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Saturday, July 12, 2025

Oil Gas News

27 Jun 2025

Chinese Oil Imports From Iran Surge in June

© Adobe Stock/Grispb

China's oil imports from Iran surged in June as shipments accelerated before the recent conflict between Israel and Iran and demand from independent refineries improved, analysts said.The world's top oil importer and biggest buyer of Iranian crude brought in more than 1.8 million barrels per day from June 1-20, according to ship-tracker Vortexa, a record high based on the firm's data.Kpler's data put the month-to-date average of China's Iranian oil and condensate imports at 1.46 million bpd as of June 27…

24 Jun 2025

Trump Approves Chinese Purchasing of Oil From Iran

© Adobe Stock/ecrow

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase oil from Iran after the U.S. bombed the OPEC member's nuclear facilities and hoped that China would also buy "plenty" of it from the United States."China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also," he said in a post on Truth Social.Trump's post came after he had announced that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire following the U.S. bombing over the weekend on three nuclear facilities.

16 Jun 2025

Japan Energy Expo '25 Opens this Week

JERA’s major U.S. LNG supply deal sets the stage for Japan Energy Summit & Exhibition 2025, taking place 18 – 20 June in Tokyo, with live commentary expected from JERA’s Global CEO and METI during the Opening Ceremony.The Strategic Summit will feature top executives from Shell, TotalEnergies, and Linde, alongside government leaders, addressing global energy stability, LNG diversification, and clean fuel investments.With over 100 exhibitors and sponsors, and high-level sessions including the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference and Climatetech Theatre…

16 Jun 2025

Aramco CEO: Realism Must Anchor Global Energy Transition, Especially in Asia

Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser used his address at Energy Asia 2025 to deliver a pointed message: the global energy transition must be rebalanced with pragmatism, especially for fast-growing regions like Asia that are still heavily reliant on conventional energy.In his speech, Nasser said that the transition narrative of recent years — one that promised a swift, seamless move away from oil and gas — has not aligned with the realities of global demand, particularly in Asia. “We were told it would be rapid, painless, and inevitably mean the collapse of conventional energy.

23 May 2025

Palmali Lawsuit Against Lukoil's Litasco Is Dismissed by UK Court

© Adobe Stock/Robert - stock.adobe.com

Turkey-based tanker operator Palmali on Friday lost its London lawsuit against the trading arm of Russian oil producer Lukoil over a purported deal to provide oil products.Palmali, controlled by Azerbaijan-born businessman Mubariz Mansimov, first sued Lukoil's Swiss subsidiary Litasco at the High Court in 2017 and was initially seeking nearly $2 billion.The value of Palmali's case was substantially reduced, however, after Litasco succeeded in having much of the lawsuit thrown out in 2020.Palmali was, by the time of the trial earlier this year, seeking just over $120 million for Litasco's alleg

20 May 2025

Shell CEO: Bar for Potential Deals With BP is High

© Adobe Stock/Robert - stock.adobe.com

Shell shareholders on Tuesday re-elected Chair Andrew Mackenzie and CEO Wael Sawan, who said when asked about a potential deal for rival BP that the bar for mergers and acquisitions was very high.Media reports earlier this month suggested Shell was working with advisers to evaluate a potential acquisition of BP, whose shares have lost around 26% of their value in the past year versus Shell's drop of 12%.Sawan won the support of 98.7% of shareholders at the group's annual general meeting and Mackenzie of 91.4%.

17 Apr 2025

Russian Arctic Oil Exports to China Increase With More STS Transfers, Avoiding US Sanctions

Russia’s Arctic oil exports to China are set to rise sharply this month. Credit: Adobe Stock/BGStock72

Russia’s Arctic oil exports to China are set to rise sharply this month buoyed by a jump in ship-to-ship transfers at sea to ensure tankers pulling into port are not on U.S. sanctions lists, according to traders and data from Vortexa.The Arctic oil business accounts for a tenth of Russia's seaborne oil exports which were hit with widened U.S. sanctions in January on nearly all tankers carrying crude oil grades such as ARCO and Novy Port and on Russian producer Gazprom Neft.To evade the curbs…

18 Nov 2024

Euro Oil Giants Rethink Renewable Balance

Copyright Andreas Prott/AdobeStock

Almost five years ago, BP embarked on an ambitious attempt to transform itself from an oil company into a business focused on low-carbon power. The British company is now trying to return to its roots as a big oil and gas player with a growth story to match rivals, revive its share price and allay investor concerns over future profits.Rivals Shell and Norway's state-controlled Equinor are also scaling back energy transition plans set out earlier this decade. Their change of direction…

31 Oct 2024

Ultra-Deepwater FPSO Starts Oil Production Offshore Brazil

FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias at the Mero Field, Santos Basin, Offshore Brazil (Credit: MISC Group)

Petrobras has achieved first oil with the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit Marechal Duque de Caxias, one of the largest ultra-deepwater FPSOs in the world, installed at the Mero field in Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.The FPSO has the capacity to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day and compress up to 12 million cubic meters of gas daily. It will increase Mero’s installed production capacity from 410,000 to 590,000 barrels of oil per day.The unit is part of Mero’s fourth production system and was chartered from MISC.

