Business & Markets

Oilfield Firm Baker Hughes Beats Profit Estimate, Shares Rise

Baker Hughes Co. on Wednesday said it beat first-quarter profit estimates as rising oil prices boosted demand for its equipment and services, sending the oilfield firm's shares higher.

Permian In Spotlight as Energy Dealmaking Gathers Steam

Companies with a focus on the oil-rich Permian basin are likely to be at the center of the next wave of consolidation in the U.S. energy sector as favorable oil prices prompt cash-rich drillers to tap into the largest source of shale oil.

Official: Louisiana on Track for Carbon Well Permitting by Year-End

Louisiana likely will receive permitting authority over wells designed to capture and store greenhouse gases by the end of the year, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, who represents a southern section of the state, said on Tuesday.

Mitsubishi Power Starts Natural Gas Turbine Operation in Rayong, Thailand

This natural gas turbine is the fifth of its kind of a total of eight to be delivered under a full turnkey 5,300-megawatt contract secured by Mitsubishi Power in 2018, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project to Nearly Triple Current Capacity to 890,000 bpd

(P&GJ) — When the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline begins operating next year, it will provide access to new markets in Asia for Canadian oil producers that have suffered from years of limited pipeline capacity. The expansion project will add approximately 980 km (609 miles) of new pipeline and bring the nominal capacity of the system from approximately 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 890,000 bpd.

California City Can't Enforce Natural Gas Ban, Appeals Court Says

Berkeley, California, cannot ban natural gas hookups in new buildings because a U.S. federal law preempts its rule, a federal appeals court said Monday, siding with a challenge the state's restaurant industry made.

Chevron Seeks Drilling Ship to Expand East Med Gas Search

Chevron is seeking a drilling ship to explore for natural gas off Cyprus, Egypt and Israel as the U.S. energy major looks to meet growing demand in the region and Europe, two sources told Reuters.

Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas, FCC to Build LNG Terminal Worth $1.1 Billion in Germany

Spanish companies Tecnicas Reunidas and FCC and Turkey's ENKA have won a contract to build an LNG regasification terminal in Germany worth about $1.09 billion, Tecnicas Reunidas said.

Norway Parliament Asks for CCS Alternative to Decarbonize Major LNG Plant

Norway's parliament on Tuesday told the government to consider an alternative way to cut carbon emissions at Western Europe's largest LNG plant, but stopped short of outright halting a controversial plan to use power from land.

Gazprom Says Europe Set to Struggle Refilling Gas Storage for Next Winter

It will be very difficult for Europe to refill its gas storage to last year's levels after the continent ended the winter heating season with relatively low stockpiles, Russian natural gas giant Gazprom said on Tuesday.

Shell Restarts Pierce Field Operations in UK North Sea

Shell Plc said on Tuesday it had restarted operations at the Pierce field in the UK Central North Sea, following an upgrade to allow gas to be produced at the location after years of it producing only oil.

Marathon Oil, Chevron Agree to Further Develop Equatorial Guinea Gas Mega Hub

(P&GJ) — Marathon Oil Corp. has signed an agreement with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and Noble Energy E.G. Ltd, a Chevron company, to progress the next phases (Phases II and III) in the development of the Equatorial Guinea Regional Gas Mega Hub.

Azerbaijan's January-March Oil Exports Via BTC Pipeline Rise 9%

Azerbaijan's oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline via Georgia and Turkey were up by 9.0% year-on-year in the first three months of this year at 7.244 million tonnes, the State Statistics Committee said on Monday.

US Warns Companies Over Russian Oil Price Cap Evasion Via ESPO Pipeline

The U.S. Treasury published a warning to U.S. companies on Monday of possible evasions of the Russian oil price cap exported through the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and ports in eastern Russia.

US Oil Activity in Colorado, Wyoming Slips, Further Slowing Ahead

Oil and gas activity in the U.S. Midwest and Mountain West states declined in the first quarter and is expected to continue to slow, according to a survey released on Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Security of Supply Concerns Prompt Arctic Barents Sea Gas Pipeline Rethink in Norway

Building a pipeline to transport gas produced in the Arctic Barents Sea could be worth re-examining due to an increased focus on supply security and Norway exporting more of its gas to Europe, gas infrastructure operator Gassco said on Monday.

Blue Hydrogen Emerges as Key to Transition Future

(P&GJ) — The energy sector is undergoing a transformation, with a growing focus on cleaner energy sources and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Canada Offers $26 Billion Green Tax Credits But Still Trails Behind US Incentives

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has been under pressure to level the playing field with its largest trading partner since Washington passed massive, uncapped incentives for clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act last year.

Iraq's Northern Oil Exports Stuck on Turkey Negotiations

Oil exports from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan remain at a standstill almost three weeks after an arbitration case ruled Ankara owed Baghdad compensation for unauthorized exports.

Regas Ship Arrives for Hong Kong's First LNG Import Terminal

The world's largest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) has arrived in Hong Kong to serve the city's first LNG import terminal, said CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd. and Hong Kong Electric Co. Ltd.

Tellurian Asks Shareholders to Approve Doubling of Authorized Shares

The proposal — to increase authorized shares to 1.6 billion — if approved would provide additional financial flexibility while diluting the stakes of existing shareholders, the filing said. Shareholders will vote on the proposal on June 7, the company said in a proxy filing.

Biden Administration Greenlights LNG Exports from Alaska Project

The Biden administration on Thursday approved exports of LNG from the Alaska LNG project, a document showed, as the United States competes with Russia to ship natural gas from the Arctic to Asia. The project includes a proposed 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline to move gas stranded in northern Alaska across the state.

IEA: Global Oil Market Could Be Tight in Second Half 2023

The global oil market could see tightness in the second half of 2023, which would push oil prices higher, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said on Wednesday.

Peninsula Pipeline Completes $11 Million Natural Gas Expansion Project in Florida

(P&GJ) — Chesapeake Utilities Corp. has announced that its subsidiary, Peninsula Pipeline Company Inc., has completed an 11.3-mile expansion that will bring additional natural gas capacity to the Vero Beach, Florida, area.

Natural Gas Producer Novatek Expected to Win Big from Shell's Sakhalin-2 Stake

Russian natural gas producer Novatek has scooped a lucrative deal with its purchase of Shell's stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project, analysts said on Thursday.

ADNOC Expands Shipping Fleet with Five New VLGCs

United Arab Emirates' ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) has expanded its fleet with the deployment of five new-build Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC), state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.

Biden's Subdued Reaction to OPEC+ Cuts Foreshadows Economic Slowdown, Carries Risk

When OPEC+ made a surprise decision earlier this month to cut oil production, President Joe Biden responded with the political equivalent of a shrug – a far cry from his declaration that there would be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia, the de facto head of the oil cartel, when it lowered output in October.

Kinder Morgan Launches Expansion Open Season for SFPP Pipeline System

(P&GJ) — Kinder Morgan Inc. has announced the launch of a binding open season to solicit commitments to support a proposed expansion of a portion of its SFPP, L.P. (SFPP) pipeline system from El Paso, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona.

US Plans to Refill Strategic Reserve If Advantageous to Taxpayers This Year

The Biden administration plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve soon and hopes to refill it at lower oil prices if it's advantageous to taxpayers during the rest of the year, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday.

Malaysia's Petronas to Restart Gas Pipeline Operations by Q1 2024

Malaysia's national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad aims to restart a gas pipeline currently under force majeure by the first quarter of 2024, a senior company executive said on Wednesday.