MARKET: Brent for August rises to approach $62/bbl

Light, sweet oil for July climbed modestly on the New York market to settle above $53/bbl June 4 while the Brent contract for August also gained to settle at nearly $62/bbl in London. Oil prices, along with other stocks and commodities, have been pressured downward recently by rising concerns that the world economy is slowing, […]


Proposed pipeline safety reauthorization raises penalties

US Transportation Sec. Elaine L. Chao submitted a legislative proposal to Congress on June 3 that would reauthorize safety programs at the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) from fiscal 2020 through 2023. It also would strengthen criminal penalties for damaging or destroying a pipeline facility, which the Association of Oil Pipe Lines […]


Total to takeover Toshiba LNG portfolio

Total SA has agreed to take over Toshiba’s portfolio of LNG, including a 20-year tolling agreement for 2.2 million tonnes/year of LNG from Freeport LNG Train 3 in Texas and the corresponding gas transportation agreements on the pipelines feeding the terminal. Train 3 is expected to start commercial operations by second-quarter 2020. Source: News


Equinor to make FID on Rosebank offshore UK

Equinor said it would make a final investment decision by May 2022 on Rosebank, which it plans to develop using a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. Last year, Equinor finalized an agreement to acquire Chevron Corp.’s 40% operated interest in the Rosebank project, one of the largest undeveloped fields on the UK Continental Shelf. […]


Permian gas flaring, venting reaches record high

Flaring and venting of natural gas in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico has reached an all-time record high in this year’s first quarter, averaging 661 MMcfd, according to research conducted by Rystad Energy. This widespread waste of a valuable commodity is the result of persistent infrastructure challenges, a lack of enough takeaway […]


Sonangol advances plan for new refinery at Cabinda

State-owned Sonangol has officially signed an agreement with the United Shine consortium for construction of a new refinery in Cabinda, Angola. As part of the agreement, signed in Luanda on June 4, the United Shine consortium will move forward with construction of the high-conversion refiner, which will have a processing capacity of 60,000 b/d for production […]


UK seeks faster offshore issue settlement

UK regulators will increase pressure on offshore operators and equipment owners to settle issues impeding progress toward the government’s goals of maximizing economic recovery. In a June 4 letter to license holders and infrastructure owners, Oil and Gas Authority Director of Regulation Tom Wheeler said OGA “will be more progressively more proactive in using [its] […]


Aker BP drills dry hole in North Sea

Aker BP ASA will plug exploration well 15/6-15 in PL814, 15 km northeast of Gina Krog field in the North Sea. The well was a dry hole. The exploration well—the first in the license—was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,761 m subsea with Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger semisubmersible drilling rig 225 km west of […]


UK offers 37 licenses in offshore round

Thirty companies, some of them in groups, have received offers for the award of 37 licenses covering 141 blocks in the UK’s 31st offshore licensing round. The frontier areas are in the Faroe-Shetland basin, Moray Firth, East Irish Sea, East Shetland Platform, Mid North Sea High, and English Channel. Source: News


W&T Offshore makes oil find with Gladden Deep well

W&T Offshore made an oil discovery with its Gladden Deep well on Mississippi Canyon 800 block in the US Gulf of Mexico, reported partner Kosmos Energy Ltd. of Dallas. Gladden Deep is a subsea tie back expected to be brought online through the existing Gladden pipeline to the Medusa spar in this year’s fourth quarter. […]