Regional News

US Slaps Sanctions On Russian Oil Major Rosneft

February 19, 2020 | Company Operations, Energy Trading & Markets, South America

London, UK | – The United States on Feb. 18 ramped up pressure on Venezuela by blacklisting a subsidiary of Russian state oil major Rosneft that President Donald Trump’s administration said provides a financial lifeline to President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Rosneft Trading SA, the Geneva-based trading unit of Rosneft, as Washington targeted Moscow over its backing of Maduro’s government. The move further complicates already-fraught U.S.-Russian relations. Russia condemned the sanctions, saying they amounted to unfair competition and would …

BP halts output at North Sea ETAP platform after power failure

February 19, 2020 | Company Operations, North Sea & Western Europe, Upstream

London, UK – British multinational oil and gas company, BP  halted production at its ETAP platform, which connects seven oil and gas fields in the British North Sea with the Forties Pipeline System and the CATS gas terminal, after a problem with its power generation system, the company said on Wednesday. It also evacuated 66 of the 134 people working on the platform “We are working to resolve the power generation issue,” BP said in a statement. ETAP’s production is between 30,000 and 35,000 barrels …

Iran building $1.8 bln oil pipeline to terminal outside Gulf

October 01, 2019 | Middle East, Terminals & Storage

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | –  Iran is building a $1.8 billion oil pipeline to its port of Jask outside the mouth of the Gulf, the country’s oil minister said, as part of plans to protect its exports against potential problems in the region and to boost shipments of Caspian oil. Iran has been planning since at least 2012 to set up the terminal on the Gulf of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has threatened to block the vital Gulf oil shipping route …

Lightsource BP to power historic Colorado steel mill with 240MW solar plant

September 30, 2019 | Renewable Energy, Solar, United States & Canada

London, UK | – Lightsource BP will build and operate a 240MW solar facility that will sell energy to Midwestern utility Xcel Energy to power operations at a historic Colorado steel mill for 20 years. The project partners, which count steel maker EVRAZ North America, are touting the project as the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single customer in the US. The US$250 million solar plant will be located on EVRAZ’s Rocky Mountain steel property in the central Coloradan city of Pueblo. The …

China drilled 8,882 meters deep to pump crude from Asia’s deepest oil well

July 27, 2019 | Asia, Drilling / Completions

London, UK | – China’s oil giant PetroChina has dug some 8,882 meters below Earth’s surface to create the deepest oil well on land in Asia. The previous record was set by another Chinese oil major. The drilling of the Luntan One well at the Tarim oilfield in northwest China’s Xinjiang was completed on Thursday, Chinese media reported, citing the local branch of the company. It took PetroChina more than a year to finish the work due to the complex geological structure and high temperature …

US warns Europe not to develop barter system to evade Iran sanctions

July 26, 2019 | Government & Regulations, Legal, Middle East, Nuclear

As the remaining signatories to the Iran deal — China, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and the EU are due to meet in Vienna on Sunday London, UK | – American officials have issued a warning to European nations that they risk falling foul of sanctions on Iran if they press ahead with a barter system that could allow the export of Iranian oil. Last week, Russia signalled it was interested in joining the mechanism, known as Instex, as part of an effort to resuscitate a …

Iran-backed rebels drone attacks damage Saudi pumping stations

May 14, 2019 | Civil Wars & Terrorism, Middle East, Pipelines, Rigs & Vessels

London, UK | –  Saudi Arabia halted its main cross-country oil pipeline after a drone attack damaged pumping stations along the link, a strike claimed by Iran-backed rebels in neighbouring Yemeni. Oil prices rose. Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said that supplies of crude and products continued “normally without interruption,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing the energy ministry. The state producer halted the pipeline transporting oil from eastern fields to the port of Yanbu on the western coast as a precautionary, …

Occidental triumphs over Chevron with a $57bn deal to acquire Anadarko

May 10, 2019 | Asset Acquisitions & Divestitures, United States & Canada

Sells African assets to Total for $8.8bn London, UK | – American  international oil and gas exploration and production company,  Occidental Petroleum has clinched the deal to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corporation  as Chevron decided not to better its initial offer to counter Occidental’s $57bn bid. In a statement, Chevron stated that it will allow the four-day match period to expire and expects that Anadarko will terminate the earlier signed merger deal.  As per the terms of the merger agreement, