Offshore driller Noble Corp. files for bankruptcy to handle $3.4 billion in debt

The Chapter 11 filing in Texas envisions eliminating all of the company’s borrowings -- more than $3.4 billion -- by swapping debt for equity, the company said in a statement. More »

OPEC+ plans to pump more crude into a precarious global oil market

From quiet skies over Europe to sparse traffic in America’s biggest cities, a recovery in global oil demand is faltering amid the resurgence in coronavirus. That poses a particularly delicate challenge for the OPEC cartel and its partners, who next week plan to resume some of the crude output halted during the depths of the pandemic. More »

July ends with an oil price gain as OPEC+ plans to increase supply

Oil is set to end July with a gain in New York ahead of OPEC+ plans to return supply to the market after the group’s historic output cuts, while the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread across many major economies. More »

Chevron reports worst quarter in 30 years, warns of continued Covid-19 impacts

Chevron’s adjusted loss in the second quarter was $3 billion, more than twice the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey and the deepest since at least 1989. More »

Exxon posts deepest-ever loss as Covid-19 destroys global oil demand

Exxon’s woes are emblematic of the broader threats menacing the petroleum industry in what is turning out to be the deepest crisis of its 161-year history. International titans that raked in record-breaking profits during the first decade of the century have now been reduced to widespread job cuts, belt tightening and heavy borrowing to cover dividends and other outlays. More »

Denbury Resources enters Chapter 11 with new DIP loan

Denbury Resources elected in mid-July to skip paying about $3 million of interest on notes maturing in 2023, triggering a 30-day grace period before it entered a formal default. It listed almost $2.3 billion of borrowings in a recent regulatory filing. More »

After brutal slide in state’s upstream sector, Texas Alliance looks toward market bottoming out

During second-quarter 2020, COVID-19, as a global economic event, laid waste to energy markets, and due to the resulting economic lockdown and deep contraction in energy demand, “dealt a gut-punch to the Texas oil and gas industry, which continues midway through the year.” That is the assessment of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and it is borne out by the numbers coming from the association’s Texas Petro Index. More »

Halliburton launches innovation lab to accelerate clean energy development

Halliburton Company announced the creation of Halliburton Labs – a collaborative environment where entrepreneurs, academics, investors, and industrial labs come together to advance cleaner, affordable energy. More »

Quarterly losses are a reality check for shale producers

In second-quarter earnings reports published after the close of trading in New York, QEP Resources Inc. cut its production outlook, WPX Energy Inc. further reduced its capital spending budget, while Concho Resources Inc. stuck with plans to keep crude volumes flat from 2019 levels, ending years of growth. QEP shares dipped as much as 20%. More »

Trump lets Keystone line ship more oil as expansion plans stall

The Trump administration will allow the existing Keystone pipeline to carry more oil-sands crude into the Midwest and U.S. Gulf Coast while the conduit’s decade-old expansion project faces renewed legal hurdles. More »

Siemens Energy to supply 20 compressor trains for a critical gas project in Saudi Arabia

Siemens Energy was selected to provide centrifugal compressor systems for Saudi Aramco’s Hawiyah Unayzah Gas Reservoir Storage project. The plant includes a gas injection facility with a capacity of 1,500 MMscfd and a withdrawal facility capable of processing up to 2,000 MMscfd of gas. More »

Weatherford remotely installs liner hanger on Russian offshore platform during COVID-19 lockdown

Weatherford International successfully and remotely used a restricted crew to install a 16-inch liner hanger on an offshore platform in Sakhalin Island, Russia during the COVID-19 lockdown. More »

Weak oil futures driving pressure on Saudis to cut prices

A big clue into just how far the global market’s dynamics have shifted will become clear as Middle East producers unveil their September pricing. Traders and refiners in Asia and Europe expect Saudi Arabia to cut its official selling prices for the first time since the OPEC+ alliance agreed to reduce production in April. More »

Massive service company writedowns may mark downturn’s bottom, says Morgan Stanley

The world’s three biggest oilfield service companies wrote down the value of their assets to the tune of about $45 billion during the past year as customers engaged in severe spending cutbacks, according to Morgan Stanley. More »

Maersk Drilling invests in new technology to facilitate carbon-neutral drilling

A full-scale deployment of the Carbon-Negative Energy concept will produce renewable fuel and power, and simultaneously remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The net negative carbon emissions can be converted into carbon credits. More »

Talos President and CEO Tim Duncan approved as NOIA vice chairman

Following the vote by the NOIA Board of Directors, NOIA President Erik Milito said, “The offshore industry has a powerful story to tell, and Galen and Tim’s leadership will help us tell it. Not only does our industry deliver energy, jobs and growth in an environmentally-responsible manner, we tangibly raise the quality of life for society." More »

Total writes down $7 billion of Canadian oil sands assets in decarbonization push

Total announced an $8.1 billion writedown after the push to curb carbon emissions and the coronavirus pandemic challenged assumptions about the long-term viability of some oil and gas assets. About $7 billion applies to Canadian oil sands, which are costlier and more carbon intensive than conventional fields. More »

