Christian elected chairman of Texas RRCCommissioner Wayne Christian was unanimously elected chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.
Read MoreLancaster oil shipments start off the UKHurricane Energy PLC has sold the first cargo of crude oil from the early production system on Lancaster field in the West of Shetland area offshore the UK. Hurricane says Lancaster is the UK’s first producing basement field.
Read MoreAnadarko sanctions Mozambique LNG projectAnadarko Petroleum has formally sanctioned its Mozambican LNG project, Mozambique LNG. Anadarko is developing Mozambique’s first onshore LNG facility, initially consisting of two LNG trains with a total nameplate capacity of 12.88 million tonnes/year. Feed gas comes from Golfinho-Atum field in Offshore Area 1 where Anadarko and its partners have discovered 75 tcf of recoverable natural gas resources.
Read MoreLeaseholders told to recalculate royalties under 2016 ruleA federal court’s March decision that vacated the US Office of Natural Resources Revenue’s repeal of its consolidated federal oil and gas and federal and Indian oil and gas effectively reinstated the 2016 requirements, ONRR advised federal leaseholders. Accordingly, the leaseholders should recalculate royalties under the 2016 rule for production since Jan. 1, 2017, it said in a June 13 notice.
Read MorePTTEP agrees to acquire Partex HoldingsPTT Exploration & Production Co. has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Partex Holding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of Portugal for as much as $622 million. The deal, expected to close by yearend, will boost the Thai company’s net-interest production by 16,000 b/d of oil and reserves by 65 million boe of oil and gas.
Read MoreConocoPhillips to acquire Nuna discovery acreageConocoPhillips Alaska reported it will acquire 11 tracts covering 21,000 acres in the western Alaska North Slope, which includes the 2012 Nuna oil discovery, from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska. Nuna lies east of the Colville River and 5 miles southwest of Oooguruk oil field where, in January, Caelus agreed to sell a 70% interest to Eni.
Read MoreHyundai lets contracts for Daesan petchem complexHyundai Chemical, a joint venture of Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical, has let a contract to W.R. Grace & Co. to provide technology licensing for a grassroots polypropylene unit at its Daesan petrochemical complex under construction in Chungcheongnam-do Province, South Korea.
Read MoreRoberts named Stakeholder Midstream COOJosh J. Roberts has been promoted to chief operating officer of Stakeholder Midstream. Roberts is responsible for the management and oversight of Stakeholder’s engineering and operations functions. Since joining Stakeholder in 2015, Roberts has been responsible for the design and construction of the San Andres Crude Gathering System and the Campo Viejo Gas Gathering System.
Read MoreLime Rock to buy certain Oklahoma assets from BPLime Rock Resources has agreed to acquire from BP America Production certain oil and natural gas properties in Cleveland and McClain counties, Okla. The properties lie 50 miles east of Lime Rock’s existing Norge unit operations that it acquired in 2014.
Read MoreADNOC, OCI form fertilizer joint ventureAbu Dhabi National Oil Co. has entered a strategic partnership that will combine ADNOC Fertilizers into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nitrogen fertilizer business of OCI. The new joint venture “will become the largest export-focused nitrogen fertilizer platform globally and the largest producer in the MENA region,” ADNOC said.
Read MoreExxonMobil, SABIC let contract for USGC petchem projectA joint venture of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. and ExxonMobil has let a contract to a consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Zachry Group to provide construction work on a new unit at the JV’s recently approved Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a 1.8 million-tonne/year ethane cracking complex in San Patricio County, Tex., near Corpus Christi.
Read MoreRathlin: UK appraisal results ‘encouraging’Rathlin Energy (UK) is assessing initial results it calls “encouraging” in an appraisal well drilled to assess a natural gas discovery in Humberside, England. Rathlin drilled the West Newton A-2 appraisal well to 2,061 m on PEDL 183 near Hull. It cut 28 m of core and ran wireline logs in the Permian Kirkham Abbey formation.
Read MoreMARKET: Brent crude falls more than $1/bblBrent oil prices fell on the London market by more than $1/bbl for August and September delivery while light, sweet crude oil in New York for July delivery settled under $52/bbl on concerns of the possibility of oil shipment disruptions through the Middle East. The price drops came amid talk of a possible military confrontation in the Persian Gulf and disruptions to tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Read MoreDominican Republic set to open first licensing roundThe Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Energy and Mines will open its first licensing round at an event in partnership with Wood Mackenzie July 10, with an offering of 14 blocks.
Read MoreEquinor to further evaluate Norwegian Sea discoveryNorway’s Equinor and partners Ineos E&P and Faroe Petroleum will evaluate how to further develop an oil and gas discovery made in exploration well 6507/3-13 (Snadd Outer Outer/Black Vulture), 14 km southwest of Norne field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea and 200 km west of Sandnessjoen in production license 159B.
