Mexico simplifies fiscal regime for Pemex, the state oil company
Mexico announced a plan on Wednesday to simplify the fiscal regime of state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), in an effort to boost a producer whose heavy loans have burdened state coffers. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexican president, said during the morning press conference Pemex will pay a general tax of 30% on its non-associated gas operations. Sheinbaum explained that the measure was taken to increase "transparency", and give the oil company room for more investment. State officials presented plans to Pemex for the company to increase their 3P reserves and hit a goal of 5…
Tokyo Gas announces share purchases after H1 profits fall by 84% due to lower gas prices
Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest city gas provider, posted a 17.2 billion yen (112 million dollars) net profit for the first half of this year to September. This is down 84% compared to the same period last year, due to lower gas prices in Japan and North America. The utility has announced that it will buy back its own shares up to 40 billion Japanese yen, on top of the 40 billion yen already planned. He said that "the total return ratio including dividends is expected to reach 64 percent this fiscal…
Equinor to close Hanoi office after halting Vietnam offshore wind plans
A company spokesperson revealed that Norway's state controlled energy giant Equinor had cancelled plans to invest into Vietnam's offshore sector. This is a blow for Vietnam's green power aspirations. According to the World Bank Group's report, Vietnam has drawn international attention to its renewable energy plans due to its strong wind in shallow water near densely populated coastal areas. However, delays in regulatory reforms recently have prompted some potential investors to reconsider their plans. This is the first time Equinor closes an international office focusing on offshore wind.
Floating Production – A Growing Segment in Transition
The specialized deepwater oil & gas and floating offshore wind segments will share many of the same stakeholders and supply chains, competing for increasingly scarce resources.To receive a full version of Inteletus analysis, click hereThe established floating production segment is forecast to experience continued growth through this decade, driving demand for, among other things, moorings, subsea systems, umbilicals, risers, flowlines and the large anchor handlers and subsea support vessels that will install and maintain the elements.At the same time…
Wasted Gas: As Global Supplies Tighten, Here’s 210 bcm of Natural Gas for the Taking – IEA Report
A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if there was a concerted, global effort to eliminate unnecessary flaring and control leaks across the supply chain, nearly 210 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas could be made available to gas markets.Russia’s war with Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring as a broad swath of sanctions has effectively re-routed Russian oil and gas exports. The recent report from IEA – “The energy security case for tackling gas flaring…
US Oil Industry Group Pledges to Fight Possible Biden Fracking Limits
If U.S. President-elect Joe Biden tries to restrict development of oil and gas drilling on federal lands, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will use "every tool at its disposal" including legal action, chief executive Mike Sommers said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.Biden has said he supports a ban on new gas and oil permits — including fracking — on federal lands.Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a drilling technology that has allowed the U.S. oil industry to vastly boost output in recent years, making the United States the world's largest producer of crude oil.
Enabling AI in E&P
Oilfield services company Schlumberger and software firm Dataiku have teamed up to enable the exploration and production (E&P) industry to build and deploy their own artificial intelligence (AI) solutions across the full breadth of their upstream workflows within the DELFI cognitive E&P environment.Under an exclusive technology agreement, the partners will deliver new capabilities to help petrotechnical domain experts bridge the gap between machine learning and domain expertise to enable better insights through AI.
Ocean Monarch Mobilises to Otway
Australian upstream oil and gas exploration and production company Cooper Energy announced the semi-submersible drilling rig Ocean Monarch, operated by Diamond Offshore, has commenced mobilisation from the Gippsland Basin to the Otway Basin where it is to drill 2 offshore gas exploration wells.According to a press release, the wells, Annie-1 and Elanora-1, will be the first offshore gas exploration wells drilled in the Otway Basin in seven years.Cooper Energy (Operator and 50% interest holder)…
Turkey to Drill Near Cyprus for Three Months
Turkey launched a second drilling ship on Thursday which will conduct natural gas operations off the northeast coast of Cyprus for three months, a move which risks aggravating a conflict with Cyprus over jurisdiction rights for oil and gas exploration.Turkey and the internationally recognised Cypriot government have overlapping claims in that part of the Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich in natural gas.Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said at the launch of the vessel, Yavuz, it would operate in a borehole near Cyprus' Karpas peninsula…
Oxy Plans to Sell Parts of Anadarko
Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum.It also quadrupled its debt - to $40 billion - at a time when investors are calling for spending cuts and higher dividends.That means the acquisition's success will depend on how quickly Occidental can sell off some of Anadarko's assets and focus on optimizing and integrating the assets it keeps - especially prime U.S. shale fields.Shedding debt will require selling assets when deals have been sluggish, said bankers and merger specialists.
