Oil Project News

The European Union adopted fresh sanctions against Russian oil interests on Monday, targeting traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices. Much of this is transported using…

The EU has just adopted its 16th sanctions package against Russia. The package targets systemically important sectors of the Russian economy such as energy, trade, transport, infrastructure and financial services.To curb the risk of our sanctions being bypassed, certain provisions of the 16th package are now also mirrored in the Belarus sanctions regime. The EU has in addition updated and strengthened its sanctions regimes concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, and the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk…

An Australian-led scientific breakthrough to increase oil yield from plants is expected to advance the production and use of biofuels globally. Oils from plants are typically produced in seeds and fruits, but scientists from Australia’s research agency CSIRO studied how to extend that to the biomass of the plant, including the leaves and stem. CSIRO’s Dr Thomas Vanhercke, who has been working on the project for more than a decade, believes the technology has the potential to create…

Santos said on Thursday growth projects were making good progress, with flagship Barossa natural gas development now 77% complete as Australia's second-largest fossil fuel producer makes attempts to speed up its ambitious forward strategy.Barossa in offshore Australia has faced criticism and opposition, with the company having to fight regulators and litigations which might potentially delay the project's start in 2025.Santos cannot resume production at Darwin LNG operations, which shut down in 2023…

Esgian provides an update on Noble and Diamond Offshore’s announcement of merger plans in its Week 24 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsADES has completed the signing of a drilling contract for a jackup with Suez Oil Company (SUCO) in Egypt.Mergers & AcquisitionsNoble Corporation and Diamond Offshore Drilling have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Noble will acquire Diamond in a stock plus cash transaction. As part of the transaction, Diamond shareholders will receive 0.2316 shares of Noble…

Woodside has achieved first oil from the Sangomar field offshore Senegal, marking the safe delivery of the country’s first offshore oil project.The Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 is a deepwater project including a stand-alone FPSO facility with a nameplate capacity of 100,000 barrels/day, and subsea infrastructure that is designed to allow subsequent development phases.The Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 features the Léopold Sédar Senghor FPSO, named after the first president of Senegal, which is moored approximately 100 kilometers offshore Senegal.

Shell on Tuesday said it has made a final investment decision (FID) to boost production at the Perdido oil project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, starting in April 2025.The company, which operates the platform, said it will add three wells that are expected to produce up to 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) at peak rates.

Japanese FPSO leasing firm MODEC said Thursday that the first steel-cutting ceremony for the Guyana-bound FPSO Errea Wittu had been held in China.MODEC secured its first order to supply an FPSO to Guyana in May 2023. The order came from an ExxonMobil-led consortium and is for the deployment of the FPSO to the giant Stabroek offshore block in Guyana, where Exxon already has three FPSOs in production, all three supplied by SBM Offshore.According to World Energy Reports, China's DSIC has the construction hull contract…

Japan will make sure its energy supplies are not affected by sanctions the United States recently imposed on the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia in which it has a stake, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday.Japan, the world's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, relies on LNG as a transition fuel before it reaches carbon neutrality in 2050, and has supply contracts and stakes in projects globally to guarantee imports.The Arctic LNG 2 project is to be launched next month…

Asia Pacific-focused Jadestone Energy, which last month shut down production from its Montara Venture FPSO off Western Australia due to an issue with the FPSO's 4S ballast water tank,is still working to address the defect in the tank.Jadestone Energy said Thursday that since the shutdown, tank 4S has been emptied and cleaned, with an inspection starting on August 8, 2023."The initial inspection has identified the location of a small defect between tank 4S and oil cargo tank 5C…

Japan's MODEC said Monday it would proceed with engineering, procurement, and construction on the Uaru FPSO vessel following a final investment decision on the Uaru offshore oil project by ExxonMobil in Guyana last month.The Uaru FPSO is named ‘Errea Wittu’, which means ‘abundance,’ and will be the fifth offshore FPSO in Guyana and the first to be supplied by MODEC. The first four, two of which are now in production in the Stabroek block off Guyana, were/will be delivered by SBM Offshore.Apart from supplying the Errea Wittu FPSO…

Japanese insurers are expected to continue providing marine war insurance which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters after Jan. 1, the Nikkei daily said on Thursday.Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last Friday that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage.