27 May 2024

Seatrium Secures FPSO Newbuild Contracts from Petrobras

Source: Seatrium

Seatrium has secured a contract from Petrobras, acting as operator of Atapu and Sepia consortiums, for the newbuild supply of FPSO platforms P-84 and P-85.With the contracts valued at approximately S$11 billion, these high throughput FPSOs will be deployed in the Atapu and Sépia fields, located in the eastern part of the Santos Basin, approximately 200 kilometers offshore of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.The P-84 and P-85 platforms are part of Petrobras' new generation of FPSO platforms, characterized by a high production capacity that prioritize sustainable practices with innovative technologies.

06 Mar 2024

APL’s Fluid Swivel Technology Certified by DNV

Source: NOV

NOV’s APL group has received technology qualification program (TQP) certification from DNV for its largest swivel. The swivel TQP developed by APL is claimed to be a game-changer for fluid swivels for oil, gas, e-fuels, and CO2 transfer.The TQP was developed to meet the increasing demand for larger swivel designs that can withstand higher pressures and temperatures. Large swivel stacks are used for floating production vessels to connect the processing system on the weathervaning vessel with the geostationary subsea installation.“Without the swivel stack…

15 Nov 2023

US Appeals Court Orders Gulf Lease Auction Within 37 Days

Source: Earthjustice, Credit: NOAA

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.

18 Sep 2023

California Sues Oil Giants

Source: California Office of Governor

The state of California has sued major oil companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell PLC, and Chevron, accusing them of playing down the risks posed by fossil fuels, according to a court filing on Friday.The lawsuit, which also targets BP and ConocoPhillips, alleges the energy giants' actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and accuses them of deceiving the public, the filing in a superior court in San Francisco showed.The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group…

25 Aug 2023

Oil Companies Sue Over Lease Changes Made to Protect Whales

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

An oil and gas industry trade group, the state of Louisiana and Chevron on Thursday sued the Biden administration over its decision to withdraw acreage from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to protect an endangered whale.The suit is the latest dispute between the oil and gas industry and the administration of President Joe Biden over leasing federal lands and waters for energy development.Biden paused federal drilling auctions shortly after taking office in 2021 as part of his climate change agenda…

15 Aug 2023

BP Backs Green Hydrogen Start-Up

Source: Advanced Ionics

BP has invested in a start-up company developing technology seeking to use vapour from heavy industry to sharply reduce the production costs of zero-carbon hydrogen.BP Ventures, the British energy giant's venture capital arm, was among several investors in a $12.5 million Series A financing in U.S.-based Advanced Ionics, the companies said on Tuesday.Other investors include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Clean Energy Ventures and Gatemore Capital Management.Green hydrogen, produced by splitting water through electrolysis using renewable energy…

06 Jan 2023

Venezuela's Oil Exports Fall in Spite of Iranian Assist

Copyright zaschnaus/AdobeStock

Venezuela's oil exports last year declined due to infrastructure outages, U.S. sanctions and rising competition in its key Asia market despite assistance from ally Iran, according to shipping data and documents.Exports this year are expected to get a lift after the United States relaxed oil sanctions by authorizing some partners of state-run firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to resume taking Venezuelan crude.Iran expanded its role in Venezuela last year, sending supplies to boost exports and technicians to repair a refinery.

15 Jun 2022

IEA Says World Oil Demand to Rise 2% in '23

Copyright chakisatelier/AdobeStock

World oil demand will rise more than 2% to a record high of 101.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, although sky-high oil prices and weakening economic forecasts dimmed the future outlook.The Paris-based IEA also said in its monthly report supply was being constrained because of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine."Economic fears persist, as various international institutions have recently released downbeat outlooks…

20 Jul 2021

Report says BHP Mulls Oil & Gas Exit

© xmentoys/AdobeStock

Global miner BHP Group is considering getting out of oil and gas in a multibillion-dollar exit as it looks to speed up its retreat from fossil fuels, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.The world's biggest miner is reviewing its petroleum business and considering options including a trade sale, the report said, adding that the deliberations were still at an early stage and no final decision has been made."BHP does not comment on rumor or speculation…