Oil & Gas Exploration

SLB missed Friday's analysts' expectations for the first-quarter profit, due to a slowdown of demand for oilfield equipment and service in Latin America. Following the results, shares of the company dropped by nearly 2% during premarket trading. SLB's earnings report completes the first quarter earnings of top U.S. oilfield services providers. Halliburton, Baker Hughes and other rivals had earlier in the week expressed concerns over weakening markets and tariff uncertainty. Halliburton warned that its second-quarter earnings would be hit by tariffs and reduced North American activity in the oilfields, while Baker Hughes predicted further spending cuts from global producers due...

Halliburton reported lower first-quarter profits on Tuesday, as a decline in drilling activities in North America dampened the demand for its oilfield equipment and services. Shares of the company fell by 6% before market opening following results which included a $356 million pre-tax charge. Halliburton, the largest U.S. oilfield service provider, is the first to announce earnings. The sector is bracing for the impact that President Donald Trump's new tariffs will have on supply chains. They are also expected to increase the price of steel equipment like drilling rigs and casings. The sector is under pressure due to a continuing...

Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Monday said that a fluidic catalytic cracked (FCC) in Motiva Enterprises refinery Port Arthur, Texas is expected to be closed for at least two weeks following a second failed restart attempt last weekend. On January 21, the unit called FCC3 and an alkylation was shut down for a planned two-month overhaul. FCCs transform gas oil into unfinished fuel, while alkylation systems convert refinery byproducts into components that are typically added to gasoline. Motiva didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Sources said that the second attempt to restart FCC3, which is capable of...

The "Buy Canadian' movement has sent new waves of concern to the U.S. consumer companies who had hoped to sell their products in Canadian retail stores. Jessica Hung, CEO of California-based Parasol Co, said that the company has been working with a distributor since January to increase sales to new retailers, including convenience shops, in Canada. Hung said that the distributor, whom she declined to identify, had stopped working on the deal in early March due to the growing anti-American sentiment? Canada. Hung, referring the distributor, said that "they were instructed by a retail to pause any American-brand launch." They...

OPEC+ released a new schedule on Thursday for seven members nations to continue to cut oil production to compensate for pumping over agreed levels. This will be more than the monthly production increases the group plans to implement next month. According to a table posted on the OPEC website, the plan calls for monthly cuts between 189,000 barrels a day and 435,000 bpd. The planned cuts will last until June 20,26. OPEC+ (which includes OPEC, Russia, and other allies) has agreed to a series steps to support the global market. Since 2022, they have cut their output by 5,85 million...

Investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision scheduled for later that day. The blue-chip FTSE 100 dropped 0.2% at 7.40 GMT. Compass Group was among the biggest losers in the blue-chip index. Its shares dropped 4%, after Exane BNP Paribas lowered the stock's rating from "outperform" to "underperform." Metal miners are weakening, with Fresnillo down 2%. Glencore dropped 1.5%, while Anglo American fell 1.3%. This was after HSBC lowered price targets for both mining companies. The Federal Reserve's decision to change its policy is the highlight of a week that has been packed with meetings...

Cairn India, India's largest private oil and gas company, said Tuesday that it could invest in U.S. engineering and service companies as part a plan of $5 billion to increase output by five times in the next few years. Anil Agarwal, a billionaire, said in an interview that he wanted to invest $5 billion to develop his project and reach 500,000 barrels of oil per day. Cairn Limited, a part of Vedanta, produces today 100,000 bpd. The company plans to drill several deepwater exploratory wells in the next year. Agarwal said, during a trip to Houston, where he attended CERAWeek,...

Kimmeridge Energy Management, according to a senior executive, will be more active in its efforts to improve the performance of Canadian oil and natural gas producers. The company is also looking for ways it can benefit from the current trade war between the United States and Canada. The U.S. President Donald Trump has increased tariffs against Canada's northern neighbor. However, Canadian oil and natural gas exports have received less penalties. Kimmeridge managing director Mark Viviano said that tensions could spur new thinking and increase Canadian energy exports to other countries. This is especially true for liquefied gas. Mark Viviano, managing...

