Russia Ships Naphtha to China via North Sea Route
Russia is shipping a naphtha cargo via the North Sea Route (NSR) as Moscow seeks to increase supplies using the route to major trade partner China, cutting its way through European waters, traders said and Refinitiv data showed.SCF Irtysh is loaded with with 37,000 tonnes of naphtha onboard, loaded at Ust-Luga port on August 5, 2023, for delivery to China. It is the first such loading since at least the late 2000s, according to two traders.The supplier of the cargo was Gazprom Neft, the traders said. Gazprom Neft did not respond to a request for comment.The NSR is an Arctic route connecting Russian ports with China.
Trump Administration Rushing to Sell Arctic Oil Leases
The Trump administration on Monday issued a request to energy companies to identify what specific land areas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be offered for sale, according to a government document.The Department of Interior said the nominations and any comments on the land tracts must be received 30 days after the document is published in the Federal Register. The “call for nominations” is scheduled to be published on Tuesday, but a version was posted on Monday.The move is a key step toward pulling off a sale of oil drilling leases in a pristine area of the Arctic before Democrat Joe Biden…
Gazprom Neft Sells Its First Arctic Oil Cargo to China
Russia's Gazprom Neft has sold its first ever Arctic oil cargo to China to ChemChina, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Thursday.This week, Gazprom Neft said it had sent 144,000 tonnes of light Novy Port oil grade to the Chinese port of Yantai on the Bohai Sea from Russia's north-western city of Murmansk, using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Russia's Arctic waters.The Delta Hellas vessel used part of the NSR, a route requiring icebreakers and ice-class tankers, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, sailing west from Murmansk to reach Suez and then China.Gazprom Neft said this week the delivery took 47 days, w
Gazprom's Arctic Offshore Platform Ships Its 200th Oil Cargo
Gazprom Neft, the oil branch of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has shipped the 200th consignment of ARCO crude from its Prirazlomnaya offshore platform in the Russian arctic.This milestone shipment was carried out by the Mikhail Ulyanov tanker — several return trips to the Prirazlomnaya platform being necessary to despatch a consignment comprising 70,000 tonnes of oil. "The vessel typically approaches one of various direct-loading facilities — or moves away from the platform, at a safe distance — depending on the prevailing wind direction, currents and movements of ice.
Yamal LNG Resumes Loading Operations in Norway
Yamal LNG, controlled by Russia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Novatek, is resuming ship-to-ship transfers in Norway, Novatek said on Monday, after plans to shift the operations to Russia fell through due to coronavirus.Novatek suspended transfers in Norway in June last year due to what it termed "pressure from the West".According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the Arc7 tanker Vladimir Vize is due to arrive at the Norwegian Arctic port of Honningsvag on April 1, carrying a cargo from Yamal LNG.The data also showed that an empty Arc4 tanker…
Norway Offers 36 Offshore Blocks, None in Barents Sea
Norway is offering oil firms 36 offshore exploration blocks in this year's licensing round in mature areas and for the first time in a decade did not offer any blocks in the Barents Sea.All the blocks are offered in the western part of the Norwegian Sea, with interested parties asked to send their comments by May 11, the oil and energy ministry said."In demanding times, it is important to plan for the future," Norway's Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru said in a statement."Regular access to new exploration…
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…
Equinor, Rosneft to develop Arctic oilfield
Russia's Rosneft and Norway's Equinor have agreed details on how to develop an Arctic Siberian onshore oilfield, they said on Monday, their first joint investment since agreeing a strategic partnership in 2012.The firms expect to extract about 250 million barrels of oil and 23 billion cubic metres of gas in the first stage of developing the Severo-Komsomolskoye oilfield, Equinor said, without giving a value for the investment.Rosneft has a 66.67% stake and Equinor holds the remaining shares in SevKomNeftegaz…
Russian-led Arctic Oil Project to Cost $157 Bln
A ambitious new Arctic oil project led by Russia's top oil producer Rosneft will require about 10 trillion roubles ($157 billion) of investment, Russia's deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin told reporters.Vostok Oil, a joint project of Rosneft and Independent Petroleum Company (IPC), is set to include some oil fields that are already producing and others which have yet to start, including Rosneft's Vankor group and IPC's Payakhskoye field.The government has broadly agreed a new tax relief package to help develop the Arctic…
GTT Wins Work for Arctic LNG 2
GTT announced on Thursday it has signed a contract with SAREN B.V. (a Russian joint venture of Renaissance Heavy Industries Russia and Saipem) related to detailed design and construction of three gravity based structures (GBS) dedicated to the Arctic LNG 2 project, for the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer PAO NOVATEK. The contract concerns the design, construction studies and technical assistance for the membrane containment system of the LNG and ethane tanks to be installed inside the three GBS.The first two GBS will each consist of two LNG storage tanks of 114…
McDermott JV Bags Arctic LNG-2 Deal
Engineering services firm McDermott International announced that its joint venture Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd (QMW) in Qingdao, China, has been awarded a contract to provide three complex modules for the Arctic LNG 2 Project in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region in Russia.McDermott defines a large contract as between $50 million and $250 million. The designation refers to McDermott’s share of the award via its joint venture."This award recognizes QMW's experience and excellent performance in the Arctic on an earlier Yamal LNG project.
