Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh blamed the latest drop in oil prices on some members of OPEC and questioned whether any OPEC emergency meeting would reach an agreement, the oil ministry's news agency Shana reported. "To balance the oil price... OPEC members should balance their production. An emergency meeting has been requested and we don't have a problem with that," Shana cited Zanganeh as saying.
Should Shell push ahead with its $70 billion bid for BG in the face of cheaper oil? The tumbling oil price – down by a fifth since the merger was announced in April - has raised fears that Shell shareholders might balk at the 50 percent premium the Anglo-Dutch energy group agreed to pay for its smaller rival. But while the price tag may look bigger today on some metrics, so should the cost savings.
PetroChina, China's biggest oil and gas producer, reported a 63 percent drop in its first-half profit, with earnings upstream and in the marketing segment both taking a hit from lower prices.
The head of Statoil yesterday cautioned oil and gas companies against decommissioning too early and said the Norwegian firm’s £4.5billion North Sea Mariner development was on track. Statoil president and chief executive Eldar Saetre said there were a lot more resources to be found but costs needed to be restructured in a “fundamental and sustainable” way to ensure their recovery. He was speaking after his first visit to the Norwegian oil giant’s new regional base in Kingswells, Aberdeen.
China's top offshore oil producer CNOOC said its consolidated first-half net profit fell 56.1 percent, as a precipitous drop in crude prices offset higher production.
Oil companies competing in the next phase of Mexico's historic Round One auction will know the minimum level of profits demanded by the government prior to the auction, the sector regulator said on Tuesday, in a bid to raise investor interest. The oil regulator, known by its Spanish-language acronym CNH, also said it will offer companies the possibility to conduct additional exploration and extraction beyond reserves that have already been discovered. The changes are aimed at avoiding a repeat of the first phase of the auction, in which the government missed its own modest expectations, awarding just two of 14 contracts offered.
Cash-strapped National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) will slash its work force by over two-thirds and its board of directors will be replaced as it grapples with a fall in the price of oil, the country's president said on Tuesday. The West African country does not produce any oil or natural gas but has placed its hopes in potential reserves offshore in deep and ultra-deep waters, following the example of Gulf of Guinea neighbours Ghana and Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer. But Liberia has been hit hard by a rapid decline in world oil prices that has led many companies to reassess their exploration strategies.
Oil pioneer Algy Cluff said yesterday his company’s plans to tap coal reserves under the Firth of Forth were in keeping with the concept of Scottish independence. And in announcing the first half results for Cluff Natural Resources (CNR), Mr Cluff criticised the previous UK Government’s support for North Sea windfarms. Mr Cluff, chairman and chief executive of CNR, said large windfarms blocked access to gas fields and sucked up taxpayers’ money.
North Sea industry bosses are rapidly running out of time in which to reach an agreement with offshore workers and avert a strike action ballot.
Southern Company is to acquire AGL Resources in a $12billion deal, creating the second largest energy utility in the United States.
HSEQ media specialist Viscom has appointed Robert Mpofu as sales and marketing manager.
Oil and gas industry experts are being urged by Subsea UK to get together and share their thoughts on the current and future challenges for the sector at next year’s Subsea Expo.
London’s FTSE dipped below the 6,000-mark, down 260.2 points at 5927.4, adding to the gloom seen last Friday when it fell nearly 3%.
US independent Range Resources plans to drill 22 new wells in Trinidad by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
Russia's second-biggest gas producer Novatek is close to selling a 9.9 percent stake worth an estimated $900 million in its Yamal liquefied natural gas project to a Chinese investment fund, Kommersant business daily reported on Monday. The deal may close in the coming weeks, the daily quoted three sources familiar with the talks as saying. It quoted one of source as saying the buyer was China's infrastructure fund Silk Road.
The boss of Big Six energy firm Npower has left his post after German owner RWE took action following “unexpectedly negative” half-year results.
Royal Dutch Shell will repay a $2 billion debt to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) when sanctions on Iran are lifted and will consider investing in the country's vast energy sector, Shell's boss for new business said. Much would depend on the terms offered by the Islamic Republic once sanctions were lifted, said Edward Daniels, Shell's executive vice-president for commercial and new business development. He was speaking to Reuters while on a British government visit to reopen the country's embassy in Tehran. "We are very pleased to have been part of this historic delegation. Clearly Iran remains under sanctions with time before sanctions will be unwound and clearly we will be absolutely adhering to all sanctions," Daniels said.
The chief executive of the Offshore Contractors’ Association (OCA), Bill Murray, has said a strike would cause “significant, irreparable damage to the North Sea industry”.
A Scottish hydro power scheme which could produce enough power for over 800 homes each year has been officially opened.
Oil giant Statoil has outsourced its UK onshore and offshore payroll services to Norwegian firm Frontica Business Solutions.
Britain must tread carefully in its newly thawed relationship Iran, but the two countries can work together to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has suggested.
Xcite Energy said it was continuing to make progress with its Bentley field, albeit that it was taking longer than it would like due to the technical nature of the development.
Statoil has opted for oil spill response specialist Aptomar’s management system at its field monitoring centre at Sandsli in Bergen, Norway.
Engineering group Costain has been awarded a £605million contract for the East works package of the Thames Tideway Tunnel "super-sewer" in London.
Oil company Gulf Keystone has appointed British MP Nadhim Zahawi as its chief strategy officer.