Chevron announces the first oil production at Ballymore Project in US Gulf
Chevron announced on Monday that it had begun oil and gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This brings the company closer to its goal of increasing production by 50% from the ocean basin this year. Ballymore is a $1.6 billion project located 160 miles south of New Orleans. It consists of three wells and is expected to yield up to 75,000 barrels equivalents per day (boepd). Chevron wants to increase oil and gas production in the Gulf region to 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2026. At the same time, the company is cutting costs up to $3 billion across its business. The company will not build a new platform to produce oil and gas for Ballymore.
Occidental Petroleum announces higher oil and gas prices in Q1
Occidental Petroleum, a U.S. shale company, said that the prices received by the firm for its oil and gas production in the first quarter of this year were higher than the previous three months. Benchmark Brent crude averaged $74.98 per barrel in the first quarter of 2018, up 1.3% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. Natural Gas prices increased 30% due to a higher demand because of a cold winter. Exxon Mobil, the industry leader, also said that higher oil and gasoline prices as well as stronger refining margins will help boost its earnings by approximately $900 million.
Sources say Vitol will post a net profit of $8 to $8.5 billion in 2024.
Two industry sources said that Vitol was the world's largest energy trader in 2024. This is a significant drop from its record-breaking profits of 2022 and 203, but it still outperformed rivals by an enormous margin, despite lower volatility. The energy traders made record profits between 2022 and 2023, as the market recovered from the pandemic. They also faced shortages of gas following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Vitol has declined to comment. Vitol has made $45 billion over the past five years, a figure that was previously unimaginable to oil traders.
Shell reduces its first-quarter LNG Production Outlook
Shell has lowered its outlook for first-quarter LNG production in a trading report on Monday. It cited the impact of bad Australian weather, before publishing results on May 2nd. The British company forecasted that the LNG production would be between 6.4 and 6.8 millions metric tons. This is a decrease from its previous forecasts of 6.6 to 7.2 tons. In the fourth quarter last year, it produced 7.1 millions tons of LNG. The company stated that the downward revision was due to cyclones in Australia and unplanned maintenance. It added that the trading results of its gas division are expected be similar to the previous quarter.
Nigeria namess ex-Shell executive as head of state oil company NNPC
The Nigerian presidency announced on Wednesday that Bola Ahmed Tinubu had appointed Bayo Ojulari as head of the state-owned oil company NNPC Ltd. This is in response to the country's desire to increase oil production and revitalize its refinery capacity. Tinubu, who in his first year as president devalued the naira twice and ended costly subsidies, has now shifted his attention to overhauling state oil company to maximize its contribution to revenue. In a press release, Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesperson, said that Mele Kyari is replaced by Ojulari, and this appointment takes effect immediately.
Rubio: An attack on Exxon or Guyana would be a 'bad day for Venezuela'
Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state during a Thursday visit to Guyana’s capital, said that it would be "a bad day" if Venezuela attacked its neighbor Guyana and the U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil. Guyana and Venezuela have been locked in a longstanding dispute over which country holds the rights to the area of Esequibo, spanning 160,000 square kilometers (62,000 square miles), which is currently the subject of a case before the International Court of Justice. Washington has offered military assistance to Venezuela, a tiny South American nation, amid the territorial dispute as well as increasing U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela. In a post on social media posted early Thursday, the U.S.
China CNOOC 2024's net profit increases 11% on record production
CNOOC Ltd., a state-owned energy company in China, posted an increase of 11.4% on a record production in 2024 despite lower oil prices. The firm is continuing to focus on increasing its reserves and production. In a filing on Thursday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, offshore oil and natural gas specialist reported net profit of 18.99 billion dollars. Sinopec Corp, a domestic rival, reported a 16.8% drop in net income to 50.3 billion yuan. CNOOC achieved its high-end target by increasing oil and gas production 7.2%, to 726.8 millions barrels of oil equal (boe). The company's total production costs have remained low, at $28.52 per boe. This is compared to $28.83 by 2023.
Sources say that Elliott met with BP investors in order to discuss further changes.
Two shareholders have confirmed that Elliott Management, an activist investor in BP, has met with several of the company's largest shareholders to form a consensus on more changes. These could include cost reductions and a possible leadership reshuffle. BP's stock has performed worse than rivals Shell, Exxon and Shell in the past five years. Investors have blamed this in part on 2020 plan of the company to focus on its renewable business and cut oil and gas production. After watering down this plan, BP accelerated the pivot back to hydrocarbons with a new strategy last month. Elliott and the two shareholders who attended separate meetings said they both wanted deeper changes.
Follow This, a BP activist investor, urges voting against Chair Lund on energy transition
BP activist investor Follow This intends to ask shareholders at the 17th April shareholder meeting to vote against Helge Lund being reappointed, claiming he had a duty to give investors a voice on the scrapping of energy transition targets. In a February strategy overhaul, CEO Murray Auchincloss announced that BP would cut spending on renewables while increasing investment in oil and natural gas. This was a revamp of the 2020 strategy, which had predicted a 40% reduction in its oil and natural gas output by 2030. The main criticism of Follow This is that the shareholders haven't been given a chance to vote directly on the new strategic direction.
BP CEO: It's time to increase U.S. production of gas
HOUSTON, 11 March - BP will increase U.S. Natural Gas production in its onshore shale operation following the recent rise of domestic gas prices. CEO Murray Auchincloss announced this on Tuesday. Auchincloss said at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston that "with rising gas prices, it is time for the Haynesville basin" in eastern Texas. As new LNG export terminals on the Gulf Coast ramped-up, the benchmark U.S. Natural Gas prices more than doubled in the last year to $4.4 per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu). BP's onshore U.S. shale operation produced 434,000 barrels equivalents per day last year.
