Jul 2017

Fire shutters Shell’s Pernis refinery (31 July 2017): By Robert Brelsford - OGJ Downstream Technology Editor - Royal Dutch Shell PLC has shut down refining operations at subsidiary Shell Nederland Raffinaderij BV’s 404,000-b/d Pernis refinery and integrated petrochemical production site in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following a weekend power outage that resulted in an explosion and subsequent fire at the plant. (more information ...)

Renewables Could Overtake Fossil Fuels In South Australia By 2025 (30 July 2017): 

Oil market set for boost ahead of Abu Dhabi meeting to discuss cuts (29 July 2017): Mahmoud Kassem - Oil markets may get a lift when they open tomorrow as some of the world’s biggest oil producers, including Opec members, plan to meet in Abu Dhabi next week to see how they can enforce compliance of oil production cuts. Russia, which is not an Opec member, and Kuwait, which is, are reported to be chairing the meeting – a date for which has yet to be decided but which is likely to happen next week or soon after. (more information ...)

Goldman Sachs: Oil Market To Rebalance By Early 2018 (28 July 2017): 

Shell Posts 700% Rise In Earnings, Prepares For ‘Lower Forever’ Oil Prices (27 July 2017): Shell reported net earnings attributable to shareholders of US$1.92 billion for the second quarter of the year, a more than 700-percent increase from a year earlier when the figure stood at just US$239 million. The figures are based on current cost of supplies – a profit metric used in the oil industry. (more information ...)

UK 'to ban diesel and petrol car sales by 2040' (26 July 2017):  Britain's government will announce on Wednesday that it will ban the sale of petrol and diesel-fuelled cars from 2040 when all vehicles must be fully electric as part of a plan to clean up air pollution, according to newspaper reports. (more information ...)

Oil Prices Spike In Spite Of Bearish EIA Forecast (25 July 2017): 

Wison Engineering awarded EPFC contract from Formosa Plastics (24 July 2017): SHANGHAI — Wison Engineering Services Co. Ltd., one of the leading chemical engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management service providers in China, announced that its non-wholly owned affiliated company, Wison Engineering (China) Limited, has been awarded an engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPFC) contract for one section of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) project in Texas by Formosa Plastics Corporation. (more information ...)

Trump May Have Unintentionally Killed U.S. Nuclear (22 July 2017): 

Could Clean Energy Spark A Mineral Boom? (22 July 2017): 

LyondellBasell to build world's largest PO/TBA plant in Texas (21 July 2017): HOUSTON and LONDON — LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, today announced the final investment decision to build the world's largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant in the Houston area. The project is estimated to cost approximately $2.4 B, representing the single-largest capital investment in the company's history. At the peak of construction, the project is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs and approximately 160 permanent positions when operational. (more information ...)

New Solar Tech Produces 50% More Energy Than Silicon Cells (20 July 2017): Researchers have created a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system with embedded microtracking that is capable of producing 50 percent more energy per day than the standard silicon solar cells. “Solar cells used to be expensive, but now they’re getting really cheap,” says Chris Giebink, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Penn State. (more information ...)

Hedge Funds Bleed As Oil Price Recovery Fails To Materialize (19 July 2017): Large hedge firms that had banked on an oil price recovery in the first half of 2017 are now reeling from the effects of a bearish market that shows no signs of a supply side recovery. Three of the top five worst-performing hedge funds so far this year specialized in oil and energy trading, according to the financial firm HSBC. (more information ...)

Exxon, Chevron downgraded on weak outlook for crude (18 July 2017): By GIACOMO TOGNINI - NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. and  Chevron Corp. had their recommendations cut at Wolfe Research as the outlook for oil prices deteriorates. (more information ...)