Irfaan Ali, the Guyanese president, said that Guyana was considering a plan for exporting crude oil to America for refinement and bringing back fuel to supply domestically and perhaps to sell to other countries nearby. Guyana's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world thanks to the rapid increase in oil production at its prolific offshore oilfields. These fields are operated by an Exxon Mobil-led consortium. The government has a right to receive a certain percentage of the oil produced as profit, which is exported through trading companies that distribute cargoes on different markets, primarily Europe. Guyana doesn't...

The Indonesian Mining Association urged the Government to reconsider its plan to increase royalty rates on mining products, as the miners already struggle with increasing operational costs and tightening cash flow. Indonesia may consider raising the royalties that mining companies pay for commodities such as coal, nickel and copper. Authorities say this is to improve the industry's governance. Hendra Sinadia, Executive Director of the group, said: "An increase in royalty rates will increase the burden on the business community. It can also affect production and investment planning." He said: "We ask that the government reconsider its plan to raise tariffs,...

Energy and Mineral Resources minister Bahlil lahadalia told reporters Friday that Freeport Indonesia could receive an export quota around 1,000,000 metric tons copper concentrate. Bahlil stated that the government had issued a regulation that allows exports of minerals in force majeure situations. This quota is valid for six-months after the recommendation has been issued. Indonesia, a country rich in natural resources, has banned the export of unprocessed mineral products, including copper and nickel. This is to encourage domestic value-adding. Freeport is asking for permission to export copper concentrator after being forced to stop production of copper cathodes at its new...

MPLX, a midstream company that focuses on expanding its Permian presence, announced Friday that it will purchase the remaining 55% of the BANGL pipeline from affiliates WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy. The deal is worth $715 million. The pipeline sector is booming with deals as companies seek to reduce costs, increase scale, and gain access attractive oil and natural gas producing regions on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 425-mile BANGL Pipeline transports natural gasliquids from the Permian Basin of Texas to fractionation marketplaces along the Gulf Coast. The pipeline will allow liquids to reach MPLX Gulf Coast fractionation facility, which is...

Bloomberg News reported Monday that Woodside Energy was in discussions with an overseas division of Kuwait Petroleum about selling a stake in their Louisiana liquefied gas plant. The report was based on people familiar with the matter. Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration is also looking at securing LNG from the project. Other companies are interested in both LNG and equity, according to the report. Woodside Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration did not respond immediately to comments. Woodside, Australia’s largest gas producer, agreed earlier this month to sell a 40 percent stake in its Louisiana Liquefied Natural Gas plant to U.S....

Executives at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston explained that artificial intelligence has accelerated oil and gas drilling, and prompted companies to reconsider areas they previously deemed too expensive or difficult to develop. AI was a major topic in several sessions of the largest energy conference. Oil producers are looking for ways to stay profitable amid a plummeting price of oil and concerns that U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs may slow down global energy demand. Ann Davies, BP’s senior vice-president of wells, revealed that the UK oil giant BP uses AI to predict problems and steer drill bits before they occur....

On Wednesday, Turkish Energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on the social media platform X that TPAO, Turkey's national oil company, had signed a joint-venture agreement with U.S. producer Continental Resources for the development of shale deposits in Diyarbakir Basin. This cooperation will contribute greatly to our goal to bring Turkiye’s oil and natural gas resources into our economy. "I hope that this agreement will benefit all parties, as it opens up a new phase in Turkiye's exploration," he wrote in the blog. The Turkish oil and gas industry is not very large. Continental Resources CEO Doug Lawler stated in an...

S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts), a commodities reporting agency that provides information on commodity prices, stated Monday that the dated Brent crude oil market is working well since U.S. WTI was added to it. Further changes are not expected, Platts said. The first year that WTI Midland was included in the Brent benchmark date after its inclusion in the basket began in May 2023 due to falling North Sea production, was also the first year in which it was the first crude oil grade outside of the North Sea. Platts announced on Monday that Brent oil 2024 is a smooth...

