Oceaneering wins inspection services scope in Angola from CABGOC

Oceaneering International’s Asset Integrity group has secured a three-year contract with Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC), a Chevron subsidiary. Oceaneering will provide inspection services onshore Cabinda, Angola, and offshore Angola on Blocks 0 and 14. The contract is scheduled to begin in Q2 2020. More »

Petro.ai welcomes Dr. Nathan Meehan as senior advisor for reserves and emissions

Petro.ai, experts in machine learning and AI for geotechnical data science, expands its Technical Advisory Board with the addition of Dr. D. Nathan Meehan, President of CMG Petroleum Consulting and the 2016 President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. More »

Saudi Aramco CEO says “the worst is behind us” as oil tallies its best quarter in 30 years

The market’s climb from negative territory in April has been swift but bumpy, with the U.S. benchmark struggling to hold above $40 a barrel amid a stubborn supply glut and a resurgence of Covid-19 cases that’s darkened the demand outlook. More »

ConocoPhillips to restore curtailed production as oil prices rise

The company will bring back output in Alaska and other states next month, with Canadian production coming back in the third quarter. “Given ongoing variability and uncertainty in the outlook for production curtailments, the company will continue to suspend forward-looking guidance and sensitivities,” Conoco said in a statement Tuesday. More »

Schlumberger introduces Symphony Live downhole reservoir testing

Symphony testing reduces operational time and improves safety and efficiency while enabling informed decision making for better reservoir understanding and reduced field development planning uncertainty. More »

Shell plans multi-billion writedown on weakened oil demand

Royal Dutch Shell said it will write down between $15 billion and $22 billion in the second quarter, as the company gave investors a wider glimpse of just how severely the coronavirus crisis has hit Big Oil. More »

Saudi prince phones Nigeria to bring them in line with OPEC+ cuts

Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the OPEC cartel, held a call with fellow member Nigeria as the organization strives to deliver production cuts aimed at bolstering global crude markets. More »

Libyan oil output could resume on U.S.-backed negotiations

Tribes in eastern Libya backed the resumption of oil production from their region, shortly after the state energy company said negotiations between the U.S. and regional governments could lead to a restart of exports from the war-battered OPEC member. More »

Kenney pushes to diversify Alberta’s oil-dependent economy

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is using the Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate efforts to diversify his oil-dependent economy, a change of emphasis for a leader who once pledged to return the Canadian province to fiscal discipline. More »

Schlumberger introduces real-time oil and gas data management service

Schlumberger introduced its Performance Live digitally connected service that optimizes remote wellsite operations control while improving safety, efficiency and footprint. The service includes technology and domain expertise within a digital ecosystem, leveraging cloud-based applications and automated data workflows through a secure and robust data network. More »

CNOOC announces significant South China Sea discovery

CNOOC Limited has made a significant discovery of Huizhou 26-6 in Eastern South China Sea. It is expected to become the first mid-to-large sized condensate oil and gas field in the shallow water area of Pearl River Mouth Basin. More »

Ampelmann secures five new offshore wind contracts in the North Sea

Ampelmann has secured five new contracts in offshore wind over the course of a month with Norwegian companies BOA, Volstad, Olympic Shipping, Siem Offshore and DOF. More »

Third-largest oil market projects faster recovery than OPEC’s estimates

India, the third-biggest oil consumer, expects fuel demand to return to normal earlier than projections by the International Energy Agency and OPEC. More »

Norway sets oil export records as OPEC+ cuts leave a void in the market

As OPEC and its allies make their deepest cuts yet to crude production, Norway’s giant Johan Sverdrup oil field is exporting more than ever before. More »

Democrats to demand 100% emissions-free vehicles by 2035

The more than 500-page plan, from the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis convened by Pelosi and chaired by Representative Kathy Castor of Florida, seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and calls for achieving 100% clean vehicles by 2035, according to people familiar with the details. More »

Chesapeake joins more than 200 other bankrupt U.S. shale producers

More than 200 North American oil and gas producers, owing over $130 billion in debt, have filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of 2015, according to a May report from law firm Haynes and Boone. This year alone, at least 20 have gone under after oil prices plunged amid the Covid-19 pandemic. More »

Oil prices regain their footing on a weaker dollar

Oil prices steadied in New York as the boost from a weaker dollar offset concerns that the resurgence of coronavirus will crimp fuel demand. More »

Chesapeake files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eliminating $7 billion of debt

Chesapeake Energy Corporation announced that the company has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to facilitate a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring. More »

Coronavirus resurgence slows China’s demand for U.S. crude

A second wave of Covid-19 infections in China’s capital is threatening to depress the nation’s appetite for American oil just after a pick-up in purchases. More »

Are crude production models ignoring rig count and oil price realities?

