Aramco announced that it has received a directive from the Saudi Ministry of Energy to maintain Maximum Sustainable Capacity (MSC) at 12 million barrels per day (MMBD), and not to continue increasing MSC to 13 MMBD. This is a reversal from April 2020, when the Ministry of Energy directed Aramco... Read more →
Crude oil production in the United States reached a record high in August 2023, led primarily by more production in Texas, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2023, most of the crude oil produced in Texas was relatively dense for the state. Data source: U.S.... Read more →
Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria (earlier post) has begun production of diesel and aviation fuel. The refinery can load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries. Gas flare stack at the refinery. The products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications. The refinery design complies with the... Read more →
Equinor and its operating co-owner, Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, reached the final investment decision for the Sparta development in the US Gulf of Mexico. Owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (51% operator) and Equinor Gulf of Mexico LLC (49%), Sparta is expected to reach a peak production... Read more →
ConocoPhillips will move forward with development of the Willow project in Alaska. This Final Investment Decision approves the project and funds construction needed to reach first oil. The decision follows the Department of the Interior March 2023 Record of Decision and recent positive court orders, including this week’s Ninth Circuit... Read more →
Independent oil and gas company Harbour Energy reached an agreement with BASF and LetterOne, the shareholders of Wintershall Dea AG, for the acquisition of substantially all of Wintershall Dea’s upstream assets for $11.2 billion. The target portfolio includes all of Wintershall Dea’s upstream assets in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico,... Read more →
The United States heads into the New Year producing more oil than any country in history, leading strong non-OPEC+ supply growth that will more than meet growing global demand, according to the latest oil markets outlook by S&P; Global Commodity Insights. US total liquids production for Q4 2023 stands at... Read more →
In its Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts the lowest annual petroleum consumption in Japan in 2024 since at least 1980, in part due to the country’s aging and declining population. Japan’s reduced consumption is already affecting its refining industry. Japanese refiner ENEOS permanently closed a... Read more →
The United States and Canada are on track to reach a new high in oil and gas production in 2023 and extend North America’s lead as the top oil and gas producing region in the world, according to a new report, “The North American advantage: Secure oil and gas production”,... Read more →
Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant (earlier post) has purchased 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria as well as globally, trading more than 8 million barrels of crude oil per day.... Read more →
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) regularly publishes international energy information, including overviews, rankings, data and analyses of various countries and regions. EIA has now released a briefing on emerging hydrocarbon (oil and natural gas) producers in Africa. The EIA briefing focuses on Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritania, Senegal, and Mozambique—countries... Read more →
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects global liquid fuels production to increase by 1.0 million barrels per day next year. EIA expects OPEC+ production cuts will remain in place through the end of 2024 and offset non-OPEC production growth. EIA expects a slight decline in global oil inventories in... Read more →
The greenhouse gas intensity of western Canadian condensate—which averaged 35 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel (kgCO2e/bbl) in 2021—is expected to decline in the coming years as domestic supply from unconventional production in western Canada, as well as recycling, increases, according to a new analysis by S&P; Global Commodity... Read more →
Chevron Corporation entered into a definitive agreement with Hess Corporation to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hess in an all-stock transaction valued at $53 billion, or $171 per share based on Chevron’s closing price on 20 October 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive... Read more →
Sonangol and China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) signed a contract for the construction of the Lobito Refinery in Angola. The final agreement, which provides for construction, technical support and supervision, follows the Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties, signed four months ago in Beijing. The refinery is to... Read more →
Exxon Mobil and Pioneer Natural Resources announced a definitive agreement for ExxonMobil to acquire Pioneer. The merger is an all-stock transaction valued at $59.5 billion, or $253 per share, based on ExxonMobil’s closing price on 5 October 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares... Read more →
Crude oil production cuts among OPEC+ members are limiting the global supply of medium, sour and heavy, sour grades of crude oil. These cuts are increasing prices for these grades compared with sweet crude oils, reversing typical price relationships, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Crude oil is... Read more →
CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corp.) announced that Lufeng 12-3 Oilfield Development Project has begun production. The project is located in the eastern South China Sea, with an average water depth of approximately 240 meters. Lufeng 12-3 Oilfield is the largest jointly-developed oilfield in the South China Sea in the... Read more →
Record volumes of crude oil were imported into China during the first half of 2023 because of refinery expansions in the country and initiatives to reopen the economy after the government eased COVID-19 mobility restrictions. China imported an average of 11.4 million barrels of crude oil per day (b/d) in... Read more →
In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge), US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has authorized the cancellation of the remaining seven oil and gas leases issued by the previous administration in the Coastal Plain. The leases were suspended in June 2021 following the issuance of Secretary’s Order (S.O.)... Read more →
To reduce the number of accidents in the global oil and gas industry caused by damaged pipelines, University of Houston researchers are developing an autonomous robot to identify potential pipeline leaks and structural failures during subsea inspections. The transformative technology will make the inspection process far safer and more cost... Read more →
Permian Resources Corporation and Earthstone Energy entered into a definitive agreement under which Permian Resources will acquire Earthstone in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.5 billion, inclusive of Earthstone’s net debt. The transaction increases Permian Resources’ position in the Permian Basin by approximately 223,000 net acres to more than... Read more →
Occidental announced that a wholly owned subsidiary—1PointFive—has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire all the outstanding equity of Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE) for total cash consideration of approximately $1.1 billion, to be made in three approximately equivalent annual payments, with the first at closing. This transaction is expected... Read more →
Researchers in India are using multi-wall carbon nanotube-optimized surfactant-polymer flooding for enhanced oil recovery. In an open-access paper in the journal Fuel, they report that their experimental application of carbon nanotube-based fluids yielded an oil recovery factor of approximately 70% of the original oil in place. Pandey et al. Primary... Read more →
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects US crude oil production to surpass 12.9 million barrels per day for the first time in late 2023 and to exceed 13 million barrels per day in early 2024. In its August Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts US crude oil production to... Read more →
