Oil And Gas Resources News

China will on Friday conduct sea trials for its first ocean research drilling vessel, capable of drilling at depths of more than 10,000 meters (32,800 feet), a key step towards beefing up the country's deep-sea oil and gas exploration capabilities.It is China's first vessel capable of ultra-deepwater research and drilling, Chinese state media reported on Monday. It can travel 15,000 nautical miles (27,780 kilometers) and operate for 120 consecutive days without returning to port.

China is ready to resume oil and gas talks and manage maritime issues "cordially" with the Philippines, China President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, according to Chinese state television.Xi was speaking to his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who was on a three-day visit to Beijing.Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, which is rich in oil, gas, and fish and where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, had been a source of tension between it and some Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday touted Russia's Arctic power at a flag-raising ceremony and dock launch for two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the Western Arctic.Presiding via video link from the Kremlin at the launch ceremony in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg in northern Russia, Putin said such icebreakers were of strategic importance for the country."Both icebreakers were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of our large-scale…

Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan is set to accelerate the group's drive to build its renewable energy business, including through a possible "transformative" clean power acquisition, company and industry sources said.Sawan will from January take on a firm with a strong balance sheet after a surge in oil and gas prices, but whose renewables capacity has lagged peers like TotalEnergies and BP as green issues come increasingly into vogue. Shell aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become a net-zero emitter by 2050…

The head of powerful armed group Hezbollah warned on Wednesday that "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast."If you don't give us the rights that our state is asking for ... then we could flip the table on everyone," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address."If you want to get to a formula where this country is barred from taking advantage (of these fields)…

Canada-based oil company CGX Energy OYL.V will begin dredging and building the docks of a key deepwater port at Berbice, in eastern Guyana, planned to serve the South American nation's oil and agriculture sectors, the firm's chairman said on Wednesday.CGX Energy unit Grand Canal Industrial Estates in 2010 acquired a 50-year lease for a 55-acre parcel strategically located near the Berbice River for the project. When complete, it would become Guyana's third oil port and its only deepwater facility."The construction of docks and dredging will begin very shortly…

A landmark lawsuit filed against Guyana's government, arguing that oil production fuels climate change, could bolster legal action as court cases involving energy companies and state authorities surge, according to lawyers and environmentalists.The constitutional claim - the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean - asserts that oil exploration and production led by U.S. oil major ExxonMobil off the South American country's coast is unconstitutional, said the case's lead lawyer Melinda Janki.Filed by two Guyanese citizens in late May before the tiny nation's constitutional court, the lawsuit centers on the duty of the state to protect the environment for present and future generations…

Offshore wind (OSW) energy is a new focus for the U.S. under President Biden, who highlighted it in his January 27, 2021 Executive Order on climate. Since then, there have been several new supporting developments:Rulings by the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP);Announcement that workers in Alabama and West Virginia are supplying 10,000 tons of domestic steel for use at a Texas shipyard where Dominion Energy is building the nation’s first Jones Act compliant wind turbine installation vessel;U.S.

Harnessing the power of the tides is not for the squeamish, with the roster of trials and failures long and distinguished. Jason Hayman and his Sustainable Marine Energy crew are putting their tech to the test in one of the harshest spots on the planet, the Bay of Fundy, as his discussed with Marine Technology TV.Jason, to start, how did you come to a career in the offshore renewable energy field?I suppose my interest got piqued back in about 2003. I went to a lecture at the University of Newcastle and they had a wave energy crowd there and a tidal energy developer.

Offshore seismic survey contractors PGS and Shearwater GeoServices have been awarded framework agreements with Equinor for 4D towed streamer seismic acquisition on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in what Equinor said was a new way of working with seismic contractors.The agreements have a total estimated value of around NOK 700 million (~USD 82,7 million).“This is a new way of working with seismic suppliers. We are moving away from annual tenders towards a more long-term collaboration model.

Worsening diplomatic relations between the United States and China are putting a spotlight on their economic inter-dependency in the context of global supply chains for both technology and energy.Top policymakers in the United States and some of its closest allies, including Australia and Britain, have recently hardened the language in which they describe relations with China.China has been labelled a “strategic competitor” for some time but the country is increasingly described as a “strategic adversary” implying a more confrontational relationship.Complaints about unfair trade practices…

A court delivered a painful nip to European Union fishermen on Thursday by tightening Norway's grip on snow crab catches in the Arctic, a ruling that may also let Oslo claw more control of oil and gas from other nations.Fishermen from the European Union must ask permission from Oslo to catch snow crab — whose meat is a delicacy for gourmets from Canada to Japan — in Arctic waters north of Norway, the Norwegian Supreme Court said in a unanimous ruling.The court dismissed an appeal…

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted consent to Equinor for the extension of production on Norne FPSO with associated facilities for the Norne, Urd and Skuld fields in the Norwegian Sea.Lifetime extension granted for FPSO is for four years to March 2026, as the operator eyes additional 132m barrels from Norwegian Sea field.In its application for extension, operator Equinor has described an improved drainage strategy for the Norne field and the nearby Urd and Skuld fields.The Norne, Urd, Skuld, Alve and Marulk fields are tied in to the Norne ship. The authorities approved an amended Plan for Development and Operation…

Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) through its subsidiary, Petronas LNG Ltd (PLL) and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd (Vitol) announced the signing of binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase (SPA) agreement.Under the terms of the agreement signed on 1 October 2018, the LNG supply to Vitol commencing in 2024 will be approximately up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum for a period of up to 15 years on both Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) and Free on Board (FOB) basis, said a press release from the global energy and commodity trading company, which is also one of the largest and most experienced independent traders of LNG.The primary supply to Vitol will come from LNG Canada as well as from other PLL’s global LNG supply portfolio.

