After historic oil vote, little progress in Ecuador's Amazon
In the Amazon, on August 20, 2023, almost 60% of the population voted to keep crude oil in the ground. Environmentalists and Indigenous Communities hailed the referendum as a historic victory for protecting one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet and a rare instance of the shift away from fossil fuel based economies. The Amazon rainforest is vital in slowing climate change because it absorbs huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The state oil company…
Libyan oilfields shut down in dispute over central bank
Two field engineers reported that the Sarir oilfield had almost completely stopped production on Wednesday, due to a dispute between the government and the central bank over oil revenues. The authorities in the east of Libya, where the majority of oilfields are located, announced on Monday that production and exports will be stopped. The engineers stated that Sarir produced about 209,000 barrels of oil per day before production was reduced. The 300…
Libya's east-based government will close all oilfields
The Libyan government in the east said Monday that all oilfields were closing, stopping production and exports. However, Tripoli's National Oil Corp., which controls Libya's oil resources, did not confirm this. Libyan factions have been locked in a struggle for control over the central bank and its oil revenues. Khalifa haftar, the eastern Libyan military commander, controls most of the oilfields in Benghazi. Libya, the largest oil producer in the Mediterranean region, has experienced little stability since an uprising supported by NATO in 2011.
Russian Oil Revenues Falling Because of Price Cap -US Official
Russian oil revenues are falling due to the price cap that Western countries imposed on its crude oil shipments and, ahead of further caps on Russia's oil products, Europe is well positioned to manage any price pressures, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday.The Group of Seven countries, Australia and the European Union will extend sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine by putting a price cap on its oil products, such as gasoline and diesel, on Feb.
Mexico's Pemex to Receive $313 mln in Hedge Payouts
Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) expects this year to receive some $313 million from oil and financial firms involved in its annual oil hedging program, Chief Executive Octavio Romero said on Wednesday.Pemex's hedge, which this year covers about a quarter of its gross exports volume, protects the company from price variations and helps it to cover production costs.A larger hedging program contracted by the government secures the oil revenues needed for the federal budget.Pemex is "partially" covered by its hedging program…
Libyan Oil Revenues Fall to Zero as Ports Blocked
Libya's vital oil revenues fell to zero in January, the central bank said on Monday, after forces and tribesmen allied to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar blocked major oil ports.Haftar is embroiled in a conflict with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and has been trying to seize the capital by force since April.Tribesmen and forces loyal to him closed all eastern ports and major fields last month in a power play, part of chaos…
NOC Condemns Calls for Oil Export Terminals to be Shut
Libya's state oil firm NOC on Friday condemned calls to shut oil export terminals in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a summit in Germany where he will face pressure to halt his campaign to take the capital.Tribal leaders in eastern and southern Libya called on Thursday to shut the terminals in protest at what they called the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli's use of oil revenues to pay for foreign…
Venezuela Alters Oil Royalty Formulas, Driven by IMO 2020
Venezuela has changed the formulas for calculating royalties energy companies pay the government to remove references to fuel oil and some crude grades, driven by stricter rules governing marine fuel emissions, according to a document seen by Reuters.A ban by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on the use of fuels with a sulfur content above 0.5%, aimed at reducing pollution, has roiled oil markets…
Drilling Ban Proposals Divide Democrats
In the southeast corner of New Mexico, new houses, hotels and jobs are sprouting like flowers in the desert. Trucks hauling equipment and laborers jam once-barren highways on the way to thousands of oil rigs.The Democrats who control the state's government have lofty plans for the billions of dollars in projected tax revenues from the drilling industry in the Permian Basin, the world’s biggest oil field, starting with an overhaul of New Mexico's ailing public education system.
Foreign Oil Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
Gunman kidnapped two foreign workers from an oil rig in Nigeria's Delta region on Saturday, the military said - the second abduction there in less than a week.The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the spokesman for the area's military operations, Major Ibrahim Abubakar, said.Troops were searching surrounding swamps, he added.The Niger Delta produces the bulk of Nigeria's crude.