Read MoreONGC moves 35 rigs ahead of monsoon seasonIndia’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. reported moving a record-high 35 offshore drilling rigs to new locations ahead of the Indian monsoon season. Aqualis Offshore said it assisted with many of the moves.
Read MoreDivisive bills raise odds in Canada for Trans Mountain nodTwo bills making the oil and gas industry anxious have survived in the Canadian Senate—one less damaging than its original version and one not.
Read MoreWatching Government: Old idea in new proposalIn what seems to have become an annual ritual, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced a seemingly new infrastructure development program on June 5 that would rely on his usual proposed revenue source.
Read MoreSonangol, Eni let contract for Luanda refinery upgradesAs part of its earlier cooperation agreement with state-owned Sonangol EP, Eni SPA has let a contract to a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont SPA for an upgrading project involving installation of two new processing units as well as other utilities and offsites at Sonangol’s 65,000-b/d refinery in Luanda, Angola.
Read MoreSantos confirms Dorado’s size with appraisal wellA joint venture of Santos Ltd. and Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd. has confirmed a “major” oil and gas discovery with the Dorado well, drilled in the Bedout subbasin about 160 km offshore Port Hedland, Western Australia.
Read MoreAgreement advances Indonesian LNG projectInpex will submit a revised plan of development for the integrated Abadi LNG project in Indonesia after signing a heads of agreement with authorities on basic principles. The HOA outlines terms agreed in discussions after completion of a pre-front end engineering and design study conducted by KBR in response to the government’s requirement that the liquefaction plant be built onshore.
Read MoreEIA: Oil price forecast lower for 2019 on demand concernsBrent crude oil spot prices are expected to average $67/bbl this year, which is $3/bbl lower than forecast last month in the US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Read MoreOman-Kuwait JV lets contract for Duqm petchem complexDuqm Refinery & Petrochemical Industries Co. LLC (DRPIC), Muscat, a joint venture of state-owned Oman Oil Co. and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. subsidiary Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd., has let a contract to John Wood Group PLC to provide front-end engineering design for a proposed onshore petrochemicals complex in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZAD) in Duqm, Al Wusta Governate, on Oman’s southeastern coast.
Read MorePetrobras advances downstream divestment plansPetroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has signed a commitment agreement with Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) consolidating an understanding between the parties on the operator’s previously announced plan to divest its Brazilian refining assets.
Read MoreShell adds crude storage capacity at Bukom refineryRoyal Dutch Shell PLC has completed a project to expand crude oil storage capacity at its 500,000-b/d Pulau Bukom refinery on Bukom Island, Singapore.
Read MoreEquinor drills duster near Korpfjell gas discoveryEquinor Energy will plug exploration well 7335/3-1 in PL 859, which was drilled 8 km southeast of the 7435/12-1 (Korpfjell) natural gas discovery in the Barents Sea, and 435 km north of Vardo. The well was dry. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,268 m subsea drilled by Seadrill’s West Hercules semisubmersible drilling rig in 239 m of water.
Read MoreShell to sell Martinez refinery to PBF Energy unitPBF Energy Inc. subsidiary PBF Holding Co. LLC has entered an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell PLC to purchase Shell subsidiary Equilon Enterprises LLC’s (dba Shell Oil Products US) 157,000-b/d dual-coking refinery and integrated logistics assets at Martinez, Calif., for $0.9-1 billion plus the value of hydrocarbon inventory, crude oil supply, and product offtake agreements, and other adjustments.
Read MoreIEA: UK makes progress reducing energy-related CO2 emissionsThe UK has made major progress in reducing emissions, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest country review.
Read MoreNJ DEP rejects land-use permit apps for pipelineNew Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection rejected three land use permit applications for Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co.’s (Transco) proposed interstate natural gas pipeline across the state on June 5. It also kept the door open for the Williams Cos. subsidiary to reapply for the permits.
Read MoreAFPM seeks court review of EPA’s year-round E15 authorizationThe American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers asked a federal appeals court to review the US Environmental Protection Agency’s authorization for gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15) to be sold year-round in the US (OGJ Online, May 31, 2019). AFPM submitted its petition June 11 to US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia.
Read MoreGuidance issued on states’ CWA Section 401 certificationThe US Environmental Protection Agency issued new guidance on states’ certification authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The guidance provides recommendations to clarify and streamline the certification process and to promote greater investment in and certainty for national infrastructure projects while continuing to protect local water quality, EPA said.
Read MoreProposed pipeline safety reauthorization raises penaltiesUS Transportation Sec. Elaine L. Chao submitted a legislative proposal to Congress on June 3 that would reauthorize safety programs at the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) from fiscal 2020 through 2023. It also would strengthen criminal penalties for damaging or destroying a pipeline facility, which the Association of Oil Pipe Lines welcomed.