World Oil editors review the Dallas Fed's recent oil production survey among U.S. operators and service companies, and discover a "split personality" between production estimate and pricing models that could lead to an oil supply shock in 2021. More »

Uganda’s second licensing round set to close in September

The acreages on offer have become more attractive since Tullow Oil announced the sale of its entire stake in the Lake Albert Development Project earlier this year to Total. The agreement puts an end to a long-standing capital gains tax dispute with Ugandan authorities, and opens up the way for the upstream development of up to 200,000 bopd by Total and CNOOC, along with an oil refinery and an oil export pipeline to through Tanzania. More »

Russia throttles key Urals crude exports to meet OPEC+ agreements

Russia’s exports of its flagship Urals crude oil grade are set to plunge next month, underscoring the nation’s commitment to helping OPEC and allied producers to avert a global glut. More »

Oxy plans junk bond sale, multi-billion writedown to help tackle debt

Occidental has been under pressure ever since outbidding Chevron to win the purchase of Anadarko Petroleum last year. The deal saddled Oxy with some $40 billion of debt that was looking hard to pay off even before Covid-19 reduced global oil demand. More »

BSEE shares results from 28 unannounced spill response exercises in U.S. waters

BSEE is publishing its inaugural report that summarizes the key lessons learned from 2018 and 2019 government initiated unannounced exercises. More »

UK oil and gas group pushes for inclusion in net-zero energy transition

OGUK recently set out industry commitments to halve operational emissions in the next decade, with a target of 90 percent reductions by 2040. The sector was one of the first to respond to the Committee on Climate Change report in May last year which called for governments to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in the UK and 2045 in Scotland, with its Roadmap 2035: a blueprint for net zero. More »

U.S. drillers broke oil production records in 2019, despite lowest rig count since 1975

According to EIA research, increases in drilling efficiency pushed U.S. crude oil and natural gas production to establish new records of 12.2 MMbpd and 111.5 Bcfd, respectively, in 2019. More »

Oil price slide continues on increasing U.S. coronavirus cases

Futures in New York slipped 0.6% to below $38 a barrel, after the biggest fall in almost two weeks on Wednesday. New infections reached daily records in Florida, California and Texas, where the governor said a “massive outbreak” is sweeping the state. U.S. gasoline futures tumbled the most in two months amid fears that lockdowns may need to be re-imposed. More »

Civil war’s end won’t be enough to revive Libyan oil production

Libya’s oil industry is crumbling after more than nine years of neglected maintenance amid a civil war that’s killed thousands and destroyed towns across the country. More »

Weatherford digital transformation program adds $156 MM in revenue for Mideast operator

Weatherford International announced its Production Optimization Software Platform increased production by nearly 6,000 barrels per day, boosting revenue by $156 million over three years for a Middle East operator. More »

U.S. crude finds new markets as shale producers enter a critical phase

Kurt and Cameron discuss a key element of Australia's LNG ambitions up for grabs, OPEC+ compliance driving buyers to U.S. crude, Deloitte projects a challenging earnings season for shale, and New Mexico's state budget feels the sting of low oil prices. More »

Dallas Fed sees more shale operators restarting idled oil wells

More than a third of shale explorers polled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas say they’ll restart most of their idled output by the end of this month, ending production curtailments made during the crash in oil prices earlier this year. More »

DeepStar awards magnetic ESP project to Upwing and Mitsubishi

The proof-of-concept phase, targeting deepwater offshore and subsea oil well applications, is sponsored and funded by the Nippon Foundation - DeepStar Joint Ocean Innovation program and supported by project champions Chevron, Shell, Petrobras and Equinor. More »

ADNOC announces $20.7 billion energy infrastructure deal

Foreign investment into ADNOC’s infrastructure unlocks significant capital to reinvest in ADNOC’s strategic growth projects and reinforces the UAE as an investment destination of choice. More »

Canadians petition government for oil industry support with letter-writing campaign

Canadians have sent more than 2,000 letters of support asking the federal government to invest in Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil and natural gas industry. More »

Zupt completes Gulf of Mexico remote metrology survey

Houston-based Zupt LLC has been completing metrologies remotely, without offshore survey personnel, since 2017 and is believed to be only company with the end-to-end ability to complete spool/jumper metrologies in this way. More »

Neptune Energy completes safe removal of three Dutch North Sea platforms

Neptune Energy has completed the safe removal of the L10-C, L10-D and L10-G platforms from the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The platforms have been providing offshore natural gas to the Netherlands for around 40 years and ceased production in 2016. More »

Shale oil production may take years to recover, despite a short-term uptick

Looking out 18 months, U.S. output will still be around 16% below its peak in February, according to an average of surveys from the IEA, Genscape, Enervus, Rystad and IHS Markit. It will probably be at least 2023 before the U.S. again hits its record close to 13 million barrels a day. More »

Oil prices slip below $40 on higher crude inventory projections

The weekly round of U.S. inventory data began with the American Petroleum Institute reporting that U.S. crude stockpiles rose 1.75 MMbbl last week, according to people familiar with the report. If confirmed by government data Wednesday, it would be a third weekly gain. More »

