Marathon Oil seeking bids in East Africa onshore blocks
Marathon Oil is said to be seeking bids for its interest in four onshore exploration blocks in East Africa. The company is looking to focus on its blocks in the US shale formations.
energy
Petronas to delay start-up of refinery
Petronas said it would be delaying the start-up of its $16billion RAPID refining and petrochemical complex in Malaysia until mid-2019. The move will push the project back from earlier that year. The decline in oil price has led to a review by Petronas looking at some of its engineering, procurement and construction contracts.
Infrastrata begins drilling on Northern Ireland well
Infrastrata has begun drilling at the Islandmagee-1 salt well in Northern Ireland. Drilling operations at the site are expected to take five weeks and aim to confirm the feasibility of the development of an underground gas storage facility in salt caverns.
PGS commences seismic program in Mexico
PGS (Petroleum Geo-Services) has commenced operation of a multi-client 2D seismic program in Mexico. The company said the two 2D vessels, Atlantic Explorer and Sanco Spirit, will acquire multiple projects which have been approved by the Mexican government.
Video: Take a look back through OTC’s 46-year history
As OTC wraps up for another year, take a look back at some of the highlights from the very beginning. This video takes a trip down memory lane to capture some of the key technology highlights and speakers who have taken to the podium over the decades.
Amec Foster Wheeler appoints new global head of HSSE
Amec Foster Wheeler has appointed a new global head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE). Hannah Sessay will take up the role and will be in charge of developing and implementing strategies at her base in the Houston office. She will also fulfil the role of senior vice president, HSSE, for the Americas.
Conoco sees selling US oil to world amid call to end crude ban
ConocoPhillips said it’s capable of supplying US oil to the global market and reiterated a call to end the nation’s ban on crude exports. The US shale boom has resulted in a glut of light-sweet crude, as production outpaces demand from refineries, Ryan Lance, chief executive officer of the Houston-based company, said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Removing the ban on overseas sales of US oil would benefit consumers because it would reduce domestic as well as overseas gasoline prices, he said at a conference in the Malaysian capital. A potential easing of the restriction would pit US explorers such as Conoco against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which currently dominates supply to markets such as Asia and Europe.
Hundreds of protesters gather against Shell ahead of Arctic drilling
Hundreds of protesters in small boats and kayaks came together in Seattle to make a stand against oil giant Shell and its plans to resume Arctic oil exploration. The company, also plans to keep two of its drilling rigs in the city's port. The move has been met with dismay from a number of environmental groups, including Greenpeace, with a vow to disrupt the company's efforts to use the city as a base for drilling.
Qatar Petroleum set to announce restructuring plans
Qatar Petroleum is set to announce a restructuring plan in the next few months in a bid to adapt to the change in oil price. According to the head of its international subsidiary, Qatar Petroleum International, the change is being made at the "right time" for the company.
Naftogaz transfers $32million payment to Gazprom
Naftogaz, the Ukraine state-run company, has transferred $32million to Gazprom as a further pre-payment for gas deliveries. The company signed an interim deal last month for cheaper supplies of gas from Russia over the course of the next three months.
Offshore worker in stable condition after falling from rig
An offshore worker is in a stable condition after falling overboard from a rig. Statoil said the incident happened in the early hours of the morning from the Seadrill West Hercules off Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada. The semi-submersible is being used as part of the Norwegian company's exploration drilling program in the region.
Hedge funds lose faith in oil rally as OPEC seen boosting supply
Speculators are losing faith in the oil rally, judging that OPEC will keep increasing supply from the highest level since 2012. Their net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.1 percent, as long wagers fell the most in two months and short bets declined to the lowest since August, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. OPEC’s push to defend its share of the global oil market has just begun and its members may further increase production, the International Energy Agency said May 13. Saudi Arabia said it boosted output to the highest level in at least three decades. Oil explorers in the U.S. reduced the rig count last week by the least since December, diminishing the probability that supply will contract.
BHP puts Australian LNG project with Exxon on back burner
BHP Billiton Ltd. is putting its Scarborough liquefied natural gas project with Exxon Mobil Corp. in Australia on the back burner amid lower prices and increasing competition from the US. “LNG prices are down quite a bit from last year,” Tim Cutt, BHP’s petroleum president, told reporters Monday in Melbourne. “We’re probably not moving quite as quickly as we were last year, but it’s still a very important asset” that will be developed at the right time, he said.
Baron Oil secures contract worth $1.5million
Baron Oil's subsidiary, Gold Oil Peru, has signed a seismic services contract with Houston-based GSS for the Block XXI prospect in northwest Peru. The deal is worth $1.5million and will be subject to environmental approval by Peruvian authorities.