Read MoreDRBC approves dock, adds products to Gibbstown projectThe Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) unanimously approved construction of a second dock and associated storage that would add LNG and other energy products to the proposed Gibbstown Logistics Center in southern New Jersey. The commission’s June 12 action followed a June 6 public hearing and a 15-day comment period.
Read MoreA regulatory prodOil and gas producers facing resistance in many places should appreciate a government that not only supports what they do but wants them to work faster.
Read MoreMillion-dollar elmWhen thinking about multimillion-dollar merger and acquisition activities taking place in modern times, many probably picture oil company executives sitting around a large desk in a stately board room in an expensive high-rise building that overlooks the skyline of a metropolitan city.
Read MoreAker BP granted North Sea drilling permitAker BP has been granted a drilling permit by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate for well 25/2-20 in production license 442 in the North Sea.
Read MoreMARKET: Brent for August tops $62/bblBrent oil prices rose moderately on the London market June 14 with the August contract closing slightly above $62/bbl while light, sweet crude prices in New York held fairly flat, again settling above $52/bbl.
Read MoreOGJ NewsletterInternational news for oil and gas professionals
Read MoreBaker Hughes: US rig count down 6 units to 969The US drilling rig count fell 6 units, reaching 969 rigs working for the week ended June 14, according to Baker Hughes data. The count is down 90 units from the 1,059 rigs working this time a year ago.
Read MoreRussia’s Kharyaga field starts gas salesZarubezhneft and production-sharing partners have started sales of associated sour gas at Kharyaga oil field in the Nenets Autonomous Region of northwestern Russia.
Read MoreWoodMac: Argentina LNG poised to meet Asian demandRising natural gas production in Argentina coupled with competitive global LNG transportation costs are expected to position the country as an emerging source of gas supply to Asia during peak demand periods, recent research from Wood Mackenzie shows.
Read MoreIEA consecutively cuts oil demand growth forecastIn its latest monthly Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global demand growth in 2019 for a second consecutive month. It is now projected at 1.2 million b/d, reduced from 1.3 million b/d in the previous report and 1.4 million b/d in the April report.
Read MoreHusky fined for 2016 Saskatchewan oil spillHusky Oil Operations entered guilty pleas June 12 on federal and provincial charges related to a 2016 oil spill in Saskatchewan and will pay fines totaling $3.82 million. Husky was fined $2.5 million under the federal Fisheries Act and $200,000 for a violation of the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act. It was fined $800,000 under the Saskatchewan Environmental Management and Protection Act and assessed a 40% victim impact surcharge of $320,000.
Read MoreMARKET: Oil prices rise on tanker attacksOil futures rallied on the New York and London markets June 13 following attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz although crude settlements failed to completely recover from the previous trading session losses of more than $2/bbl.
Read MoreCSB: Operational lapses led to well blowout, firePoor barrier management combined with underbalanced operations performed without proper planning, procedures, or needed equipment to make an Oklahoma natural gas well blow out and catch fire on Jan. 22, 2018, killing five workers in the driller’s cabin on the rig floor, a US Chemical Safety Board investigation concluded.
Read MoreEPA chief extends emergency fuel waivers in PennsylvaniaUS Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler extended temporary emergency fuel waivers on June 12 for Allegheny County, Pa. The waivers were due to expire on June 17.
Read MoreCallon closes sale of noncore Midland assetsCallon Petroleum Co., Natchez, Miss., has closed on the sale of noncore assets in the southern Midland basin to Sequitur Permian LLC for net cash proceeds of $245 million. Proceeds do not include potential contingent consideration payments of up to $60 million based on West Texas Intermediate average annual pricing over 3 years.
Read MoreCAPP: Canadian crude output growth slowingCanadian production of crude oil and condensate will increase through 2035 but at rates sharply lower than predicted before the crude-price slump of 2014-15 and the onset of problems associated with pipeline congestion. In its annual outlook for crude oil, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers projects total Canadian production of 5.86 million b/d of crude oil in 2035, compared with 4.59 million b/d in 2018.
Read MoreCanada nixes controversial-bill overhaulIndustry groups warned of further damage to Canadian oil and gas investment after federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna rejected most amendments made in the Senate to a bill overhauling environmental review of energy projects.
Read MoreExxonMobil, SABIC to proceed with USGC petchem projectSABIC and ExxonMobil are proceeding with their previously announced plan to build the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a 1.8 million-tonne/year ethane cracker currently planned for construction in San Patricio County, Tex. The ExxonMobil-SABIC joint venture has received final environmental regulatory approval to proceed with construction of the GCGV project, which will include an ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene units, and a monoethylene glycol unit.
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