Russian oil export cuts are raising physical crude prices

Cuts from one of the world's largest oil producers helped to increase demand for other European grades and recently boosted their values in the market where actual barrels of oil are traded. More »

Canada’s oil transport shortage solved by new pipelines, reduced demand

The pandemic-induced oil crash prompted Canadian companies to cut about 1 million barrels of daily crude output, freeing up space on the country’s previously congested pipelines. With that production likely slow to return and as many as three new conduits slated to be built in the next three years, the industry may have years of cheap, plentiful shipping capacity ahead. More »

TechnipFMC lands three subsea construction projects offshore Norway

The projects in scope are Breidablikk and the Gas Import System for the Snorre Expansion Project, for which contracts have been awarded, and Askeladd Vest, for which a letter of intent has been issued. The Breidablikk contract has subsea installation as an option. More »

Fugro completes Middle East’s first uncrewed geophysical route survey

Controlled from their remote operations center in Abu Dhabi, an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) captured a full range of geophysical data across a survey area some 40 km out from the coast of Abu Dhabi to support a client’s critical project entirely remotely. More »

A key element of Australia’s LNG ambitions is up for grabs

After more than three decades, the project that kick-started Australia’s push to become a liquefied natural gas powerhouse faces a shakeup. More »

Trendsetter introduces modular offshore intervention system

Trendsetter Engineering introduced its Trident Intervention System, designed for rapid reconfiguration in the field, providing the flexibility to conduct intervention riser, riserless wireline intervention and hydraulic stimulation operations all with a single system. More »

Oil’s big swing: How prices went from -$40 to +$40 in a matter of weeks

The renewed strength of the “physical market” for crude -- where actual barrels change hands between producers, refiners and traders -- is driving a surge in the much larger Wall Street world of oil contracts traded on exchanges in London and New York. More »

Deloitte reports continued strain for shale producers, even as oil prices rise

Almost a third of U.S. shale producers are technically insolvent with crude at $35 a barrel, according to Deloitte LLP, highlighting the industry’s acute financial strain even as oil prices rebound from a record low earlier this year. More »

Volatile oil prices hamper New Mexico’s plan to dominate U.S. shale

Just months ago, New Mexico, the third-biggest producer of U.S. oil, approved the state’s largest budget ever, paid for by an oil boom that made up 40% of the state’s revenues in 2019. Now that plan has been slashed by more than $600 million, affecting everything from pay raises for state workers to a program designed to provide free community college to state residents. More »

U.S. oil gaining appeal in Asia as OPEC+ suppliers limit output

Refiners in the top crude-importing region have been forced to accept big reductions in their regular contracted volumes from producers including Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the past couple of months. They’ve also been taken aback by sharp swings in official selling prices. More »

As oil job losses mount, is a resurgence in U.S. shale production on the horizon?

In our weekly preview podcast, Kurt and Cameron explore PESA's research into oil and gas job losses and their impact on the economy; what new rig count numbers mean for oilfield service companies; and the potential for Continental Resources to lead another U.S. shale production trend. More »

Oil prices continue their rise, albeit slowly, since April’s crash

Oil turned around last week’s setback, extending a slow but relentless rise since falling into negative territory in April. More »

As oilfield job losses mount, is a resurgence in U.S. shale production on the horizon?

In our weekly preview podcast, Kurt and Cameron explore PESA's research into oil and gas job losses and their impact on the economy; what new rig count numbers mean for oilfield service companies; and the potential for Continental Resources to lead another U.S. shale production trend. More »

The shale drilling shutdown continues for its 14th week

Drillers idled 10 oil rigs in onshore U.S. fields this week, bringing the total to 189, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Co. Despite this week’s rise in crude prices to a three-month high around $40 a barrel, they still are more than 35% below the January high. More »

KandD Pratt ‘gravely concerned’ for Canadian offshore oil industry’s future

KandD Pratt has expressed grave concern for the economic future of the province without a solid investment from the Government of Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore industry. More »

OPEC+ and Iraq come to terms on cheating, strengthening the deal

OPEC’s habitual quota cheat, Iraq, said it will implement its oil-production cuts in full this month and agreed on the details of how to compensate for falling short of its target in May. More »

Local protests force slowdown in Norwegian wind power plans

A government proposal on Friday to slow down the development of onshore wind power comes after increasing local resistance mirrors sentiment in other European countries. Norway already decided to scrap a plan for a new permission framework last year. More »

Accelerating demand lifts WTI crude futures above $40/bbl

Oil rallied as stronger consumption continued to push physical markets higher, even as many countries struggle to bring the coronavirus under control. More »

Continental Resources to begin phasing out production curtailments in July

The company previously announced it would curtail 70% of operated oil production in May, with continued curtailments into June. In July, the Company expects to partially begin resuming production but still expects to curtail approximately 50% of its operated oil production. More »

