Monday, December 23, 2024

Arctic Circle News

Mitsui, JOGMEC join Arctic LNG-2

Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co and state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) have signed a sales and purchase agreement with Russia’s Novatek for a 10% participation interest in the Arctic LNG 2 project.The share will be acquired through the Dutch Company…

Alaska Officials Probe BP's Prudhoe Bay Wells After Spill

BP Alaska's Prudhoe Bay operations (Photo: BP)

Regulators in the U.S. state of Alaska will investigate all of the oil and natural gas wells operated by BP Plc at its Prudhoe Bay oil field after the release of a small amount of crude oil and gas from a well that had earlier been shut.The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has scheduled a Feb.

Barclays Rejects Arctic Drilling

U.K.-based international bank Barclays  announced a new energy policy that significantly restricts the bank’s financing for the exploration or extraction of oil and gas in the Arctic.The policy  rules out funding for companies seeking to drill in the Arctic Refuge as well as other…

Fire in Sauna Shuts World's Northernmost Oilfield

The world's northernmost oilfield was shut on Friday when a fire broke out in a sauna in the oil platform's living quarters, Eni, the Italian oil company that operates the field, said. The Arctic Goliat field is in the Barents Sea about 88 kilometers off the coast of Norway and inside the Arctic Circle.

Green Energy Share in Finnish Power to Hit High in 2018

© Alberto Masnovo / Adobe Stock

The share of renewable energy in Finland's power output is set to reach a new high in 2018, backed by new wind farms, but doubts over future government subsidies mean the trend is unlikely to continue, the head of the state-owned grid said. Green energy accounted for a record 47 percent of Finland's power in 2017…

Exxon Quits Some Rosneft Joint Ventures Citing Sanctions

Exxon's exit from projects will not affect the Sakhalin project off the eastern coast of Russia, Exxon and Rosneft spokesmen said. (Photo: Rosneft)

Exxon Mobil Corp will exit some joint ventures with Russia's Rosneft, citing Western sanctions first imposed in 2014, while the Russian company said the pullout will result in serious losses for its U.S. partner. The move is an about-face for Exxon, which had opposed the sanctions…

Novatek Aims to Launch Yamal LNG on Dec 8

(Photo: Novatek)

Russia's Novatek has provisionally set Dec. 8 as the official launch date for its Yamal LNG plant, two sources with direct knowledge of the event planning told Reuters. Novatek's partners on the project are France's Total, the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and China's Silk Road Fund.

Arctic Oil Expansion Panned by Scientists

Image: © Nightman1965/Adobe Stock

A group of 37 U.S.-based scientists whose research focuses on Arctic wildlife asked two U.S. senators in a letter on Thursday not to open the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The scientists, including several retired former officials from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game…

Novatek Aims to Topple Qatar from LNG Top Spot

File photo: Novatek

Russian gas producer Novatek aims to topple Qatar as the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas as it gets closer to completing its first LNG project, a top executive said, batting away concerns about U.S. sanctions on the sector. The country's largest non-state gas…

Ampelmann Unveils the Icemann

Photo: Ampelmann

Ampelmann, provider of offshore access to the energy industry, has unveiled its latest walk to work system which has been specially designed for operation in extreme cold conditions. The N-type, nicknamed Icemann, was officially launched in front of 200 guests on Thursday, April 20, in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Gazprom brings Arctic Projects Onstream

The ceremonial inauguration of new production capacities and the Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2 gas trunkline has been held at the Bovanenkovskoye field. The event was attended by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and heads of Gazprom's specialized structural units, subsidiaries and contracting organizations.

Obama Administration Bars New Oil, Gas Exploration off Alaska

A drilling ship Polar Pioneer in the Chukchi Sea, August 2015 (Photo: Mark Fink / Shell)

The Obama administration on Friday blocked new exploration for oil and gas in Arctic waters, in a win for environmental groups that had fought development of the ecologically fragile region. The Department of the Interior released a 2017 to 2022 leasing plan that blocked drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off northern Alaska.

Yamal LNG Project Received €780 Mln in Chinese Loans in July

Photo: Novatek

The Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in Russia received financing in July worth about 780 million euros from China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China, according to Yamal's accounting report published on Tuesday. The 15-year loan deals, of 9.3 billion euros and 9.8 billion yuan ($1.48 billion)…

Novatek CEO: Sanctions Hurt Yamal LNG, Upbeat on Plans

International sanctions have undermined the ability of Russia's Yamal LNG project to raise necessary funds but it will be launched as scheduled, Leonid Mikhelson, head of the plant's main shareholder, said in a televised interview on Tuesday. The company, co-owned by Gennady Timchenko, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, was placed under U.S.

Another blast at Severstal's mine in Arctic

Russia's Emergency Ministry said on Tuesday that another explosion had occurred in a coal mine inside the Arctic Circle where 26 died last week, but this time no one was hurt, Russian news agencies reported. "There were no people in the mine," TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying.

Miners Trapped after Accident in Russia's Arctic Pronounced Dead

The 26 miners who were trapped in a Russian coal mine above the Arctic circle have died and rescue operations have been halted after a third blast underground killed several rescue workers, emergency services said on Sunday. The miners were trapped on Thursday after a sudden leak…

Statoil ASA: 2015 Q3 Results Announced

Statoil delivered adjusted earnings of NOK 16.7 billion and adjusted earnings after tax of NOK 3.7 billion in the third quarter. Statoil reported net income in accordance with IFRS of negative NOK 2.8 billion, mainly due to net impairment charges and provisions. "We continue to…

EU Lacks Clear Gas Strategy, Says Supplier Norway

Norway, the European Union's second largest gas supplier after Russia, has told the bloc it lacked a clear strategy on gas and was therefore cooling willingness to invest in new fields and pipelines, documents published on Tuesday showed. Norway meets about 20 percent of the EU's gas needs…

Polarled Pipeline Now in Place

On Monday 28 September, the final pipe in the 482.4 kilometre long Polarled Pipeline was laid at the Aasta Hansteen field at a depth of 1,260 metres in the Norwegian Sea. Polarled is the first pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf that crosses the Arctic Circle and opens up a brand new highway for gas from the Norwegian Sea to Europe.

Obama Alaska Trip Aims for 'Punctuation Mark' on Climate Legacy

White House photo

President Barack Obama sets off for a three-day tour of Alaska on Monday, aiming to shine a spotlight on how the United States is being affected by warming temperatures and rising oceans. With 16 months left in office, Obama is trying to build support for tough new rules on carbon…