Light, sweet crude oil prices for April dropped modestly Feb. 24 but still settled at about $54/bbl on Feb. 24 on the New York market despite a climbing US rig count. The US oil futures benchmark has traded at $50-55/bbl for weeks. Source: News
An Oklahoman’s background in oil is not a scandal
Gasp! While he was attorney-general of Oklahoma, the new administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency had regular communication with oil and gas companies. Oh no! Scott Pruitt actually tried to help some them. Source: News
ORPIC: Sohar refinery expansion due for commissioning
Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) has completed all construction and precommissioning works for the multibillion-dollar Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP), a long-planned, brownfield modernization program to technically enhance the operator’s existing 116,000-b/d refinery about 230 km northwest of Muscat. Source: News
Trump orders agencies to establish regulatory reform taskforces
US President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order for each federal agency to establish a regulatory reform taskforce to eliminate red tape. Under the Feb. 24 order, each taskforce will: Source: News
Contract let for Uzbekistan gas processing complex
Russia’s privately held PJSC Lukoil and Uzbekistan’s National Holding Co. Uzbekneftegaz, through a contractor, have let a contract to Frames Group BV, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, to provide desalting equipment for their jointly owned Kandym gas processing complex now under construction in southwestern Uzbekistan’s province of Bukhara, about 520 km southwest of Tashkent. […]
Whitehead appointed Marathon Oil EVP, CFO
Dane Whitehead has joined Marathon Oil Corp. as executive vice-president and chief financial officer with an anticipated effective date of Mar. 6. Source: News
BHI: Permian, Eagle Ford drilling continues US rig count rebound
The US drilling rig count increased a mere 3 units during the week ended Feb. 24 following 5 straight weeks of double digit gains, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data. Source: News
ONRR stays new oil, gas valuation rule in response to litigation
The US Office of Natural Resources Revenue has postponed the Jan. 1 effective date for its new final rule covering oil and gas as well as coal valuation on public and Indian tribal land after several petitioners legally challenged it in US District Court for Wyoming on Dec. 29, 2016, the agency announced. Source: […]
Gazprom Neft shows annual boost in net profits
PJSC Gazprom Neft earned 200.1 billion rubles in net profits in 2016—a 82.5% increase over 2015. Oil-equivalent production increased 8.2% to 86.2 million tonnes. Factors attributing to this boost in earnings include production increases at Novoportovskoye and Prirazlomnoye fields and the commissioning of the East Messoyakhskoye field in September 2016. Source: News
Rosneft reports decline in net income for 2016
Rosneft reported a decline net income in 2016 to 181 billion rubles compared with 355 billion rubles in 2015. Fourth-quarter net income of 52 billion rubles, however, doubled third-quarter net income of 26 billion. Source: News