EnQuest sees production increase by 20% in Q1
EnQuest said production has rose 20% in the first four months of the year. The increase was largely due to a strong performance at its Malaysian asset, the oil producer said. Production rose to 30,768 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the four months to April, from 25,597 barrels a year earlier.
President Obama meets with Gulf nations
President Barack Obama pledged America’s “ironclad commitment” to anxious Persian Gulf nations to help protect their security. He pointedly mentioned the potential use of military force and offered assurances that a potential nuclear agreement with Iran would not leave them more vulnerable. At the close of a rare summit at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Mr Obama said the US would join the Gulf Co-operation Council nations “to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state’s territorial integrity”. The US pledged to bolster its security co-operation with the Gulf on counter-terrorism, maritime security, cybersecurity and ballistic missile defence.
Award-winning technology to be highlighted at event
Award-winning technology will be in the spotlight next week at an event organised by Welltec. The event - Well Design for today - will held at the Norwood Hall Hotel on the 20th May where a series of demonstrations and talks will take place featuring the firm's latest completions solution, Flex-well. It is designed to reduce well construction costs, tackle production issues and increase total recovery and allow for easier plug and abandonment.
Industry left reeling from ‘promote me or I’ll leave mentality’
The industry is reeling from the effects of a 'promote me or I'll leave mentality', according to a new white paper. The paper, produced by K.D. Marine, discussed the skills shortage, projected production, cost efficiencies and the sector's transient culture. Motivated by the most recent down cycle, managing director Hamish Peterson gathered experts from both operators and service companies to discuss and debate a way forward for the North Sea sector.
Pemex scraps third Paragon offshore rig
Pemex has abandoned a third rig contract with Paragon Offshore as the Mexico state-owned company reduces spending. The company notified Pargon this week to confirm it would be returning the L781 jack-up rig after services weren't approved. It comes a week after receiving two other early termination notices.
Oil Pares record rally on signs $60 crude may sustain glut
Oil pared its ninth weekly advance, the longest rising streak since trading started in 1983, amid speculation the market’s rebound to $60 a barrel will sustain a global supply glut. Futures slid as much as 0.5 percent in New York, retreating for a third day. OPEC and US shale explorers are set to expand production later this year, preventing further price gains, said Pierre Andurand, a hedge fund manager.
Iran flexes muscle in Gulf as tensions with Saudis keep growing
With tensions over its roles in Yemen, Iraq and Syria already high, Iran is flexing its military muscle in the Persian Gulf. For the third time in as many weeks, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol boats have fired at or aggressively tailed commercial vessels in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, the No. 1 global choke point for oil transit. “You have to go back to 1988, toward the end of the Iran-Iraq war, to see such actions,” said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Britain’s cars guzzle record diesel as gasoline loses traction
Britain’s cars are guzzling diesel like never before, presenting a growing challenge to oil refineries that weren’t configured to maximize production of the fuel. The nation consumed 540,600 barrels a day of diesel in February, according to the most recent data from the International Energy Agency in Paris, an adviser to the UK and 28 other countries. Demand more than doubled over the past two decades, while gasoline use contracted by a third.
Cairn will use North Sea cash to fund its whole strategy
North Sea cash flow is enough to fund all of Cairn Energy’s strategic goals, including its exploration plans for Senegal, the Scottish oil firm said yesterday. Speaking at the Edinburgh firm’s annual general meeting, chief executive Simon Thomson said: “Cairn seeks to deliver sustainable growth in value for shareholders from a balanced exploration and production portfolio. “That balance is provided from a combination of the attractive mature basin positions that we have built in the North Sea and an extensive frontier and emerging basin exploration portfolio.
Gallery: This week’s most read stories
This week Subsea 7 revealed it would be reducing its headcount by 2,500 in total in the next year. The move will see initial changes in both Aberdeen, London and Norway. With 410 positions are expected to go in the UK. Meanwhile in Norway up to 210 positions will go.
Scottish Power suffers highest complaint record
Scottish Power has received the highest number of complaints ever recorded for a UK energy company in a quarter, according to the latest figures from Citizens Advice. There were 1,163 complaints about Scottish Power per 100,000 customers in the last quarter of last year, the national charity and consumer advocate said. It is the highest figure ever recorded against a single supplier, ending a year in which the total number of complaints about the Big Six provider increased by 488%, the figures show. The Spanish-owned company was banned from proactive sales for 12 days in March after failing to meet customer service targets set by Ofgem. The regulator found the firm had not made necessary improvements to respond to customer complaints.