Putin wants BRICS to play a greater role in the global energy dialogue
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin called for a greater role for the BRICS group on global energy markets. Russia is looking for ways to counter Western influences. The Energy Week International Forum will be held in Russia this week. It is also expected to host a meeting between the energy ministers of the BRICS countries. In a letter addressed to participants and guests of the forum, Putin stated that it was "obvious" that cooperation in the energy industry would serve to improve the quality of life for people, strengthen national economies and solve social problems.
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…
US-China Cold War Would Redirect Energy Flows
Worsening diplomatic relations between the United States and China are putting a spotlight on their economic inter-dependency in the context of global supply chains for both technology and energy.Top policymakers in the United States and some of its closest allies, including Australia and Britain, have recently hardened the language in which they describe relations with China.China has been labelled a “strategic competitor” for some time but the country is increasingly described as a “strategic adversary” implying a more confrontational relationship.Complaints about unfair trade practices…
JOG Leads Study for Wider Greater Buchan Area Development
UK-Focused oil firm Jersey Oil & Gas will lead the study aimed at forming a hub to potentially develop oil discoveries made by several operators in the Greater Buchan Area in the UK North Sea.JOG said Monday has established and will lead the Greater Buchan Area Joint Integrated Studies Agreement between neighboring field operators, to undertake and complete technical and commercial evaluation studies for collaborative development of the wider Greater Buchan Area, which contains discovered oil and gas resources in excess of 200 million barrels of oil equivalent ("boe").The discoveries include Buchan…
Alaska's North Slope Holds 3.6 Bn Barrels Oil
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) department estimated that Alaska's Central North Slope 3.6 billion barrels of oil. Assessment also included estimate for 8.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.This assessment does not include discoveries made by industry between 2013 and 2017.“Alaska is synonymous with energy, and this assessment just reinforces that,” said USGS Director Jim Reilly. “The State of Alaska and its industry partners have responsibly produced billions of barrels of oil from Prudhoe Bay, and we think there are still billions…
Exxon to Load First Crude from Guyana This Weekend
The first-ever cargo of Guyana's crude for export is scheduled to begin loading this weekend so the oil can be processed at Exxon Mobil's refining system, the company told Reuters on Friday.Exxon has so far made 15 discoveries of oil reserves in Guyana, turning a risky exploration venture into one of the world's most promising oil mega-projects. The company is entitled to the first two crude cargoes to be exported from the Liza field, which it shares with U.S.-based Hess Corp and China's CNOOC.The Exxon-led consortium has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources off Guyana's coast…
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…
Guyana Seeking Oil Buyers
Guyana has invited companies interested in purchasing the first three deliveries of the government's share of the country's looming oil production to present bids this week, the government said in a statement on Sunday.The government will later seek proposals from companies interested in a longer-term contract to market Guyanese crude, the statement said.U.S. oil companies Exxon Mobil and Hess Corp – part of a consortium that has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources off the South American country's coast – plan to begin exporting crude in January and February.Guyana has no history of oil production…
Oil Is Our Gold and We Aim to Use All of It -ADNOC
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co aims to exhaust its vast oil and gas reserves even as many consumers switch to cleaner sources of energy, a senior executive in the Gulf oil company said.The world's transition away from fossil fuel in an effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions is expected to accelerate in coming decades, leaving many oil companies and producing nations pondering their long-term future.But for state-run ADNOC, the main oil-producing company in the United Arab Emirates, which supplies nearly 3% of global oil demand, crude is set to remain the revenue backbone…
Huge Opportunities in Norwegian Shelf
Even after more than 50 years, the Norwegian shelf still holds vast opportunities, says Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).According to NPD's 2019 resource report on fields and discoveries, more than half of the estimated remaining resources on the Norwegian shelf have already been discovered. 85 per cent are located in the fields and 15 per cent are located in discoveries that are being considered for development.There is also a potential that even more proven oil and gas could become profitable to produce by applying new technology and knowledge…
Schlumberger, WesternGeco to Provide E&P Data
WesternGeco, the seismic and geophysical data solutions division of Schlumberger, has entered a strategic collaboration with IHS Markit, a global provider of information, analytics, and solutions.The collaboration will bring together data, technology, and expertise from two of the industry’s leading sources of exploration and production (E&P) information and make it available through the GAIA digital subsurface platform.WesternGeco launched the GAIA platform to accelerate data discovery, screening and ranking of their clients’ exploration opportunities by providing access to all relevant and licensed data.
