Argentina negotiates gas imports with Bolivia and Chile after heatwave increases demand
Bolivia and Chile have begun talks to resume gas exports to Argentina, amid a spike in demand sparked by a heatwave this summer. This highlights the challenges facing the government of Buenos Aires in its quest to become self-sufficient in energy. Armin Dorgathen Taia, the head of Bolivia's state energy company YPFB told me by phone on Friday that "we are in a negotiations with Argentina to create a contract spot". These talks were previously unknown.
Executive: Bolivia and Argentina in talks to restart gas supply due to spike in demand
Bolivia's state energy company YPFB has begun talks with Argentina to resume gas exports, amid a spike in demand sparked by a heatwave this summer. This highlights the challenges facing the government of Buenos Aires in its quest to become self-sufficient in energy. Armin Dorgathen Tapiea, the YPFB's chief, told a reporter by phone on Friday that "we are in a discussion with Argentina about creating a spot contract." These talks were previously unknown.
Data shows that Mexico's Olmeca refinery was operating at 17 percent of its capacity in November.
Mexican state energy company Pemex resumed refining operations at is new Olmeca refinery in November, working at nearly 17% of its 340,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity after being fully offline in October, official numbers showed this week. The refinery in Dos Bocas is still far below government targets, and hinders the plans to become self-sufficient in motor gasoline. The company released numbers late Tuesday showing that it processed 59.466 bpd crude oil in November.
Sinopec predicts China's oil consumption will peak in 2027
Sinopec (China Petrochemical Corp.) expects China’s petroleum consumption will peak in 2027, at no more that 800 million metric tonnes or 16 million barrels a day. The state energy group released an outlook on Thursday. The forecast is more precise than the one made by the giant refining company last year when it estimated that China's peak oil production would be around 800 millions tons between 2026 to 2030. According to the Beijing outlook…
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.
Sources: Austria's 50-year relationship with Gazprom is ended by the gas seizure
Five sources said that the Austrian group's seizure and payment of Russian gas to cover an arbitration award was what triggered the end of more than 50 years gas flow from Russian state energy company Gazprom to OMV this month. OMV is one of the last remaining gas buyers in Europe, after Gazprom lost most of its European customers in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia was Europe’s largest natural gas supplier before the war. OMV announced on Nov.
Drill, baby, drill in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale lands!
Argentina's new, market-friendly government, and concerns about oil supplies from the Middle East, and elsewhere, are driving a boom in drilling and production in the Patagonian South, which is home to the giant Vaca Muerta shale, Spanish for "Dead Cow". In the flat, arid terrain, the production of shale oil and gas is surging. Fracking wells have been drilled in record numbers, and pipelines have been built to transport gas to the capital Buenos Aires – and beyond once LNG plants are operational.
Naftogaz CEO: Ukraine produces 53 mcm gas per day
The CEO of Naftogaz said that Ukraine produces 53 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, including 43-44 Mcm produced by the state energy group. Oleksiy Cernyshov said Naftogaz had prepared for different scenarios in advance of the winter months, and that it ensured appropriate quantities of gas were stored. According to him, Ukraine currently has less than 13 billion cu m of natural gas in underground storage. He added that non-resident investors have about 0.5 bcm in underground storage.
Petrobras claims that the Sirius gas field in Colombia could produce 13.3 million cubic metres of gas per day.
Petrobras' exploration general manager Rogerio Soares, who spoke at a conference for the industry on Thursday, said that Colombia's offshore Sirius well could produce 13.3 million cubic metres per day in 10 years. Soares, speaking at the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP)'s forum on oil and gas in Cartagena, said that the initial concept of Sirius envisioned the first offshore gas production in 2029- 2030. Four wells would be producing and a total of 13,3 million cubic metres per day was expected for a period of 10 years.
APPEC-Taiwan CPC expects LNG imports to rise with nuclear phase-out
An official from state energy company CPC Corp stated that Taiwan's annual imports will increase as more gas-fired electricity plants are brought online in the face of the planned phase out of nuclear power by 2020. Vice president Jane Liao said that Taiwan's LNG imports this year could increase to 20 million tonnes from 19 million in 2023. Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), a state-owned utility, is the country's largest customer. Liao explained that this is dependent on Taipower's usage.
