Turkey's Botas buys 1.6 billion cubic meters of LNG from TotalEnergies over a 10-year period
Alparslan Bayraktar, the Turkish Energy Minister announced on Wednesday that Turkish state-owned energy company Botas had signed a 10-year contract to import LNG from French oil giant TotalEnergies starting in 2027. Bayraktar announced the deal on the social media platform X. The contract, signed at the GasTech conference, Houston, is for the annual delivery of 1.6 Billion cubic meters of LNG. The majority of Turkey's gas is imported from Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. However, the country has been working to diversify their long-term supply, as several contracts are due to expire next year.
China wants to invest more in energy upgrades
China's State Planner has called for increased investment in equipment upgrades, to support the energy transformation. He said the market should be a leader. The National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on Wednesday calling for an increase of 25% in investment to upgrade China's equipment to improve energy efficiency from 2023-2027. According to the notice, these investments will help support a Chinese cabinet-led program for equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods launched in March.
UAE Interested in Turkish Energy Investments
The United Arab Emirates is eyeing investments in Turkey's energy sector, ports and railways, Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Friday.Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul, Al Nahyan said the UAE was especially interested in renewable energy investments in Turkey.(Reuters - Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Activists Blockade Shell Refinery in Port of Rotterdam
Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to the wider harbor was minimal.The action comes as Greenpeace and more than 20 other environmental groups began seeking a million signatures for a European Union-wide ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gas companies…
BP's Azerbaijan Output Drops
BP said on Tuesday that oil output at its projects in Azerbaijan declined to 524,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2020 from 571,000 bpd a year earlier.Associated gas output at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oilfields was 7.9 million cubic meters in the quarter, up from 5.2 million cubic meters a year ago, the BP-led consortium said in a statement.The oilfields account for most of Azerbaijan's oil production.The consortium said it spent about $150 million in operating expenditure and $522 million in capital expenditure on its operations at ACG oilfields in the first quarter.The consorti
U.S. Oil Futures Plumb Historic Sub-Zero Lows, Brent Plunges
U.S. oil futures continued to trade in negative territory on Tuesday, after closing down nearly $40 on Monday in their first-ever sub-zero dive, as concerns grew the United States will run out of storage for a glut caused by the coronavirus lockdown.Global benchmark Brent crude also fell sharply in response to the collapse of demand following reduced economic activity.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery traded at minus $7 a barrel by 0955 GMT, up $30.63 from Monday's close when the contract settled at a discount of $37.63 a barrel.The slump in the U.S.
Chinese Buyers Snap Up U.S. Oil Purchases at Widest Discounts Ever
China has increased U.S. crude purchases with some buyers snapping up cargoes at the widest discounts ever as sellers seek to offload excess supplies in Asia, six trade sources said on Wednesday.China started processing in March applications from its companies to waive import tariffs on U.S. energy goods as part of the Sino-U.S. Phase 1 trade deal and they have since bought liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States.The world's largest crude importer is boosting U.S.
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.
Bahrain's Oil Company Targets $1 Bln Through Dual-tranche Bond
Bahrain's state-owned oil company Nogaholding plans to raise $1 billion through a dual-tranche U.S.
Ghana to Award New Oil Blocks off West Coast
Ghana is set to award nine new upstream oil blocks for commercial exploration off its western coast beginning this year, the energy ministry said on Thursday.The West African country plans to award six of the nine blocks this year while the remaining three will be given out next year through a mix of open competitive tender and direct negotiations, the ministry said in a statement.It said state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation will acquire one of the blocks to explore in partnership with a strategic partner to develop its technical capacity and become an operator.Ghana, which began comme
BP Deepwater Horizon Costs Balloon to $65 Billion
BP said on Tuesday it would take a new charge over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill after again raising estimates for outstanding claims, lifting total costs to around $65 billion. The post-tax, non-operating $1.7-billion charge BP will take in its fourth quarter results came after claims resolved in recent months were about seven times higher than anticipated, the London-based company said. The claims were part of the Court Supervised Settlement Program that was set up in the wake of the disaster and included nearly 400,000 cases, BP said.
