US EPA proposes to end mandatory greenhouse gas reporting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule on Friday to end the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by 8,000 facilities. This program, the EPA said, was burdensome for businesses but left the public in the dark about the environmental impact. The rule is a response to an executive order that was issued on the first day of President Donald Trump's presidency. It aims to remove barriers to unleashing U.S. Energy, especially fossil fuels. This is just the latest in a long line of regulatory rollbacks that have undone previous U.S. attempts to combat climate changes.
US EIA: Oil prices will drop dramatically in the months ahead, as OPEC+ increases output
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook, released on Tuesday, said that global oil prices will drop in the months to come as OPEC+'s increased production will result in large oil inventories. Brent crude, a global benchmark, will fall to an average price of $59 a barrel by the fourth quarter of 2025. This is down from $68 if you compare it to August. The EIA report was completed before the weekend's decision of the OPEC+ to increase output further in October. The EIA stated that oil inventories would continue to rise by an average of 2.1 million barrels a day in the second half of 2025…
Lula: Brazil's environmental agency must be satisfied with Petrobras tests in offshore areas.
Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said that the environmental agency Ibama must be satisfied with results of a emergency drill conducted by the state-run oil company Petrobras within the Foz do Amazonas Basin. Petrobras already conducted the test. Ibama must be happy with the results, and Ibama is now going to grant us the permission to conduct the first experiment," Lula stated in an interview given by local news channel Rede Amazonica. Petroleo Brasileiro SA (as the company is officially known) considers the drill as a pre-operational evaluation…
Russia claims to have extinguished a fire at a large oil refinery following the latest Ukrainian drone attacks
Russia announced on Thursday that an attack by a Ukrainian drone had put out a fire in an oil refinery located in the southern Krasnodar Region. The drone was part of a campaign launched by Kyiv against President Vladimir Putin's most important economic sector. On Russian oil refineries, and infrastructure for exporting to show that it can fight back while the United States attempts to broker a peaceful deal. According to calculations made this week, the Ukrainian attacks on ten plants disrupted 17% or 1.1 millions barrels of refinery capacity in Russia.
Petrobras passes key test for Amazon exploration license
The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras concluded an emergency drill on Wednesday in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, according to the company and Brazil’s environmental agency. This was one of the last steps required to secure the controversial exploration license for the mouth of Amazon river. Petrobras sees this pre-operational evaluation, which started on Sunday, as the final step in an environmental licensing process that it hopes will result in a permit for drilling an exploratory oil well and gas wells in the area. Petrobras has said that it will wait for a "position", from the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama regarding the next step.
CNOOC's first-half profits fall 13% due to lower oil prices
CNOOC, the Chinese offshore oil-and-gas major, reported a 13% drop in its interim net income as lower oil prices countered the impact of record oil and natural gas production. According to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, the net profit attributable equity shareholders fell to 69.5 billion Yuan ($9.7billion) following a record-breaking interim profit in 2024. Sinopec, a domestic competitor, reported a 40% drop in earnings at $2.99 billion. PetroChina's net profit fell by 5.4% to $11.7 billion. CNOOC’s net production of gas and oil increased by 6%, reaching a record of 384.6 million barrels equivalent of oil during the period.
Petrobras begins emergency drill in Foz do Amazonas basin
Two sources familiar with the situation said on Monday that the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras started an emergency drill on Sunday in the Foz do Amazonas area. Petrobras considers the so-called preoperative assessment as the final step in an environmental licensing procedure to obtain a permit for drilling an exploratory oil well and gas wells in the area. Petrobras, and Brazil's environment agency Ibama, did not respond immediately to a comment request. The drill is expected to include more than 400 participants…
Sources say that the US will rule on biofuel waivers but large oil refiners might need to wait.
Two sources familiar with Trump's plans say that the administration will rule as soon as Friday on a backlog of requests for relief from U.S. Biofuel Laws from small oil refiners. However, it will defer a decision as to whether or not larger refiners are required to compensate by increasing their own biofuel blend. Sources said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will announce Friday its decision on 195 small refinery exemption applications pending since 2016. According to one source briefed about the decisions, the rulings won't be a big win for small refiners. They will also include partial denials.
Russia will continue its oil and gas projects in spite of US sanctions
New U.S. The Russian government has accused the US of attempting to destabilise global markets by sabotaging the energy sector in Moscow. It said that the country will continue with its large oil and natural gas projects. In a statement, the ministry said that Russia will also respond to Washington's actions announced on Friday as "hostile", while drafting its foreign policy strategy. The measures were the most comprehensive U.S. sanctions against Russia's oil revenues and gas revenues to date. They are part of measures designed to give Kyiv, and the new administration of Donald Trump, leverage to come to an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Exxon continues to discuss shallow-water blocks in Guyana's auction, the company reports
Exxon Mobil, the U.S. oil giant and its partners continue to negotiate with Guyana’s government about terms for developing an oil block in shallow water. An Exxon spokesperson confirmed this on Monday. Exxon Hess, CNOOC and Exxon won the offshore block S8 during a bid round that was launched by President Irfaan Ali’s administration in late 2022. A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil confirmed via email that the group is still interested in the block, and that talks are ongoing. The spokesperson refused to reveal whether the group intended to use this block for oil and gas exploration or carbon capture and storage.
