Canada has dropped 56 rigs for the week ended Mar. 22, according to Baker Hughes data. With 105 rigs running, the count is less than the 161 units drilling this week a year ago. The number of oil-directed rigs in Canada fell by 49, bringing the count to 49 rigs for the week. Gas-directed rigs […]
Nigeria lets contract for Port Harcourt refinery revamp
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. subsidiary Port Harcourt Refining Co. has let a contract to Maire Tecnimont subsidiaries to provide services as part of the first leg of a long-planned rehabilitation project at the Port Harcourt refining complex—which includes a 60,000-b/sd hydroskimming refinery and 150,000-b/sd full-conversion refinery—in Nigeria’s Rivers State. Source: News
PTTEP outlines Malaysian plans after acquisition, block wins
PTT Exploration & Production PCL (PTTEP) has won two exploration blocks in Malaysia while acquiring Murphy Oil Corp.’s properties in the country. PTTEP together with Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. signed production-sharing contracts with Petronas for exploration and production rights of two offshore blocks, PM407 and PM415, in shallow waters off Peninsular Malaysia under the Malaysia […]
Denbury, Penn Virginia end merger agreement
Denbury Resources Inc., Plano, Tex., and Penn Virginia Corp., Houston, have ended a merger agreement estimated to have been worth $1.7 billion. Source: News
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX crude oil dips below $60/bbl
Light, sweet crude oil for May delivery dipped to settle just below $60/bbl on Mar. 21, while Brent prices for May settled under $68/bbl. Production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela are contributing to a tightening of supply, buoying prices near 2019 highs. Source: News
Equinor: Johan Sverdrup lift sets record
Equinor reported “the heaviest lift ever performed offshore” at Johan Sverdrup oil field under development in the Norwegian North Sea. The company also let a construction installation contract for the second development phase to TechnipFMC. Source: News
Eni plans third development well for Blacktip gas field
Eni Australia has submitted environmental plans for a third production well on its wholly owned Blacktip gas and condensate field in the shallow waters of the southern Bonaparte Gulf offshore Northern Territory. The plans were submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority. Source: News
Morgan Stanley: Low European gas prices to prompt US LNG utilization cuts
European mainland gas prices have fallen now to about $5/MMbtu, a 50% decline from late September peaks. The loss in supply-demand is due to warmer weather, large LNG imports, and more active renewables. Morgan Stanley argues that poor pricing conditions are likely to prompt US LNG utilization rate cuts. Source: News
Murphy to exit Malaysia to focus on Western Hemisphere assets
A subsidiary of PTT Exploration & Production PCL (PTTEP) will pay $2.127 billion to a subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corp. for Murphy’s two primary Malaysian subsidiaries, Murphy Sabah Oil Co. Ltd. and Murphy Sarawak Oil Co. Ltd. A bonus payment of up to $100 million is contingent upon certain future exploratory drilling results prior to […]
Federal judge remands BLM Wyoming leases, orders climate studies
A federal judge ruled that the US Bureau of Land Management did not adequately consider potential climate impacts when it issued oil and gas leases in Wyoming in 2015 and 2016, remanded the leases to the US Department of the Interior agency, and ordered it to conduct further studies. Source: News