The US drilling rig count is down 1 unit to 1,026 rigs working for the week ended Mar. 15, according to Baker Hughes data. The count is up 36 units from the 990 rigs working this time a year ago. With a 3-unit loss over last week, there are 1,001 rigs drilling on land. The […]
IEA: Oil supply cushion insures against Venezuela production loss
Until recently, Venezuela’s oil production had stabilized at about 1.2 million b/d. However, the country’s recent electricity crisis has paralyzed it for substantial periods of time. In its Oil Market Report for March, the International Energy Agency warned that, as Venezuela’s industry operations were seriously disrupted by the crisis, ongoing losses could present a challenge […]
Oil-producing communities should prepare for transition, forum told
Communities that have depended economically on coal are facing impacts now that communities that similarly rely on oil and gas will face in the future, speakers suggested at a Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs event. Such communities should consider partnerships with producers to help retrain employees and others who want to stay, […]
US sanctions necessary to stop Nord Stream 2 pipeline, speakers say
US sanctions will be necessary to stop construction of the proposed Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, speakers indicated at a Mar. 12 Jamestown Foundation (JF) event. “The project is divisive and essentially anti-European. US involvement will be crucial in strengthening European opposition to it,” said Piotr Wilczek, Poland’s ambassador to the US. Source: […]
Hungary’s MOL lets contract for Duna refinery
Hungary’s MOL Group has let a contract to Frames Group BV, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, to provide desalting equipment for subsidiary MOL PLC’s 166,500-b/d Duna refinery in Szazhalombatta, near Budapest. Source: News
MARKET WATCH: Crude oil benchmarks close mixed
Light, sweet crude oil for April settled at $58.61/bbl on Mar. 14, marking the highest level so far this year, while Brent crude oil declined slightly in London to settle at $67.23/bbl, marking its second-highest level of the year. The US crude contract for April marked the front month’s highest closing level since Nov. 12, […]
Chevron Australia lets contract for Jansz-Io compression project
Chevron Australia has let a master contract to Aker Solutions for a subsea compression system for the company’s Jansz-Io field offshore Western Australia. The first stage of the contract is the front-end engineering and design of a subsea compression station that will boost gas recovery at the field, which is part of the overall Gorgon […]
Venture Global to expand LNG business to 60 million tpy
Venture Global LNG Inc., Arlington, Va., will expand the scope of its LNG development business to 60 million tonnes/year based on customer demand, expanding its 2016 process equipment supply agreement with Baker Hughes. Source: News
PetroChina commissions unit at Jilin refinery
PetroChina Co.—the publicly listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp.—has started up an alkylation unit at its 200,800-b/d refinery in Jilin City, Jilin Province, China. The 9,000-b/d unit reached commercial startup and production just 17 months following initial design, McDermott International Inc. (formerly CB&I) said. Source: News
Chinese firm lets contract for propylene plant
Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., a subsidiary of ShengHong Petrochemical Group Co., has let a contract to Honeywell UOP to provide process technology for a project to increase propylene production at its existing operations in Lianyungang City in China’s province of Jiangsu. Source: News