Three Japanese insurance companies that are set to halt marine coverage of risks related to the war in Ukraine starting next month are in talks with reinsurers to resume those operations, they said on Monday. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance on Friday told shipowners that they would stop offering marine war insurance, which covers damage to ships from war in Russian waters, from Jan. 1, spokespeople at the companies said. Their comments confirmed local media reports on Saturday.

The words “blue economy” will soon shape the future of Canada’s oceans, from the fiords and straits of British Columbia to the rugged coastlines of the Atlantic to the vast seascapes of the Arctic. The transformation of Canada’s ocean economies will be felt throughout the country and will set an example for nations around the world.But what is a blue economy? And what makes it different from business as usual?The term blue economy was first championed by small-island developing countries, including Fiji, Bahamas and Palau, to bring more local benefits from ocean industries.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices jumped this week on fears of possible Russian supply disruptions to Japan and on rising demand due to a heatwave and concerns over the return of the Nord Stream pipeline after its planned 10-day maintenance.The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $41 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $2, or 5.1%, from the previous week, industry sources said.This is the highest level seen in four…

Russia announced on Friday a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in the country's far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors and adds another bullish factor to prices in a tight global LNG market.The order, signed on Thursday, creates a new firm to take over all rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co, in which Shell SHEL.L and two Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold just under 50%. Japanese…

When Cambodian officials commemorated the start of the country's first oil project in June by preserving the first drops of production at a high-profile ceremony, they heralded the country's emergence as a budding oil exporter at the heart of Asia.But instead of reaping royalties, Cambodia's government has filed a theft complaint against the crew of the tanker that stored the crude, after they sailed away with the oil amid a payment dispute with the oil field's developer.Singapore-based KrisEnergy…

Russian state oil giant Rosneft plans to build a port with maximum annual capacity of 115 million tonnes of oil for its Vostok Oil project in the Russian Arctic, the RIA news agency quoted the company as saying on Tuesday.Rosneft said in a statement previously on Tuesday that the Vostok Oil project could be supplying 25 million tonnes of oil in 2024, 50 million tonnes in 2027 and up to 115 million tonnes in 2030.Vostok Oil unites Rosneft’s projects in northern Russia, including the Lodochnoye…

Russian oil and gas giant Rosneft has signed a contract with India’s largest fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for supply of 2 million tonne (MT) crude oil to India by end 2020.The Moscow-headquartered integrated energy company said in a press release that the oil will be shipped to the refiner via the port of Novorossiysk.The signing took place during the visit of the Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft Igor Sechin to New Delhi. During this visit, a working meeting was also held with Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas of India.The parties discussed the ongoing joint projects of Rosneft and Indian companies…

A Chinese oil survey vessel that has been embroiled in a tense standoff with Vietnamese vessels in the South China Sea left Vietnamese-controlled waters on Thursday after more than three months, marine data showed.The Chinese vessel, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, was speeding away from Vietnam's exclusive economic zone towards China on Thursday under the escort of at least two Chinese ships, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessels.China claims almost all the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea but neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.Tension between Hanoi and Beijing…

Exxon Mobil Corp is selling its entire stake in the Terra Nova oil project off the eastern coast of Canada, though the world's largest publicly traded oil producer said it was committed to remaining an investor in the region. The project, located about 217 miles (350 km) off Newfoundland and Labrador, produced about 5,000 barrels of oil per day in 2016. Exxon is selling all of its 19 percent stake in the project and initial bids are due March 30, according to data and a document from Schlumberger's oil and gas asset sale business.

The Hebron oil project off the coast of eastern Canada has produced its first oil, operator Exxon Mobil said on Tuesday, in a boost to Atlantic Canada's output after years of weak crude prices. At its peak Hebron will produce up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), Exxon said. It will help Atlantic Canada offshore production climb 44 percent to 307,000 bpd by 2024, according to estimates from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. The platform is located 200 miles (350 kilometres) off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in depths of 300 feet (92 metres) and the oil field…

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday it and partners would spend $4.4 billion to develop part of the Liza oilfield off the coast of Guyana, approving a megaproject at a time when the oil industry has grown obsessed with lower-cost shale. Exxon's decision shows that oil companies remain interested in large projects, especially offshore, even in an era of belt-tightening after two years of low crude prices. The Guyana announcement from Exxon and partners Hess Corp and CNOOC was the fifth deepwater project to gain approvals this year. BP Plc and Reliance Industries said on Thursday they would spend $6 billion to develop natural gas reserves off the Indian coast.