Real-time energy use figures show UK economy recovering from Covid-19 impact

Corporate energy consumption was down 40% at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis but the latest figures (to 21st July) are only 8% below the level they were just prior to lockdown. There has been a sharp rise in the past two weeks as restrictions have relaxed and more people have returned to work. More »

Ampelmann and Olympic Shipping join forces in project for Ithaca Energy in the North Sea

Ampelmann has secured a contract with Olympic Shipping to support topside commissioning work on Ithaca Energy’s FPF-1 offshore semi-submersible in the North Sea. More »

Pleading not guilty to corruption charges, former Pemex chief pledges to prove innocence

In his first public comments since being extradited from Spain, Emilio Lozoya told a federal judge via video link from a Mexico City hospital that he had been intimidated and used by unnamed people to commit alleged crimes related to a fertilizer plant deal, according to a summary of the proceedings that was provided by court press officials. More »

Oxy considering $4.5 billion sale of African, Middle Eastern assets

Occidental Petroleum is in talks about a potential sale of energy assets in Africa and the Middle East to Indonesia’s state-owned PT Pertamina, people with knowledge of the matter said. More »

TGS completes its East Coast Canada facies map browser and play fairway analysis

Using data acquired in partnership with PGS, this study offers seamless subsurface interpretation for the entire offshore East Coast Canada and is available for immediate licensing. More »

Turkey delays seismic work in disputed waters to defuse Greek tensions

Ankara is seeking a discussion with Athens about issues surrounding the countries’ continental shelves, air space and offshore hydrocarbon exploration, Ibrahim Kalin said in a televised interview with CNNTurk news channel. More »

Oil and Gas Climate Initiative to develop online gas-flaring tracking system

The Global Gas Flaring Explorer platform will deliver improved monitoring, visibility and transparency in flaring volume data, and will be publicly available in early 2022. The tracking of flare volumes over time, including identifying which flares are currently active and which ones are inactive, through a standardized methodology will improve the ability to monitor and demonstrate progress towards the elimination of routine flaring. More »

Xodus Group and EandE Solutions form Japanese offshore wind partnership

Global energy consultancy Xodus Group has agreed a partnership with Japanese consultancy EandE Solutions to deliver in-depth advice and analysis for the fast-developing offshore wind market in Japan. More »

Ex-PEMEX CEO testified that lawmakers took bribes, AMLO says

A former head of Mexico’s PEMEX is testifying that lawmakers were bribed to pass a 2014 reform that opened the energy sector to private investment, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday. More »

India’s Reliance Industries overtakes Exxon in energy firm rankings

Reliance, which is controlled by Asia’s richest man and manages the world’s biggest oil refinery complex, rose 4.3% in Mumbai on Friday, taking its market value to $189 billion, while Exxon Mobil lost about $1 billion. More »

Cenovus leverages tax credits for record oil-sands output

The market for production credits formed at the start of last year, when Alberta ordered its largest oil producers to curtail production to alleviate a glut caused by too much oil flowing into too few pipelines. More »

Lukoil acquires deepwater Senegal interest from Cairn Energy

The 2,212 sq. km blocks are located on the deepwater shelf of the Republic of Senegal, and include the Sangomar and FAN fields .According to the Lukoil's estimates, the recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of the Sangomar field total approximately 500 MMboe. More »

Delaware Basin driller Rosehill Resources declares bankruptcy

Rosehill Resources Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after a plunge in oil prices forced the Permian shale explorer to seek a restructuring of its debt. More »

O’Regan says Canada working with U.S. to advance pipeline plans

Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said he’s in talks with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette about finding a path to move ahead with oil pipeline projects, the Globe and Mail reported. More »

As the oil industry struggles, are national leaders waiting until it's too late to intervene?

In today's podcast, World Oil editors discuss service companies' unbiased market projections running counter to OPEC and IEA's models; Canadian drillers want new tax structures to replicate Norway's success; and a Texas regulator changes his tune on tariffs. More »

Schlumberger cutting 21,000 jobs on weak Q2 sales, dismal outlook

The second-quarter rout was so bad for Schlumberger that it’s spending $1 billion on job severance in a move that will shrink staffing to an 11-year low. Various restructuring and impairment charges cost it another $2.7 billion, the company said Friday in a statement. More »

Equinor tallies Q2 profit on trading gains, tax changes

Equinor ASA reported a surprise profit in the second quarter, helped by trading gains in chaotic markets and a tax change designed to help the Norwegian oil industry through the Covid-19 crisis. More »

Ghana’s budget deficit set to double on oil’s price drop

Ghana’s budget deficit will be more than double the initial forecast as the drop in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic weigh on state income and economic growth. More »

Texas regulator proactively inspects Permian Highway Pipeline construction

Inspectors with the Railroad Commission of Texas are continuing critical inspections of the Permian Highway Pipeline, one of the largest pipeline projects under construction in Texas in 2020. More »

