Exxon Secures Lead in top US Oilfield with $60B Buy of Shale Rival Pioneer
Exxon Mobil agreed to buy U.S. rival Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion that would make it the biggest producer in the largest U.S. oilfield and secure a decade of low-cost production.The deal, valued at $253 a share, combines the largest U.S. oil company with one of the most successful names to emerge from the shale revolution that turned the U.S. into the world's largest oil producer in little more than a decade.Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods said in a media briefing the combination provides a big opportunity for synergies between the companies."We basically closed this deal fairly quickly…
Offshore Wind: Orsted Earnings, Shares Dented by Lower Wind Speeds, Cable Problems
Lower wind speeds and cable problems hit first-quarter earnings at Denmark's Orsted , sending shares in the world's biggest offshore wind farm developer lower on Thursday.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 4.9 billion Danish crowns ($799 million), missing analysts' consensus forecast of 5.2 billion crowns.However, Chief Executive Mads Nipper said the company's operational performance "was good during Q1 2021 and slightly exceeded our expectations".Nipper took the helm in January.
CNOOC to Trim 2020 Spending by Up To 15%
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will trim annual investment by 10% to 15% in 2020, while maintaining its goal of increasing domestic crude oil and natural gas production for the year, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.CNOOC Ltd, a listed arm of the national offshore energy producer, said during a media briefing in late March the firm will "significantly" cut capital expenditure.Oil and gas companies worldwide are reducing spending this year following a collapse in oil prices and plummeting fuel demand…
Indonesia Plans New Gas Pricing for Industrial Users
Indonesia plans to unveil a new gas pricing policy for industrial customers in March in a bid to lower energy costs for manufacturers, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said on Thursday.Indonesia's President Joko Widodo earlier this week asked his cabinet to come up with a strategy to lower gas prices for manufacturers to around $6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu).Manufacturers have been complaining about gas prices running at about $8-$9 per mmbtu, despite a 2016 rule that ordered energy companies to cut natural gas prices for some industries.The energy ministry is studying a so-called Domestic Market Obligation (DMO)…
Fire Erupts at Exxon's Baytown complex; 37 Hurt
Exxon Mobil Corp said it was fighting a fire that erupted on Wednesday at its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex injuring 37 people and sending nearby residents indoors.As many as 37 people were being treated for non-life threatening injuries amid efforts to put out the fire, according to Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin. Available air monitoring information showed "no adverse impact at this time," she said.More than three dozen people were treated for minor burns, none requiring hospitalization, said plant manager Jason Duncan in an afternoon media briefing.
Gabon Launches Offshore Exploration Round
Gabon plans to scrap a 35 percent corporate tax on energy companies as part of a revised hydrocarbons law and has launched a new offshore oil and gas exploration licensing round for 34 blocks, Oil Minister Pascal Ambouroue said on Wednesday.In March, Gabon, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said it planned to revise its hydrocarbons code, under which the state holds a minimum 20 percent stake in oil projects, in a bid to attract new investment."The purpose is to attract more and more investors…
US Downplays Impact on LNG Exports from China Trade Spat
Growing demand from other countries for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) means that the United States is not concerned about a decline in exports to China amid the trade dispute between the countries, a U.S. government official said on Monday.U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette downplayed China's lower imports of American LNG and other energy products following the imposition of tariffs on imports by both sides."I am not quite sure if it is going to have any impacts at least in the near term," he told reporters in Tokyo at a media briefing held by the U.S.
Iran Sanctions, Moderate Gasoline Prices Not Possible: Kemp
The White House can drive Iran’s oil exports to zero, or it can have moderate U.S. gasoline prices, but it probably cannot have both. The awkward tension between the administration’s foreign policy priority (tough Iran sanctions) and its electoral calculation (to keep gasoline prices low) explains its increasingly frequent comments about oil prices. President Donald Trump has already blamed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for the sharp rise in prices that has pushed the average cost of U.S. gasoline close to $3 per gallon. “Looks like OPEC is at it again,” the president wrote in a message on Twitter on April 20.
Fire Erupts at Schlumberger Facility in Angola
A fire has erupted at the facility used by U.S. oil services company Schlumberger at Angola's oil logistics hub in the capital Luanda, the chairman of state-run oil company Sonangol told a news briefing on Wednesday. Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services, is a bellwether for oilfield services and drilling. A source told Reuters that employees from oil majors BP and Total were also evacuated from the area. "There is a large fire at the Schlumberger facility in Sonils," Carlos Saturnino told the media briefing called to present the company's financial results and oil production.
