Petronas tests explosion-proof robot dog offshore
Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas and robotics company ANYbotics are co-developing a four-legged dog-like robot for autonomous robotic inspection at offshore oil and gas platforms.
E&P
India’s ONGC to boost deep-water KG gas volumes
India’s state-backed Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is set to boost deep-water gas production from the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin to between 2.5 million and 3 million cubic meters per day (cm/d) by May this year.
Repsol and Petronas set for key wildcat in Indonesia’s deep waters
Repsol and Petronas are on track to drill the much-anticipated Rencong-1X wildcat in the frontier deep waters of Indonesia’s North Sumatra basin.
Petronas celebrates historic start-up of second FLNG unit
Malaysia’s Petronas has successfully started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its second floating LNG (FLNG) vessel at the PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) operated Rotan gas field off Sabah.
Indonesia eyes biggest drilling campaign since 2014
The Indonesian government forecasts that 616 new development wells will be drilled across the archipelago this year following a strong rebound in global crude prices.
Eni tipped to takeover giant Chevron project in Indonesia by March
SKK Migas, Indonesia’s upstream regulator, expects Eni to takeover Chevron’s giant Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) during the first quarter 2021. If the move comes to pass, expect other potential buyers, that could include Pertamina, Sinopec, Neptune Energy and Saka Energi, to be in the new IDD mix.
Petronas boosts terms for shallow-water and late-life assets
Petronas MPM hopes to lure investors to Malaysia’s shallow-water and late-life assets after revealing new fiscal terms as part of an ongoing effort to revive its domestic upstream sector. The move could help Malaysia steal a march on neighboring countries.
PTTEP, Kufpec make historic gas find off Malaysia
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) have made a major gas find while drilling offshore Malaysia.
Rystad expects $15bn of Australasia upstream projects to get nod
New upstream oil and gas projects worth about $15 billion will be sanctioned in Australasia this year, according to Rystad Energy’s forecast, marking a huge boost compared to the $1.2 billion committed to new projects in 2020.
India courts ExxonMobil with upstream offer
The Indian government is trying to persuade ExxonMobil to take stakes in offshore acreage controlled by state-backed Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Japanese upstream players accelerate exit plans
Japanese companies are increasingly focused on upstream portfolio rationalisation, with divestment of non-operated stakes in smaller oil, as well as other non-core assets, expected to accelerate, research from Wood Mackenzie shows.
CNOOC’s capital spend set at $15bn, highest since 2014
CNOOC, China’s third-biggest oil company, aims to raise its capital spending this year to between 90 billion and 100 billion yuan ($15 billion), the highest level since 2014, bucking the industry trend.
Indonesian NOC Pertamina readies IPO
Indonesia’s national oil company (NOC) Pertamina is preparing to take at least one of its business units public during the second-half 2021.
Petronas workers stranded offshore after Myanmar coup
Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas said that it is making every effort to ensure the safety of about 155 workers that are sub-contracted on a barge servicing its Yetagun platform in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar following the military coup.
IOCs eye $12 billion worth of mergers and acquisition deals in the Asia Pacific region
Upstream merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals are expected to rebound in Asia Pacific this year after plunging to their lowest level this century in 2020, when the pandemic and collapse in oil and gas prices killed activity.
Upstream players eye force majeure in Myanmar
The bloodless military coup in Myanmar has triggered some upstream companies to assess whether they should activate force majeure clauses in their production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the government.
Malaysia’s Petronas hopes to lure investors to marginal fields with new scheme
Petronas MPM has officially introduced Malaysia’s Small Fields Asset (SFA) production-sharing contract framework as part of an effort to revive its domestic upstream sector and lure new money.
Logistical risks rise for E&P players in Myanmar after coup
The atmosphere in Myanmar remains volatile after the military seized power from the National League for Democracy (NLD) government and is creating logistical challenges for upstream companies, including Woodside Energy, that operate in the country.
Myanmar faces energy crunch after military coup, needs more LNG
Myanmar faces a potential energy crunch following a bloodless military coup that is set to delay urgent upstream investment and derail vital liquefied natural gas (LNG) import projects.
Ex-Petronas CEO joins ExxonMobil board in surprise move
The former boss of Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas, Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee, has joined ExxonMobil’s board of directors, in a move that has surprised some industry watchers.
McDermott wraps up project offshore India for Reliance
McDermott International said today it had wrapped up the KG-D6 R Cluster subsea field development project off the east coast of India.
Myanmar set for more than $1 billion of upstream investment
With Myanmar’s general elections in the rearview mirror, upstream development expenditure could more than double to over $1 billion by 2023 compared to this year’s spend.
China harasses PTTEP’s exploration activity off Malaysia
The Chinese coast guard has been harassing a drilling rig contracted to Thailand’s PTTEP in Malaysian waters off Sarawak as the company attempts to appraise its biggest ever gas discovery.
Independent E&P firms that fail to adjust to energy transition will be gone by 2050, analyst says
Independent exploration and production (E&P) firms that fail to adjust to the energy transition face extinction before 2050, an analyst said today.
Maersk Drilling secures £5.4m contract extension for drillship
Brunei Shell Petroleum Company has exercised an option for Maersk Viking to drill a deepwater exploration well.