The European Union has suspended sanctions against Syria, including those relating to energy, banking and transport, with immediate effect. The EU has implemented a number of sanctions against individuals and sectors in Syria. After the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an islamist group, ousted Bashar al Assad from his position as president in December, European leaders began to rethink their approach. On Monday, the EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels and agreed to suspend sanctions against the oil, gas, and electricity sectors, as well as the transport sector. The Syrian Central Bank has also been exempted from restrictions...

According to a press release from the president's offices, Lebanon President Joseph Aoun told Qatari Premier Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday that he hoped TotalEnergies would soon resume oil exploration off the coasts of Lebanon. In 2023, the state-owned QatarEnergy will join France's TotalEnergies (ENI.MI), and Italy's Eni in a consortium of three to search for oil and natural gas in two marine blocks off Lebanon's coast. Two sources who were directly involved in the matter said that no hydrocarbons had been found after the exploratory drilling offshore in 2023. TotalEnergies didn't respond to a comment request...

Kuwait's oil production capability now exceeds 3 million barrels per day, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) CEO Sheikh Nawaf Saud alSabah told reporters on Tuesday. The country's oil production capability was at more than 2.8 million bpd in June last year, Ahmad Jaber Al-Eidan, the CEO of KPC subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), stated at the time. Kuwait aims to improve its oil output to 4 million bpd by 2035, having actually formerly missed out on an objective of reaching that level by 2020. Discussing U.S. President Donald Trump's views on fossil fuels, Sheikh Nawaf stated there is no alternative to...

The head of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) is no longer in the function at the state oil company, two sources familiar with the matter informed Reuters on Thursday. The NOC runs the technical sector of oil and gas production, along with a number of smaller subsidiaries, in OPEC member Libya, which is the third largest oil producer in North Africa. Given that the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya's oil production has actually been repeatedly hit by groups blocking facilities, in some cases to require material benefits however likewise as a strategy to achieve...

British oil major BP stated on Thursday it has actually reached a deal with the Iraqi government on the technical terms to redevelop the Kirkuk oil and gas fields. The business had actually signed an arrangement with the Iraqi federal government in August to establish and check out the Kirkuk oilfield in the north of the nation, which will also consist of building power plants and solar capacity. Unlike historical contracts that provide foreign companies razor-thin margins, the brand-new agreements are expected to consist of a. more generous profit-sharing model, sources have informed Reuters. Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in...

Glencore and Chandra Asri, preparing to finish their takeover of Shell's landmark Singapore refinery, have set up a brand-new running business and will earmark approximately 20% of output for the plant's outbound owner, sources knowledgeable about the matter said. The endeavor has lined up long-lasting unrefined supply from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and remains in talks with other manufacturers for more, one of the sources said. The joint endeavor, called CAPGC and majority-owned by Indonesia-based petrochemicals firm Chandra Asri, is on track to close its acquisition in the very first quarter of 2025 pending regulative approval, a Shell...

OPEC on Monday cut its projection for worldwide oil need growth in 2024 reflecting information received so far this year and likewise decreased its projection for next year, marking the producer group's 3rd successive downward revision. The Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a. regular monthly report stated world oil need will increase by 1.93 million. barrels daily (bpd) in 2024, down from growth of 2.03 million. bpd it anticipated last month. There is a large split in between forecasters on the strength of. need development in 2024, partly due to distinctions over demand. from China and over the...

Iraq produced 3.94 million barrels daily (bpd) of oil in September, less than its OPEC+. output quota of about 4 million bpd, an Iraqi official stated on. Saturday, as the country seeks to increase its compliance with the. target. The production figure offered by the authorities, who asked not. to be called, opposes the findings of a Reuters study. published on Oct. 3, which discovered Iraq had pumped 90,000 bpd more. than the quota in September. Inquired about the survey's findings, the authorities stated. production had been available in listed below the quota due to lower exports,. lowered domestic consumption...