BP Invests $6 Bln in Offshore Azerbaijan Project
The British multinational oil and gas company BP and its partners will lead a $6 billion development of the giant Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil-field complex offshore Azerbaijan.The supermajor said that the Azeri Central East (ACE) project includes a new offshore platform and facilities designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to achieve first production in 2023 and produce up to 300 million barrels over its lifetime.
CITGO Formally Cuts Ties with PDVSA
U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is formally cutting ties with its parent, state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to meet U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday.Executives at the Houston-based firm set a Feb. 26 deadline to end relationships with PDVSA following sanctions designed to curb oil revenues to socialist President Nicolas Maduro and support the nation's transition government formed by Venezuelan congress head Juan Guaido.The United States…
Saudi Energy Minister Goes to OPEC with a Weak Hand: Kemp
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, must play a bad hand of cards as well as he can at next week’s meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers in Vienna.Falih’s challenge is to get other countries on board with output cuts to avert another crash in oil prices next year while disguising the kingdom’s diminishing leverage in the oil market.Front-month Brent futures have fallen by a third since the start of October while the six-month calendar spread is in contango…
Key Oil Export Terminals Reopen in Libya
Tripoli-based National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Wednesday four export terminals were being reopened after eastern factions handed over the ports, ending a standoff that had shut down most of Libya's oil output.Production and export operations would be restored "within the next few hours", an NOC statement said, although the restart at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, where workers were evacuated and storage tanks damaged in fighting last month, was expected to be gradual.A tanker at Hariga was due to start loading 1 million barrels of crude on Wednesday afternoon…
Bahrain Launches $1 bln Energy Fund
Bahrain's government has launched an energy fund that aims to raise $1 billion from local, regional and international investors to develop the kingdom's energy assets, Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa said on Thursday.The Bahrain Energy Fund will receive its initial capital from local entities including Nogaholding, the investment arm of Bahrain's National Oil and Gas Authority, as well as from investment banks Osool and SICO, according to the minister's statement.It will invest in a range of energy projects across the downstream, mid-
Rising Oil Prices Herald Next Phase in Cycle
Oil prices are now in the top half of the cycle, with benchmark Brent on Thursday trading above $80 per barrel for the first time since November 2014.In real terms, prices averaged $75 per barrel over the course of the last full cycle, which lasted from December 1998 to January 2016.The recent rise in prices sends a strong signal about the need for more production and slower growth in oil consumption.In the next few months, the narrative will increasingly…
PDVSA Sued in US Court over Nonpayment
Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA is being sued for more than $25 million in a U.S. court over non-payment of notes issued for work performed by Canadian energy contractor SNC-Lavalin, according a court filing.The suit, filed in a district court in Manhattan, is the latest in a recent series of court actions seeking to press the cash-strapped oil firm for payment, with actions in recent days by ConocoPhillips and Rusoro. PDVSA's declining oil revenues have thrown Venezuela into severe recession.
Iran's Rouhani Hints at Threat to Neighbors' Exports
President Hassan Rouhani appeared on Tuesday to threaten to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries if Washington presses ahead with its goal of forcing all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. The comments, published on Iran's presidential website on Tuesday and partially repeated at a later news conference in Switzerland, could be open to interpretation. However, when asked whether he intended to make a threat, Rouhani declined to provide a clarification.
Saudi Arabia, Russia Reach Compromise on Oil Pact: Kemp
Ministers from OPEC and their allies have agreed to extend their production pact all the way to the end of 2018 but with a review in June that will take into account market conditions and progress towards rebalancing. The outcome represents a successful compromise between de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia (which wanted to announce an extension throughout 2018) and non-OPEC heavyweight Russia (which wanted to avoid giving such a long commitment).
Peak Oil Demand and its Implications for Prices: Kemp
Even if oil consumption reaches a peak and then starts to fall, the world will still need large quantities of oil for many decades to come. The prediction is contained in a thoughtful paper co-authored by Spencer Dale, chief economist of BP, and Bassam Fattouh, director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. "Global oil demand is likely to continue growing for a period, driven by rising prosperity in fast-growing developing economies," they wrote in a paper published on Monday.
