Nation Oil News

More than half of the 22 oil tankers in Venezuela's fleet are so run down that they should be immediately repaired or taken out of service, according to an internal report from state-run oil company PDVSA that was shared exclusively with Reuters. The report by PDVSA's maritime branch, entitled "Critical deficiencies and risks of PDV Marina's tanker fleet," said years of deferred maintenance had left the entire fleet with "low levels of reliability," at risk of spills, sinking, fires, collisions or flooding.

Chinese customs authorities are stepping up inspection checks on cargoes of heavy crude oil after uncovering several Iranian shipments that were mislabelled as diluted bitumen in an effort to bypass import quotas.The checks, begun a month ago, are delaying oil discharges into the eastern refining hub of Shandong province.They are also adding to uncertainty over the risk of disruption to shipments from Iran and Venezuela, while cutting into refining operations just as fuel demand recovers.

Guyana's oil exports jumped 164% last year, boosted by growing output and demand for the newest Latin American oil producer's light sweet crudes, particularly in Europe, where thirsty refiners ramped up imports to replace Russian supplies.Since a consortium led by Exxon Mobil began pumping in late 2019, Guyana's shipments have soared, bringing the South American nation's oil export income to $1.1 billion last year, according to official figures provided to Reuters.The government's $1.1 billion share of oil revenue was up sharply from a combined $409 million in profit and royalties in 2021.

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…

The Biden administration proposed a slew of changes on Friday to the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program, including hiking fees on drilling companies and limiting their access to sensitive wildlife and cultural zones.The recommendations followed a months-long review aimed at ensuring drilling on federal lands and waters benefits the public. But in a sign of the extreme controversy surrounding the issue, environmental groups slammed the proposals as too weak and the industry…

The U.S. Interior Department will release a long-awaited report reviewing the environmental costs and economic benefits of the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program as early as Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.President Joe Biden's administration launched the review earlier this year in what had been widely seen as a first step in delivering on a campaign promise to end new federal fossil fuel drilling to fight climate change.The report, however…

Offshore energy companies have started searching for new bases away from Louisiana's devastated ports as oil and gas companies launch efforts to resume their Gulf of Mexico operations.Port Fourchon, a key hub for the offshore industry, was slammed by Ida on Sunday when it made landfall with winds over 150 miles per hour (240 kph). Supply boat, fuel and air ferry services were still unable to access facilities there on Wednesday due to extensive storm damage.Dozens of oil and gas companies operate in the U.S.

U.S. oil and gas companies on Friday raced to complete evacuations from offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms as Tropical Storm Ida advanced towards oilfields that provide 17% of the nation's oil production.The storm early Friday was about 50 miles northwest of Grand Cayman Island moving north at 15 miles (24 km) and expected to intensify and become near a major hurricane when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). A major…

President Joe Biden was set on Wednesday to sign executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies as he pursues green policies in stark contrast to those of his predecessor Donald Trump.The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president's climate change and environmental agenda and mark a reversal from Trump, a Republican businessman-turned-politician who sought to maximize U.S. oil…

Two Venezuela-owned oil tankers are crossing the Atlantic Ocean jointly carrying about 1.2 million barrels of heavy crude, vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed on Tuesday, as the South American nation turns to its own fleet in the face of U.S. sanctions.Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is resorting to using its own tankers to deliver exports as tightening sanctions by Washington deter shipowners and managers from visiting the South American nation's oil ports.The tankers Colon—previously known as Arita—and Parnaso set sail in September from PDVSA's terminals, but had not turned their location transponders on until this week…

The United States is considering imposing sanctions on dozens of additional foreign oil tankers for trading with Venezuela, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, the latest effort to sever what Washington sees as a lifeline for President Nicolas Maduro.Some sanctions could be announced in the near term while others could be imposed over a longer period if the trading activity persists in violation of U.S. restrictions, one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.Earlier on Friday…

Oil shipping rates are soaring following a series of sanctions on a Chinese transportation giant and limitations placed on movement of Venezuelan crude oil tankers.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SHIPPING RATES?The cost of chartering a supertanker to send crude oil from one country to another is rising sharply. A South Korean importer paid more than $12 million in shipping costs for one crude shipment from the U.S. Gulf Coast. This was followed by Friday's tentative charter of another crude…

A flotilla loaded with about 7 million barrels of Venezuelan oil has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, some holding cargoes bought ahead of the latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and others whose buyers are weighing who to pay, according to traders, shippers and Refinitiv Eikon data.The Trump administration's move to impose sanctions last week was meant to undercut support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by targeting the Latin American nation's oil exports to the United States, the source of most of its foreign revenue.The sanctions aim to block U.S.

