CNOOC Ltd.’s Canadian unit said investigations continue into the cause of an explosion at the 50,000-b/d Long Lake oil sands project in Fort McMurray, Alta. The oil processing plant remains closed indefinitely after the Jan. 15 blast killed one worker and injured another. Source: News
Tap Oil settles dispute for Manora oil field in Thailand
Tap Oil Ltd., Perth, has reached an agreement with Mubadala Petroleum, the operator of Manora oil field offshore Thailand, regarding settlement of the final capital costs of the field’s development facilities. Source: News
Ballard named IOGP executive director
Gordon Ballard has been appointed executive director of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP). He succeeds Michael Engell-Jensen, who is retiring after 5 years. Source: News
Shell exits Bab sour gas reservoirs development project
Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported it has decided to exit the joint development of the Bab sour gas reservoirs with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in Abu Dhabi, and to stop further joint work on the project. Source: News
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX, Brent crude oil prices settle below $30/bbl
US light, sweet crude oil prices for February delivery dropped to settle under $30/bbl on the New York market Jan. 15, and the Brent contract for March delivery settled at under $29/bbl on the London market. Source: News
Canadian Oil Sands accepts amended offer from Suncor
The board of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS) has accepted an amended offer from Suncor Energy Inc. for all the outstanding shares of COS and is recommending that shareholders do the same. Source: News
Watching Government: California's gas leak
Could methane leaking from a Southern California Gas Co. storage facility since Oct. 23, 2015, lead to federal gas storage regulations? It’s a fair question as the Sempra Energy subsidiary and seven California agencies try to stop the leak at SoCalGas’s Aviso Canyon Storage Facility near Los Angeles. Source: News
STEO: EIA cuts 2016 crude oil price forecasts
The US Energy Information Administration has sharply cut its crude oil price forecasts through 2016 in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook for January, which is the first to include a forecast for 2017. The cut is because of the continuing threat of a prolonged oversupply of crude as well as global inventory builds. Source: […]
Utterance vs. experience
In his farewell state-of-the-union speech Jan. 12, US President Barack Obama used the word “oil” four times-two of them ominously for the petroleum industry. Source: News
New years, new cargos
During the final day of a year in which depressed crude oil prices and depressed moods gave US industry professionals plenty of reasons to drown their sorrows, a freshly loaded tanker sloshing around the Port of Corpus Christi, Tex., represented something of a glimmer of hope. Source: News