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.
Tanzania announces that it will launch a round of oil exploration licensing in May
Tanzania announced on Thursday that it would launch its fifth round of oil and gas licensing in May, in which 26 explorations blocks will be auctioned to attract new investment to the hydrocarbon sector in east Africa. Charles Sangweni of the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority in Tanzania (PURA), the director general, said that 23 blocks are located offshore in the Indian Ocean, while three others are in Lake Tanganyika. This will be the first round of oil and gas licenses in Tanzania for more than 10 years. Exploration in the past led to the discovery that more than 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were available.
Source: Kazakhstan increased oil production to a record of 2,12 million bpd during February.
A source said that Kazakhstan increased crude oil and condensate output in February by 13% compared to January, reaching a record of 2,12 million barrels a day. This was again a higher production than its quota for the OPEC+ oil producing group. According to a source familiar with official statistics and calculations that take into account Kazakhstan’s tons per barrel ratio of 7, the crude oil production in January was up 15.5%. Last month, it reached 1.83 million barrels per day. Kazakhstan consistently exceeded its production quota of 1.468 millions bpd…
Equinor Norway LNG plant will be off-line March 10-14
According to a Friday regulatory filing, Equinor will shut down its Hammerfest LNG Terminal from March 10 through March 14 to perform "corrective maintenance". This will reduce the daily production capacity from 18.4 millions cubic metres to zero. The Hammerfest plant (also known as Melkoeya LNG) has the ability to deliver approximately 6.5 billion cubic meters of gas each year. This is enough to provide about 6.5 millions European homes and accounts for about 5% of Norwegian gas exports. Equinor spokesperson stated…
EOG Resources exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher production
EOG Resources surpassed fourth-quarter profit expectations on Thursday as higher production helped offset lower oil price. The company's shares were down 3.5% in after-hours trading as the net income fell by more than half, to $1.25 Billion from $1.998 Billion the previous quarter. The overall quarterly revenue dropped 12%, to $5.59 Billion. This was due to lower oil revenues as well as losses on derivative contracts. Operating expenses rose by 3.6% compared to last year. The company's quarterly crude equivalent volume was up 6.7%, at almost 1.1m barrels per day (boepd), compared to the previous year.
Shale producer APA misses fourth-quarter profit estimates
APA Corp, a U.S. shale oil producer, missed Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday for its fourth-quarter profits as low commodity prices offset a higher production. Brent crude futures declined 3% in 2020 as the economy of the major consumer, China, remained weak. The OPEC+ producer's group also postponed their planned supply increases to 2026 and extended the deep cuts in output until the end of the year. The company produced 488,000 barrels equivalent to oil per day (boepd) in the fourth quarter. This is higher than the 414,000 that it produced one year ago.
Diamondback Energy exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher production
Diamondback Energy, a U.S. shale oil producer, surpassed Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter profit on Monday as higher production offset lower prices. In extended trading, shares were up 3% to $159.95. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the total oil production of the United States reached a record 13.6 million barrels a day (bpd), as increased efficiencies allowed producers to pump more oil. Diamondback's fourth quarter production nearly doubled, to an average 883.424 barrels equivalent per day (boepd), helping offset a drop of 9% in oil prices.
Chevron restructures its business and reshuffles the leadership
Chevron announced on Monday that it will reorganize its business structures, and reshuffle its leadership team. This is the latest step taken by the U.S. oil major to streamline its operations. As it deals with cost overruns, delays and delays on a major Kazakhstan project, the company said that it could lay off as much as 20% of its worldwide workforce by 2026. The $53 billion purchase of Hess by Exxon Mobil has been delayed due to an arbitral battle. Oil, Products and Gas will be consolidated in two segments - Upstream and Downstream, Midstream & Chemicals.
ExxonMobil’s Esso, Mitsui and Woodside to Invest $200M in Gas Project Off Australia
ExxonMobil’s Australian subsidiary Esso Australia Resources and its partners have announced a nearly $200 million investment in the Kipper 1B project which will bring online additional gas supply from the Gippsland Basin.The project, which was approved by Esso Australia, and its co-venturers, MEPAU A (Mitsui), and Woodside Energy, will utilize the Valaris' jack-up rig VALARIS 107 to drill and install one subsea well into the Kipper field, and involve significant upgrades to the West Tuna platform.Drilling into the Kipper field is set to begin later this year…
Guyana will soon sign a oil deal with TotalEnergies led group
Energy Minister Vickram Bharrat said that Guyana is expecting to sign a production-sharing agreement soon with a French consortium led by TotalEnergies, which will allow the country to explore an off-shore area. Guyana, the fastest-growing oil producing country in the world, is on track to produce 940,000 barrels of crude oil per day this coming year. This is nearly 1% more than last year's output. All of Guyana's crude oil is produced by a consortium led the U.S. company Exxon Mobil. TotalEnergies, a consortium led by Exxon Mobil, won the block at an auction held in 2023. The government has been trying to diversify this sector.
