Business & Markets

Libya's Mellitah Oil Reopens Gas Well in Mediterranean

Libya's National Oil Corp. announced on Saturday the reopening of a gas well operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas Company on its Sabratha Platform in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pioneer Natural Jumps on Report of Buyout Talks with Exxon

Pioneer Natural Resources Co.'s shares rose as much as 8.5% on Monday following a report that Exxon Mobil Corp. held preliminary talks with the U.S. shale oil producer about a possible acquisition.

Hawaiʻi Gas Issues Request for Proposals for Renewable Natural Gas, Renewable Hydrogen

(P&GJ) — Hawaiʻi Gas is seeking proposals from local and national suppliers who can provide up to 65,000 therms of RNG or up to 2,300 kg per day of renewable hydrogen. This request is the equivalent of replacing nearly all of the utility’s synthetic natural gas with RNG.

WSJ: Exxon Eyes Potential Purchase of Shale Driller Pioneer

Exxon Mobil Corp. has held preliminary talks with Pioneer Natural Resources Co. about a possible acquisition of the U.S. shale oil producer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Energy Trader Gunvor Posts Record $2.36 Billion Net Profit in 2022

Gunvor's rivals also had a bumper year amid high price volatility and as Russia's war in Ukraine reshaped global commodity flows, with Vitol and Mercuria previously posting record net profits of $15 billion and $2.98 billion, respectively.

Shell Sees Stronger LNG Volumes and Oil Product Performance in Q1

Shell, which recorded a record $40 billion profit last year, said in an update ahead of results due on May 4 that it expected first-quarter liquefaction volumes of 7 to 7.4 million tonnes, up from 6.8 million tonnes in the previous quarter.

Sources: New Exxon Beaumont, Texas Crude Unit Completes Startup

The new 250,000 bbl/d Crude C CDU lifts the Beaumont refinery's capacity to 619,024 bbl/d, second only to the Motiva Enterprises refinery in nearby Port Arthur, Texas, the people said.

Rare Shipments of Forties Crude Head to East Coast Refiners

U.S. and Canadian refiners have turned to North Sea "Forties" crude oil for the first time in seven years in the latest sign of changing global oil flows from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Tellurian to Sell Land for $1 Billion and Lease Back for Driftwood LNG Project

U.S. LNG developer Tellurian Inc. has entered into an agreement with an institutional investor to sell 800 acres of land in Louisiana for $1 billion, a regulatory filing by the company showed on Thursday.

WSJ: Dominion Energy, National Grid Pursuing Sale of Natural Gas Pipelines

Utility firms Dominion Energy and National Grid Plc are separately considering a potential sale of parts of their natural gas pipeline networks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

QatarEnergy Awards LNG Contract to Baker Hughes for North Field South Gas Project

(P&GJ) — Baker Hughes has been awarded a contract from QatarEnergy to supply two main refrigerant compressors for the North Field South project, which will be executed by Qatargas. The project will boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 million to 126 million tons by 2027.

Pipeline Operator Enbridge Expected to Enter Carbon-Capture Cement Partnership

Pipeline operator Enbridge and German firm Heidelberg are expected to enter a partnership to develop a facility to capture carbon emissions from cement production.

US Official: White House Got 'Heads Up' on OPEC Cut Plans, Disagreed with Move

The Biden administration told Saudi Arabia officials that it disagreed with OPEC’s surprise decision to cut oil production when it was given a ‘heads up’ on the move, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, told reporters on Monday.

Technip Energies Bags LNG Contract Valued at $273 Million

(P&GJ) — Shaanxi LNG Reserves & Logistics Co. Ltd. has given Technip Energies a large contract for the 3 million normal cubic meter per day Xi'An LNG Emergency Reserve & Peak Regulation Project in China. The deal is valued between $54.53 million and $272.67 million.

Sources: Baghdad Agrees to 30% Stake in TotalEnergies $27 Billion Iraq Energy Project

Baghdad has reached an agreement to hold a 30% stake in TotalEnergies long-delayed $27 billion Iraq project, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday, reviving a deal that Baghdad hopes could lure back foreign investment into the battered country which craves stability.

