Congo cancels the licensing round for 27 oil block
According to a Monday statement on the hydrocarbons minister's X Twitter account, the Democratic Republic of Congo has canceled a licensing round originally launched in 2020 to tap the nation's potential for oil and gas. The statement of October 11 listed multiple reasons for cancellation. These included late submissions, inappropriate and irregular offers, as well as a lack competition. Aime Sakombi Molindo, hydrocarbons minister, said: "Given what I have just stated…
OMV Petrom Makes Largest Crude Oil Discovery in Decades
Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV, said on Tuesday it discovered new crude oil and natural gas deposits equal to about three quarters of its overall 2022 production.The deposits are the largest crude oil discovery OMV Petrom has made in decades, it said, and were found in southern Romania holding over 30 million barrerls of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources."The new discoveries will contribute to reducing the decline of our production and to the continuity of the supply of essential products for the economy…
PGNiG Open to Mergers with State-run Firms
Polish gas company PGNiG is open to consolidation with other energy companies, its newly appointed chief executive said on Friday, as the government tries to merge state-run firms to strengthen their market position.The Polish state is a major shareholder in the energy sector, which is undergoing unprecedented consolidation, with PKN Orlen planning to take over refiner Lotos and state utility Energa.Poland's government plans to merge the country's two biggest refiners to create a bigger player capable of competing on international markets."We want to be treated not jus
Oil And Gas Discoveries Hit 4-Year High
The global oil and gas explorers powered ahead and discovered 12.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2019, the highest volume since 2015.According to Rystad Energy, last year recorded 26 discoveries of more than 100 million boe, with offshore regions dominating the list of new oil and gas deposits.Guyana’s success story from 2018 continued in 2019, with ExxonMobil adding four new discoveries within its offshore Stabroek block, while Tullow Oil’s Jethro…
China Opens Up to Foreign E&P Firms
For the first time, China will this year allow foreign companies to explore for and produce oil and gas in the country, opening up the industry to firms other than state-run energy giants, as Beijing looks to boost domestic energy supplies.The long-awaited opening accompanies a reshuffle of the so-called "midstream" pipeline business, but experts say it may not excite immediate interest from global drillers because of the poor overall asset quality of China's hydrocarbon resources.From May 1, foreign firms registered in China with net assets of 300 million yuan ($43 mi
Poland Ends Major Russian LNG Contract
Poland's state gas company PGNiG says it had notified Russia's Gazprom that it will not renew their long-term deal on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies when the agreement expires after 2022.In accordance with the provisions of the Yamal Contract, three years prior to its original termination date, i.e. by December 31st, 2019, the parties are required to submit a declaration whether or not they intend to continue their contractual relationship beyond 2022.Gazprom Export…
Poland Employs New Seismic Tech
The Polish state-controlled oil and gas company PGNiG said that its geophysical services provider Geofizyka Toruń SA became the first company in Europe to employ new seismic data acquisition technologies in searching for hydrocarbon deposits.The Polish oil and gas company said in a press release that the company is replacing the hitherto used cabled geophone networks with ultra-lightweight wireless nodal sensors. Their small size and low weight allow to conduct…
Oxy Would Sell Anadarko’s Africa Assets to Total
France's Total SA said on Sunday it has agreed with Occidental Petroleum Corp to acquire the African assets of Anadarko Petroleum Corp for $8.8 billion, should the two U.S. oil and gas companies clinch a deal to combine.The agreement with Total is the latest move by Occidental in its effort to convince Anadarko to accept a $38 billion cash-and stock acquisition offer and abandon its agreed $33 billion sale to Chevron Corp. On Tuesday, Occidental secured a $10…
Occidental Tops Chevron's Bid for Anadarko
Occidental Petroleum Corp on Wednesday started the first takeover battle for a major oil company in years, offering $38 billion for Anadarko Petroleum Corp, a bid that topped a $33 billion offer by Chevron Corp.Both suitors are offering a premium for Anadarko's holdings in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. The vast shale field holds oil and gas deposits that can produce supplies for decades using new, low-cost drilling techniques.Occidental's surprise $76-per-share bid is valued at $57 billion, including debt.