Chevron earns California tax credits using solar power to pump oil

Since April, solar panels have been powering oil pumps at Chevron’s Lost Hills 7,981 barrel-a-day oil field, according to the company. The 29-megawatt site, owned and operated by San Jose-based SunPower Corp., is designed to provide the field with 80% of its electricity, equal to taking more than 4,000 cars off the road. More »

Neptune Energy’s North Sea projects mark major milestones

Neptune Energy announced the safe and successful installation of subsea oil and gas production flowlines and gas lift flowlines for its Duva and Gjøa P1 developments in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. More »

Canadian oil sands’ slow return leaves key pipelines with room to spare

While companies such as Husky Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc. are restoring roughly 20% of the million barrels a day of production that was taken off earlier in the year, some companies are still shutting down equipment for maintenance. More »

Weatherford signs two-year surface pumping contract in Argentina

Weatherford International has been awarded an exclusive two-year, $15M contract with a major independent operator in Argentina. Weatherford will provide 146 surface pumping units, including the Maximizer II surface pumping unit and the Rotaflex 2.0 long-stroke pumping unit. More »

Funding for shale drillers dries up as lenders leave the sector

Banks lending against the reserves of hundreds of independent U.S. drilling companies has pulled back at an unprecedented rate this year as prices slumped. Meanwhile, many in the industry expect further reductions to credit facilities in the fall, with higher costs and more stringent protections for lenders. More »

URTeC: Operators, innovators discuss new processes for technology adoption

Some of the high-impact technologies in 2019 no longer have the same economic punch in today’s Covid-19-battered market. At the same time, say some operators and innovators, some of the overlooked or low-impact technologies now are extremely useful, even transformative. More »

Gardner Denver’s new GD 250HDD pump enters horizontal directional drilling market

Gardner Denver High Pressure Solutions has launched its new GD 250HDD pump to serve as a durable, reliable, American-made pump for a range of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) applications. More »

Russia considers oil price hedges modeled on Mexico’s system

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government to consider hedging Russia’s massive oil and gas export revenues to protect the country from drops in prices, Interfax reported Wednesday. More »

The lessons oilfield service companies are applying from downturns past to succeed today

Using the differing fates of BJ Services and Halliburton as an example, in today's podcast Kurt and Cameron discuss how the last major downturn of the early 1990's taught service companies some harsh lessons, and their survival may hinge on how those lessons are applied in today's Covid-19 fueled downturn. More »

Baker Hughes continues right-sizing successes in the face of Covid-19 unknowns

Baker Hughes is making structural changes to account for continued oil demand disruption after the coronavirus crippled economic activity around the world and compounded an historic oil bust. More »

Turkey ignores Greece’s dispute, moves on with Mediterranean seismic surveys

Tensions between Turkey and Greece have flared over issues such as oil and gas exploration in the shared waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas as well as flow of refugees through Turkey to European countries. More »

UK health leaders push back on oil sector’s request for blanket Covid testing

The UK oil and gas industry says blanket testing of its workers is essential to avoid Covid-19 outbreaks offshore, but the authorities have so far refused to provide the means to do so. More »

Texas oil regulator accuses Saudi Arabia and Russia of dumping crude on U.S. markets

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) this week passed Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian's resolution urging the federal government to investigate excessive dumping of crude oil by Saudi Arabia and Russia and take appropriate action. More »

Eni seeks to sell assets in Norway, Congo

Eni SpA is looking to sell assets in Norway and the Republic of Congo as oil’s slump prompts companies across the industry to rein in spending, according to people with knowledge of the matter. More »

AFGlobal deploys diverless connection system offshore Malaysia

The idea behind the technology was to create a shallow water pipelay that did not require welding pipeline connections or the need for divers, along with the ability to reduce the cost and time on projects. More »

World Bank: Global gas flaring at its highest since 2009

According to World Bank research. gas flaring results in more than 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions every year and wastes a valuable resource, with harmful impacts to the environment from un-combusted methane and black carbon emissions. More »

Fugro completes Phase 1 of site investigation contract for Qatargas North Field

Fugro has completed the first phase of their multidisciplinary offshore site investigation for Qatargas’ North Field Production Sustainability’s Compression Phase. More »

Second Bakken pipeline shutdown further threatens shale recovery

On July 2, a lesser-known conduit called Tesoro High Plains was ordered shut for the first time in its 67 years of operation. Along wit Dakota Access, the two pipelines ship more than one-third of crude from America’s prolific Bakken shale formation to market. More »

Brent hits four-month high on EU coronavirus stimulus agreement

Brent futures rose 2.2% as European Union leaders agreed on an unprecedented stimulus package to pull their economies out of the worst recession in memory, while results of early trials of a virus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc showed promising results. More »

Shale oil realities mean Chevron Noble deal likely won’t start an MandA wave

With Chevron agreeing to pay just a 7.5% premium over Noble’s July 17 closing price, the all-stock deal isn’t eliciting much speculation that a new spree of acquisitions is in the offing. That means little prospect of relief for investors in hundreds of struggling drillers in places like West Texas and Oklahoma. More »

