Mar 2017

Shell opens new technology center in Bangalore, India (31 March 2017): THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- Shell has opened a new major technology hub in Bangalore, India, expanding the company’s R&D activities in Asia. The 52-acre, custom built technology center can house up to 1,500 experts working collaboratively on innovative projects worldwide.

Fluor completes construction of Dow Chemical’s ethylene production facility (31 March 2017): IRVING, Texas – Fluor Corporation announced that it has safely finished the mechanical construction of The Dow Chemical Company’s new ethylene production facility in Freeport, Texas on schedule. Fluor provided engineering, procurement and construction services on the 1.5-MMtpy light-hydrocarbon cracker, which can use both ethane and propane as feedstock. The ethylene produced by the facility will be used as a building block for many of Dow’s industry leading performance plastics products.

These Fundamentals Point To Higher Oil Prices (30 March 2017): Gasoline demand is rising again in the U.S., helping to drain the exceptionally high levels of refined product inventories. That provides a small bit of bullish evidence for a market running a little low on reasons to feel optimistic about oil prices. All eyes tend to be on the crude oil inventory figures when the EIA releases its weekly data, and this past week was more of the same: no drawdown in crude stocks, which still remain at all-time highs.

Mexico's Pemex to launch coking plant tender for Tula refinery (30 March 2017): MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- Mexican state oil company Pemex expects to launch a tender in the next few weeks to find a partner to develop and operate a new coking plant at its Tula refinery, a $2.1 B project designed to boost output of gasoline, a company source said.

Elon Musk, His New Company, and Science (28 March 2017): Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has founded a new company called Neuralink Corp. According to the Wall Street Journal Neuralink will be pursuing what Musk has previously called “neural lace” technology, which consists of implanting tiny brain electrodes that could one day upload and download our thoughts. This type of technology has been fantasized about for some time and has actually been under development with recent breakthrough in research.

ADNOC seeks gasoline in second tender after January fire (29 March 2017): SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is seeking a total of 316,000 t of gasoline for shipment in May and June to help make up for a shortfall in its own production following a fire in January at its Ruwais refinery, traders said on Tuesday.

Petrofac awarded $1.3-billion project in Kuwait (28 March 2017): LONDON -- Petrofac has been awarded a contract for Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) gathering center project, GC 32, located at Burgan oil field, southeast of Kuwait.

Japan nuclear reactors to restart after court victory
Courtesy: Kyodo / Reuters

Japan nuclear reactors to restart after court victory (28 March 2017): Japan appeals court overturned a ruling that barred the operation of two nuclear reactors, a win for the nation’s atomic operators and government amid public opposition to the technology following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

ExxonMobil Just Got Hit By This Fast-Rising New Energy Problem (24 March 2017): 

Takoradi Oilfield and Harbour
Source: Mac-Jordan Degadjor

GE Oil and Gas expands global footprint with new Sub Saharan Africa facility in Ghana (23 March 2017): GE Oil and Gas have opened a new facility in Takoradi Port, Ghana, expanding its global footprint and supporting local investment. The facility, which will be the primary service center for deep-water offshore projects in Ghana, has a 1,600sqm indoor test area with capability for testing three subsea trees (XTs) simultaneously, and 4,000sqm of indoor and out...

Algeria to spend $50bn to boost oil and gas operations (23 March 2017): Algeria’s state-run oil producer plans to boost crude output by 14 per cent in the four years to 2019 and invest billions of dollars in exploration. Sonatrach Group expects to spend Us$9 billion from 2017 to 2021 in its search for new deposits of oil and natural gas, said Farid Djettou, the head of the company’s associations division, which is responsible for foreign contracts. It will drill an average of 100 wells a year during that time and invest more than US$50 billion across all its operations, Mr Djettou said.

Britain's IGas wins approval for shale gas exploration (22 March 2017): LONDON (Reuters) -- Britain's IGas has won planning consent from Nottinghamshire County Council to develop a shale gas well site and drill an exploratory well at Tinker Lane, the company said. The council gave IGas permission late last year to carry out exploration work at Springs Road in order to test whether the shale rock present is suitable for fracking.

Lake Side Power Plant
Source: Mscalora/Commons

NNPC to invest US$15bn into 4000MW gas power plants (21 March 2017): NNPC announced on 20 March, that it would be investing US$15bn into Nigeria's energy market. Over the next decade, this would amount to around 4000MW of extra power being generated. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced that it would invest around US$15bn to build gas-based power plants in the West African country, contributing 4,000MW over the next decade.

 

Oil Prices Fall As Markets Lose Faith In OPEC Output Cut Extension (21 March 2017): 

Armed with $11 billion, Thai oil giants hunt for investments (20 March 2017): By SUPUNNABUL SUWANNAKIJ AND DAN MURTAUGH - BANGKOK (Bloomberg) -- The Asian energy companies sitting on the largest hoard of cash outside China are ready to put it to use. Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production and its parent company have nearly $11 billion combined in cash and marketable securities, such as bonds and other short-term investments. The explorer is ready to spend from its portion on projects and exploration acreage to rescue declining oil and gas reserves, according to CEO Somporn Vongvuthipornchai.

