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.
Senate confirms Chris Wright, a fracking executive, as Trump's Energy Secretary
The U.S. Senate confirmed Chris Wright as President Donald Trump's Energy Secretary on Monday. Wright is a fracking executive. Seven Democrats and an Independent who caucuses alongside Democrats crossed the aisle. Wright, 60 years old, has been the CEO of Liberty Energy, since 2011. He announced that he would step down as soon as the confirmation was received. In a Liberty Energy report published last year, he wrote that he believed climate change caused by humans is real but its dangers are "distant" and "uncertain." He also stated that government policies to combat climate change are doomed to failure. Wright will oversee an agency with a budget of around $50 billion.
Petrobras Q4 total production down 10.5%; sales and exports are also down
Petrobras, the state-owned oil company in Brazil, reported a 10.5% drop in its fourth-quarter total oil and gas production compared to a year ago. Sales and exports were also down. Petrobras, Latin America’s largest oil company, reported a total oil and natural gas production of 2,63 million barrels equivalents per day (boed), for the three months ending in December. Total sales of oil and gas, as well as derivatives, were down around 8% compared to a year ago, with 2.83 million barrels a day (bpd). In the same time period, oil production by the firm in Brazil dropped 11.5% to 2,09 bpd. Petrobras announced last month that production in 2024 would be around 2,7 million boed.
Infinity Natural, backed by Pearl Energy, valued at $1.3 Billion as shares soar in NYSE debut
Infinity Natural Resources, a company owned by private equity, was valued at $1.3 billion after its shares rose 10.8% on their New York Stock Exchange debut on Friday. Morgantown, West Virginia based company opened its stock at $22.16, over the $20 per share offer price. Infinity, supported by Pearl Energy Investments, NGP and other buyout firms, sold 13,25 million shares between $18 and $21 in order to raise $265 millions. The listing coincides with a Trump administration that is more pro-fossil fuels, and a constant stream of energy IPOs. Last week, President Donald Trump declared an energy emergency in the United States to increase oil and gas production.
Big Oil is not rushing to "drill, baby drill" this year despite Trump's agenda
Wall Street believes that U.S. energy companies will keep spending under control in 2025, and focus on shareholder returns despite President Donald Trump's calls to "drill baby, drill". This week, Big Oil will report its fourth-quarter results. The outlook for the next year should reflect Trump's agenda to maximize oil and gas production and the expectations of investors. In recent years, the industry has been pushing to reduce costs and increase output by using more efficient technologies rather than drilling new wells. As the global oil market continues to decline…
Japan's JERA plans on expanding US LNG purchases in order to diversify the energy supply
JERA, Japan's largest LNG buyer, is planning to increase its purchases from the United States in order to diversify their supply and meet the demand growth spurred on by data centres and AI. U.S. president Donald Trump promised to unleash the U.S. industry of energy to boost production and threatened the EU if it did not purchase more gas. This could mean that JERA would have to compete against other buyers to get more U.S. natural gas. Japan's largest utility, which handles between 30-35 millions metric tons of LNG per year, sources almost half of it from Asia Pacific, including Australia and Malaysia. This is a very high exposure.
Senate Committee moves Trump's energy & interior nominees to the floor
The U.S. Senate Energy Committee approved Donald Trump's nominees for the U.S. Department of Interior and Energy. The U.S. Senate energy committee approved President Donald Trump's picks to lead the United States on Thursday.The panel approved former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as the U.S. Department of Interior's new director and for a national council on energy to be formed to increase oil and gas production.The committee also approved Chris Wright, Energy Department's choice and CEO of oilfield service company Liberty Energy.Next, the full Senate will consider the nominations. The Senate is currently controlled by Trump’s Republican Party.
Mistry: Malaysian palm oil will trade at around 4,000 Ringgit/T by 2025
Analyst Dorab Mistry predicted that Malaysian palm oils will trade at around 4,000 Malaysian Ringgit per metric tonne in 2025. However, there was a short rise to 4,800 Ringgit in February due to stiff competition from soybean oil. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract, FCPOc3, for April delivery, on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange had lost 64 ringgit or 1.52% to 4,144 Ringgit ($933.02), a metric tonne. Mistry had earlier predicted that Malaysian palm oil would trade at or above 5,000 ringgit by June 2025. In a presentation on Thursday at an industry conference…
Trump's nominee for Interior Department says that boosting energy is key to US security
Doug Burgum, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Interior Department said on Thursday that he would vigorously pursue President-elect Trump's goals to maximize energy production from U.S. Public Lands and Waters, calling it a key to national security. Burgum's remarks to lawmakers at his nomination hearing indicate a sharp change in policy. For years, President Joe Biden tried to limit oil-and-gas drilling by reducing federal leasing auctions and prohibiting future development in certain offshore waters in order to combat climate change. "America produces cleaner…
Norway awards 53 stakes to the latest offshore oil and gas exploration round
Norway's Energy Minister said that in the annual licensing round held on Tuesday, 20 companies received stakes in 53 offshore exploration licenses for oil and gas. The number of licences awarded annually has decreased from 62 in 2023, while the number oil and gas companies receiving permits has declined from 24 one year earlier. Norway's plan to extend oil and gas production in the coming decades is based on the annual predefined area (APA) rounds. This policy, however, is strongly opposed by environmentalist groups. Extinction Rebellion and Grandparents for Climate…
Next week, a US Senate panel will hold hearings about Trump's energy choices
Mike Lee, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, announced on Thursday that nomination hearings will be held for Donald Trump's nominees to energy positions on Tuesday and/or Wednesday next week. On Tuesday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m. (14:00 GMT), the committee will hear Doug Burgum's nomination to be Secretary of Interior. Burgum served as the governor of North Dakota until last month, an oil-producing state. Burgum will also be expected to lead a National Energy Council that coordinates policies to increase U.S. production of energy. A day later, at the same time, the committee will conduct an hearing for Chris Wright. He is the nominee for Energy Secretary.