DUG, Fairfield sign multi-client reprocessing and imaging agreement

Fairfield Geotechnologies and DUG Technology signed a comprehensive strategic agreement that includes the reprocessing and imaging of over 5,000 square miles of multi-client seismic data. More »

Tendeka awarded five-year contract extension with Oman operator

Independent global completions service company Tendeka has been awarded a five-year contract extension to supply a major operator with zonal isolation technologies for all fields in Oman. More »

U.S. oil inventory continues to climb, offsetting rise in fuel demand

Gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration, reflecting a slight pick-up in demand during the summer driving season with coronavirus-led lockdowns easing in some parts of the U.S. Stubbornly high crude inventories still threaten to cap crude’s rally from historic lows in April. More »

Global pandemic cost oil industry 84,000+ jobs, PESA research shows

The jobs lost represent estimated annual wages of approximately $11.4 billion. Industry analysts anticipate additional job losses in the coming months as the oil and gas industry continues cutting production by shutting in wells and reducing rig counts. More »

Canada’s Trudeau responds to Noia: “We will continue to work together”

Recently, the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industries Association (Noia) wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seeking a commitment to support the region’s oil and gas companies, and their employees, in the face of depressed oil prices. More »

North America’s largest green technology incubator opens Houston location

With the expansion into Houston, Greentown Labs aims to have the best and brightest engineering and business minds in energy working together on the global climate challenge. More »

Chevron selling stake in Australian LNG project

Chevron will start a sales process for its interest in the North West Shelf project in Australia, one of the nation’s first liquefied natural gas export ventures, after receiving a number of approaches from potential buyers. More »

Saudi Aramco cutting hundreds of expat jobs to reduce costs

The world’s biggest oil exporter has begun cutting hundreds of jobs as it looks to reduce costs after a slump in energy prices, according to people familiar with the matter. Aramco is letting go of mostly foreign staff across several divisions, with affected employees being informed earlier this week. More »

OPEC says global economy growth won’t reverse a slump in oil demand

OPEC predicted that fuel demand will remain “under pressure” during the second half of this year because of the ongoing economic fallout from the coronavirus, a day before ministers were due to assess world markets. More »

Ovintiv cuts jobs across North America as oil drilling slows

The layoffs are coming roughly equally from the company’s offices in Calgary, Denver and The Woodlands, Texas, as well as from field staff, said Cindy Hassler, a spokeswoman for Ovintiv. Hassler declined to immediately provide a number of how many jobs were cut. More »

Saudis suspend work, delay expansions as oil demand weakens

The world’s biggest oil exporter is hitting the brakes in developing some of its crude and natural gas deposits, idling two offshore drilling rigs as the coronavirus batters energy use. More »

Weatherford appoints interim CEO, announces CFO’s planned departure

Weatherford International announced that Karl Blanchard, Executive Vice President and COO, will assume the role of Interim CEO, reporting directly to the Board of Directors, until a permanent President and CEO has been appointed. More »

Oceaneering working to streamline bulk cargo logistics operations

Oceaneering announced the launch of a new business, OceanSMART Cargo Logistics and Maritime Technology, which aims to eliminate waste and increase transparency within the bulk commodity cargo logistics industry. More »

Daily Brief podcast: Texas emissions reforms and oil demand's new normal

Kurt and Cameron explore the potential impact of gas flaring reforms in Texas, what a "new normal" might be for global demand, and why IEA and EIA projections diverge. More »

Chinese traders trying their luck with sanctioned Venezuelan oil

Officially, China hasn’t imported any Venezuelan crude since September after Washington sanctioned state entities including PDVSA. Information from data intelligence firm Kpler, however, signals the Asian nation is still buying, with as much as 3.3 MMbbl waiting off the Chinese coast as of June 15 and another 5 MMbbl en route to the port of Qingdao. More »

After a record April, U.S. imports of Saudi oil near 35-year low in June

After flooding the U.S. with crude earlier this year, Saudi Arabia has all but cut off the taps to the American oil market. More »

Texas oil regulator pursuing plan to reduce gas flaring

On June 16th, the Railroad Commission of Texas heard from the state's oil and gas trade associations, environmental advocacy groups, and several oil and gas producers about the issue of flaring and how Texas can implement meaningful reforms to reduce flaring before oil and gas activity returns to previous highs. More »

Supermajors find obstacles, and opportunities, as pandemic drags on

The coronavirus has exposed the fragility of some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, but also given them the opportunity to make investors swallow some unpleasant remedies. More »

UAE sees oil prices returning to ‘normal’ on OPEC+ deal

Oil-production limits adopted by a group of major crude suppliers will soon bring prices back to “normal,” according to the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates. More »

Tighter oil supplies plus U.S. stimulus efforts send Brent above $40

Brent crude rose above $40 a barrel as broader markets rallied on stimulus from the Federal Reserve and physical supplies continued to look tight. More »