Energy projects worth $622 billion could come up in Mena and Iran (20 March 2017): Dania Saadi - Energy and power projects totalling US$622 billion in Mena and Iran could materialise between now and 2021 depending on oil prices, creditworthiness of countries and geopolitics, according to the multilateral energy lender Apicorp. The Arabian Gulf region is the leading destination for $337bn worth of committed investment in projects under execution in Mena and Iran between now and 2021, Saudi Arabia-based Apicorp said yesterday.

UN Asks U.K. to Pause Hinkley Nuclear Plant Work for Assessment by Grant Smith and Alex Morales (18 March 2017): A United Nations committee asked the U.K. to suspend work on the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant pending assessment of the environmental impact. The UN Economic Commission for Europe requested the pause, it said in a document on its website. Electricite de France SA, the French state-controlled utility, won approval to build an 18 billion-pound ($22.3 billion) nuclear plant on England’s western coast in September. To help shoulder the construction costs, EDF convinced China General Nuclear Power Corp. to take 33.5 percent of the project.

Weak Physical Oil Market Hits $50 Billion Hedge Funds' Bet (17 March 2017): by Alex Longley, Javier Blas, and Jessica Summers - The real world of oil trading -- where actual cargoes are bought and sold -- is doing little to help the hedge funds and other speculators who placed record bets that OPEC and its allies would drive up prices. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other big producers are trying to clear a global crude glut, but three months into the effort the physical oil market is still signaling plentiful supplies. The persisting excess offers little comfort to financial traders, whose bets that futures prices will rise equate to about $50 billion in nominal terms.

Kuwait’s PIC lets contract for grassroots olefins-aromatics complex (16 March 2017): By Robert Brelsford OGJ Downstream Technology Editor - State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) subsidiary Petrochemical Industries Co. KSC (PIC) has let a contract to Amec Foster Wheeler PLC for the integration project between PIC’s proposed grassroots Olefins III-Aromatics II complex and Kuwait National Petroleum Co.'s (KNPC) 615,000-b/d Al-Zour refinery complex now under construction in southern Kuwait.

China, Saudi Arabia Ink $65-Billion Worth Of Preliminary Deals (16 March 2017): By China and Saudi Arabia have signed preliminary deals that could be worth as much as $65 billion if finalized, Xinhua reports. The news came on the first day of a four-day visit by Saudi King Salman to China.

Shell adds hundreds of jobs in new unit focusing on alternative energy (16 March 2017): SINGAPORE // Shell has added hundreds of jobs to its New Energies division as it plans to expand further in alternative fuels, wind and solar, a company executive said. The oil and gas giant created a new division last year that focuses on investing in hydrogen, biofuels, solar and wind. Mark Gainsborough, Shell’s executive vice president of new energies, said the division’s workforce has expanded to more than 200 staff as the company looks to invest in excess of US$1billion per year by 2020.

Saudi Arabia Tries To Reassure Markets After Oil Price Plunge (15 March 2017): Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih has tried to reassure markets of The Kingdom’s commitment to the rebalancing of crude oil’s fundamentals, after benchmarks yesterday slid down on an announcement that Saudi Arabia had increase production in February to 10.01 million bpd.

Oil at $40 no problem as U.S. drillers snub OPEC with hedges (15 March 2017) By Joe Carroll and David Wethe: HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- OPEC’s worst enemy isn’t U.S. shale drillers. It’s the hedges propping them up. American oil explorers who survived the worst of the 2014-2016 market rout are shrugging off the 14% slide in prices this year from a high of $55.24/bbl to less than $48/bbl Tuesday. The price would have to drop to the $30s or lower to dent the bottom line of many drillers now working U.S. shale fields, said Katherine Richard, the CEO of Warwick Energy Investment Group, which own stakes in more than 5,000 oil and natural gas wells.

Amec Foster Wheeler and oil services sector face up to low crude prices (13 March 2017): John Wood Group agreed to acquire Amec Foster Wheeler in an all-share deal that values the UK engineering-service provider at about £2.23 billion. The takeover comes after several years of pressure on profits for service providers in the energy industry as the slide in oil prices forced clients to rein in spending and defer large projects. By merging, these engineering companies aim to cut costs, diversify and become more competitive. Among recent deals, General Electric agreed in October to merge its oilfield-services arm with Baker Hughes.

Oil touches three-month lows as U.S. supply swells (13 March 2017) By Jessica Resnick-Ault | NEW YORK - Reuters - NeW YORK Oil hovered around three-month lows on Monday, as rising inventories and drilling activity in the United States, the world's top energy consumer, offset optimism over OPEC's efforts to restrict crude output and reduce a global glut. After more than two months of reduced production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the market is facing evidence that U.S. production remains high and global markets remain oversupplied.