EIA: US Crude Output Rose in January to Highest Since March 2020

The EIA said that among the top oil-producing states, monthly output in Texas rose 1.5% to 5.24 million bbl/d, the highest since March 2020. In North Dakota, output jumped 10.2% to about 1.05 million bbl/d, the highest since November 2022.

Baghdad, Erbil Sign Deal to Restart Northern Oil Exports

Turkey stopped pumping about 450,000 b/d of Iraqi crude through a pipeline from the Fish-Khabur border area to its Ceyhan port on March 25 after Iraq won an arbitration case.

US LNG Exports Back on Rising Track, Reached Record in March

U.S. producers of LNG last month regained momentum as the country's second-largest exporter Freeport LNG ramped up output, sending total shipments to an all-time record of 7.73 million tonnes, data showed on Monday.

JDR Secures Umbilical Contract with Petrogas Transportation

(P&GJ) — JDR, the global subsea cable supplier and servicer, has been awarded a contract by Petrogas E&P Netherlands to supply two umbilicals for the A15 and B10 offshore conventional gas fields in the Netherlands.

Sources: Ovintiv Nears $4 Billion Deal to Acquire EnCap’s Permian Oil, Gas Assets

Ovintiv Inc. is nearing a deal to acquire oil exploration and production assets in the Permian Basin that are controlled by private equity firm EnCap Investments for about $4 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Perspective: Why US Natural Gas Output Keeps Rising as Prices Sink

U.S. natural gas prices last week plunged to a 30-month low, crossing below $2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for the second time this year, even as some producers have cut drilling to stave off further convulsions.

Philippines Set to Receive First-Ever LNG Cargo for Power Generation

The Philippines has bought its first-ever LNG cargo, which will be delivered this month, bound for a new terminal that will fuel a 1,200-megawatt power plant, global energy trader Vitol said on Monday.

Iraq to Ask Turkey to Restart Northern Oil Exports After Initial KRG Deal

Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reached an initial agreement to restart northern oil exports this week, a KRG spokesman said on Sunday, and Baghdad will write to Turkey to request a resumption in pipeline flows.

China’s LNG Imports to Show Small Rebound in 2023

The import rebound could be smaller than some analysts anticipate because domestic gas production is rising strongly and the country has mostly completed its transition to natural gas for urban residents.

Spire Adds Storage in Rockies, Western US

(P&GJ) — To meet the growing energy demands in the Rockies and Western U.S., Spire Storage is expanding its facilities in Wyoming, with partial availability of additional natural gas storage capacity becoming available in 2024.

Pipeline Operator Enbridge to Invest $2.9 Billion to Build Ammonia Plant in Texas

Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara and Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge plan to invest up to $2.9 billion to build a low-carbon blue ammonia production plant in Texas, they said on Friday. The plant, which would be Yara's biggest, would be built at an Enbridge oil storage and export facility near Corpus Christi, with production to start around 2027-28.

Uganda Approves Construction of 898-Mile Crude Pipeline

Uganda approves construction of 898-mile crude pipeline, Biden backs scaled-back ConocoPhillips Alaska oil project, construction of 106-mile gas pipeline to Serbia underway, Coastal GasLink pipeline costs expected to top $10 billion and more.

INGAA Chairman Amato Sees Permitting, Workforce Development Among Priorities

(P&GJ) — New INGAA Foundation Chair Paul Amato doesn’t exactly come from the hotbed of the natural gas industry, but in a manner of speaking, he became part of it as soon as possible. During this interview with P&GJ, Amato discusses, among other issues, his first impressions of INGAA, training and retaining younger talent, and keeping an eye on methane reduction and other permitting issues.

SGA’s New Chair Stresses Operational Excellence

(P&GJ) — The new chair of the Southern Gas Association (SGA), Luke Litteken, started his career in natural gas right out of technical college taking a job with Minnegasco (now CenterPoint Energy) in Minnesota as a technician, partly because he enjoys the outdoors. Twenty-five years later, he had the opportunity to move over to Xcel Energy, where he is now the senior vice president of the gas business.

US Could Buy Back Oil for Strategic Reserve Late This Year

The U.S. could start buying back crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve late this year after President Joe Biden last year directed the largest ever sale from the stockpile, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.