URTeC 2020: Opening session speakers see industry recovering, but ESG issues loom large

Representing a milestone shift in how the conference projects itself, the virtual URTeC 2020 opened on Monday morning with a fine plenary session on the future for unconventionals, with a growing list of ESG (environmental, societal, governmental) challenges to deal with. More »

Halliburton looks beyond U.S. shale, charting a “fundamentally different course”

“As oil demand recovers, I expect the international business will continue to be a more meaningful contributor to our revenue going forward,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller told analysts and investors during a conference call. “North America production is likely to remain structurally lower in the foreseeable future and has slower growth going forward.” More »

‘Fraudulent’ press release sends shale driller soaring - briefly

As the old stock market adage has it, buy the rumor, sell the fact. For investors who bought shares of Denbury Resources Inc. early Monday, it might be buy the fake news release, sell on the official denial. More »

Oil prices rebound on Covid-19 vaccine news, but demand remains an issue

Oil prices recovered Monday, tracking a rally in U.S. equities, as a coronavirus vaccine the University of Oxford is developing with AstraZeneca Plc showed promising results in early human testing. More »

DORIS Group, AVEVA and Schneider Electric create digital twin alliance for upstream oil and gas

The three companies will combine offerings to bring engineering capabilities, an asset lifecycle software solution and digital specialization in order to create a fully formed digital twin to serve as a backbone for improving performance for the upstream sector. More »

Halliburton shares rise as cost-cutting measures deliver results

The Houston-based company posted $456 million in free cash flow during the second quarter, it said in a statement on Monday, and is charting a “fundamentally different course” after firing thousands of workers and slashing its dividend in recent months. More »

Frac pioneer BJ Services files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

BJ Services Company, one of the pioneers of the fracing techniques behind America’s shale revolution, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday morning amid a severe downturn in oilfield services demand. More »

Oil price slide continues on lingering crude demand concerns

In another warning sign for the oil market, Chinese demand is cooling off. A rebound in consumption in the Asian giant helped drive crude higher, but the price of physical oil barrels traded in Asia has slipped with the the country’s buying spree slowing in recent weeks. More »

Chevron to purchase Noble Energy for $5 billion in shares

The purchase grows Chevron’s presence in the Permian Basin, once the heartland of the U.S. shale boom but now experiencing a sharp reduction in drilling. It will increase the company’s proved reserves, as reported at the end of 2019, by about 18%. More »

Is Warren Buffett's $10B natural gas spend a bet against decarbonization?

In this podcast episode, Buffett sees a longer future for natural gas in the U.S., encouraging signs of a recovery in drilling continue to emerge, and the UK seeks to put an expiration date on internal-combustion vehicles. More »

Ecopetrol revises 2020 capital plan upwards on signs of oil market recovery

The new plan ensures the sustainability of the business in an environment of low prices, prioritizing cash-generating opportunities and with better equilibrium prices, and maintaining growth dynamics with a focus on the execution of development plans for strategic assets. More »

UK could ban non-electric new car sales by 2030, says Shell

Royal Dutch Shell expects the UK can end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles in just a decade, as the nation attempts to eliminate emissions by the middle of the century. More »

Halliburton, Microsoft and Accenture form agreement to advance digital capabilities

“The strategic agreement with Microsoft and Accenture is an important step in our adoption of new technology and applications to enhance our digital capabilities, drive additional business agility and reduce capital expenditures,” said Jeff Miller, Halliburton chairman, president and CEO. More »

Norway’s offshore oil and gas activity accelerating in 2H 2020

"There is still a basis for high, long-term value creation on the Norwegian shelf. The political decisions have helped stabilize an extraordinary and demanding situation. The temporary change will contribute to a continued high activity level, on par with what we forecasted before the pandemic and the drop in the oil price," Director General Ingrid Sølvberg says. More »

Aker Solutions, Kvaerner transform to seize renewable-energy opportunities

“At a time when renewables have developed from niche technologies to global industries, Aker’s ambitions exceed the announced spin-offs in Aker Solutions,” Aker Chief Executive Officer Oyvind Eriksen said in a statement. “We take an active role to position ourselves in a broader and rapidly growing renewable energy industry.” More »

3 Seas Energy to supply Belarus with U.S. oil in an historic contract

"3 Seas is providing American oil at a competitive price, further expanding Belarusian and regional supply options while improving, economic independence and stability for the country," said Dariusz Cichocki, president of 3 Seas and Getka. More »

Ocean Infinity completes AUV-based seismic acquisition offshore Guyana

The project involved acquiring high-resolution geophysical and geotechnical data through the simultaneous deployment of multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), in water depths of between 70m and 2150m over an area of approximately 3,100 square km. More »