Next week, a US Senate panel will hold hearings about Trump's energy choices
Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee, Michael McCormack, announced on Thursday that nomination hearings will be held for Donald Trump's nominees to energy positions on Tuesday and/or Wednesday next week. On Tuesday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m. (14:00 GMT), the committee will hear Doug Burgum's nomination to be Secretary of Interior. Burgum served as the governor of North Dakota until last month, an oil-producing state. Burgum will also be expected to lead a National Energy Council that coordinates policies to increase U.S. production of energy. A day later, at the same time, the committee will conduct an hearing for Chris Wright. He is the nominee for Energy Secretary.
Shell downplays Namibia's oil discovery as a blow to the country
Shell has written down $400 million in oil discoveries offshore Namibia, which it considered commercially unviable. This is a major blow to Namibia's attempts to become a crude-producing country. Shell, its partners QatarEnergy, and Namibia's National Oil Company discovered hydrocarbons in block PEL39 2022. This discovery along with a second TotalEnergies in a block nearby sparked colossal global interest in this southern African nation that has no oil or gas production. Shell has drilled nine wells on the license in the last three years. In a different licence offshore. The British company faced technical and geological problems in developing the resources.
India's ONGC partners with BP to increase production at its largest oil field
India's leading explorer Oil And Natural Gas Corp said on Wednesday that energy giant BP would act as a technical service provider in order to boost oil and natural gas production from the largest producing field of India, located off India's West Coast. BP has pledged an increase in oil and gas production from the Mumbai High Field, discovered in 1974. ONGC announced this in a filing to the stock exchange. According to the tender document published last year, the field's production peaked at 471,000 barrels of oil per day in March 1985. By April 2024 its output was down to 134,000 bpd.
Norway's oil and gas production fell in November but exceeded forecast
Norwegian Offshore Directorate said Friday that although the combined oil and natural gas production in Norway decreased from November of last year, it was still 2,6% higher than the official forecast. Norway is Europe's biggest supplier of natural gases and oil. However, output can vary from month to months depending on maintenance and other stops at over 90 offshore fields. The total oil, gas liquids, natural condensate and gas production stood at 0.674 standard cubic metres each day. This is equivalent to 4,24 million barrels equivalent oil. The regulator reported on its website that natural gas production fell in November to 360 million cubic meters (mcm) a day…
Shell submits offshore drilling plan for Suriname to environmental approval
BG International, a Shell unit operating in Suriname plans to submit a proposal to the country's environment agency to drill up to four explorations wells offshore Block 65. This was revealed by a document from the company on Tuesday. Suriname has begun its journey to offshore oil and gas production. An $10.5 billion project between TotalEnergies APA Corp. was approved earlier this year with a goal of starting production in 2028. BG International, Qatar Energy and the state energy company Staatsolie won the rights to explore this area. The bidding…
Chevron will take on up to $1.5 Billion in charges for the fourth quarter
Chevron, the U.S. oil company, announced Thursday that it would take charges of up to $1.5billion in the fourth quarter for restructuring costs, asset impairments and sales costs. The company stated in a press release that the majority of the charges were for job reductions and relocations scheduled for the next two-years. Chevron has not disclosed how many of its 45,000 employees will lose their jobs. Cost cutting and asset sales are part of a yearlong profit decline that forced the company to borrow money to pay dividends. The No. The No. Oil companies are turning to acquisitions in order to boost reserves and production, which requires less spending on new fields.
Russia's Oil Tsar: Trump's actions to defend US Producers are 'fitting.'
Igor Sechin is the president of Rosneft - Russia's biggest oil producer. He said on Saturday that he agreed with Donald Trump's plans to protect domestic energy producers. He said at a Qatar conference that Trump's election campaign promises included "fitting" measures to protect domestic energy producers, the market, and other economic factors. Some Russians are cautiously optimistic about Trump's return on Jan. 20, while others believe that another U.S. President will not make much of a difference. Under the Joe Biden Administration, Russia's relations with the United States plummeted to a post Cold War low on a number issues, including conflict in Ukraine.
