OPEC output rises to record before talks with Russia on freeze

OPEC’s crude production climbed to a record last month as increased output from Gulf members made up for persisting losses in Nigeria and Libya, according to a Bloomberg survey. More »

Petrobras sheds 11,704 employees in $1.2-billion dismissal plan

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras plans to save billions of dollars after completing a voluntary dismissal program to help reduce debt and adjust to lower oil prices. More »

Oil India opens new office in Houston

Despite the oil industry slowdown, international oil companies are adding their presence in the city that still remains the energy capital of the world. The latest is Oil India Limited, India’s second largest public sector company after ONGC. More »

Putin sees Rosneft sale as soon as this year to ease budget

Vladimir Putin said Russia is pushing ahead with plans to sell a fifth of Rosneft PJSC, the country’s largest listed oil producer, as the government seeks to cut its budget deficit. More »

Rosneft, BP and Schlumberger sign technology agreements

Rosneft, BP and Schlumberger have announced agreements for collaboration on seismic research and development. More »

Exxon Mobil ignores near-term glut to play LNG long game

When it comes to natural gas, Exxon Mobil Corp. believes in playing the long game. More »

Enbridge scraps plan to build Sandpiper pipeline amid Bakken slump

Enbridge said it has withdrawn a regulatory application for its $2-billion Sandpiper pipeline amid a slump in production in the Bakken. More »

Putin pushes for oil-freeze deal with OPEC, exemption for Iran

Vladimir Putin said he’d like OPEC and Russia, producers of half of the world’s oil, to reach a deal to freeze supply and expects the dispute over Iran’s participation can be resolved. More »

Oil slides to three-week low amid plentiful U.S. stockpiles

Oil tumbled to the lowest in almost three weeks after U.S. government data showed crude supplies at the highest seasonal level in more than 20 years. More »

Shell said to become first non-bank to join Mexico’s oil hedge

Royal Dutch Shell participated in protecting Mexico against low crude prices in 2017, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, the first time an oil company has taken part in the world’s largest commodities hedging program. More »

Royale Energy starts drilling in California’s Rio Vista field

Royale Energy has started drilling the first well under its joint venture agreement covering Rio Vista field in the Sacramento basin. Discovered in 1936, Rio Vista is the largest natural gas field in California. More »

Worst is over for oil as investment at risk, IHS’s Yergin Says

The worst has passed for oil prices, which are now too low to ensure investment in the new supplies needed during the rest of the decade, IHS Markit Ltd.’s Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin said. More »

New Zohr appraisal well confirms resource potential at 30 Tcf

Eni has drilled a fifth well on the Zohr structure, offshore Egypt, and confirmed the field’s resource estimate of 30 Tcf. More »

U.S. onshore production has stopped declining; growth is coming from Permian basin

Looking only at oil production in the Lower 48 states (excluding the Gulf of Mexico), Rystad Energy observes 120,000 bpd higher output in August 2016 compared to EIA’s latest August 2016 STEO. More »

First Shah Deniz 2 platform jacket sent offshore

The Shah Deniz consortium said Thursday that the jacket for one of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 platforms sailed away from the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deepwater Jackets Factory (BDJF) for offshore installation. More »

BP signs second Chinese shale gas contract with CNPC

BP has signed a second production sharing contract (PSC) for shale gas exploration, development and production with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). More »

Pioneer Natural Resources closes acquisition of Midland basin acreage

Pioneer Natural Resources has closed its acquisition of approximately 28,000 net acres in the Midland basin from Devon Energy for $435 million, before normal closing adjustments. More »

Norway’s oil seen luring smaller fry as big players retreat

Norway’s offshore oil industry, the largest in western Europe, has long been dominated by international companies and state champion Statoil ASA. With the two-year collapse in crude prices, there are signs that will change. More »

Russia says oil output freeze not needed with price near $50

Russia sees no need for talks with other major oil exporters on freezing output with prices at around $50/bbl, according to the Energy Ministry in Moscow. More »

Packers Plus openhole stimulation system cuts completion time/costs in Argentina

Packers Plus Energy Services helped an operator stimulate a formation with an openhole multi-stage ball-drop system in Argentina's Loma La Lata field 30 times faster compared to a traditional plug-and-perf method. More »

Oil tumbles after EIA reports U.S. crude stockpile climb

Oil dropped to a two-week low after a government report showed that U.S. stockpiles increased last week by more than projected. More »

DandL Oil Tools passes API certification and license requirements

DandL Oil Tools’ quality management system has been granted API’s Q1 Certification and their packers and bridge plug products now possess API 11D1 Monogram licenses More »

Shell oil pipeline in Nigeria seen restarting in September

Royal Dutch Shell’s Forcados pipeline in Nigeria will resume deliveries in September, according to an oil company that uses the line. More »