Westwood: FPS contract awards to rebound to $13bn annually from 2021-24

Westwood Global Energy Group, the specialist energy market research and consultancy, has released research estimating FPS contract awards will rebound to $13bn annually from 2021-24, underpinned by an anticipated average oil price of $60/bbl from 2022. More »

Aramco and Exxon join other oil companies by adding carbon targets

Saudi Aramco has joined with European and U.S. supermajors representing a third of the world’s oil industry to begin curbing emissions at their own operations as the clamor builds for the biggest polluters to act on climate impact. More »

Warren Buffett bets $9.7 billion on a long future for natural gas

As Democrat Joe Biden unveils a staggering $2 trillion clean-energy plan—the most ambitious climate package ever offered by a presumptive nominee—Buffett’s recent deal to buy Dominion Energy’s natural gas assets is a sign he’s expecting that the market’s shift away from fossil fuels won’t happen overnight. More »

Total finalizes $16 billion Mozambique LNG financing program

The amount raised, which includes a loan from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., matches the African nation’s gross domestic product. More »

California driller files Chapter 11 on $6.1 billion of debt

Low levels of cash and stricter state drilling regulations added to the pressure on California Resources, despite a $320 million investment from Tom Barrack Jr.’s Colony Capital Inc. last year. The company said it owed more than 50,000 creditors about $6.1 billion, according to a Chapter 11 petition. More »

NEPA modernization will unlock offshore wind, shovel-ready energy jobs, says NOIA

"A smarter NEPA foundation means that many energy and infrastructure projects have the certainty and clarity to finally move forward under the same high level of safety and environmental stewardship Americans demand," said National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito. More »

OPEC+ confident it can raise oil production without lowering prices

The group will proceed with its plan to gradually open the taps in August, adding at least 1 million barrels a day of supply to the market, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Wednesday. The impact of this will be “barely felt” as demand recovers from the coronavirus crisis, he said. More »

AMLO alleges “a lot” of corruption drove Mexico’s prior oil reforms

Mexican legislators allegedly took bribes to vote in favor of a landmark energy reform during the previous administration, and an ex-head of the country’s oil giant will shed light on the matter, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday. More »

OSIsoft and Tendeka announce partnership to streamline data flow for oil and gas reservoir monitoring

“Oil and gas producers are being bombarded with an ever-increasing volume of digital data from fibre optic systems to IoT sensors and devices,” said Andy Nelson, senior software engineer with Tendeka. “In the downhole environment, edge decision-making is affording the producers the ability to start optimizing their assets in a real-time manner.” More »

API welcomes modernized NEPA regulations that strengthen U.S. environmental progress and support infrastructure development

Potential investments in energy-related projects alone have been estimated at more than $1 trillion over the next 15 years. More »

The Environmental Partnership expands to include pipeline companies, outlines latest efforts to reduce emissions

“Even during these challenging times for our industry and the U.S. economy, America’s natural gas and oil companies remain steadfast in their commitment to leading the world in environmental performance and reducing emissions,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. More »

How might Joe Biden and his new $2 trillion climate plan affect the energy industry?

While Biden's multi-trillion-dollar plan seeks to reshape energy, OPEC projects a return to record oil demand in 2021 - and global drilling activity is backing that bet. More »

TGT launches industry first in well integrity diagnostics

TGT announced the launch of Pulse1, the industry’s first slimhole tube integrity technology that delivers actual wall thickness measurements in eight sectors with ‘all around’ sensing of tube wall condition. More »

Neptune Energy joins European Clean Hydrogen Alliance

Neptune Energy has joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, supporting the development of the EU’s hydrogen strategy. More »

OPEC+ may force extra cuts on cheaters as supplies increase in August

A technical committee that met online on Tuesday outlined plans for countries including Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan to make an additional 842,000 barrels a day of compensatory cuts in August and September, according to OPEC+ delegates. More »

Oil prices stabilize as OPEC compliance eases U.S. demand fears

Crude futures in New York rose in tandem with a broader recovery in equities markets, as initial signs that OPEC members intend to comply with promised oil-production cuts assuaged fears that a resurgence in coronavirus cases would send demand back to the worst days of the pandemic. More »

OPEC projects oil demand exceeding pre-virus levels in 2021

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries forecasts the need for its crude will surge by 25% in 2021 to average 29.8 MMbpd, higher than the level required in 2019, according to a monthly report. More »

Biden says fracing “not on the chopping block” in his $2 trillion climate plan

Joe Biden’s climate-change plan unveiled Tuesday includes $2 trillion in spending over four years with a goal of a 100% clean-energy standard by 2035. That’s more spending over a shorter period than the $1.7 trillion, 10-year plan that Biden had offered during the Democratic primary. More »

Weatherford lands 20-well contract with Iraqi Drilling Company

Weatherford International signed an 18-month contract with the Iraqi Drilling Company to provide services and project management for the drilling and completion of twenty wells in the Al-Nasiriyah field in the Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq. More »

