Oil And Gas Exports News

A top economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the White House to block American companies from all trade in Russian oil and urged Western oil and gas companies to stop handling the commodity, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.In an interview with the U.S. news outlet overnight, Oleg Ustenko said the companies should hire independent accountants to verify no Russian oil is loaded onto their ships, the Times said."We need a full embargo, a full boycott.

Oil and gas exports from the United States have been severely disrupted by Hurricane Laura, with nearly a million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports likely reduced this week by closures of U.S. Gulf Coast terminals and disruptions at ports.The hurricane also temporarily suspended operations at several liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the world’s third largest exporter of the super-cooled gas, with shipments on track to fall to their lowest in 18 months.Laura made landfall early Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border…

“Freedom” – the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic governmentIt has been decades since international relations in the world order dictated true competition for sea control, sea lines of communication, access to world markets, and diplomatic partnerships. However, it is becoming increasingly alarming that nations such as Iran, China and Russia seek to accumulate/consolidate power and re-define international maritime norms, potentially at the peril of diplomatic…

In just a few months, the U.S. will be fully energy independent and by 2030, the country's total primary energy production will outpace primary energy demand by 30 percent.According to the Norwegian market research consultancy Rystad Energy, this milestone follows a strong period of growth in both hydrocarbon and renewable resources."We forecast that the US will have primary energy surplus – and not a deficit – by February or March 2020, depending on the intensity of the winter season,” says Sindre Knutsson, vice president on Rystad Energy’s gas markets team.“Going forward, the United States will be energy independent on a monthly basis, and by 2030 total primary energy production will outpace primary energy demand by about 30%,” Knutsson added.These developments are already in full swing.

Tehran has in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route at the mouth of the Gulf, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action, including attempts to halt Iranian oil exports through sanctions.Still, the U.S. official noted that the agreement would expand U.S. military options in the region for any kind of crisis.Duqm is ideal port for large ships. It is even big enough to turn around an aircraft carrier, a second official said."The port itself is very attractive and the geostrategic location is very attractive, again being outside the Strait of Hormuz," the official said, adding that negotiations began under the Obama administration.COMPETITION WITH CHINAFor Oman…

China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce America's huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washington's list of products for sale.The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the governments agreed to drop tariff threats and work on a wider agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday. Washington is especially keen to sell more of the United States'…

An ice-breaking tanker docked for the first time at Russia's Arctic port of Sabetta to test a new route that could open the ice-bound Arctic Ocean to ships carrying oil and liquefied gas. The route is eagerly anticipated by energy firms that want to develop resources in the Arctic but face obstacles in getting oil and gas from remote and freezing fields to world markets. Environmental activists fear commercial shipping in the Arctic -- now possible because climate change has thinned…

Underscoring that India and Brunei have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of a "shared Asian neighbourhood", both countries held discussion on Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea which has the potential to affect free maritime traffic in Southeast Asia, reports the Hindu. Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari said that both the countries have an interest in maintaining the safety of the sea-lanes in the region, after his discussion with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and crown prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah. “Brunei briefed us on the negotiation under way for the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. India supports a negotiated settlement of Brunei’s maritime dispute with China,” said Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East).

Statoil, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup license, has awarded Samsung the contract for decks for both the process and riser platforms. The total contract value is NOK 7 billion. The contract is a fabrication contract (FC) of decks for the process and riser platforms. Aker Solutions has previously been awarded engineering work and purchase of equipment packages for the two aforementioned decks. The function of the process platform, which weighs approx. 26,000 tonnes, is to ensure stabilisation of the oil and processing into rich gas. The riser platform, which weighs approx. 22,000 tonnes, will serve oil and gas exports, water and gas injection, as well as any future connections.

Following Yemen's lifted force majeure on liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from its Balhaf plant, the facility stopped operations on Sunday, and evacuated foreign experts from the facility, Reuters informed. Yemeni government announced force majeure on the Balhaf terminal, operated by France's Total, following the collapse of the government and the deteriorating security in the country. By doing so, they essentially allowed buyers or sellers to go back on previously made commitments due to events beyond their control. The last vessel to leave the LNG facility was the GDF Suez Point Fortin, and the Marib Spirit, which was on its way to Balhaf, was diverted to Middle East. The Balhaf gas export terminal ships LNG primarily to Asia and to some European countries.