Norway: First Trade Deficit in 19 Years
Norway's trade balance turned negative for the first time in 19 years in June as imports of foreign-made aircraft and oil and gas platforms outweighed exports from the country's petroleum industry. The Nordic country has been running a trade surplus for nearly two decades as the revenues from its exports of oil and gas have amply covered its import needs. Norway is western Europe's largest crude exporter. In June the country posted a trade deficit of 0.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($97 million) against a surplus of 7.8 billion crowns in May, Statistics Norway said on Friday.
South Sudan Rebels Free Three Oil Workers
South Sudanese rebels said on Thursday they had freed three oil workers from Pakistan and India that their fighters had seized earlier this month. The three were released on the orders of the rebels' leader, former vice president Riek Machar, his SPLA-IO group said. The Pakistani national worked for DAR, a consortium including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's Sinopec and Malaysia's Petronas, in Upper Nile state. The two Indians working for South Sudan's petroleum ministry were kidnapped in northeast Maiwut county.
South Sudan Rebels Seize Oil Workers, Demand Firm's Exit
South Sudanese rebels said on Monday they had kidnapped four oil workers including a Pakistani national, in a bid to force their Chinese and Malaysian consortium to leave the country. The fighters loyal to former vice president Riek Machar said they had seized the four working for DAR Petroleum Operating Company from Upper Nile State on Saturday - the second group of oil workers abducted this month. There was no immediate comment from DAR, a consortium including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's Sinopec and Malaysia's Petronas.
Turkmenistan seeks IDB, Saudi, Japanese funding for gas link
Turkmenistan is in talks with the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development and Japan's government on financing the construction of a gas pipeline to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, a project official said on Saturday. The TAPI pipeline is supposed to carry 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from Turkmenistan's giant Galkynysh gas field - a project designed to ease the former Soviet state's dependence on Russia and China. Turkmenistan, which sits on the world's fourth-largest gas reserves, started building its section of the link in December.
Gazprom to Hold Natgas auction for Lithuania, Latvia
Russia's biggest natural gas producer Gazprom said on Saturday it would hold its second gas export auction in mid-March, offering more than 560 million cubic metres of the fuel to Lithuania and Latvia. Natural gas sold at the auction will be delivered to the two countries between April and December 2016, the company said in a statement. Gazprom said in November it planned to hold an auction for the Baltic states as its long-term contracts with Lithuania and Estonia were to expire in December. "Gas sold at the auction will be delivered ...
Iraqi Government Forces Close to Baiji Refinery
Iraqi government forces got within a kilometre (half a mile) of the country's biggest refinery on Friday, the closest they have come to breaking an Islamic State siege of the facility in months of fighting, two army officers and a witness said. Fighting raged in a village between the complex and the nearby town of Baiji, near a deserted area believed to contain roadside bombs planted by the militants that have been preventing an advance, they said. A witness said security forces had crossed a bridge close to the refinery, 200 km north of the capital.
Europe Seeks Accord on Russian Capital Markets Embargo
Envoys of European Union governments held further discussions on Wednesday on widening a ban on Russian state-owned firms raising capital in the bloc among a range of other sanctions, diplomats and officials said. Following a decision by EU leaders at a weekend summit to prepare heavier penalties unless Moscow pulls forces from Ukraine, the European Commission, the EU executive, said it had completed proposals for what measures should be taken. Ambassadors from the 28 member states discussed those on Wednesday and would review detailed…
Shell Nigeria Declares Force Majeure at its EA Field
Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it had declared force majeure at its EA field in Nigeria to repair equipment damaged by bad weather offshore, putting on hold production of about 40,000 barrels of oil a day. Repairs were needed to the soft yoke mooring platform, it said in a statement. The EA field is located south west of Warri in water depths of around 25 metres. (By Andrew Heavens; editing by David Dolan, Reuters)
Libyan Rebels Reject Talks With PM, Keep Oil Ports Shut
Rebels occupying major oil ports in eastern Libya said on Wednesday they would boycott Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq and keep two major export terminals shut for now, a blow to efforts to restore vital oil exports. The rebels even warned they would take action if Tripoli did not fulfil its part of a recent agreement to reopen the oil ports, a veiled threat to close the terminals again. "Nothing has been implemented," said Abd-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the rebel movement.