IEA expects oil demand to take 2+ years to recover

Fuel use around the world will remain 2.5% lower next year than in 2019, largely because of the “the dire situation of the aviation sector,” the Paris-based agency said in its first detailed assessment of 2021. More »

Oil prices climb as fears build of a coming supply squeeze

Oil reversed losses as investors shifted focus from a potential resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks and toward supply-and-demand fundamentals. More »

Schlumberger strikes wireline tech license agreement with China’s CNPC Logging

The collaboration agreement will provide CNPC Logging with a license to manufacture fit-for-basin wireline technology. As part of the agreement, Schlumberger will support CNPC Logging on the manufacturing and sustaining activities for ThruBit through-the-bit logging technology at the CNPC Logging technology center in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. More »

PanGeo Subsea attributes success to NL offshore industry, reiterates need for Canadian federal incentives

The current economic crisis in the offshore oil and gas sector has impacted PanGeo Subsea’s overall revenue and operations. The company was prepared to support early stages of a new offshore development with hopes for pre-installation survey imagining campaigns and further “close to home” debris surveys. More »

BP takes largest writedown since Macondo as Covid saps oil demand

In a dramatic revision that prompted questions about the affordability of its dividend, the British giant cut its estimates for oil and gas prices in the coming decades between 20% and 30%. It also expects the cost of carbon emissions to be more than twice as high as before. More »

Extraction Oil and Gas files for bankruptcy

Extraction Oil and Gas Inc. filed for bankruptcy with plans to hand ownership to its creditors, becoming the latest producer to succumb to the energy industry’s slump. More »

Neodrill and Baker Hughes complete industry’s first cut and recover operation in the Norwegian Sea

Neodrill and Baker Hughes announced completion of the world’s first cut and recover operation for Wintershall Dea Norge in the Norwegian Sea. Rig time was reduced by an estimated 12 hours, with work to cut the surface casing moved off the critical path of the rig schedule. More »

Saudis cut Asian crude allocations 40% to comply with OPEC+

Saudi Arabia reduced the amount of crude it will supply next month to seven refiners in Asia after OPEC+ agreed to extend its historic output cuts through July. More »

Potential offshore discovery off Canada’s eastern coast fuels optimism

Per Canada’s CBC News, a report this week has stoked some optimism in the Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas sector, with a description of another “potentially commercial discovery” in the Flemish Pass Basin. More »

Iraq asks BP to throttle flow in order to meet OPEC+ quota

Iraq has asked BP to cut crude production at the nation’s biggest field of Rumaila by 10% as part of a push to comply with OPEC+ quotas, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. More »

Corpus Christi oil export terminal comes online as shipments fall

Another Texas terminal is preparing to export oil, even as the pandemic continues to hammer global demand for U.S. crude. More »

Weekly Preview Podcast: Are Chesapeake's fortunes the end of an era in U.S. shale?

Kurt Abraham and Cameron Wallace discuss a new green energy era beginning in the North Sea as the U.S. shale market transforms, and how slumping rig counts call into question the industry's ability to respond to an increase in oil demand. More »

Scotland dedicates £62 million to leading the net-zero energy transition

The investment, with a focus on the North East, underpins the region’s ambitions to become a world leader in the transition to net zero, helping Scotland meet its ambitious targets on climate change. More »

Venezuela’s fall leaves world’s richest oil reserves tapped by a single rig

As fields across the nation shut amid a relentless U.S. campaign to cut Venezuela off from global oil markets, the number of rigs drilling for crude fell to just one in May, according to data from Baker Hughes. Another lone rig was drilling for gas. More »

Chesapeake’s fate marks the end of an era in U.S. shale

As the remnants of shale’s turn-of-the-century heyday turn to dust, it’s unclear who -- if anyone -- will step into the void. More »

Fear of U.S. virus resurgence drives oil prices to first weekly drop since April

The market has shrugged off a pledge by OPEC+ to extend record output cuts, with sentiment souring this week after the Federal Reserve warned of prolonged damage to the economy by the pandemic and U.S. inventories reached record highs. More »

Gabon expands 3D seismic access for offshore licensing round

Gabon’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and PGS have just expanded the Gabon MegaSurvey coverage, significantly increasing access to 3D seismic over the 35 blocks on offer under the ongoing 12th Offshore Licensing Round. More »

SparkCognition and Siemens team up on AI-driven cyber defense system for endpoint energy assets

The AI-driven system will deliver next-generation antivirus, threat detection, application control, and zero-day attack prevention to endpoint power generation, oil and gas, and transmission and distribution assets. More »

Oil price slide continues as Fed projects a slow economic recovery

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the pandemic could inflict long-lasting damage on the economy and signaled it would keep rates near zero possibly for years to come, weighing on equity markets globally. More »

Siemens, Total team up to explore LNG decarbonization strategies

Siemens Gas and Power is conducting studies to explore a variety of possible liquefaction and power generation plant designs, with the ultimate goal of decarbonizing the production of LNG. More »