Green Group Asks Cosco to Avoid HFO in Arctic
Clean Arctic Alliance has sent its second letter to Cosco, in which the NGOs urge the Chinese liner company to make public what fuel types its vessels use in the Arctic.Responding to reports that the 190m-long COSCO-owned cargo vessel Tian’en is due to arrive in the Swedish port of Gävle on August 18, having traversed the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route between the Pacific and the Atlantic, Clean Arctic Alliance Lead Advisor Sian Prior said: “Earlier this year, the Clean Arctic Alliance wrote to COSCO requesting it make public the nature of the fuel that the Tian’en…
Saipem Joins JV for Arctic LNG2 Project
Italian oil and gas industry contractor Saipem reached a deal on Friday to participate in a joint engineering venture for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the west of Siberia.The subsidiary of Eni said in a press release that it has has reached an agreement with Technip France SA and NIPIgaspererabotka to participate in the Joint Venture for the realization of the Arctic LNG2 project.The project has been awarded by Arctic LNG2, a company formed by Novatek JSPC (60%) and Ekropromstroy Ltd (40%).It comprises the detailed design…
Vladimir Rusanov Opens Northern Sea Route
Russian natural gas producer Novatek announced that the Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker 'Vladimir Rusanov' completed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) passage via the Eastern direction, delivering an LNG cargo from the Yamal LNG project, at the port of Sabetta, to China's port of Tianjin.The 168,560 cbm vessel shipped transited the ice-covered part of the route in only 6days, setting a new record for independent passage via the NSR without ice-breaking support with cargo on board.The net voyage time from Sabetta to the destination port was completed in a record 16 days…
Russia: Arctic Offshore Oil Feasible at $130/bbl
The head of Russia's Rosnedra subsoil agency said on Tuesday that the development of the Pobeda (Victory) offshore Arctic oilfield in the Kara Sea is feasible only at oil prices of $130 to $140 per barrel, Interfax news agency reported.Rosneft, the world's top listed oil firm by output, drilled a first exploration well in 2014 in the Kara Sea, which is part of the Arctic Ocean, with a rig provided by U.S. partner Exxon Mobil Corp.Exxon Mobil has pulled out from the project due to U.S. sanctions imposed…
Green Light for Arctic LNG 2
The $21.3 billion Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG)-2 project on the Gydan Peninsula headed by the Russian largest independent natural gas producer Novatek won a green light on Thursday.The project will have a production capacity of 19.8 million tons per year (Mt/y) and is expected to export its first LNG cargo by 2023, the second and third train to start up by 2024 and 2026.Total has a direct 10% interest in Arctic LNG 2 alongside Novatek (60%), CNOOC (10%), CNPC (10%) and a Mitsui-Jogmec consortium, Japan Arctic LNG (10%).
Russia Open to Private Firms Developing Arctic
Russia's natural resources and environment minister said on Wednesday he supported allowing private oil and gas companies to work on the Arctic shelf.Speaking to reporters at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, the minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, said he supported "any decision linked to an increase in investment in projects related to hydrocarbons."The Russian economy is heavily reliant on natural resources and the Arctic's vast oil and gas reserves are expected to become more…
Novatek Wins Arctic Gas Field
Novatek said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Arctic LNG 1 has won an auction for a geological survey, exploration and production license for the subsoil area including the Soletsko-Khanaveyskoye gas field.The license is located on the Gydan peninsula in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, said the natural gas producer in Russia.The license area has estimated hydrocarbon resources of 2,183 billion cubic meters of gas and 212 million tons of liquids, or 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent according to the…
July: Earth's Hottest Month Ever Recorded
According to the latest monthly climate report from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet and Polar sea ice melted to record lows.Much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat in July, as temperatures soared to new heights in the hottest month ever recorded. The record warmth also shrank Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows.The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees…
TechnipFMC Wins $7.6 Bln Contract
Oil services company TechnipFMC won a $7.6 billion contract with Russia's Novatek and its partners for the Arctic 2 liquefied natural gas project in western Siberia, pushing TechnipFMC's shares higher.TechnipFMC's Paris-listed shares rose 3.2% in early session trading, as analysts welcomed the new contract.TechnipFMC said the consolidated value of the contract to it for Arctic LNG-2 was $7.6 billion and consisted of three LNG trains, each with a capacity of 6.6 million tons per annum (Mtpa)."TechnipFMC's announcement of the award of the $7.6 billion award for the 3-train Arctic LNG 2 project will…