Lucas Energy closes acquisition of Texas, Oklahoma acreage

Lucas Energy, an independent oil and gas company, has closed the acquisition of working interests in producing properties and undeveloped acreage in Texas and Oklahoma, including varied interests in two contiguous acreage blocks in the liquids-rich Mid-Continent region of the U.S., from Segundo Resources and other sellers. More »

Bell Geospace, Onyx Engineering awarded FTG contract by Petronas

Bell Geospace and Onyx Engineering have been awarded a contract by multinational EandP company Petronas. More »

Det norske discovers oil at Langfjellet prospect in North Sea

Det norske oljeselskap, operator of PL 442, has completed exploration well 25/2-18 S on the Langfjellet prospect in the North Sea. The well encountered a gross oil column of 109 m in the Vestland Group. More »

Aqualis Offshore names new head for Middle East operations

Aqualis Offshore, a marine and offshore engineering consultancy, has appointed Ben Lazenby as director of the company’s Middle East operation, which now counts five offices in four different countries. More »

Wood Group wins framework agreement with Wintershall Norge

Wood Group has been awarded a new frame agreement by Wintershall Norge to tender for provision of modification and maintenance services to assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). More »

Mystery of oil held on Chinese islands puzzles crude markets

BEIJING (Bloomberg) -- China’s got the world puzzling over its oil hoard. From underground caverns by the Yellow Sea to a scattering of islands in the Yangtze River delta, the government has been stockpiling crude for emergencies in a network of storage sites dotted around the country. More »

Saudi Arabia says it won’t flood oil market ahead of OPEC talks

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, won’t boost output to capacity and flood the market, the kingdom’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said weeks before OPEC meets to discuss ways to stabilize prices. More »

Deepwater woes eclipse shale upturn in Schlumberger’s dimmer view

Schlumberger is expecting the situation to get worse for its drilling business in the third quarter as further deterioration in deepwater work around the world overshadows an uptick in U.S. shale plays. More »

Statoil's Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen project on stream ahead of schedule

Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen (GRD) was scheduled for start-up on Christmas Eve this year, but the project has worked faster and now the field is on stream and at lower costs than planned. More »

Statoil's Gullfaks project on stream ahead of schedule

Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen (GRD) was scheduled for start-up on Christmas Eve this year, but the project has worked faster and now the field is on stream and at lower costs than planned. More »

Investment offshore Norway cut by $50 billion, Wood Mac says

Wood Mackenzie has cut $50 billion from its forecast for 2016-2020 capital investment in Norway. This is based on over 10 projects being deferred or scrapped to cut costs, according to the company’s latest study on the future of projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. More »

Investment offshore Norway set to fall $50 billion by 2020, Wood Mac says

Wood Mackenzie has cut $50 billion from its forecast for 2016-2020 capital investment in Norway. This is based on over 10 projects being deferred or scrapped to cut costs, according to the company’s latest study on the future of projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. More »

Iraq agrees with Kurds to begin talks on oil revenue dispute

Iraq’s prime minister agreed with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to start talks about crude output in northern regions that have been bypassing the central government to export oil. More »

Oil trades below $47/bbl ahead of U.S. inventory report

Oil dropped below $47/bbl before data forecast to show that gasoline stockpiles declined while crude inventories increased in the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer. More »

Statoil and Petrobras strengthen strategic partnership in Brazil

Statoil and Petrobras took a step forward in strengthening their cooperation in Brazil by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). More »

GE unlocks innovation in subsea compression and power for Shell’s Ormen Lange Pilot

Following an extensive, multi-year test program of Shell’s Ormen Lange Pilot, GE Oil and Gas is proud to announce that A/S Norske Shell has successfully completed system testing of the world’s first subsea gas compression system with a full subsea power supply, transmission and distribution system that further advances the development of hydrocarbon processing on the seabed. More »

Global Maritime completes Njord A disconnection and tow to shore

Global Maritime Consultancy and Engineering has successfully led the disconnection and towing operations of the Njord A semisubmersible floating production platform from Njord field. More »

Shell says while gas is the future, it won’t be traded like oil

Natural gas is rapidly becoming one of the most traded global commodities, but that doesn’t mean it will have a global price, according to Royal Dutch Shell Plc. More »

Iran to seek investor bids in October with new oil contracts

Iran will invite international oil companies to submit bids in October under the long-awaited new contract model for energy investors, as the OPEC producer seeks billions of dollars to boost output after years of international sanctions. More »

AGR awarded frame agreement with Det norske

OSLO, Norway -- AGR has entered into a frame agreement with Det norske oljeselskap for annual, independent reviews of the company’s reserves portfolio. More »

Verisk Analytics acquires Quest Offshore’s data, subscriptions business

Quest Offshore Resources has sold its data and subscriptions business to Verisk Analytics, a data analytics provider. More »

