Cenovus, a Canadian company, beats its fourth-quarter profit expectations and begins redevelopment at the former MEG site
Cenovus Energy announced on Thursday that it has begun drilling new oil wells at its Christina Lake Oil Sands site in 'northern Alberta,' formerly owned MEG Energy. The plan will increase the company’s production this year as well as by 2027. The Canadian oil sands company, which exceeded market expectations for adjusted profits in the fourth quarter on Thursday, bought smaller MEG Energy after a bitter battle with Strathcona Resource.
What is the current status of international oil companies operating in Venezuela?
Here are some key facts about the international oil companies operating in Venezuela. The country has vast oil reserves, but a dilapidated infrastructure. In the early 2000s, the then-President?Hugo Chavez took assets from foreign oil companies to strengthen the control of the state-owned PDVSA over the oilfields in Venezuela. The United States, after capturing Nicolas Maduro as President in January, eased sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector this month.
Libyan traders bring in Western traders to counter Russian fuel flow
Three trading sources have confirmed that global oil traders and firms including Vitol Trafigura, and TotalEnergies won the tenders for supplying gasoline and diesel to Libya. The country is allowing large Western companies a broader access and reducing its imports of Russian petrol. Libya has been overhauling its oil industry for 15 years, following the fall of Muammar Gadhafi. It produces 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day…
Maurel & Prom, a Venezuelan oil firm, says that teams are fully mobilised after the US issued key authorization.
Maurel & Prom has a team in Venezuela that is fully mobilised, and'ready for the next stages of development', said its chief executive on Thursday. This was after the U.S. - added the French oil producer?to a a list of companies authorized to increase operations in Venezuela. M&P stopped exporting oil from Venezuela in the second quarter last year, after President Donald Trump suspended its license along with?other companies.
Rio Tinto misses its annual profit forecast on iron ore challenges
Rio Tinto missed its expectations for the annual underlying profit on Thursday as lower iron ore prices, amidst rising global supply, weighed down on its core business. However, stronger copper prices and production limited the impact. The world's biggest iron ore producer recently abandoned merger discussions with Glencore. It reported underlying earnings for the year ended December 31, which was unchanged from a previous year and below the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $11.03billion.
Indonesia and US firms sign trade, investment agreements worth $7 billion
The U.S. ASEAN Business Council reported that Indonesian & U.S. firms signed 'trade and investment agreements worth more than $7 bn? on Wednesday, a day before Indonesian President Prabowo?Subianto meets with U.S. president Donald Trump for a meeting to sign a final deal. According to a U.S. ASEAN Business Council fact sheet, the agreements were signed during a dinner hosted by U.S. Chamber of Commerce for Prabowo. They include Indonesian companies purchasing 1 million metric tonnes of U.S.
India sugar production lower than expected, reducing exports
Farmers and trade officials have said that India will likely produce less sugar than originally estimated due to a 'higher rainfall in major producing states,' which is resulting lower cane yields. This is expected to limit the exports of the world’s second largest?producer. India's export quota may not be enough to meet the needs of its traders, who said that India would struggle to fulfill even half.
Santos will cut 10% of its workforce as the growth projects reach their end. The annual profit is below expectations.
Australian oil and ?gas producer Santos Ltd reported a ?steeper-than-expected ?drop in annual profit on Wednesday, hurt by weak commodity prices, and said it would reduce its headcount by about 10% as major growth projects near completion. The shares of Australia's 2nd largest gas producer fell as much as 1.8 percent in early trading. However, they retraced the majority of these losses to trade slightly lower at 0020 GMT.
Devon's profits beat expectations for the quarter, but forecasts lower production after winter storm
Devon Energy, a U.S. shale producer, narrowly beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth-quarter profits and forecast lower production in the first-quarter after severe winter storms disrupted operations throughout?key producing regions. Analysts and traders estimate that the winter storm knocked down as much as two million barrels of oil per day in the U.S., or 15% of the national output. Volumes began to recover before the winter storm…
Expand Energy exceeds its fourth-quarter profit expectations and plans to reduce debt by $1 billion in 2026
?U.S. Expand Energy, a natural gas producer, beat Wall Street's estimates for the fourth quarter profit on Tuesday. It aims to improve its balance sheet by reducing debts of at least $1 billion in 2026. The company was able to benefit from the higher prices, as U.S. Natural Gas Futures jumped over 11% sequentially during the fourth quarter. This broke a downward trend that began in the second quarter. Natural gas prices averaged $3.37/Mcf, up from $2.91/Mcf one year earlier.