As Biden's term ends, the US introduces a methane tax on gas and oil emitters.
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden finalized on Tuesday a fee for large oil and gas companies to reduce emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. However, the incoming Trump presidency is likely to scrap the fee. The methane tax is one of the last measures taken by the administration to combat the second most common greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide. This gas tends to leak undetected into the atmosphere from drilling sites, gas pipes and other oil and natural gas equipment. The fee will be $900 per metric tonne of methane emissions in 2024. It will increase to $1200 in 2025 and to $1500 in 2026.
Who would be the best person to run Trump's energy policy?
Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, has pledged to overhaul U.S. Energy Policy. He aims to maximize oil and gas production in this country which is already at record levels by rolling back regulations and accelerating permits. Who will he select to lead the departments and agencies that are critical to completing this task? These are some names that have been considered. Two sources with knowledge of the matter say that Trump's second Energy secretary Dan Brouillette, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, are both candidates to lead the U.S. Department of Energy during the next administration.
Colombian court reverses order to suspend gas well off Caribbean coast
On Wednesday, a Colombian court overturned a previous court order that was issued last month, which had suspended operations at Sirius-2 (formerly known as Uchuva-2), a major offshore gas well. The ruling was issued on October 29, following a complaint from Indigenous communities that their way of living would be negatively affected by the development of the well. Industry groups warned that the suspension of the well would threaten Colombia's energy independence and erode the prospects for the nation's diminishing gas reserves. The project is owned jointly by Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol, and Brazil's Petrobras.
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, I feel compelled to announce the cancellation of this process." He said that the process will be restarted shortly, but did not give a timeline.
Incoming Shell Boss Aims Fire up Renewables Drive
Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan is set to accelerate the group's drive to build its renewable energy business, including through a possible "transformative" clean power acquisition, company and industry sources said.Sawan will from January take on a firm with a strong balance sheet after a surge in oil and gas prices, but whose renewables capacity has lagged peers like TotalEnergies and BP as green issues come increasingly into vogue. Shell aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become a net-zero emitter by 2050…
Coronavirus, Consolidation Taking Toll On Energy Jobs
Oil and gas companies worldwide are taking an axe to their employment rolls, shedding workers to survive what is expected to be a prolonged stretch of weak demand.Exxon Mobil Corp said it will cut its workforce by 15%, or about 14,000 people, along with oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.All told, more than 400,000 oil and gas sector jobs have been cut this year, according to Rystad Energy, with about half of those in the United States, where several big exploration companies and most large oil service companies are headquartered.Coronavirus has devastated swathes of the global economy…
Petronas Farms Out Part of Suriname Offshore Block to Exxon
Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas has completed the farm-down of a 50% stake in an offshore Suriname block to a subsidiary of ExxonMobil.The offshore block, known as Block 52, is located north of the coast of Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital city, and is situated in the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin where several major hydrocarbon discoveries were made recently. Block 52 covers an area of 4,749 km² with water depths ranging from 50 to 1,100 meters.Following the farm-down, Petronas will remain the operator of Block 52 with a 50% stake, while ExxonMobil will the remaining 50 percent.
Shell Cuts Dividend for First Time Since World War Two
Royal Dutch Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two on Thursday as the energy company retrenched in the face of an unprecedented drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.Shell also suspended the next tranche of its share buyback program and said it was reducing oil and gas output by nearly a quarter after its net profit almost halved in the first three months of 2020.Shell's shares in London dropped 6.7% in early trading on Thursday, underperforming rival BP."Given the risk of a prolonged period of economic uncertainty…
Oil, Gas Players Optimistic on Profits
Companies in the oil and gas sector are optimistic about their ability to achieve their financial targets for 2020, according to a survey from standards agency DNV GL.While the sector’s growth hangs in the balance for 2020, oil and gas leaders are optimistic that they will weather the storm, drawing on hard-earned cost efficiencies from the past five years to make margin.Some 64% predict their organizations will hit profit targets this year (largely consistent with 62% in 2019), and nearly half (46%) say their companies would still achieve acceptable profits if the oil price were to average less than USD50 per barrel.
Big Oil to Bid for Guyana Crude Cargoes
Large oil companies Exxon Mobil, Hess Corp, CNOOC, BP, Chevron, Total, and Eni are expected to present bids to buy the first three cargoes of Liza crude offered by Guyana's government, the South American country's director of energy said on Monday.A consortium of Exxon, Hess, and China's CNOOC has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources off the country's coast. The companies plan to begin exporting crude from the country, which has no history of oil production, in January and February.Mark Bynoe…