ExxonMobil’s Ranger well yields sixth oil discovery off Guyana

ExxonMobil Corp. says it plans additional exploration drilling on its Starbroek block offshore Guyana in 2018. The company’s affiliate, Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Ltd., encountered 230 ft of high-quality, oil-bearing reservoir with its Ranger-1 well about 60 miles northwest of the Liza discovery. Source: News

Baker Hughes: US rig count falls 5 units to 924

The US drilling rig count fell 5 units to 924 rigs working during the week ended Jan. 5, data from Baker Hughes indicate. This total is up 259 units from a year ago. Source: News

HPCL lets contract for major crude unit at Visakh refinery

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. has let a contract to Larsen & Toubro subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Ltd. to provide engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning for major processing units to be added as part of HPCL’s previously announced program to expand and modernize its 8.3 million-tonne/year Visakh refinery in Andhra Pradesh on India’s southeastern coast. […]

Court rejects climate challenge to licenses

Two environmental groups have lost a court fight against Arctic oil and gas licenses off Norway that they called the first lawsuit claiming governmental violation of the Paris climate accord. Source: News

MARKET WATCH: Brent crude for March settles above $68/bbl

Brent crude oil prices reached a 3-year high on the London market Jan. 4, which analysts attributed to declining US crude supplies and possible risk to world oil supplies caused by protests in Iran.   Source: News