Exxon to build large-scale gas projects in Guyana, a country dominated by oil
Exxon Mobil, the U.S. oil giant, announced a massive project on Wednesday to increase natural-gas production and supply in Guyana. This follows the government's request for more gas as fuel to power onshore projects and petrochemical ones. Alistair Routledge of Exxon Guyana, the head of Exxon in Guyana, outlined a "Wales Gas Vision" that will provide gas to produce fertilizers via a pipeline worth $1 billion completed last year. Through its Gas-to-Energy Project, the government will use a portion (of the gas) supplied by Exxon to generate electricity and produce natural gas liquids.
Devon Energy's production increases help it beat the fourth-quarter profit forecast
Devon Energy, a Devon Oil subsidiary, beat the analysts' estimates for its fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday as higher production offset lower prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that total oil production reached a record of 13.6 millions barrels per day during December. This was due to improved efficiency, which allowed oil producers to pump more. Devon's quarterly production increased by 28% compared to the same period last year, reaching 848,000 barrels equivalent per day (boepd). The company's Williston Basin operation…
EQT's profit for the fourth quarter beats estimates due to higher natural gas prices and sales
EQT's fourth-quarter profit exceeded analysts' estimates on Tuesday as the natural gas company benefited from increased prices and sales. The natural gas price rose during the first quarter of this year, reaching a peak that has not been seen in two years. This was due to an increase in gas flow to export plants for liquefied gas. Prices were also boosted by the forecast of more cold weather for January, which will increase heating demand. EQT realized an average price of $3.01 per 1,000 cubic feet equivalent during the third quarter, up 9.5% from the previous year.
Occidental divests some upstream assets worth $1.2 billion
Occidental Petroleum announced on Tuesday it had signed two deals to sell some upstream assets for a combined $1.2 billion to unidentified buyers. The transaction, which includes non-operated Rockies assets and Permian Basin properties that are not included in the company's short-term development plans, is expected to be completed by the end the current quarter. The company stated that it intended to use the proceeds of the transaction to reduce its debt. Houston-based Occidental said it also achieved near-term…
Guyana and Dominican Republic make progress on oil drilling, refining
Dominican President Luis Abinader announced on Tuesday that Guyana and Dominican Republic have made progress in negotiating agreements for offshore oil exploration, a fertilizer factory and possibly a refinery to be built in South America. In 2023, the countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work on projects in energy. The Caribbean country has expressed interest in exploring Guyana’s Berbice off-shore block. This could require a re-delimitation of an area that was originally explored by a Toronto listed unit of CGX Energy, and eventually returned to the Government.
Aker BP's top shareholder claims that the company has opportunities for acquisition.
Aker BP is a Norwegian oil exploration and production firm that was formed through a series mergers and purchases in the past decade. Its top shareholder stated on Friday that there are opportunities to consolidate further on Norway's Continental Shelf. Aker BP is aiming to increase its production to over 500,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day by 2028. This will be a significant improvement from the few thousand barrels produced daily in 2013. Oeyvind Ericsen, CEO of Aker ASA, which owns 21.16 percent of Aker BP shares, stated that Norway's second-largest oil company, behind Equinor, could continue to acquire assets from rivals.
Norway Oil Industry expects record investments in the coming year
A survey by the Norwegian National Statistics Office (SSB) on Thursday showed that Norwegian oil and natural gas investments will surpass 2024's record levels this year, due to a flurry development projects. In 2025, the country's largest business sector expects to invest 253.8 billion crowns ($22.61billion) compared with 251.2 billion crowns in 2018. In November, the previous estimate of 252.6 billion crowns for 2025 was made. SSB stated that the increase in 2025 estimates was primarily due to plans for increased investment in new fields…
Guyana gives Frontera and CGX Energy 30 days notice to cancel their Corentyne license
The Canadian energy companies reported that the Guyana government has given CGX Energy a 30-day warning to cancel the joint venture license of the Corentyne Block. The South American nation expressed earlier a lack confidence that the companies would be able to secure a partner for their project. In a letter, the government stated that it would cancel the petroleum agreement and license with the joint-venture. It also said that there were no "reasonable" grounds to extend the period. The letter also asked that the joint venture submit any representations before February 22, so the government can reconsider its decision.
Vaar Energi raises dividends, Q4 profits in line
Vaar Energi, a company listed in Oslo and majority owned by Eni of Italy, raised its dividend on Tuesday, while reporting a fourth quarter operating profit that was in line with expectations. Vaar's earning before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose from $399 to $1 billion in the quarter of October-December, a rise that was in line with the $1.03 billion average forecast of 13 analysts polled by the company. The company announced that it would increase its dividend to $300 million or 1.213 Norwegian Crowns per share for the first three months of 2025, up from $270 million in the fourth quarter.
Sources say that US energy company Talos is set to name Shell CEO Goodfellow its next CEO
Two people with knowledge of the matter confirmed on Sunday that Talos Energy is preparing to appoint veteran Shell executive Paul Goodfellow, as its new CEO. Sources said that the appointment of Goodfellow who is currently the chief internal auditor for Shell is expected to be made this week. They requested anonymity as the matter was confidential. Goodfellow succeeds Tim Duncan, the long-time founder and CEO of Talos. Duncan abruptly left the firm in August after 12 years of service. He had helped it become the fifth largest oil and gas producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