Putin’s anger over environmental damage may drive modern reforms

The mishandling of the biggest Arctic oil spill ever infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin and could be the catalyst for adoption of modern environmental regulations. More »

Sparrows Group starts up new Luanda, Angola facility

The move provides the company with a new workshop, storage yard, training facilities, and office to deliver its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified services in-country. This includes a broad range of turnkey engineering, equipment maintenance and training services. More »

Pemex suspends oilfield services contracts, ending thousands of jobs

Mexico’s state oil giant is suspending contracts with service providers and suppliers, triggering thousands of job losses, people with direct knowledge of the situation said. More »

Simmons Edeco completes first Mexican drilling contract for Newpek

SIMMONS EDECO has successfully completed its first drilling contract for Mexico oil and gas operator Newpek, a division of Grupo Alfa, a major player in the food, IT, and automotive sectors in Mexico. More »

Edge LNG lands new project to monetize stranded Marcellus gas

The agreement will see Edge LNG deploy its fully mobile, truck-delivered LNG equipment to the Marcellus site, including three Cryobox liquefaction units, with the potential to expand through the rapid deployment of additional units. More »

Global surplus of North Sea oil drops by a third on climbing demand

The decline in the region’s floating storage is important because the grades in question help shape the Dated Brent benchmark that’s used to settle millions of barrels of physical oil transactions between producers and refineries. More »

Decline in natural gas demand may take years to reset

The global natural gas market is poised for the biggest-ever drop in demand as a result of the Coronavirus crisis, an event that’s likely to hamper the industry’s growth for years to come. More »

Scotland’s new $10 billion wind project could appeal to diversifying oil companies

Scotland, home to a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind resources, is seeking proposals to install turbines off the coast in a process that may draw more than 8 billion pounds ($10.2 billion) of investment. More »

Growing U.S. oil inventories push oil prices below $38/bbl

Oil retreated below $38 a barrel after a U.S. industry report signaled a surprise jump in crude inventories, underscoring the market’s patchy road to rebalancing. More »

Daily Brief podcast: A look at OPEC+ impacts across the industry

Kurt and Cameron review the impact of the new OPEC+ deal on oil prices, suppliers, buyers, U.S. shale operators and more. More »

U.S. to cut off Iran-Venezuela trade by sanctioning oil tankers

The Trump administration is preparing sanctions on as many as 50 oil and fuel tankers as part of an effort to cut off trade between Iran and Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the matter. More »

Baker Hughes meets key performance milestone for Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project

Baker Hughes announced the completion of the First Engine to Test (FETT) for the LM9000 aeroderivative gas turbine. The test took place at the company’s advanced turbomachinery testing facilities in Florence and Massa, Italy. More »

Oxy debates selling down Middle East assets to reduce debt

Occidental Petroleum Corp. is reviewing options for its Middle Eastern assets as it seeks ways to reduce its debt pile, people familiar with the matter said. More »

Chesapeake preps bankruptcy plan to hand control to lenders

A bankruptcy filing by Chesapeake would reverberate well beyond its investors and employees because it will put millions of dollars in pipeline, fracing and other contracts at risk. More »

Small shale companies are big winners in the post-OPEC+ market

Small shale producers and offshore drillers are among stocks soaring after the wider OPEC+ group agreed over the weekend to extend its record output curbs. More »

BP to dismiss 10,000 employees as part of carbon reduction plan

BP will let go of 14% of its workforce, CEO Bernard Looney said in an internal note. The move will mostly affect staff in office-based jobs and those holding senior roles, with the top 400 positions expected to be cut by one-third. More »

Weatherford C-suite leaders step up as CEO McCollum leaves the company

Mark A. McCollum, President, CEO and a director at Weatherford International has left the company, effectively immediately. Karl Blanchard, executive vice president and COO, and Christian Garcia, executive vice president and CFO, will form the Office of the Chief Executive, reporting directly to the board of directors and will oversee day to day operations. More »

Oil prices stumble as Saudis set end date for new OPEC+ cuts

Oil traded near $42 a barrel in London after OPEC and its allies agreed to extend historic output curbs by an extra month, but Saudi Arabia signaled it wouldn’t continue with additional, deeper curbs after June. More »

Energy companies keeping wallets closed for Republican campaigns

Reeling from the worst oil-price crash on record and wary of Trump at the best of times, energy companies and their employees are donating far less to his re-election campaign than they did to his first run, and also much less than they’ve showered on Republican presidential candidates in the past. More »

Second Libyan oil field restarts, potentially complicating OPEC+ deal

Pumping began on Sunday at the El-Feel deposit, which had suspended operations due to the North African country’s civil war. El-Feel is resuming just a day after oil started flowing again from Libya’s largest deposit, Sharara. More »

