Monday, December 23, 2024

Indian Ocean News

July: Earth's Hottest Month Ever Recorded

© Alexander/Adobe Stock

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…

Tullow Oil Returns to Net Profit

(Photo: Tullow Oil)

Africa-focused Tullow Oil reported its first annual net profit in five years on Wednesday and said it would resume dividends with a 4.8 cent per share payout as it sets its sights on East African projects and drilling in Guyana.As flagged in November, Tullow will pay out at least $100 million to shareholders from this year, while aiming to shrink its $3.1 billion…

Middle East Oil & Gas Shipping Routes are at Risk

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through the Red Sea after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two crude tankers, underscoring risks caused by the conflict in the world's top oil exporting region.Iran, in its row with the United States over sanctions, has also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the other major strategic shipping…

China's CNOOC Sees Ugandan Oil Production Starting in 2021

© tomas / Adobe Stock

Oil production in Uganda is likely to start in 2021 at the earliest, China's CNOOC said, giving a later date than the government's 2020 target.CNOOC, which is developing the fields in the west of the country with Britain's Tullow Oil and France’s Total , is aiming for a final investment decision this year so development can start, CNOOC spokeswoman Aminah Bukenya said."If we have the final investment decision taken this year…

Kenya's National Oil, Schlumberger Ink Field Development Deal

Kenya's National Oil Corporation and U.S. oil services company Schlumberger have agreed to finalise a field development plan on behalf of the government for oil blocks in the northwest of the country. The East African nation discovered commercial oil reserves in its Lokichar basin in 2012. National Oil said in a statement seen by Reuters on Friday that the agreement…

Kenya Plans $1 Bln Dual Listing of National Oil Corp

Kenya plans to raise $1 billion by listing its National Oil Corporation at home and on the London Stock Exchange by early 2019, to buy a share of two oil blocks held by Tullow and its partners, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The East African country discovered oil in 2012 and full production is expected in 2021 after the completion of a $2.1…

Uganda, Tanzania Constructing $3.5 Bln Oil Pipeline

The leaders of Tanzania and Uganda laid a foundation stone on Saturday for the construction of a $3.55 billion-crude export pipeline that would pump Ugandan oil for international markets. The 1,445 km-project - set for completion by 2020 - will stretch from landlocked Uganda's western region, where crude reserves were discovered in 2006, to Tanzania's Indian Ocean seaport of Tanga.

Armed Piracy in West African Waters Rise

Bulk of attacks occurred off Nigeria. Armed attacks on ships in West African waters nearly doubled in 2016, with pirates increasingly focused on kidnapping their crew for ransom off Nigeria's coast, a report said on Tuesday. A recent spate of attacks off Somalia, meanwhile, may also indicate a resurgence of piracy in East Africa as a result of less vigilance, the Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) project said.

Uganda, Tanzania Award Crude Pipeline Design Contract

Uganda and Tanzania have awarded a contract for designing a crude oil pipeline running through both east African countries to U.S. based firm Gulf Interstate Engineering, an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed. Early last year, Uganda agreed with Tanzania to jointly develop a $3.55 billion pipeline to help ship Uganda's crude to international markets.

South Africa's proposed nuclear power plant unsafe

South African power provider Eskom has proposed building a nuclear power station on a site that may be at risk of surge storms and tsunamis, a geological report suggests, but the state-owned utility disputes the findings. South Africa has the continent's only nuclear power station and plans to expand nuclear power generation to meet growing electricity demand in Africa's most industrisalised country.

Shell, Vitol Boost UAE Storage to Handle Iraqi Crude

Royal Dutch Shell and trading house Vitol are stepping up their operations in the port of Fujairah to store Iraqi crude as production from the OPEC member rises, industry sources said. Iraq is OPEC's second largest producer after Saudi Arabia and its output has almost doubled since the start of the decade at 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd). With a target of 5.5-6 million bpd by 2020…

La Nina Forecast Downgraded: Kemp

Photo: NOAA

Sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific have been significantly below the seasonal average for the last 10 weeks, consistent with the formation of mild La Nina conditions. But U.S. government forecasters have cut the probability of La Nina occurring this winter to 36%, down from an estimated probability of 76% at the time of their May forecast. The U.S.

Uganda Central Bank Warns of Distress if Oil Revenues Delayed

Uganda could face "debt distress" in as little as two years if a start to oil production is delayed further, after ramping up its foreign borrowing in recent years, a top central bank official told Reuters on Wednesday. Adam Mugume, executive director for research at Bank of Uganda, told Reuters the debt load could become problematic if Uganda does not begin exporting crude soon.

Bomin Launches Physical Operation in Mauritius

The Bomin Group, a leading global physical supplier and trader of marine fuel oil, today announced that it is launching a physical operation in Port Louis, Mauritius, effective from July 12, 2016. The expansion significantly strengthens Bomin’s position in a growing and important region, and continues the company’s ambitious plans for growth throughout 2016. Bomin (Mauritius) Ltd.

LWP, Hallmark form Indian JV

Energy Technology company, LWP Technologies Limited (ASX: LWP) (“LWP” or “the Company”), has announced that following a four-day visit by Hallmark principals, LWP has finalised its joint venture (JV) arrangements with Hallmark for the operation of its Indian proppant plant in the city of Pune in the state of Maharashtra. The elements of the final agreement are…

Africa Oil: Low Oil Price Won't Cause Major Delay to Kenya Project

Falling world oil prices will not cause a major delay to plans to begin oil production in northwest Kenya, Africa Oil Corp's chief executive said on Thursday. Keith Hill said the biggest hurdle was finalising construction plans for a crude oil pipeline. Africa Oil and its partners aim to announce a final investment decision for production in early 2017. "The current oil price has indeed put pressure on the project…

Damen ASD Tug for Sharjah Ports

Sharjah Ports Authority, has taken delivery of a Damen ASD Tug 2411, named Al Luolo’ Aya. His Excellency Sheikh Khaled bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Seaports and Customs at the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone presided over the ceremony, which was held at Damen Shipyards Sharjah. Also present were Mahamed Meer Abdelrehman Al-Sarrah…

Russia's Rosneft Eyes Oil Supplies to South Africa

Russia's top oil producer Rosneft is "actively interested" in crude oil and oil product supplies to South Africa, TASS news agency cited Russian Natural Resources Ministry as saying on Thursday. The Kremlin-controlled Rosneft has been trying to expand its global reach despite the chill with the West. In October, jointly with ExxonMobil, the company won potentially lucrative exploration rights for fossil fuels off Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast.

LNG Tanker Sails for US Sabine Pass for Inaugural Loading

Cheniere Energy's landmark Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas export plant in Louisiana will receive its first tanker for loading on Jan. 12, according to ship tracking data and a source with knowledge of the plant's operations. The Energy Atlantic LNG tanker, which was last seen on Thomson Reuters ship tracking data on Monday steaming west across the Indian Ocean…

Exxon, Eni, Sasol Bid for Mozambique's Unexplored Fossil Fuel Bounty

Exxon Mobil, Italy's Eni and South Africa's Sasol are among the firms that submitted bids to explore new blocks for fossil fuels in Mozambique and off its Indian Ocean coastline, a senior official said on Thursday. A total of fifteen blocks in some 76,800 sq km were included in the fifth licensing round for which the Institute of National Petroleum (INP) closed bidding on Thursday.