Airbone Oil and Gas composites earn ExxonMobil’s global qualification

Following a stringent and detailed assessment of Airborne Oil and Gas’ qualification test data and track record to date, the supermajor accepted the TCP jumper product for water injection purposes on its affiliates’ projects worldwide. More »

Exxon resumes drilling offshore Guyana amid travel bans and political drama

The company confirmed that the Stena Carron and Noble Tom Madden vessels returned to full operations last month. The rigs had been shut when the country of less than a million closed its borders after the pandemic hit South America. More »

Saudi energy minister phones Iraqi counterpart, commends OPEC+ compliance

Saudi Arabia commended Iraq for implementing almost all of its oil production cuts last month, another sign that the disputes over cheating that dominated recent meetings are being resolved. More »

Libya halts oil exports again, blaming UAE for tanker blockade

Libya’s National Oil Corp. declared force majeure on exports again, accusing the United Arab Emirates of being behind a blockade as chaos continued to engulf the country’s oil industry. More »

Mexico instructs Talos and Pemex to unite the Zama field across two blocks

Talos Energy announced that on July 7, 2020, the company received a notice from Mexico's Ministry of Energy instructing the partners of Block 7 and Pemex to unitize the Zama field. The Zama field extends from Block 7 into the neighboring block to the east, which is operated by Pemex More »

Oil price rally stalls as OPEC+ plans to restore crude production

Oil edged lower ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this week at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts even as the coronavirus surges unabated in many parts of the world. More »

OPEC+ preps for next challenge – how and when to restore oil output

Having successfully doubled crude prices over the past few months through unprecedented output cuts, the OPEC+ alliance led by the Saudis and Russia is poised to begin unwinding its stimulus measures. More »

As the U.S. drilling decline continues, Canada's offshore industry puts Ottawa on the spot

World Oil editors discuss how the latest rig count numbers disappoint, a Canadian oil industry association gets tough, OPEC+ puts their foot down on cheaters, and a Marcellus shale recovery falls into question thanks to the Atlantic Coast pipeline. More »

Iran inks $460 million oil deal, anticipating an end to sanctions

“It’s true that our output is low because of cruel and illegal sanctions, but things won’t stay the same,“ Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in a speech broadcast on state television. “We need to increase our production capacity to be able to return to the market in full force and restore our share whenever necessary.” More »

Canceled Atlantic Coast pipeline threatens Marcellus shale’s future

The Appalachia region, home to the Marcellus shale faces pipeline bottlenecks in the years to come, a problem only made worse by the decision by Dominion Energy and Duke Energy to abandon plans to construct what would have been a major conduit to fast-growing markets that lie to the south. More »

Energy Transfer’s CEO preparing for Dakota Access battle

When a judge delivered a surprise ruling this week ordering the pipeline to shut until further environmental reviews are conducted, Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren flashed the pugnacious, bare-knuckled approach that has made him -- and the project -- a source of seemingly never-ending controversy in America. More »

Dakota Access pipeline shutdown challenge moves to Federal appeals court

Energy Transfer LP’s fight to stave off a shutdown of the Dakota Access oil pipeline now heads to a federal appeals court after a district judge on Thursday refused to cut the company a break. More »

Oil prices slide as Libyan production threatens demand balance

Crude slid after a key Libyan oil field resumed production, threatening to unleash barrels into a market where demand is already lackluster. More »

OPEC+ cheating crackdown continues as Angola commits to cuts

While OPEC and its allies estimate that they made 87% of a record 9.7 million barrels a day output reduction when the deal was launched in May, group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia are insisting on full compliance. More »

Siemens spins off its gas turbine and wind power business

Siemens AG shareholders approved a spinoff of the company’s energy business, one of CEO Joe Kaeser’s last major moves to reshape the German industrial stalwart. More »

Total looks to South Africa for offshore frontier opportunities

Total and its partners are planning to drill a well in the Luiperd prospect in water depths of as much as 1.8 kilometers by September, Africa Energy Chief Executive Officer Garrett Soden said in a statement. More »

Warren Buffet swoops in as the U.S. oil industry is battered by legal, regulatory and financial challenges

World Oil editors discuss the near- and longer-term effects of the Dakota Access pipeline shutdown on U.S. shale, legal precedents being set and who stands to benefit. Also, Pemex appears to be tightening its grip around the neck of the golden goose that is Mexico's oil and gas industry. More »

Eni taps Weatherford for four-year downhole safety valve program

Weatherford International has been awarded an exclusive four-year contract with Eni S.p.A. to provide a minimum of 30 Non-Umbilical Downhole Deployment Valves (NU-DDV) that will be deployed in Eni's critical wells, improving their operational safety and reservoir performance. More »

Energy Transfer refuses to shut Dakota Access pipeline, says judge “exceeded authority”

It’s the latest sign that Energy Transfer is preparing for another battle over the Dakota Access oil pipeline, which four years ago drew months of on-the-ground protests from environmental groups and tribes opposed to the project’s route. More »