Guyana has put planned oil auctions on hold as the impoverished South American country works to establish a Department of Energy to oversee the energy boom, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said on Monday.Since 1999, Guyana has awarded a group led by Exxon Mobil Corp hundreds of oil blocks along Guyana's maritime borders with Venezuela and Suriname. Their finds are turning Guyana, a country with no history of oil production and relaxed energy regulation, into one of Latin America's hottest prospects for oil investments.Exxon…

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded contracts worth AED 5.88bn (US $1.6bn) for the world’s largest continuous 3D onshore and offshore seismic survey, covering an area up to 53,000 square kilometres, as the company continues to identify and unlock new opportunities and maximize value from its hydrocarbon resources and deliver on its 2030 smart growth strategy.Adding to the 2D and 3D seismic data already acquired across Abu Dhabi, the new seismic survey will cover an area of up to 30,000 km2 offshore and 23,000 km2 onshore.The contract has been awarded by ADNOC to BGP Inc., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Company (CNPC)…

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed agreements with Total of France, awarding them stakes in two of Abu Dhabi’s new offshore concessions. Under the terms of the agreements, Total has been awarded a 20% interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and a 5% interest in the Lower Zakum concession. Total is ADNOC’s largest and one of its longest international partners, active in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas sector since 1939. Today, the French super-major collaborates with ADNOC across the value chain, from offshore and onshore exploration, development and production, to processing, products and shipping. Total contributed…

Total has acquired Marathon Oil Libya Limited which holds a 16.33% stake in the Waha Concessions in Libya. This acquisition will give Total access to reserves and resources in excess of 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, with immediate production of around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and a significant exploration potential across the area of 53,000 square kilometers covered by the Concessions in the prolific Sirte Basin. The consideration payment for the transaction is 450 million U.S. dollars. “This acquisition is in line with Total’s strategy to reinforce its portfolio with high quality and low-technical cost assets whilst bolstering our historic strength in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

In response to a Presidential Order to reduce undue burden on industry, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) completed a comprehensive review of the Production Safety Systems regulations. The proposed regulations will be published Friday in the Federal Register. The announcement describes the proposed revisions and invites public comment on the proposal. “I am confident that this revision of the Production Safety Systems Rule moves us forward toward meeting the Administration’s goal of achieving energy dominance without sacrificing safety,” said Director Scott A. Angelle. The Production Safety Systems Rule addresses safety and pollution prevention equipment, subsea safety devices and safety device testing for the production of oil and gas resources on the U.S.

Eni US will become the first energy company allowed to explore for oil in federal waters off Alaska since 2015 after the Trump administration this week approved a drilling plan on leases the company has been sitting on for 10 years. The approval is conditional on Eni getting other state and federal permits, which in past cases are generally granted once BOEM gives the green light. "We know there are vast oil and gas resources under the Beaufort Sea, and we look forward to working with Eni in their efforts to tap into this energy potential," said BOEM's acting Director Walter Cruickshank.

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new "status quo" brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations, the Philippine defence minister said. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano also said the Philippines was working on a "commercial deal" with China to explore and exploit oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea with an aim to begin drilling within a year. The defence minister, Delfin Lorenzana, told a congressional hearing the Philippines and China had reached a "modus vivendi", or a way to get along, in the South China Sea that prohibits new occupation of islands.

CGG said it has started work on Espirito Santo IV, a large BroadSeis 3D multi-client survey in the deep and ultra-deep waters of the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil. The vessel Oceanic Champion is acquiring the survey which is expected to take seven months. This industry-supported survey will cover 10,300 sq km and be processed at CGG’s Rio de Janeiro Subsurface Imaging center. The high-end broadband sequence will include the latest 3D deghosting, Full-Waveform Inversion (FWI) velocity modeling and Tilted Transverse Isotropy (TTI) imaging.

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) was awarded first prize at the 2017 International Competition of Scientific, Technical and Innovative Developments aimed at the Exploration and Development of the Arctic and the Continental Shelf, held under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Energy. The prize was awarded to a team of Sovcomflot experts for the development and practical implementation of technological solutions enabling year-round oil shipments from the Gulf of Ob. The winning team was led by Igor Tonkovidov, Executive Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer of Sovcomflot. The awards ceremony took place in St. Petersburg on 12 September…