CGG, GOSCO announce JV for seismic services offshore Ghana

CGG has signed an agreement with GNPC Operating Services Company (GOSCO), an independent Ghanaian EandP services company, to form a joint-venture company dedicated to conducting high-end 2D, 3D and 4D marine seismic acquisition and related services in the territorial waters of the Republic of Ghana. More »

Norway awards IOR prize to Åsgard licensees for subsea gas compressor

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has awarded its improved oil recovery (IOR) prize for 2016 to the licensees of Åsgard field, in the Norwegian Sea, for their subsea wet gas compressor. The compressor will yield an additional 306 MMboe and extend the field’s life to 2032. More »

Wood Group secures engineering framework agreement with DONG Energy

Wood Group has been awarded a new engineering services framework agreement by DONG Energy, to support their oil and gas assets across the Danish, Norwegian and UK continental shelves. More »

Oil companies seen investing $8 billion to start Uganda output

Uganda expects three oil companies to invest $8 billion in the East African nation before they start producing oil in 2020, Energy Minister Irene Muloni said. More »

Oil discoveries at 70-year low signal supply shortfall ahead

Explorers in 2015 discovered only about a tenth as much oil as they have annually on average since 1960. This year, they’ll probably find even less, spurring new fears about their ability to meet future demand. More »

Shell divests Gulf of Mexico assets for $425 million

Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), today announces it has an agreement to sell 100% of its interest in Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon blocks 114, 158, 202 and 248, referred to as the Brutus/Glider assets, to EnVen Energy Corp., through its affiliate EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC. More »

Shell divests Gulf of Mexico assets for $425 million plus royalty interests

Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), today announces it has an agreement to sell 100% of its interest in Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon blocks 114, 158, 202 and 248, referred to as the Brutus/Glider assets, to EnVen Energy Corp., through its affiliate EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC. More »

Operators in Colorado dodge $10 billion-a-year threat to output

Oil and natural gas explorers from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to Synergy Resources Corp. have escaped a vote in Colorado that would’ve limited drilling and threatened to halt about $10 billion worth of oil and natural gas production a year. More »

Oil executives see volatility as market starts to rebalance

Crude markets will continue to be plagued by volatility in the short and medium term after suffering the biggest downturn in a generation over the past two years, according to oil-company executives gathering for one of the industry’s biggest conferences in Norway. More »

Development costs on the Norwegian shelf cut by nearly half

The price tag for developing a field on the Norwegian shelf has declined by an average of more than 40% since the autumn of 2014, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate's (NPD) analysis of eight planned developments that are approaching start-up. More »

Oil resumes decline amid doubts of market-stabilization deal

Oil declined amid doubts that producers will agree on a deal to stabilize the market when global suppliers meet next month for informal talks. More »

Rosneft CEO said to pitch $16-billion double deal to sway Putin

Rosneft PJSC chief Igor Sechin has come up with a proposal to expand his energy empire while helping critics in the Russian government meet their goal of reducing the widest budget deficit in six years. More »

Keppel to deliver Bumi Armada’s first North Sea FPSO

Keppel Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore and Marine (Keppel OandM), is on track to deliver a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to Armada Kraken Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bumi Armada Berhad. More »

Oil pessimists exit as OPEC cap talk spurs bets glut easing

Oil investors are turning the car around. For a second week, money managers slashed bets on falling prices by a record and boosted wagers on a rally. More »

Industry must do business differently to meet sustainability targets, DNV GL says

Pressure is mounting on the oil and gas industry to reduce its environmental footprint at the same time as the industry is under significant cost pressure. Since business as usual is not an option, DNV GL has launched two papers to advise the industry on how and where to make impactful changes within financial constraints. More »

CGG launches solution for imaging shallow reservoirs

More »

Wood Group secures subsea tie-back detailed design scope with Statoil

Wood Group has been awarded the detailed design scope of the subsea tie-back from Utgard gas and condensate field to the Sleipner facilities, in the Norwegian North Sea. More »

GustoMSC introduces new harsh environment semisubmersible series

GustoMSC has launched a new harsh environment semisubmersible series—the OCEAN-HE. More »

Wood Group secures subsea tieback detailed design scope with Statoil

Wood Group has been awarded the detailed design scope of the subsea tie-back from Utgard gas and condensate field to the Sleipner facilities, in the Norwegian North Sea. More »

Iran oil-market share grab seen dimming prospect for production freeze

Iran’s plan to keep boosting crude production until it regains its OPEC market share is dimming prospects of collective action by major producers to freeze output, according to Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas PJSC. More »

Statoil trims $2.9 billion off Johan Sverdrup cost as output boosted

Statoil lowered development costs for the start-up at its giant Johan Sverdrup oil field by $2.9 billion and raised the estimated initial output by 16% after intensifying drilling and streamlining operations. More »

If you're betting on an OPEC freeze, don't ignore Iraq: Column

When the OPEC nations last met with Russia to agree an output freeze, back in April, it was Saudi Arabia that shot down the deal -- refusing to take part without Iran. More »