EU Approves $21.27B Just Transition Fund
European Union countries on Monday approved the bloc's flagship fund to wean them off fossil fuels and protect communities most affected, paving the way for members to start receiving the cash.The 17.5 billion euro ($21.27 billion) Just Transition Fund (JTF) combines money from the EU's budget and its COVID-19 recovery fund.It is designed to support communities most affected by plans to shut down coal…
US Extends License for Chevron's Operations in Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department on Saturday renewed a license allowing Chevron, the last U.S. energy company operating in Venezuela, to continue working in the country until April 22.In January, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA in an effort to oust President Nicolas Maduro, though he remains in power.
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…
Cyprus Issues Arrest Warrants for Turkey Drill Ship Crew
Cyprus has issued arrest warrants for the crew of a Turkish drill ship anchored close to its coast for allegedly infringing territory over which the island has rights to explore for oil and gas, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday."We can confirm that warrants were issued. It's a double digit number," the Cypriot official said, declining…
Shell, Eni, Exxon Win Concessions in Egypt
Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, BP and Exxon Mobil were among winners of Egypt's international tender for oil and gas exploration on Tuesday, with 12 concessions awarded in total.It marks Exxon Mobil's entry into gas exploration in Egypt, while Shell was awarded the most concessions in the tender - three for oil and two for gas.Neptune Energy, Merlon, Shell, Eni and state-controlled Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) w
Angola Battles to Revive Oil Exploration
On Saturday, nearly two decades after securing the initial rights, Total's CEO Patrick Pouyanné was in Luanda to snip the ribbon on a $16 billion oil project. It's not clear when he, or his peers, will be cracking open the bubbly in Angola again.Without another mega-project like Total's Kaombo on the horizon and fields getting old, Africa's…
ADNOC to Boost Production Capacity
Abu Dhabi state-owned oil producer ADNOC plans to increase oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030, the emirate's crown prince said in a tweet.Abu Dhabi's "Supreme Petroleum Council approved AED 486 billion ($132.33 billion) in capex to support ADNOC's 5-year growth plans, including its gas strategy to become self-sufficient and a net gas exporter," Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed also said in his tweet.($1
Houthis Attack Saudi Oil Tanker
An attack on a Saudi tanker by Yemen's Houthis will not hit oil supplies, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Wednesday, after the Iran-allied group said it had targeted a warship in response to an air strike that killed civilians. The Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition which includes other Sunni Muslim states says the Houthis attacked the oil tanker off Yemen's main port of Hodeidah on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Inks Deal with Indonesia for LNG Imports
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Indonesia on Sunday to open talks on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the South Asian country turns to the supercooled fuel to fill a shortfall of domestic natural gas. A letter of intent was signed between two state energy companies, Petrobangla and Pertamina, after a meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indonesian President Joko Widodo…
Russian Court Told That Oil Boss Gave Minister $2 Mln in a Bag
A Russian court was told on Tuesday that a close ally of President Vladimir Putin personally handed the country's then economy minister $2 million in cash inside a lockable brown bag as part of an elaborate bribery sting. Former Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev is on trial on charges of extorting the $2 million bribe from Igor Sechin, the head of state-owned oil company Rosneft…
Scientists Turn to Big Data in Hunt for Minerals, Oil and Gas
Scientists searching for everything from oil and gas to copper and gold are adopting techniques used by companies such as Netflix or Amazon to sift through vast amounts of data, a study showed on Tuesday. The method has already helped to discover 10 carbon-bearing minerals and could be widely applied to exploration, they wrote in the journal American Mineralogist.
Ghana cuts GDP Forecast
Ghana has cut its 2016 economic growth forecast sharply to 4.1 percent from 5.4 percent due to lower export prices and irregular oil production, Finance Minister Seth Terkper told Reuters on Monday. Oil output was halted between March and May at the offshore Jubilee field due to a breakdown on a production ship, and the country lost millions of dollars in revenue. It has since restarted at a lower rate.
Croatia's HEP takes Offline its Biggest Hydro Power Plant
Croatia's power utility HEP said on Saturday its biggest hydro-power plant Zakucac, which generates a third of the country's electricity, had been taken offline on June 8 after a burst pipe caused flooding in the main engine room. The 488 megawatt (MW) plant is located in the Adriatic coastal town of Omis. Croatia, the European Union's newest member…
Niger Delta Avengers urge Nigeria's Buhari to Visit Oil Hub
The Niger Delta Avengers, a Nigerian militant group which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on oil facilities in the country's southern energy hub, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to visit the region. The militant group says it wants a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth to go to the impoverished Delta region. Crude…
Russia Hasn't Dropped Idea of New Gas Route to South Europe
Russia still wants a new pipeline route to export gas to southern Europe despite the cancellation of the South Stream gas project, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Putin said the expansion of the Nord Stream pipeline, under the Baltic Sea, was not an alternative to the cancelled South Stream route. He also said Russia was not turning its back on exporting gas to Europe via Ukraine…
Gazprom Promises to Maintain Dividends
Russian gas giant Gazprom will pay a dividend of 7.2 roubles per share for last year, keeping them at the same level as in 2014, TASS news agency quoted Gazprom's chairman Viktor Zubkov as saying on Saturday. Gazprom said last week that its net profit under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) more than doubled in 2015 to 403.5 billion roubles ($6 billion), from 189 billion roubles in 2014.
Iran aims to boost oil output capacity by 160,000 bpd
Iran aims to boost its crude oil production capacity by 160,000 barrels per day following the completion of expansion projects at its North Azadegan and Yadavaran oilfields, a senior Iranian oil official was quoted as saying. The two oilfields are both operational and ready to be officially inaugurated after the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections…
Oil Prices Could Hit Low Point in Q1 - BP's Dudley
The slump in global oil prices could hit bottom in early 2016 although prices are likely to remain low for the next couple of years, BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said. "A low point could be in the first quarter," Dudley said in BBC radio interview broadcast on Saturday. Brent crude prices fell by 34 percent last year after shedding 48 percent in 2014.
Train Carrying Crude Oil Derailed in Northern Ontario
A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying crude oil has derailed near the Northern Ontario community of Gogama, with crews reporting a fire but no injuries, the company said on Saturday. CN said the derailment along its main line, which occurred just before 3 a.m. ET/0800 GMT on Saturday, is affecting rail traffic running between Toronto and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Uganda's 'Oil Rush' Town Stuck in the Slow Lane
Before the discovery of large amounts of oil in Lake Albert, Hoima was a forlorn and remote town in Western Uganda, whose main sources of income were farming and the trickle of tourists heading to nearby national parks. A decade later, an oil-fuelled boom is transforming the town nearest the lake, with smart new office blocks and hotels drawing scores of new businesses and people from engineers to prostitutes to bankers.