Russia, the world's biggest energy exporter, does not plan to cut oil production to shore up prices, Rossiya 24 television quoted Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Saturday. Russia, which relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget, has been hit this year by a fall in global oil prices as well as by Western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine's crisis. The Energy Ministry confirmed Novak's quote to Reuters, adding that it was part of an interview with state-run Rossiya 24, the full version of which has yet to be aired. It was not immediately clear when the interview was recorded and whether Novak was replying to a remark he made on Friday, when he said Russia was discussing whether to cut oil output but had not yet taken a decision on this.

Shipping services that support Russia's attempts to extract oil from remote parts of the Arctic will run into difficulties as banks scale back energy financing due to Western sanctions, increasing transport costs for the frontier sector. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union over Ukraine have targeted the delivery of oil technology, goods and services, aiming to make it impossible for Moscow to access new oil sources. The world's largest energy exporter, Russia relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget.

"China is our reliable friend," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday in an interview ahead of a conference in Shanghai. Most evaluations of the bilateral relationship begin by reciting the historical border disputes, rift between Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev, opening to China by Richard Nixon, and the perennial problem of reaching an agreement on gas pricing. But these are all essentially backward looking and ignore the growing community of interests between the two countries. The case for a closer bilateral relationship on energy, trade, security and diplomatic issues is compelling. In the energy sphere, the two countries are an almost perfect match: the world's largest net energy exporter and its second-largest net energy importer (2011) with a long land border.

Norway  is  pursuing  ambitious,  forward-thinking  energy  policies,  but  could  go  further  in  its efforts to become a low-carbon economy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has concluded in a review published today. Energy Policies  of  IEA Countries  - Norway  2011 Review  says  that  it will  be  challenging  for Norway  to meet  its 2020  target of  reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared with 1990  levels,  because  both  the  country’s  electricity  supply  and  its  energy  use  in  buildings  are already essentially carbon-free due to hydropower use.

BP Plc reportedly posted a 53 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit as production rose, according to a Bloomberg report. Output rose for the first time since 2Q ‘05 because of new fields in Angola, Trinidad and the Gulf of Mexico. BP expects to raise extraction to more than 4 million BOE a day in 2009, which will rise to about 4.3 million barrels a day in 2012. BP in December started oil and gas exports from the Atlantis platform after a one-year delay. Pumping will reach plateau production, 200,000 barrels of oil and 180 million cubic feet of gas a day, by the end of 2008, the company said. It also plans to begin production at Thunder Horse by the end of 2008.

BP Plc and BHP Billion Ltd. have started oil and gas exports from the Atlantis platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Atlantis, located about 150 miles south of New Orleans in 7,070-ft. of water, is designed to produce 200,000 barrels of oil and 180 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The Atlantis started production in October and is expected to reach its capacity by the end of 2008.

Companies developing offshore oil deposits could enjoy tax breaks, Russia's president said Wednesday. The tax breaks proposal came from Sergei Bogdanchikov, head of state-controlled producer Rosneft, who said the idea had been approved by the Industry and Energy Ministry and backed by the economics ministry, but that no final decision had been made. Russia, heavily dependent on revenues from oil and gas exports, is in need of new deposits to meet its obligations under new ambitious projects to supply oil to Pacific Rim countries, as well as Europe and the United States via the Balkans. Bogdanchikov said Russia would increase the production of oil at its offshore deposits five-fold, to 80-85 million metric tons (about 624.7 million bbl), by 2015.

President Vladimir Putin ordered the government and the Industry and Energy Ministry to prepare a draft decree on setting up a state-controlled shipbuilding compan, Moscow Times reported. Shipbuilding is one of the three industries that the government wants to develop as part of its drive to diversify the economy away from oil and gas exports -- a bid spearheaded by First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov. The other two sectors are the aircraft-building and space industries. The decree should be completed within the week, Putin said at Monday's Cabinet meeting. Putin added that Ivanov would supervise the creation of the company. An Industry and Energy Ministry spokeswoman said Monday that she was unaware of any prospective candidates to head the company.

MISC Bhd has placed an order to build as many as four tankers, reports said. The contract value for the four 38,000 dwt carriers is estimated collectively to be in the region of $200m. Business Times reported that MISC had commissioned STX Shipbuilding Co., to build the petrochemical carriers. The contract was signed in Kuala Lumpur some two weeks ago between MISC and STX. Under the terms of the agreement, MISC will start receiving the tankers by as early as 2009. MISC, which has contracts with parent Petronas to carry the state-owned company's oil and gas exports, registered net sales of RM10.76 billion, together with net income of RM2.94 billion for the financial year ended March 2006. Source: Business times