Anadarko Nearing FID for Mozambique LNG
U.S. independent energy producer Anadarko moved closer to a final investment decision (FID) to build a giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Mozambique after signing up an Indian buyer for the gas and saying another deal was imminent.Anadarko and Exxon Mobil are expected to sanction two separate but neighboring LNG projects in Mozambique this year after finding large offshore gas deposits, turning the African nation into a major global gas exporter.The…
Big Oil Digs North Sea's 'Final Frontier'
"Little hope of THIS rock ever producing oil," BP geologist Bill Senior scribbled in 1977 on a note assessing a recent oil discovery in a distant corner of the North Sea.That same rock is today the heart of BP's prized Clair field in the West of Shetland region, which this week started its second phase of production.The giant bridge-linked Clair Ridge platforms are among the projects that have given new life to this area of the North Sea, one of the oldest offshore basins…
Argentina to Export First LNG in 2019
Argentina is due to begin exports of liquefied natural gas from a part of its vast Vaca Muerta shale gas resource next year through a floating LNG liquefaction (FLNG) vessel provided by Exmar, the Belgian shipping company said on Wednesday.The operations, due to start in the second quarter of 2019, will introduce Argentina into the small club of around 20 countries exporting LNG while the FLNG will be only the world's fourth and the smallest.The country's state-controlled oil company YPF signed a 10-year agreement with Exmar to deploy the barge-based FLNG…
Australian Firm Finds Oil, Gas in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Thursday that Australia's Invictus Energy had found oil and gas deposits in the northern Muzarabani area of the country.Invictus Energy has agreed to enter a production sharing arrangement with Zimbabwe once the project reaches commercial production, Mnangagwa said."Government of Zimbabwe will work very closely with Invictus to ensure that Invictus realises its plans to sink an exploration well by mid 2020," Mnangagwa…
Unmanned Platform Starts Production at Oseberg Vestflanken 2
The Oseberg Vestflanken 2 field in the North Sea came on stream on Sunday. Remote-operated from the Oseberg field center, the new Oseberg H platform is the first unmanned platform on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Recoverable resources are 110 million barrels.“With Oseberg H we take a huge technological leap forward. The fully automatic, unmanned and remote-operated platform is digitalization in practice, and I am proud of Equinor and its partners having chosen this in-house developed solution…
Ghana Resurrects LNG Import Terminal with Chinese Deals
Ghana has chosen two Chinese companies to build the infrastructure it needs to import liquefied natural gas, resurrecting the $350 million Tema terminal project that would make the country the first in sub-Saharan Africa to buy LNG.Tema LNG, backed by Africa-focused private equity firm Helios Investment, signed deals with China Harbour Engineering Company to build onshore facilities and Jiangnan Shipyard for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the Ghanaian government said in a statement issued on Monday.It gave no further financial details of the deals b
Trump Bets on New European LNG Terminals
U.S. President Donald Trump expects the European Union to fund 9 to 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) ports to absorb "vastly" more shipments from the United States but current EU investment in new projects will only help open small markets.In a White House press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte late on Monday, Trump said part of the U.S.-EU trade talks sought to expand America's reach into the continent's gas markets which were awash in Russian supply."And we are already talking to the European Union about building anywhere from 9 to 11 ports…
PGS Below Q2 Expectations but Outlook Improves
Shares of seismic services company PGS, which surveys the seabed for oil and gas deposits, dropped on Thursday on lower-than expected second-quarter results but its CEO said the market outlook was improving.PGS's April-June core operating earnings (EBITDA) rose to $136.0 million, below the $144 million expected by analysts in a Reuters poll, but up from $112.5 million in same quarter last year.Its shares traded three percent down by 0911 GMT, after dropping eight percent in early trade."We see a clear sign of improvement, it's a lot more tender activity, and we have re
TGS Boosted by Seismic Market Recovery
Q1 revenues rose by 56 pct; shares jump 13 pct. Oslo-listed seismic data provider TGS, a key supplier to the oil industry, reported first-quarter revenues far above forecasts as markets continue to improve, it said on Tuesday, sending its share price surging. Net revenues for the January-March quarter rose by 56 percent year-on-year to $135 million, beating the average $106 million forecast by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters estimates. TGS, whose vessels scan the seabed for potential oil and gas deposits…
Rosneft, Eni Fail to Discover Oil at Black Sea Well
Russia's state oil company Rosneft and Italy's Eni did not make a commercial oil discovery in the Black Sea as the well they were drilling proved to be dry, a source close to the operations told Reuters on Wednesday. Rosneft chief executive, Igor Sechin, has partnered with a number of foreign companies to develop Russia's offshore regions, though western sanctions have forced some of its partners such as ExxonMobil to suspend projects. Sechin has counted on…
TGS: Seismic Market Recovery 1-2 Years Away
"The uncertainty of the oil price is affecting the spending of the oil companies. We do not believe that 2018 is going to be the year of the big recovery. We believe in a flat market," Larsen said on the margins of an oil conference. "All the major oil companies are still quite cautious on average in terms of their spending. If you see that, we should actually expect a small decline in exploration spending in 2018," he added. "Another interesting pattern is…