OPT Wave Power System Reaches Milestone
US-owned renewable energy company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) announced that the Company's PB3 PowerBuoy deployed in the Adriatic Sea has produced more than one MegaWatt-hour (MWh) cumulative energy to date. The cost-effective ocean energy solutions provider said that the PowerBuoy has been deployed for six months, operating continuously and error-free while being controlled remotely from OPT’s NJ facility.George H. Kirby, OPT’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are excited to announce this major power generation milestone for our PB3 PowerBuoy deployed in the Adriatic Sea.
Piedmont Awards EPC Gig to Matrix
Oklahoma-based Matrix Service Company has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Piedmont Natural Gas LNG facility in North Carolina.The contract was awarded to Matrix’s subsidiary, Matrix Service Inc, to build its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Robeson County, North Carolina.The facility will help Piedmont Natural Gas continue providing customers with a reliable supply of natural gas during peak usage days, when extremely low temperatures create…
SCF: Ten Years of LNG Shipping from Sakhalin-2
Russian maritime shipping company specializing in petroleum and LNG shipping Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has just celebrated the tenth anniversary of the start of LNG shipments from the Sakhalin-2 project.In March 2009, SCF’s LNG carrier Grand Aniva loaded the first shipment of Russian LNG produced at the Sakhalin-2 plant. As LNG production at Sakhalin-2 commenced, Russia became a full-fledged member of the club of LNG exporting nations, which at that point included just 15 countries.For a decade two of Sovcomflot’s LNG carriers…
Medco Energi's Potential Deal with Ophir Seen as Diversification Play
Medco Energi Internasional Tbk PT would boost its valuations and gain access to international assets if its potential takeover of London-listed Ophir Energy occurs, analysts said on Wednesday.Medco confirmed this week that it was in talks with Ophir about a possible cash offer for the oil and gas exploration and production company currently based in Britain. Medco, headquartered in Jakarta, earns the bulk of its revenue from oil and gas operations, mainly in Indonesia."This will help Medco shape up as an international player.
Ultra Petroleum Appoints David Honeyfield as CFO
Ultra Petroleum informed that David Honeyfield has been appointed to serve as CFO of the gas producer with assets in Wyoming’s Green River Basin.A press release from the energy company engaged in domestic natural gas and oil exploration, development and production said that Honeyfield has over 25 years of experience in the energy and natural resources fields with a strong background in accounting and the corporate management of public oil and gas companies.Most recently, Honeyfield served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PDC Energy, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer of Jonah Energy LLC.
Clean Ops Offshore: Johan Sverdrup Powered from Shore
With a flip of the switch, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, Norway's Minister of Petroleum and Energy, opened a new era in offshore oil and gas operations, initiating the "power-from-shore solution" that will provide the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea with electricity for more than 50 years. The development is significant because with electric power supplied from shore, Johan Sverdrup operations can be run without the use of fossil fuels, making it one of the most carbon-efficient fields in the world.The Johan Sverdrup field…
Baker Hughes Acquires 5% of ADNOC Drilling for $550 Mln
Baker Hughes, the world's second-largest oil services company, will take a 5 percent stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's (ADNOC) drilling unit for $550 million under a tie-up announced on Monday.Baker Hughes (BHGE) becomes the first foreign company to take a stake in one of state-owned ADNOC's services companies under the agreement which values ADNOC Drilling at about $11 billion.It will allow Baker Hughes to cement its presence in the Middle East, the fastest growing region for oil and gas operations…
Total Sees Cash Flow, Output Boost from Deepwater Projects
Oil and gas major Total said on Tuesday it expected deepwater oil and gas operations to make a strong contribution to its output and cash flow thanks to major developments in the West Africa's Gulf of Guinea region, Brazil and U.S. Gulf area.Production from deepwater projects is expected to reach 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Kboe/d) by 2020, contributing to its 6 to 7 percent output growth target per year from 2017 to 2020."Deepwater is today for us a growing and very profitable part of the portfolio…
What Glencore-Tohoku Coal talk Impass Means for Market
Electric utilities in Japan and other Asian countries are driving blind when it comes to coal prices after the failure of Japan's Tohoku Electric and Glencore to agree on an annual thermal coal contract that is used to set prices for the region. Tohoku Electric, a major Japanese utility, and Glencore, the world's biggest exporter of seaborne thermal coal, abandoned the talks last month on their annual Australian supply contract. "Both parties seem to have tried hard to come to a consensus but always had large difference in price expectations this year," energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a note to clients.
Clash of the Russian Energy Titans
Russian energy major Rosneft is increasingly challenging domestic rival Gazprom in international gas markets, from West Africa to Turkey and even Europe, according to five industry sources with knowledge of the matter.Last week, Rosneft won a multi-billion dollar contract in Ghana that had been targeted by Gazprom, the sources said. It also signed a gas fields and pipeline deal in Iraqi Kurdistan aimed at supplying gas to Turkey and Europe - Gazprom's core markets.Oil-focused Rosneft's international expansion in gas will put the two Russian state-owned giants in direct competition…
