Saudi Aramco has reached a deal to acquire Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s share of the partners’ 50-50 joint venture Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co.(Sasref), which operates the 305,000-b/d refinery at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Source: News

Long before the United Conservatives Party spanked incumbent New Democrats in Alberta elections Apr. 16, questions of foreign influence cried for attention.   Source: News

Hurricane Energy PLC has spudded the 205/26b-C well (Warwick Deep) in the Greater Warwick Area (GWA) west of the UK Shetland Islands. Source: News

Eni has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement for Block A offshore Ras Al Khaimah. Source: News

Japan Exploration Co. Ltd. has spudded an exploratory well 50 km offshore the Hidaka area of Hokkaido, Japan. Source: News

Partners in the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) complex in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan have approved the investment of $6-billion in a new platform able to process as much as 100,000 b/d of oil. Source: News

Light sweet crude prices on the New York market gained to settle at $64/bbl on Apr. 18, marking the second time in 3 days that the benchmark has reached or broken above that level. Source: News

Port Arthur LNG LLC, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, received FERC authorization to site, construct, and operate the Sempra-led Port Arthur LNG liquefaction-export facility under development in Jefferson County, Tex., moving the project closer to a final investment decision.    Source: News

ExxonMobil Corp. reported a new oil discovery offshore Guyana with the Yellowtail-1 well in Stabroek block, bringing the total discoveries on that block to 13 and adding to an estimated recoverable resource of 5.5 billion boe. Source: News

Surge Energy US Holdings Co. subsidiary Moss Creek Resources Holdings Inc. reported drilling the Medusa Unit C 28-09 3AH to 24,592 ft TMD (7,102 ft TVD). Source: News