North Korea’s Fuel Prices Soar After China Suspends Exports (17 July 2017): 

Shell Nigeria Declares Force Majeure On Nigerian Light Oil Exports (14 July 2017): Shell’s Nigerian unit declared a force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil exports effective 12:00 local time on Thursday, just two weeks after it had lifted a previous force majeure on exports of the grade. According to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, as quoted by Reuters, the force majeure was declared after Aiteo, the operator of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line—one of two pipelines that export the Bonny Light grade—shut down the line. (more information ...)

IEA: Market Shows Waning Confidence In Oil Rebalancing (13 July 2017): The rebalancing of the oil market is taking too long, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Oil Market Report on Thursday. Since the record net long position that money managers built in February on hopes that OPEC’s cuts would rebalance the market, investors’—and industry bodies’—confidence has been waning. (more information ...)

OPEC's First 2018 Outlook Shows It's Pumping Too Much Oil (12 July 2017): By Grant Smith - OPEC’s first assessment of world oil markets in 2018 showed that, despite cutting output, the group is still pumping too much crude. (More Information ...)

Goldman: Oil Prices To Fall Below $40 If Shale Doesn’t Slow (11 July 2017): 

Aramco to Spend $300 Billion, CEO Warns on World Oil Supply (10 July 2017): By Wael Mahdi - Saudi Aramco, which plans what could be the world’s biggest initial public offering, will invest more than $300 billion over the next decade to maintain its spare oil-production capacity and explore for more natural gas, President and Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said... (More Information)

Japan, S. Korea oil refiners maximize runs to profit from margins at 5-month highs (7 July 2017): SINGAPORE (Reuters) — South Korean and Japanese refiners are running their plants at near-maximum capacity to cash in on profit margins that are at five-month highs, industry sources told Reuters on Friday. (More Information ...)

World's top oil traders bet American shale is here to stay (7 July 2017): By ANDY HOFFMAN - GENEVA (Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest energy traders are betting shale oil production is here to stay. European trading houses from Trafigura Group to Mercuria Energy Group and Vitol Group have invested in U.S. infrastructure and struck supply deals to secure flows of shale oil and gas. The agreements show the traders see long-term opportunities in an industry that has already upended global energy flows, particularly since the U.S. lifted a four-decade old ban on exports at the end of 2015. (More Information ...)

France to invest US$1.14bn in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector (6 July 2017): The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced that the government of France, through the French Development Agency, has set aside US$1.14bn to be invested in the Nigerian oil and gas industry (More Information ...)

SABIC appoints group to oversee decommission of 10 petchem plants (5 July 2017): Work is underway to clear a suite of redundant assets in the North East of England, in one of the UK’s largest projects of its kind. Petrochemical firm SABIC has appointed specialist consultancy RVA Group to oversee the decommissioning, demolition and dismantling of 10 plants at its North Tees and Wilton sites. (More Information ...)

GE completes buyout of Baker Hughes (4 July 2017): HOUSTON (Reuters) — General Electric Co on Monday completed its buyout of Baker Hughes Inc, merging it with its own oil and gas equipment and services operations to create the world's second-largest oilfield service provider by revenue. ... (More Information)

Total OPEC Crude Oil Exports Drop In June (4 July 2017): 

Oil Extends Longest Rally This Year as U.S. Drilling Slows (3 July 2017): Broomberg - Oil extended the longest run of gains this year as U.S. drilling slowed after a record expansion. Futures rose 0.6 percent in New York, adding to an 8.3 percent gain the previous seven sessions. U.S. drillers targeting crude reduced the number of active rigs for the first time in 24 weeks, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data on Friday. Libya’s oil production climbed to more than 1 million barrels a day for the first time in four years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

Oil caps longest rally this year as anxiety over oversupply eases (2 July 2017): Oil has posted the longest run of gains in six months after US shale explorers paused a record drilling expansion in a sign the boom may be slowing down. Futures added as much as 2.7 per cent in New York on Friday, advancing for a seventh session. Shale explorers broke the longest stretch of uninterrupted growth in three decades as rigs targeting crude fell by two  last week, bringing the total to 756, according to Baker Hughes data reported on Friday. The rig count has more than doubled from a low of 316 in May.