China broke oil import records in May, signaling a nearly complete recovery

Record figures underline how complete the demand recovery has been in the world’s largest oil importer, even as other countries struggle with the economic impact of lockdowns. It also suggests that China has been taking advantage of the collapse in prices to fill its strategic reserves on the cheap. More »

Nigeria commits to new OPEC+ targets after earlier non-compliance

Nigeria said it reaffirms its commitment to the OPEC+ deal struck on Saturday and “subscribes to the concept of compensation” from members pumping above their quota. More »

Saudis boost crude export prices to support OPEC+ efforts

Saudi Arabia made some of the biggest price increases for crude exports in at least two decades, doubling down on its strategy to bolster the oil market after OPEC+ producers extended historic output cuts. More »

Weekly Preview: Risks and rewards in the new OPEC+ deal

The newly-signed OPEC+ agreement to extend oil production cuts through the end of July has a lot of moving parts, and it relies on strict compliance from countries that don’t have a good track record of adhering to quotas. The deal also represents a new, more sophisticated approach by the cartel to proactively control oil prices. More »

New OPEC+ deal reveals a more hands-on approach to price controls

Saudi Arabia, Russia and their OPEC+ allies are trying to flip the shape of the oil price curve upside down. In many respects, the cartel is borrowing from the playbooks of the world’s top central banks, where policy makers often focus on the interplay between long- and short-term interest rates. More »

Underperforming offshore wells rack up over $100 billion in abandonment liabilities worldwide

Aging offshore oil wells that once brought market prominence to Europe, the U.S. Gulf and Brazil are increasingly money losers that companies want shut down amid low oil prices and a struggling global economy. But the effort won’t be cheap. More »

Apergy and ChampionX complete merger to create the new ChampionX

ChampionX Corporation, formerly known as Apergy Corporation announced the completion of the merger of the businesses of Apergy Corporation and ChampionX Holding Inc., the former upstream energy business of Ecolab Inc. More »

Aker Energy commits to making the Pecan field offshore Ghana a success

Aker Energy Ghana Limited reaffirmed its commitment to finding a solution that will allow for the commencement of a phased development of the Pecan field offshore Ghana. More »

Wind turbine inventor sets sights on high-power deepwater renewables

If the next generation of wind farms can float, and if costs can be kept low, it could usher in an era of almost unlimited, emission-free energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that floating wind turbines could help provide enough electricity to satisfy the world’s electricity needs 11 times over, based on expected power demand in 2040. More »

Oil prices rise as OPEC+ plans to extend production cuts

While oil has recovered rapidly from its plunge below zero in mid-April, the pace of the rebound has slowed in the past couple of weeks. Demand is quickly returning in China, but questions remain for many other nations, especially for consumption of diesel, the biggest-selling oil product globally. More »

OPEC+ extends production cuts through July on deal with Iraq

After almost a week of wrangling, OPEC+ leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Iraq to stop shirking its share of cuts and even to compensate for failure to comply with cuts in the past. More »

Canadian banks’ exposure to oil surges as credit lines are tapped

Canadian banks’ exposure to oil and gas loans has surged to a record as energy firms tapped credit lines to combat plunging oil prices. More »

Texas oil regulator issues May 2020 drilling permit statistics

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 251 original drilling permits in May 2020 compared to 1,050 in May 2019. The May 2020 total includes 208 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, one to re-enter plugged well bores and 27 for re-completions of existing well bores. More »

Weatherford introduces Velox Wellhead System

Velox delivers unmatched isolation between casing strings with quick-connect components that maintain pressure control, reduce potential leak paths, and minimize non-productive time during installation in many applications, including high-pressure, high-temperature, and sour-gas wells. More »

Oil price slide continues on OPEC+ strife, questionable demand data

Oil retreated from a three-month high as OPEC+ unity was threatened by a long-running feud over complying with production cutbacks, while U.S. data cast doubt on the strength of the demand recovery. More »

EIA data suggests official U.S. oil stockpile figures are too high

Various government data sets including stockpiles, production, imports and exports are signaling that current official figures on at least some supplies are excessive. While it’s unclear where exactly the discrepancy lies, the difference could signal a more bullish outlook for crude prices. More »

Total begins clean energy shift with Scottish wind farm investment

Total has bought a 51% stake from utility SSE Plc in the development of a massive wind farm off the coast of Scotland. As European countries increasingly turn to wind farms at sea to deliver low-carbon power, the project is a first step for the oil major to become a significant player in the industry. More »

Polarcus nets LOI for survey offshore West Africa

Polarcus nets LOI for survey offshore West Africa.

Polarcus Limited has received a Letter of Intent for a 3D marine seismic acquisition project for an undisclosed client offshore West Africa.

The project, subject to the execution of a service contract, is expected to run for approximately one month.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Giftelyon Multi-Sevices Int'l Ltd and services, UK, online.