Warm weather leads to first recorded natgas storage injection in February (9 March 2017): Warmer than normal weather throughout much of the US resulted in the first recorded net natural gas injection during a week in February since weekly storage data has been collected. For the week ending Feb. 24, the amount of natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states increased 7 Bcf. While some weeks during March in previous years had recorded injections, net injections of natural gas into storage do not typically occur until at least April.

Oil Drops Below $50 for First Time Since December on Supply Glut (9 March 2017) by Grant Smith - Oil dropped below $50 for the first time since December after concerns that OPEC’s output cuts aren’t tempering a surplus in the U.S. triggered the biggest slump in more than a year.

Amec awarded Chilean regasification LNG contract (8 March 2017): Amec Foster Wheeler announced that it has been awarded an Owner's Engineer contract by GNL Quintero to provide engineering services at its Quintero regasification terminal in Chile.

Strong Gasoline Draw Sees Oil Prices Spike (8 March 2017): 

IEA: global oil supply to lag demand after 2020 unless new investments are approved soon (7 March 2017): Fatih Birol, director of IEA. (Image source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Commons)According to the latest five-year oil market forecast from the International Energy Agency, global oil supply could struggle to keep pace with demand after 2020, risking a sharp increase in prices, unless new projects are approved soon.

OPEC Sends Mixed Signals About Output Cut Extension (7 March 2017): Oil officials gathered to discuss energy matters at this year’s CERAWeek in Houston are giving mixed signals about a possible extension of the production cut deal agreed by OPEC and 11 other producers last year. Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, for example, said, as quoted by Reuters, that it was “premature” to discuss an extension beyond the initial June 30 deadline. Novak also reassured media that the 300,000 bpd Russia had agreed to cut from its daily output would be achieved by the end of April.

SNC-Lavalin awarded ammonia plant EPC contract by Salalah (6 March 2017): MONTREAL -- SNC-Lavalin announced it has been awarded a contract by Salalah Methanol Company LLC for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of an anhydrous liquid ammonia plant, including its utilities and off-site infrastructure, in the city of Salalah, located in the Sultanate of Oman.

Fund Managers Value Aramco Below $1.5 Trillion (6 March 2017): 

U.S. energy stocks, darlings last year, stumble in 2017 (5 March 2017) By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Lewis Krauskopf | NEW YORK Reuters - The energy sector is the stock market's dud so far in 2017 after a banner performance in 2016, and the rest of the year may also be rocky for investors due to the unclear path for crude oil prices. Energy outdid all other sectors last year, up nearly 24 percent thanks to a late-year rally on anticipation that impending production cuts from major oil producers would lift crude prices and after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president spurred investor hopes for industry-friendly policies.

OGA study cites need for UK offshore-project improvement (3 March 2017) By OGJ editors - Oil and gas development projects on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) need clearer definition, simplicity to the extent possible, and improvements in accountability of delivery and cooperation between companies and stakeholders, concludes a study by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). Fewer than 25% of 58 of major projects executed since 2011 were delivered on time, the study found. Start-up delays averaged 10 months.

Photo Courtesy of Sinopec Group.
Photo Courtesy of Sinopec Group

China’s Sinopec to spend $29 B upgrading four refining bases (2 March 2017): BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's Sinopec group, parent of Sinopec Corp, will invest $29.05 billion to upgrade four refining bases between 2016 and 2020 to produce higher-quality fuels, the company said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Sinopec's upgrades come as China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer, is embracing more stringent fuel standards in its battle against pollution and suffering an overall glut in refining capacity.

Despite Promises To Cut, Iraq Raises February Oil Exports (2 March 2017): 

Exxon Neftegaz Sakhalin 1 Small
Photo Courtesy of Exxon Neftegaz

Exxon's Russian unit stops gas supplies from Sakhalin-1 due to accident (1 March 2017): MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Exxon Neftegaz, the operator of Russian Sakhalin-1 project, has stopped gas supplies to a domestic Russian gas pipeline due to an accident, energy ministry said on Wednesday. Exxon's office in Moscow was not immediately available for comment. An energy ministry official on duty told Reuters maintenance work had been under way.

Oil turns negative after U.S. crude stocks build to record high (1 March 2017)By Jessica Resnick-Ault | Reuters NEW YORK - Oil prices pared gains on Wednesday, with U.S. futures turning negative, after crude inventories in the United States rose to a record high. U.S. crude stockpiles rose 1.5 million barrels last week, less than forecast, but touching a record high at 520.2 million barrels after eight straight weekly builds. The consecutive increases have fueled worries that demand growth may not be sufficient to soak up the global oil glut despite a deal by major oil producers to cut output during the first half of the year.