Region-wide gulf lease sale yields $124.8 million in high bids

The region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease sale, held Mar. 21 in New Orleans by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, generated $124,763,581 in apparent high bids for 148 tracts in the gulf’s federal waters. Source: News


Curacaoan refinery due Venezuelan gas supply

Operator Refineria Isla Curazao BV—a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA)—recently let a contract to Axens SA, Rueil-Malmaison, France, to perform preliminary front-end engineering design work on a project to supply Venezuelan natural gas to the Curacaoan state-controlled Refineria Di Korsou NV’s (RdK) 320,000-b/d Isla refinery at Emmastad, Curacao. Source: News


BSEE implements new permitting process quality assurance program

The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has implemented a new quality assurance process to review and assess its permitting systems. The process aims to help inform best practices for offshore energy permitting, BSEE Director Scott A. Angelle said. Source: News


Zinke on reorganization

Beyond some heated exchanges with critical Democrats, US Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke provided some glimpses at what he is finding as he pursues reorganizing the department he leads. Source: News


US sanctions on Venezuela could backfire, speakers warn

Conditions in Venezuela have deteriorated under the Maduro regime to a point where other countries are beginning to consider ways to intervene and rescue the country’s citizens who haven’t fled already, speakers suggested during a Mar. 13 discussion at the Atlantic Council. Source: News


Brazil's fateful year

Brazil’s oil and gas industry grows despite political turmoil newly darkened by assassination. The country’s total oil supply, now about 2.7 million b/d, should exceed 3 million b/d by yearend as production projects come online, mainly in the presalt play of the offshore Santos basin. Source: News


ADNOC lets contracts for Ruwais refinery

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. subsidiary ADNOC Refining has let two contracts to Samsung Engineering Co. to provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for separate projects on its 80,000-b/d Ruwais refining complex in the UAE. Source: News


Industry in transition

The energy industry is in transition, again. This year’s CERAWeek by IHS Markit, which took place Mar. 5-9 in Houston, was the most recent showcase of acknowledgement to that fact. Scratch that. An hour into this writing Statoil AS announced a proposal to remove “oil” from its name, but more on that later. Source: News