One week after hitting an all-time low in recorded data, the overall US drilling rig count posted its smallest decline of the year thus far, reflecting the first rise in oil-directed rigs in 12 weeks. Source: News
Indian firms joining Rosneft for field work
Rosneft has signed several participation agreements with Indian oil companies expected to boost development of large oil and gas-condensate fields in eastern Siberia. Source: News
Eni slashes 4-year capex plan by 21%, hopes to divest $7.9 billion
Italy’s Eni SPA has set group capital expenditures during 2016-19 at $41.78 billion, down 21% from the 2015-18 plan. Source: News
Barclays: Global E&P spending drop revised to 27% for 2016
Barclays has revised down its global exploration and production spending outlook for 2016, now saying such spending could fall 27% this year, down from 15% back in January. Source: News
Explosive munitions strike In Salah gas plant in Algeria
Explosive munitions struck the In Salah gas plant in Krechba, Algeria, early Mar. 18. No injuries were reported, but operators shut down the central processing facility as a precaution. Source: News
BOEM proposes new air-quality rules for offshore oil, gas drilling
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed new air-quality requirements for offshore oil and gas drilling that it said would more accurately account for emissions and effective protect any state’s air quality. It said that the proposal updates 36-year-old regulations and incorporates BOEM’s Arctic Outer Continental Shelf jurisdiction over air quality, which Congress recently […]
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil prices top $40/bbl, Brent for May tops $41/bbl
Light, sweet crude oil prices closed above $40/bbl on the New York market Mar. 17 for the first time since Dec. 3, 2015, and US natural gas futures settled at nearly $1.94/MMbtu, their highest level in a month. Source: News
TransCanada agrees to buy Columbia Pipeline Group for $13 billion
TransCanada Corp., Calgary, has agreed to acquire Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. of Houston for $13 billion, including the assumption of $2.8 billion of debt. Source: News
PHMSA proposal would broaden gas pipeline safety requirements
The US Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposed broader natural gas transmission pipeline safety regulations that would add new assessment and repair criteria, and include lines in medium population density areas, called moderate consequence areas, where an incident would pose a risk to human life. Source: News
PDO lets contract for Omani oil, gas processing installations
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), through contractor Petrofac Ltd., has let a contract to a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement SA, Paris, to provide process water treatment solutions for industrial water on PDO’s Rabab Harweel Integrated Project (RHIP) oil and gas operations near Harweel in southern Oman. Source: News