Since the EU imposed sanctions on Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, there has been a redrawing of the global oil map, a new study by Transport & Environment (T&E;) shows. Instead of cutting demand, Europe has simply replaced imports from Russia with oil from other producing... Read more →
Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, released the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Self‑Review Assessment Framework and the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Guidelines, which were jointly developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Finance Canada. The Government of... Read more →
More than three-fourths of all oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico has a lower greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity than the basin-wide average, according to a new S&P; Global Commodity Insights analysis. The analysis is the latest in an ongoing series that utilizes a new comprehensive model... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of Energy (DOE) are partnering to provide more than $1 billion in funding to help reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector through the creation of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. This collaboration will leverage EPA and DOE’s shared... Read more →
Australia-based Woodside Energy has made a final investment decision to develop the large, high-quality Trion resource in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. First oil is targeted for 2028. Trion is located in a water depth of 2,500 meters, approximately 180 km off the Mexican coastline and 30 km south of... Read more →
India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) said that oil output from the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia has returned to a plateau level of 190,000 - 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) from zero. Sakhalin-1 produced an average of 227,000 bpd in 2021. Following the onset of sanctions against Russia... Read more →
The Cushing Economic Development Foundation, Inc. and the City of Cushing, Oklahoma announced that Southern Rock Energy Partners, LLC (SREP) has selected Cushing as the site for its 250,000 BPD next-generation, full conversion crude refinery. The project is expected to have $5.56 billion in capital investment and supply 423+ full-time... Read more →
Outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is commissioning the 650,000 BPD Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant today. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which covers an area of approximately 2,635 hectares—about the six times the size of Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria—is expected to be Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s... Read more →
Electricity is continuing to gain traction in previously thought to be hard-to-electrify sectors including heavy trucking and aviation. Electricity’s share in transport will grow from 1% today to 23% in 2050, according to DNV’s latest Transport in Transition report. DNV’s Transport in Transition report draws on DNV’s system dynamics-based Energy... Read more →
Project InnerSpace, a non-profit organization focused on removing barriers to exponential geothermal growth by 2030, announced that the US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $165-million Geothermal Energy from Oil and gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) grant (earlier post) to a consortium formed by Project InnerSpace, the Society of Petroleum... Read more →
In its April Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that world oil demand will climb by 2 mb/d in 2023 to a record 101.9 million barrels per day. Reflecting the widening disparity between regions, non-OECD countries, buoyed by a resurgent China, will account for 90% of growth.... Read more →
bp has successfully started oil production at its Argos offshore platform, strengthening bp’s position as a leading producer in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. (Earlier post.) With a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day, Argos is bp’s fifth platform in the Gulf of... Read more →
Strong continuing international demand for petroleum and other liquids will sustain US production above 2022 levels through 2050, according to most of the cases in the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023). EIA projects that the United States will continue to be an integral part of... Read more →
In February, API’s industry data showed petroleum demand of 19.8 million barrels per day (Mb/d) at its second highest for the month since 2020, a rebound in oil production and record level exports, with reductions in inventories and domestic refining activities when compared to January 2023. The monthly growth in... Read more →
ExxonMobil recently announced the successful startup of its Beaumont refinery expansion project, which adds 250,000 barrels per day of capacity to one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes along the US Gulf Coast. (Earlier post.) Supported by the company’s growing crude production in the Permian Basin, the project is... Read more →
US Department of the Interior has approved a scaled-back version of ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). (Earlier post.) The Record of Decision (ROD) reduces the size of the project by denying two of the original five drill sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, which is seeking... Read more →
In 2022, US ethane demand increased by approximately 9%, or almost 0.2 million barrels per day (b/d), according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Petroleum Supply Monthly. US production and consumption of ethane (a hydrocarbon gas liquid used almost exclusively as a feedstock in the petrochemical industry) has grown... Read more →
SLB (Schlumberger) introduced the EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system that minimizes the CO2 footprint of a well’s construction. This innovative technology eliminates up to 85% of embodied CO2 emissions compared with conventional well cementing systems, which include portland cement. The EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system matches the rheology, thickening time, and compressive... Read more →
Shell Offshore, a subsidiary of Shell plc, has started production at the Shell-operated Vito floating production facility in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM). With an estimated peak production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Vito is the company’s first deep-water platform in the GoM to employ a... Read more →
bp says that it will invest more in the energy transition and bp’s own transition, with up to $8 billion more slated for transition growth engines (TGEs) by 2030. These include higher-return bioenergy, and convenience & EV charging; and focusing hydrogen and renewables & power where bp can leverage integration.... Read more →
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office recently released the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for ConocoPhillips’s proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The document addresses the flaws identified by the US District Court for the District of Alaska in its... Read more →
In its January 2023 Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that crude oil production in the United States will average 12.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2023 and 12.8 million b/d in 2024, surpassing the previous record of 12.3 million b/d set in 2019. In... Read more →
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects global consumption of liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, to set new record highs in 2024. According to EIA’s January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), global liquid fuel consumption will exceed 100 million barrels per day, on average, in 2023 for... Read more →
Liquid intermediates from pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) can be co-processed in an oil refinery along with conventional crude oil. In an open-access paper in the journal Energy & Fuels, a team from VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, with colleagues from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Ghent University,... Read more →
In 2021, proved reserves of natural gas set a new record in the United States, and proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate increased, but not quite to pre-pandemic levels, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy demand rose from the 2020 lows that resulted from the... Read more →