UAE's ADNOC CEO pledges US gas investment
ADNOC's international investment arm will begin investing in U.S. Natural Gas in the next few months, according to ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber. The UAE is a part of OPEC+ and is one of the top oil producers in the world. ADNOC’s wholly owned international investment arm XRG, which has assets of about $80 billion, reported last week that the UAE is considering options for a XRG IPO. He told the largest gathering of energy executives ever held in Houston that "it is time to make the energy industry great again." This was a nod to the slogan Make America Great Again of U.S. president Donald Trump. He said that XRG will be investing a lot in the United States over the next few months.
UAE's ADNOC CEO pledges US gas investment
ADNOC's investment arm will begin investing in U.S. Natural Gas in the next few months, according to ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber. The UAE is a part of OPEC+ and one of world's largest oil producers. ADNOC’s fully-owned investment unit XRG, which has assets worth about $80 billion, reported last week that the UAE is considering options for a XRG IPO. He told the largest gathering of energy executives ever held in Houston that "it is time to make the energy industry great again." This was a nod to the slogan Make America Great Again of U.S. president Donald Trump. He said that XRG will be investing a lot in the United States over the next few months.
Aramco CEO: More likely Elvis will speak than energy transition plans to succeed
Saudi Aramco's CEO said Monday that policymakers and energy executives should rethink their energy transition plans. They must stop investing in elements of the energy transition which have failed and instead rethink the entire energy transition. The remarks from the head the world's biggest oil company comes as the administration under President Donald Trump pushes for maximum oil and gas production. This is a dramatic U turn in U.S. Energy Policy after former President Joe Biden passed legislation to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.
Guyana's tax agency will begin dispute resolution with Exxon regarding expenses
The Natural Resources Ministry of Guyana has instructed the country's Tax Agency to start a dispute resolution process with Exxon Mobil regarding the recovery from the U.S. Oil Major, about $214 million worth of expenses. Exxon's expenses as part of operations on the Stabroek block offshore are closely watched because a consortium headed by the U.S. giant can export up to 75 percent of the crude oil it produces under the name "cost oil", whereas Guyana is entitled to the other half. The government followed the mechanisms in the contract that were included to have expenses audited and verified by an external consultant firm.
Sakhalin LNG and oil production to decline in 2024
According to the local administration, production of LNG, oil and gas on Sakhalin, a Russian Pacific island, will decline in 2024. According to the administration's figures, production of LNG from Sakhalin Energy, a project led by Kremlin controlled Gazprom in Russia, decreased by around 2 percent to 10,2 million metric ton, or about a third of Russia’s total. The administration said that the oil and gas production at Sakhalin-1 project has fallen by 9.8% since 2023 without providing any figures. Gazprom is the largest shareholder in Sakhalin Energy, located at the southern tip Sakhalin. Mitsui (12.5%), and Mitsubishi (10%) are also shareholders.
BP changes course by increasing fossil fuel investments while cutting back on renewable energy
BP announced on Wednesday that it would increase its annual oil and natural gas investment by $10 billion. This will return the focus to fossil-fuels as part of Murray Auchincloss’ efforts to improve financial performance and boost returns. The oil giant has slashed its planned annual investment into transition businesses by over $5 billion compared to the previous forecast. It now expects to invest between $1.5 and $2 billion annually. "We will increase upstream production and investment to enable us to continue producing high-margin energy for many years.
BP abandons renewables targets and returns focus to fossil fuels
BP's CEO will abandon a goal to double renewable energy generation by 2030 and return the focus to fossil energies as part of a new strategy announced on Wednesday in response to investor concerns about earnings. BP shares have been underperforming their rivals over the past few years, and it has already abandoned its goal to reduce oil and gas production by 2030. Two sources familiar with the situation said that on Wednesday, at BP's capital markets day, Murray Auchincloss would tell investors that the company has abandoned its goal to increase renewable generation capacity by 20 times between 2019 and 2030, to 50 gigawatts.
Trump creates Energy Council to promote US oil and gas
The administration of President Donald Trump announced on Friday that it had granted a licence to Commonwealth LNG for the export of liquefied gas in Louisiana. This is the first time since former president Joe Biden stopped exports at the beginning of last year. Exports to Asia and Europe are approved. Trump signed an executive directive in the Oval Office Friday, creating a new Energy Council to be headed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The council will work to increase U.S. oil and gas production. The U.S. already ranks as the largest fossil fuel producer in the world.
US Energy Secretary criticizes net-zero policy in new order
According to a Wednesday order by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the U.S. Department of Energy prioritizes expanding energy production above achieving net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. The secretarial orders are meant to align the Department with President Donald Trump's priorities. Trump has called climate changes a hoax, and has pledged to maximize oil and gas production which is already at record levels. According to the order, "Net-zero policy raises energy costs for American households and businesses. It said that the Department would "go…
Equinor Q4 profit beats forecast, raises 2030 oil output target
Equinor reported slightly higher profits than expected for the final quarter in 2024. It also increased its oil and natural gas production forecast, and scaled back plans to expand renewable energy capacity. Equinor's poll of 24 analysts predicted that the Norwegian oil and gas company would earn $7.90 billion in adjusted earnings for October-December, down from $8.56 million a year ago. Equinor released a statement that said "the expected (oil-and-gas) production in 2030 is around 2.2 millions barrels of oil equal per day. It said that the company has reduced its target for renewable energy in 2030 from 12-16 gigawatts to between 10-12 gigawatts.