Philippines, China to Explore for Oil & Gas Near Disputed Waters
The Philippines said on Thursday it was pursuing a long-delayed oil and gas exploration project with Chinese state-owned entity CNOOC Ltd and a Canada-listed company in an area near disputed waters in the South China Sea. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the Philippine government was also looking for a "win-win solution" with other South China Sea claimants, including China, to pave the way for oil and gas exploration within contested waters. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, while Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
Majors Exiting Oil Sands Acting in Own Interest -Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday dismissed a recent string of major oil companies selling their holdings in the heavy oil sands of Western Canada and moving investments to shale fields. Royal Dutch Shell and Marathon Oil this week disclosed sales of operations that largely removed both firms from the carbon-heavy oil reserves. Shell is selling its interests to Canadian Natural Resources. Last month, Exxon Mobil wrote down all of its oil reserves from its Kearl project in northern Alberta, saying extracting the oil was no longer economic at current prices. "Businesses will make the decisions they make," Trudeau said.
FLNG Production Bows out as US Exports Roil Market
Once considered the future of gas production, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) projects have been firmly relegated to the backburner as global gas producers seek cheaper ways to compete with a surge in U.S. shale supplies and slumping prices. FLNG projects - mega tankers fitted with gas extraction and liquefaction facilities - allow producers to tap offshore gas wells and ship LNG without having to build costly pipelines to onshore plants. Owners can move the vessels to new fields when production at an old one ends, slashing asset end-of-life costs.
Qatar's TX LNG Venture Looks to Export by 2021
Top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Qatar expects exports from its Golden Pass joint venture in Texas to begin in 2021, an advisor to the government said on Wednesday. Staterun Qatar Petroleum (QP) owns a 70 percent stake in an LNG receiving terminal in Texas that is backed by Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips. With prices down and competition increasing, Qatar is looking to diversify its energy business. Golden Pass is seeking U.S. government approval to repurpose the facility so that it can export 15.6 million tons of U.S. gas per year.
China Passes New Pollution Law, Will Cap Coal Consumption
Legislators have approved amendments to China's 15-year-old air pollution law that grant the state new powers to punish offenders and create a legal framework to cap coal consumption, the Asian giant's biggest source of smog. The draft amendments were passed by 154 votes to 4, with five abstentions, Zhong Xuequan, spokesman for the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, told a media briefing on Saturday. The ruling Communist Party has acknowledged the damage that decades of untrammelled economic growth have done to China's skies, rivers and soil.
Otto-Led Consortium to Drill in South China Sea
An Australian-Filipino consortium led by Otto Energy Ltd is set to drill a deep-water exploratory well in the South China Sea, a company director said on Monday, in the hope of discovering commercially viable oil reserves. Australia's Otto, operator of Service Contract 55 (SC55) with a 78.18 percent interest in the permit issued by the Philippines' Department of Energy, will start drilling operations sometime in July or August, Rufino Bomasang told Reuters. The Philippines' Armed Forces is assuring the security of the consortium…
Qatar Petroleum Lays Off Staff, Will Exit Non-Core Areas
Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned oil and gas giant, has completed a restructuring which involved laying off some foreign staff, although no Qatari employees were let go, chief executive Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said on Tuesday. The company has decided to exit all non-core businesses, Kaabi told a media briefing. He declined to say how many people were laid off. Qatar Petroleum develops and operates the energy industry in the world's biggest natural gas exporting country, including oil and gas fields, a refinery and industrial complexes. Reporting by Reem Shamseddine
S.Africa Spends to Lift Distressed Mining Towns
South Africa said on Thursday it had earmarked 2.1 billion rand($190 million) over the next three years to improve housing and living conditions in poor mining communities. The violent labor unrest that has shaken South Africa's mining industry, including a five-month platinum strike this year, has been blamed in part on the wretched social conditions found in overcrowded shantytowns around the shafts. Jeff Radebe, the planning minister in South Africa's presidency, told a media briefing that a government committee on distressed mining communities had identified 14 towns to focus on to improve housing.
Brightoil Eyes Upstream After Bohai Purchase
Hong Kong-listed oil trader Brightoil Petroleum Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday it expects its upstream business to be the key long-term growth driver for the group following its acquisition of oil blocks in China's Bohai Bay. Chief financial officer Danny Tan was speaking at a media briefing on the company's strategy. Brightoil, which is involved in oil trading and also owns tankers and storage facilities, announced in February that it had agreed to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp's stakes in two oil blocks in Bohai Bay off China's northeast coast for $1.08 billion in a major push into the upstream segment. Reporting by Charlie Zhu