Oil price recovery stalls on high U.S. crude inventory, sluggish demand

Futures in New York have traded within a narrow range this month, struggling to top $41 a barrel after hitting a three-month high on July 2. An EIA report showing that domestic crude stockpiles rose by 5.7 million barrels last week only added to the malaise. More »

UK oil and gas industry welcomes job support, underlines need to remain focused on delivering successful transition

The leading representative body for the sector OGUK said that the UK faces a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deliver moves to a lower carbon and more diverse energy mix, reinforcing the importance of the sector deal currently being discussed with the UK Government. More »

Acoustic Data wins $4.5MM contract for wireless downhole data acquisition

Acoustic Data has been awarded a $4.5mm three-year contract by a supermajor to deploy its SonicGauge Wireless Monitoring System in onshore gas fields in Asia. More »

Warren Buffet picks up the pieces as the U.S. oil industry is battered by legal, regulatory and financial challenges

World Oil editors discuss the near- and longer-term effects of the Dakota Access pipeline shutdown on U.S. shale, legal precedents being set and who stands to benefit. Also, Pemex appears to be tightening its grip around the neck of the golden goose that is Mexico's oil and gas industry. More »

Norway to tackle $100 billion PandA liabilities with new oilfield tech

North Sea nations and oil companies face costs of more than $100 billion to shut down old wells in the depleted region. Researchers in Norway believe they can cut that figure dramatically. More »

Canada restarts 200,000+ barrels of shut-in oil sands production

At least 20% of shut-in Canadian production is being restored, just months after the price crash forced producers in Alberta’s oil sands to slash up to 1 million barrels a day of output. More »

U.S. pipeline challenges “pretty disturbing” for oil producers in Canada

Crude from Canada's oil sands is almost entirely shipped through U.S. pipelines to refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast. The lack of enough shipping capacity has been the dominant problem facing the industry for the past several years. More »

Canadian community and business leaders call for federal investment in offshore energy

Community and business leaders, as well as supporters throughout Canada, are united to send a clear message to the Government of Canada that action is needed to attract investment in the offshore oil and gas industry and help thousands of Canadians get back to work. More »

Cash-strapped Pemex seeks to defer key contractor payments to 2021

Three contractors that are being asked to defer payment are waiting on $115 million in payouts, according to sources, but the amount owed to companies across Pemex’s supply chain could easily total billions of dollars. More »

ICONIC tallies first successful North Sea instrumented tubular plug installation

ICONIC has successfully installed its first iTP (Instrumented Tubular Plug) in the Norwegian North Sea. Designed to provide real-time pressure and temperature data anywhere in the well, the iTP has been qualified for use on HPHT wells. More »

Shale companies receive more than $2.4 billion in pandemic assistance

The shale industry is getting at least $2.4 billion in loans from the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program aimed at helping businesses that are struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. More »

Eni warns of impairments as it lowers future oil price estimates

“Having considered the prospect of the pandemic having an enduring impact on the global economy and the energy scenario, Eni has revised its view of market fundamentals,” the Rome-based producer said in a statement. The company said it would stick to -- or even speed up -- its long-term climate strategy presented in February. More »

Dakota Access pipeline shutdown may spell the end for a Bakken shale recovery

The looming shutdown of the Dakota Access pipeline that carries more than a third of the region’s oil to market threatens to keep the play from booming ever again. More »

Texas issued nearly 69% fewer drilling permits in June 2020 than in year prior

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 312 original drilling permits in June 2020 compared to 1,001 in June 2019. The June 2020 total includes 262 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, three to re-enter plugged well bores and 21 for re-completions of existing well bores. More »

Texas issued nearly 66% fewer drilling permits in June 2020 than in year prior

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 312 original drilling permits in June 2020 compared to 1,001 in June 2019. The June 2020 total includes 262 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, three to re-enter plugged well bores and 21 for re-completions of existing well bores. More »

Golar Power enters alliance with Galileo to promote LNG in Brazil

With this initiative, Golar Power intends to increase the share of local LNG in its supply and accelerate energy transition towards a cleaner energy chain with a lower carbon footprint in Brazil: switching from diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas or heavy fuel oil to natural gas. More »

API calls for pipeline permit reforms following shutdowns

The American Petroleum Institute released the following statement from President and CEO Mike Sommers in response to the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and a court ruling to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. More »

Brent oil passes $43/bbl on climbing equity markets, Saudi price hikes

Brent gained 1% to near the highest level since March. Saudi Aramco increased its crude prices to Asia in another sign of recovering demand. Global equity markets rose to the highest since early June, giving crude another boost. More »

Stauper Offshore wins Martin Linge platform upgrade contract

Stauper Offshore AS was awarded a contract by TechnipFMC for the upgrade of the Compact Flotation Units (CFU) at Equinor´s Martin Linge platform in the North Sea. More »

Total’s CEO Pouyanne plots successful course while competitors stumble

Europe’s oil giants came into 2020 promising shareholders they can “do it all” -- maintain generous dividends, keep the crude flowing and make a historic shift toward clean energy. Only one of them may succeed. More »

Saudis hike oil prices to key markets on rising energy demand

Saudi Arabia raised pricing for August oil shipments to Asia, the U.S. and northern Europe amid signs that energy demand is continuing to recover. The move comes as the world’s biggest crude exporter pushes other major producers to join it in cutting supply to re-balance the market. More »

Is global oil drilling activity finding a bottom?