Venezuela tensions are set to ease, resulting in a rise in the oil production potential of Guyana
Geopolitical experts and oil specialists?said that the tiny oil-producing country of Guyana has an opportunity to expand its economy amid the ongoing U.S. activities in Venezuela. This is ahead of the Guyana Energy Conference. The 'growth potential' of Guyana was the focus at the four-day conference that began on Tuesday, in Georgetown. Executives and government officials met to discuss the efforts to train the local oil workforce, increase investment and build an downstream sector.
Iraq approves an 'amicable agreement' with Russia's Lukoil regarding the transfer of operations for giant fields
According to a press release, the 'Iraqi Cabinet approved a "friendly settlement" with Russia's Lukoil on Tuesday regarding the transfer of the West Qurna 2, a giant oil field in the west of Iraq to the state-run Basra Oil Company. Last month, Iraqi nationalised the oilfields after the U.S. imposed Lukoil sanctions to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. West Qurna is the largest oilfield in the world, and it accounts for about 0.5% of oil production globally.
Venezuela tensions are set to ease, resulting in a rise in the oil production potential of Guyana
Experts in geopolitics and oil said that the tiny oil-producing country of Guyana, which is already one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, has a window for expansion due to the ongoing U.S. activities in Venezuela. The growth potential of the oil and gas industry will be at the forefront of a four-day conference beginning Tuesday in Georgetown. Government officials and executives will discuss how to increase investment, build an downstream sector, and train local workers.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
A court in Australia dismissed a lawsuit filed against the gas producer Santos on Tuesday. The suit alleged that the company had misled the public about its plans to achieve "net zero carbon emission". The Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility (an activist shareholder) filed the lawsuit in 2021. It claimed it was the first of its kind to challenge a company's target of net zero carbon emissions in any country.
Maurel & Prom hopes for a resumption of Venezuelan oil sales boosted with the easing of sanctions
Maurel & Prom, a French oil producer, is optimistic that it will be able to resume the export of Venezuelan crude oil soon after the United 'States government eased'sanctions against the country on Friday. On Friday, the U.S. government issued two general licenses, allowing major energy companies to operate in OPEC-member Venezuela. This is the biggest easing of sanctions against Venezuela since U.S. troops 'captured' and removed President Nicolas Maduro.
Brazil's Raizen claims $2 billion in impairment is due to financial issues and not operational challenges
Executives said that Brazil's Raizen had no operational issues and its third quarter impairment of 11.1 billion Reais ($2.12billion) reflects financial difficulties but does not impact liquidity. This was after the company announced "significant uncertainty" regarding the firm's ability?to continue operating. Late Thursday night, Raizen, a joint venture of Shell and Brazilian conglomerate Cosan, reported a quarterly net loss record of 15.6 billion Brazilian reais…
Caturus signs a 20-year LNG Supply Deal with Saudi Aramco
U.S. Gas Producer 'Caturus' said on Friday that its unit, Commonwealth LNG, had signed a twenty-year agreement with Saudi Aramco to supply 1,000,000 tonne per year of lNG from?its proposed Louisiana Export Project. The U.S. is working hard to surpass Qatar and Australia as the largest LNG exporter in the world. Since President Donald Trump lifted the pause on export permits last summer, commercial activity in the LNG sector has risen.
Inpex, a Japanese oil and gas company, sees a shortage of LNG in Asia by 2035
Inpex, Japan’s largest oil and 'gas producer, anticipates that global demand for LNG will grow by 75%, to 700 million metric tons annually, in 2035. This could lead to a shortage of LNG along the Pacific coast, including Asia. Inpex, who runs the Ichthys LNG Project in Australia and develops Abadi LNG in Indonesia, said that it expects global LNG consumption to rise from its current 400 million tons annually, driven by Asia-Oceania?region needs, in its results presentation released on Thursday.
Inpex, a Japanese oil and gas company, sees a shortage of LNG in Asia by 2035
Inpex, Japan’s largest oil and 'gas producer, anticipates that global demand for liquefied?natural gas will grow by 75%, to a total of?700 millions metric tons per year in 2035. This could lead to a shortage in supply in the Pacific coast region, which includes Asia. Inpex, who runs the Ichthys LNG Project?in Australia, and develops Abadi LNG Facility?in Indonesia among other assets, expects that global LNG demand will increase from its current level of 400 millions tonnes per year…
Norway oil investment set to decline by 2026, according to a survey
A 'quarterly survey' of the oil and gas industry revealed on Thursday that Norwegian investments in the sector are likely to?decline this year and next, as fewer new projects are being undertaken and more field?developments have been completed. Norway is the world's second largest oil producer and supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas after it became its biggest pipeline gas supplier in 2022, following Russia's invasion.