China, Philippines: 'Bigger Step' Possible Offshore
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and the Philippines could take a "bigger step" in the joint development of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea if they can "properly" handle their dispute over sovereignty.Xi made the remarks on Thursday in a meeting in Beijing with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has positioned himself as a friend of Beijing but has come under growing pressure at home to push back against China's maritime assertiveness.The visit comes amid a recent rise in tension on multiple fronts, with Chinese vessels challenging energy assets and sea boundaries of Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, prompting the United States to
NPD Report on High North Offshore
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Norwegian government agency responsible for the regulation of the petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf, has presented a report on petroleum activity in the High North at the Barents Sea conference.The report titled "Petroleum activity in the High North" aims to place petroleum activity in the High North into a technological, historical and international context, showing how exploration and production of oil and gas take place under “demanding marine conditions.”The report shows how exploration and large-scale oil and gas production take place under demanding marine conditions in both the US…
Norway's Snow Crab Ruling Boosts Oil Claim
A court delivered a painful nip to European Union fishermen on Thursday by tightening Norway's grip on snow crab catches in the Arctic, a ruling that may also let Oslo claw more control of oil and gas from other nations.Fishermen from the European Union must ask permission from Oslo to catch snow crab — whose meat is a delicacy for gourmets from Canada to Japan — in Arctic waters north of Norway, the Norwegian Supreme Court said in a unanimous ruling.The court dismissed an appeal by a Latvian fishing firm and its Russian captain against…
Aker BP Raises Dividend, Q4 Profit Lags
Norwegian oil company Aker BP posted a smaller-than-expected increase in fourth-quarter earnings due to higher production costs and lower oil prices, but raised its dividend.The company said on Wednesday earnings before interest and taxes rose to $403 million from $305 million in the same quarter a year earlier, lagging the $491 million expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.The Oslo-listed firm's shares opened down 2 percent, lagging a 0.5 percent fall in the European oil and gas index."Revenues were impacted by low oil prices at the end of the quarter…
Equinor Gets Extension for Norne FPSO
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted consent to Equinor for the extension of production on Norne FPSO with associated facilities for the Norne, Urd and Skuld fields in the Norwegian Sea.Lifetime extension granted for FPSO is for four years to March 2026, as the operator eyes additional 132m barrels from Norwegian Sea field.In its application for extension, operator Equinor has described an improved drainage strategy for the Norne field and the nearby Urd and Skuld fields.The Norne, Urd, Skuld, Alve and Marulk fields are tied in to the Norne ship.
Norway Supreme Court Hears Snow Crab Case with Implication for Oil
Norway's Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Tuesday on whether EU ships can fish for snow crab off Arctic islands north of Norway without permission from Oslo, a case that could decide who has the right to explore for oil in the region.At stake is whether the snow crab - whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South Korea - is a sedentary species living on the seabed or a fish stock that moves around - and who gets to decide about it.If it is seen as a sedentary species, then it is a resource belonging to the continental shelf of Norway.
Norway Ready to Claim Share of Russia's Arctic Finds
Norway will step up preparations to claim its share of oil and gas resources if Russia finds petroleum on its side of a border in the Barents Sea, the head of Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Thursday.Norway and Russia in 2010 agreed a maritime border in the Barents Sea, ending a 40-year long dispute, and also agreed to share oil and gas resources spanning that border.Russia has allowed oil and gas exploration all along the border, including in the Arctic where it has already awarded exploration rights to Rosneft and Italy's Eni.Norway currently only allows oil firms to explore in the southern part of the Barents Sea.
Petronas, Vitol Asia Pact for LNG Supply Deal
Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) through its subsidiary, Petronas LNG Ltd (PLL) and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd (Vitol) announced the signing of binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase (SPA) agreement.Under the terms of the agreement signed on 1 October 2018, the LNG supply to Vitol commencing in 2024 will be approximately up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum for a period of up to 15 years on both Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) and Free on Board (FOB) basis, said a press release from the global energy and commodity trading company…
Total Launches $16 Bln Project Offshore Angola
Africa's second largest crude producer Angola and France's Total officially inaugurated a new deep-sea oil field worth $16 billion in the Atlantic approximately 260 kilometers from the capital Luanda.The Angolan State Minister for Economic and Social Development, Manuel Nunes Junior, the Chairman and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Carlos Saturnino, inaugurated the Kaombo project, which came on stream in July and is located in Block 32, in waters of about 2,000 meters.During the ceremony…