Noia requests response from Canadian PM Trudeau on urgent requests for help

Noia wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to request a response to pleas from the industry and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to provide assistance to help the offshore oil and gas industry recover from COVID-19 and remain globally competitive. More »

Texas Alliance of Energy Producers names Jason Modglin as new President

Modglin comes to the Alliance from the Texas Railroad Commission, where he served as director of public affairs for Commissioner Christi Craddick. Previously, he was chief of staff for House Energy Resources Chairman Drew Darby and a policy analyst for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. More »

Natural gas prices could go negative on global oversupply

Traders and analysts say the worst may be yet to come for natural gas as demand falls and storage nears capacity, creating the ideal conditions for negative prices in some parts of the world. More »

Tullow Oil suspends Kenyan oil-export program

Tullow Oil’s export and testing of Kenya’s crude under a pilot plan ended June 2, as timelines for development in the East African nation slowed. More »

Turkey accelerates plans to drill in disputed Mediterranean waters

The eastern Mediterranean has become an energy hot spot with big finds for EU member Cyprus, Israel and Egypt in recent years, and Turkey’s push to secure a share of the resources in those waters has exacerbated strains in an already tumultuous region. More »

Cheating on oil production quotas stalls this week’s OPEC+ meeting

A meeting between OPEC and its allies is unlikely to happen this week as Saudi Arabia and Russia draw a hard line over quota cheating by some nations. More »

Oil prices slide as OPEC+ appears to nix production-cut talks

The producer group won’t hold an early meeting on June 4, and a scheduled gathering next week was also threatened, unless all nations first agree to cut output by as much as they promised, according to people familiar with the negotiations. More »

Daily Brief podcast: What's in store for this week's OPEC+ meeting

Kurt Abraham and Cameron Wallace discuss some bold hypotheses for an accelerated OPEC+ meeting this week, along with potentially troubled waters for the global natural gas market. More »

Shale’s reawakening begins as oil holds above $30

EOG Resources Inc., America’s largest shale-focused producer, plans to “accelerate” output in the second half after shutting in about a quarter of its crude in May, exploration chief Ken Boedeker told an RBC Capital Markets conference Tuesday. More »

Siemens to supply equipment for large-scale gas field development offshore Malaysia

Siemens Gas and Power was awarded a contract to supply three SGT-300 industrial gas turbine generators (GTG), three mechanical-drive SGT-300 gas turbines and three DATUM centrifugal compressors for the PETRONAS Kasawari Gas Field Development Project in the South China Sea, offshore Sarawak in Malaysia. More »

DNV GL launches new certification in infection prevention for the maritime industry

The release of this custom certification aims to help the maritime industry resume operations better prepared for COVID-19 or other emerging pathogens. More »

WFS Technologies and Subsea Energy Solutions team up on offshore monitoring systems

WFS Technologies has joined forces with Subsea Energy Solutions to harness their combined global expertise and market-leading range of live condition monitored cable protection systems for the offshore energy industry. More »

Not even Russian output cuts can stop Europe’s natural gas surplus

Europe is choking with gas as demand slumped in line with the virus-stricken global economy, storage sites are more full than usual and little respite is seen in liquefied natural gas imports, even with benchmark prices near record lows. More »

R2S digital twin solution set to deploy for major Americas-based NOC

James Fisher Asset Information Services will deliver a minimum of six R2S digital twins this year to a major Americas NOC in a growing market, helping to further expand the technology’s global footprint. More »

Oil prices climb as OPEC+ considers production cut extension

Futures in New York rose around 2.7% as Russia and several producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are said to favor an extension of one month to existing cuts More »

Oil rally struggles as OPEC+ meeting stokes output uncertainty

OPEC+ and its allies will decide as soon as this week whether or not to extend their historic output curbs, yet how long and to what extent global production curtailments remain in place will be crucial to sustaining crude’s rally after a record rebound last month. More »

Qatar signs $20B vessel contract to cement LNG leadership role

The Gulf emirate entered into agreements with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., according to a statement on Monday from state producer Qatar Petroleum. More »

Oil piled up in storage worldwide will be OPEC’s next challenge

While OPEC has helped global oil markets recover from the coronavirus crisis, the cartel will soon face a new challenge: the mountain of unwanted crude that piled up during the pandemic. More »

Backup of tankers demonstrates China’s recovering oil demand

Queues of tankers have formed off China’s busiest oil ports as the vessels wait to offload crude for refineries that are quickly ramping up production amid a rapid rebound in fuel demand. More »

Repeat offenders ding full compliance on OPEC+ output cuts

OPEC’s delivery of its latest oil-production cutbacks, while strong overall, was undermined by its habitual laggards. More »

Petrofac awarded significant North Sea well management contract

Petrofac’s Engineering and Production Services business (EPS) has secured a well management contract for Phase 1 of Independent Oil and Gas plc’s (IOG) Core Project. More »

Oil prices flat on potential OPEC+ production cut extension

An earlier OPEC+ meeting would give the producer group more flexibility to change its current production limits as members usually decide their plans for shipping oil for July in the first week of June. More »