voted on Tuesday to probe the state oil firm's alleged withdrawal of $1.05 billion from gas company Nigeria LNG.The Premium Times newspaper reported on Monday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had used proceeds from Nigeria LNG - a venture between the state oil firm, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and ENI - to fund purchases of, and subsidies for, fuel during a shortage in early 2018.NNPC was not available for immediate comment.(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; writing by Paul Carsten; editing by Jason
NNPC Says Shell, ExxonMobil Also Looking at Crude Swaps
Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC could sign crude-for-product deals with Shell and ExxonMobil, similar to one signed with BP last week, a senior NNPC official said on Monday.Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced last Wednesday that it had signed such a deal with BP and would provide more details later."Unfortunately, Shell and ExxonMobil exited the downstream sector in Nigeria a couple of years ago but they are coming back for this particular arrangement…
Petrobras Sells Stake in Africa Unit
Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA will sell its 50 percent stake in a Nigerian oil and gas exploration venture to a consortium led by top oil trader Vitol for $1.53 billion, the latest step in the state-controlled oil company's debt reduction drive, according to a securities filing on Wednesday.The other 50 percent stake in Petrobras Oil and Gas BV, also known as Petrobras Africa, is owned by Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual…
NNPC, BP Swap Crude for Products
Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC said it had signed a crude-for-product swap deal with oil major BP.In its brief statement on Twitter late on Wednesday, NNPC said more details would be provided later. BP and NNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.NNPC imports about 70 percent of Nigeria's fuel needs, mainly gasoline, via swap contracts. NNPC has contracts, known as Direct Sale Direct Purchase, with 10 consortiums that include trading houses Vitol…
Pacific Drilling Bags Eni Contract for Offshore Nigeria
Offshore ultra-deepwater drilling company Pacific Drilling announced that its deepwater drillship the Pacific Bora has been awarded a contract by Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (a subsidiary of Eni SpA) for drilling operations in Nigeria.The term of the contract is for one firm well plus two additional option wells. The contract is expected to commence in mid to late November 2018 and firm contract backlog is estimated at…
Shell Sees Nigeria Corruption Trial Lasting Many Months
Royal Dutch Shell expects a landmark corruption trial over a Nigerian oil deal to last many months, warning staff of continued critical media coverage in the $1.3 billion case, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.Shell's Legal Director Donny Ching encouraged employees to study an internal web page that the Anglo-Dutch company set up for the case before responding to questions from relatives and friends.Shell and Italian peer Eni are defendants in a Milan bribery trial…
Total Sees Cash Flow, Output Boost from Deepwater Projects
Oil and gas major Total said on Tuesday it expected deepwater oil and gas operations to make a strong contribution to its output and cash flow thanks to major developments in the West Africa's Gulf of Guinea region, Brazil and U.S. Gulf area.Production from deepwater projects is expected to reach 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Kboe/d) by 2020, contributing to its 6 to 7 percent output growth target per year from 2017 to 2020."Deepwater is today for us a growing and very profitable part of the portfolio…
Oil Could Rise to $100 by 2019
Oil prices could rise towards $100 per barrel towards the end of the year or by early 2019 as sanctions against Iran bite, commodity merchants Trafigura and Mercuria said on Monday at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) in Singapore.Almost 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude could be taken out of the market as a result of the U.S. sanctions against Iran by the end of the fourth quarter this year, said Daniel Jaeggi…
BP, Vitol Go Head to Head in West African Crude Trading
Oil major BP has clashed with rival Vitol in the once-languid West African crude market, buying up cargoes and taking a big derivative position that may have raised costs for European refiners.The West African crude market typically sees cargoes of Nigerian and Angolan change hands in back-to-back deals outside the Platts window, a system widely used by the industry to price crude. Pricing agency Platts sets key oil benchmarks for the market.New trading opportunities arose from August…
Samsung Heavy in Talks to Resolve Nigeria Industry Zone Dispute
The Nigerian arm of Samsung Heavy Industries is in talks to resolve a court action launched by an industrial zone in the west African country where the company has been building a floating oil platform for Total, Samsung Heavy said on Friday."We are in discussions to iron out any misunderstanding or issues raised between the parties," a Samsung spokesperson said in a statement sent to Reuters on Friday."We are yet to come to…
Gas Tanker Explosion Kills at Least 35
At least 35 people were killed on Monday and hundreds injured when a gas tanker exploded in northern Nigerian state of Nassarawa, the state emergency agency said.The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) official said the accident happened on Monday at a petrol station along the Lafia-Makurdi road linking the capital city of Abuja with the north and southern Nigeria.(Reporting by Camillus Eboh, Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Now you see it, now you don't: oil surplus vanishes ahead of Iran deadline
An overhang of homeless crude in the Atlantic Basin has halved in recent weeks, suggesting oil traders are bracing for a further supply loss from Iran due to U.S. sanctions and a new rally in prices.Iran's oil exports are already dropping fast as refiners scurry to find alternatives ahead of a reimposition of U.S. sanctions in early November, which in turn has helped drain a glut of unsold oil.The millions of unsold barrels of crude that had pooled around northwest Europe…
Oil Higher on Lower Iran Exports, Rising U.S. Supply
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, supported by news of a fall in Iranian crude supplies as U.S. sanctions deter buyers, but gains were limited by evidence of a rise in U.S. inventories.Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 45 cents at $76.40 a barrel by 1225 GMT. U.S. light crude was 50 cents higher at $69.03 a barrel.Iran's crude oil and condensate exports in August are set to drop below 70 million barrels for the first time since April 2017, well ahead of the Nov. 4 start date for a second round of U.S.
U.S. Imports of Nigerian Crude Fall to 3-year Low
U.S. crude oil imports from Nigeria in July plunged to the lowest level in three years and are continuing to slip as Asian and European buyers increase purchases, trade flow data from Thomson Reuters and market intelligence firms Genscape and Kpler show.A narrowing spread between benchmark Brent and Oman crude futures <DUB-EFS-1M>, trading at less than $2 a barrel compared with more than $4 in May, has made Nigerian crude more attractive to Asian buyers than U.S. refiners.
Calm in Oil Markets Could be Short-lived -IEA
Oil markets have entered a brief period of calm but a storm might be looming later this year when new U.S.