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…

Total WAF loadings for Asia hit record. Shipments of West African oil to China are set to surge to a record in January, boosting overall fixtures heading east to their highest in at least 14 years, a Reuters survey of shipping fixtures and traders showed on Wednesday. China's loadings are expected to jump by more than 20 percent from December to more than 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, the survey showed. The figure is the highest barrel-per-day total to sail for China since September, and is some 37 percent above the same month last year. Traders said China's appetite was whetted in part by the first batch of government import quotas for 2018, which were issued in late December, but announced in November.

Oil companies evacuate workers as storm takes aim at Texas. Royal Dutch Shell, Anadarko Petroleum and Exxon Mobil announced they were curbing some oil and gas output on Wednesday at facilities in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a storm expected to hit the Texas coast later this week. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a hurricane watch Wednesday for much of the Texas coast, calling for slow-moving Tropical Depression Harvey to intensify as it nears landfall. Shell said it was evacuating all personnel from the roughly 100,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Perdido oil and gas production platform as a precaution. Anadarko said it had shut in production and was evacuating workers from its Boomvang, Gunnison, Lucius and Nansen platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

National Ocean Industries Association president Randall Luthi weighs in on President Trump’s Executive Order on offshore energy. It’s a new day and a new attitude for American energy. The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) applauds President Donald Trump’s Executive Order recognizing the vital role of offshore energy in an overall national energy policy. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that in the year 2040, traditional forms of energy, particularly fossil fuels, will provide almost 80 percent of our energy needs.

Following President Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi weighs in on  shifting U.S. policy and its effects on offshore energy and the American economy. As President Trump begins work on his ambitious agenda, it appears that efficiency and cost cutting are major themes throughout much of the federal government. Those of us in the energy producing industries say welcome to our world. While low commodity prices and overly burdensome regulations devastated job growth in the energy sector during the last two years…

Today, Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill, H.R. 2029, which includes a provision lifting the existing U.S. crude oil export ban. U.S. oil exports will strengthen America’s national and energy security and result in substantial benefits for consumers and job creation across the country, according to the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA). NOIA noted also that the bill did not include a key priority for the offshore energy industry –statutory language requiring incorporation of industry’s significant concerns in the final Well Control Rule proposed by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) – the…

The latest Gibson Market Report focused on the age profile of the VLCC fleet and the prospects for trading life beyond 15 years of age. Analysis of the Suezmax fleet shows a similar picture, with eighty-nine units over15 years of age (18% of the current fleet) the preferred upper employment limit set by most charterers. However, many of the older units are able to trade in the shuttle markets, where age is not so much of an obstacle. In fact, sixty percent of the current Suezmax shuttle fleet is over 15 years old. Older conventional tankers continue to find employment East of Suez, typically loading Middle East cargoes for India or Singapore.

Eversheds International says that UK trade would clearly be impacted by the Brexit vote. "We saw an immediate effect on currency and share prices, although there are signs that the market is settling down after the initial post-vote furore," says a report by Eversheds. In terms of longer term impact, there are some matters which are already tolerably clear, for example that any changes to the cost of trade with the EU are likely to affect freight volumes at British ports. However, the precise nature and extent of the effect on UK trade will depend entirely on the form of relationship which is ultimately agreed both with the EU and with other trading partners.

About 500 fishermen in Angola's Cabinda province are demanding compensation from Chevron Corp, saying it was behind an oil spill that prevented them from catching fish for nearly two weeks, an industry body said on Tuesday. Environmental authorities in the southern African country found traces of oil more than two weeks ago on the shores of the beach in the northern Cabinda province but has not given the size of the spillage or who it believes is responsible. Industry lobby group Caconga Voice of Fishermen Association accused Chevron of causing the leak and said each of the nearly 500 fishermen was demanding $2,000 from the U.S. company for each of 11 to 12 days they were unable able to catch fish.

The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) unanimously approved the Oil Pollution Research & Technology Plan (OPRTP) for FY2015-2021 at the committee’s quarterly meeting Sept. 29, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia. The purpose of the plan is to provide current assessments of the nation’s oil pollution research needs and priorities. This is the first update to the plan since 1997. "The research needs focus on the tools and technologies employed by the Coast Guard On-Scene Coordinators to address oil spills in the marine environment," said Bill Vocke, who works for the Coast Guard's incident management and preparedness policy directorate at Coast Guard Headquarters and also serves as ICCOPR’s executive director.