Mexico's Pemex receives approval to increase investment in deepwater Lakach field by $400 million
The hydrocarbon regulator in Mexico approved Thursday the request of state energy company Pemex for an expansion of a natural-gas project in Gulf of Mexico. This requires additional investments of just under $400 million. Lakach has been touted as a possible gateway to a deepwater Mexican gas frontier. Pemex requested that the production strategy for the field be updated to include the termination and recovery of wells, production management, and commercialization of hydrocarbons.
US Okays LPG Exports to Venezuela
The U.S. government on Monday authorized shipments to Venezuela of liquefied petroleum gas, mainly used in the OPEC nation as cooking fuel and currently in short supply, causing people to burn large amounts of wood.The U.S. Treasury Department authorized through July 8, 2022, some exports and re-exports of the gas, known as LPG, to Venezuela that had not been permitted by executive orders in 2018 and 2019 during the Trump administration.The Office of Foreign Assets Control…
China's Sinopec Starts Hiring for New Risk Management Unit
China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, has started hiring for six top management positions for a new commodities risk management unit, according to a statement posted on the state energy company's official wechat account on Sunday.Formally known as Sinopec Chaoyang Risk Management Co and with a registered capital of 300 million yuan ($42.40 million), the new firm will provide financial services for the oil and chemical sector including hedging and inventory management…
USA: Twelve Offshore Wind R&D Projects Selected for Funding
The U.S. National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) has selected twelve projects for contract negotiation, completing its first solicitation for offshore wind research and development technology projects. The twelve awards totaling $10.3 million will support a variety of research areas, including comprehensive U.S. supply chain analyses, studying the impacts of offshore wind on the electric grid system…
Pertamina to Develop Cilacap Refinery without Saudi Aramco
Indonesia's PT Pertamina will develop its Cilacap refinery in Central Java "independently", the state energy company said on Friday, dropping a plan to boost capacity through a joint venture with Saudi Aramco.The two companies have been in talks to upgrade the Cilacap refinery since 2016 and last year said that they would finalize a joint venture plan in the first quarter of 2020."Pertamina will continue to independently develop the Cilacap Refinery Development Master Plan…
Azerbaijan's Jan-April Oil Output Flat
Azerbaijan's oil and gas condensate output was flat in January-April at 12.4 million tonnes compared with 12.44 million tonnes in the same period last year, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday.Natural gas output rose to 13.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the first four months of 2020 from 11.6 bcm.Azerbaijan exported 10.26 million tonnes of oil in January-April, 9.8 million tonnes of which was oil produced by an international consortium led by BP while 409…
Belarus Buys 80,000 Tonnes of U.S. Oil
Belarusian state energy company Belneftekhim said on Friday it had bought 80,000 tonnes of oil from the United States that would be delivered by tanker to the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda at the beginning of June.Belarus has said it wants to diversify its oil supplies after a dispute with Russia over oil prices earlier this year. (Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Jason Neely)
Oil Rises from 18-Year Lows after U.S., Russia Agree to Talks
Oil recovered ground on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to talks to stabilize energy markets, with benchmarks climbing off 18-year lows hit as the coronavirus outbreak cut fuel demand worldwide. Brent crude was up by 30 cents, or 1.3%, at $23.06 a barrel by 0635 G5MT, after closing on Monday at $22.76, its lowest finish since November 2002. U.S. crude was up by $1.21, or 6.0%, at $21.30 a barrel, after settling in the earlier session at $20.09, lowest since February 2002.
Offshore Wind: Half Empty or Half Full?
As a new decade starts, offshore wind development continues to progress. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to write that the development of the development of offshore wind (OFW) continues to, uh, well, develop.Apologies for that mild sarcasm. But even a quick look-back at OFW always raises the same familiar question: is the glass half empty or half full?Consider developments in the east coast leader in offshore wind…
Oil Jumps After US Kills Iran's Soleimani
Oil prices jumped more than $3 on Friday after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad ordered by President Donald Trump killed the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, sparking concerns for an escalation of regional tensions and disruption to crude supplies.Brent crude rose to a peak of $69.50 a barrel, its highest since mid-September when Saudi oil facilities were attacked, and was up 3.7% or $2.43 a barrel by 1445 GMT at $68.68.West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $2.17 or 3.5% at $63.35 a barrel…