As the working rig count reaches historic lows, World Oil editors take a look at what it means for future production and inevitable consolidations to follow. Can technical innovation lead the industry out of the wilderness? More »

Is the drilling rig count finding a bottom?

As the working rig count reaches historic lows, World Oil editors take a look at what it means for future production and inevitable consolidations to follow. Can technical innovation lead the industry out of the wilderness? More »

Libyan oil exports drop again as port blockade drags on

Libya will export two oil cargoes totaling 1.2 million barrels in July -- a third less than in June -- as forces opposed to the Tripoli-based government continue to block shipments from most of the OPEC member’s ports. More »

Canadian trade group says the offshore industry is still waiting for promised assistance

A month after Natural Resources Canada Minister Seamus O’Regan said an announcement was coming “very soon,” the offshore oil and gas industry is still waiting for assistance to help it recover from COVID-19 and remain globally competitive. More »

Neptune Energy confirms hydrocarbon discovery at Dugong well

Neptune Energy and its partners announced the discovery of hydrocarbons at the Dugong well (PL 882) in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. More »

Venezuelan oil output falls 32% in June as foreign buyers cancel cargoes

Crude production in Venezuela tumbled for a sixth straight month in June, underscoring the dismal state of the nation’s oil industry as U.S. sanctions batter exports and the coronavirus pummels demand. More »

Oil prices resume climb on positive U.S. jobs report

Oil kept up its positive momentum going into the U.S. holiday weekend, cheered by signs the world’s biggest economy is recovering from coronavirus-related lockdowns, even as fears linger over a resurgence. More »

Coronavirus impact pushes Exxon to an unprecedented quarterly loss

Exxon Mobil incurred an unprecedented second straight quarterly loss as almost every facet of the oil giant’s business slumped amid Covid-19 lockdowns that stunted economic activity. More »

African Energy Chamber says European travel bans impact oilfield safety and productivity

The African Energy Chamber said the continuation of travel restrictions and suspension of visas and travel between Africa and Europe is heavily restraining the oil and gas industry’s recovery efforts. More »

SeaFlo training programs expedite knowledge transfer, supporting offshore recovery

SeaFlo Consultancy Ltd has invested more than £250,000 to develop a new dynamic marine and subsea training capability supported by state-of-the-art mobile simulators. More »

OPEC cuts production to 1991 levels in bid to revive oil demand

OPEC slashed oil production to the lowest level since the Gulf War in 1991, as it escalated efforts to revive global markets just as a resurgence of the coronavirus is threatening demand again. More »

Citigroup says oil demand will never reach pre-pandemic levels

Demand growth for refined oil products will never return to the levels it reached before the coronavirus outbreak, Citigroup said. More »

Neptune Energy awards remote monitoring contract to Fugro

Neptune Energy announced the award of a subsea inspection contract to leading geo-data specialist, Fugro, which will employ state-of-the-art remote monitoring technology to survey subsea structures at the Cygnus gas field in the UK’s southern North Sea. More »

CGG GeoSoftware and Alibaba Cloud collaborate to support the EandP industry with cloud geoscience technologies

Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, is the third largest cloud service provider in the world, and holds the number one market share position in Asia Pacific, according to Gartner, a leading research and advisory company. More »

SBM Offshore completes US$600 million bridge loan for FPSO Sepetiba

SBM Offshore announced the closure of a US$600 million bridge loan facility for the financing of the construction of FPSO Sepetiba. More »

As oil demand sentiments diverge on a national and an operator level, are production plans evolving to keep pace?

From OPEC stalwarts down to individual producing companies, oil price and demand projections are dividing into two separate camps. World Oil's editors review some of these key differences, and what they mean for crude production plans. More »

Investors pressure Exxon, Chevron to disclose long-term oil price forecasts

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. don’t publish such estimates, meaning that shareholders are less able to scrutinize how the companies’ investment plans square with expectations for a global transition to clean energy. More »

UAE to add 3.8 MMbbl capacity to oil storage hub in 2020

Brooge Energy Ltd. expects new tanks at its oil-storage terminal in the United Arab Emirates to be fully operational by the end of the year, with a single customer booked to lease all the additional capacity. More »

Putin likely to retain power until 2036 on upcoming Russian vote

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on course to secure a resounding endorsement of his bid to extend his two-decade-long rule potentially up to 2036, as the Kremlin faces criticism for its heavy-handed efforts to marshal support. More »

Sand supplier Covia Holdings files bankruptcy, plans to continue operations

Covia Holdings Corp., a supplier of sand and other mineral products to the oil and gas industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in the Southern District of Texas on Monday. More »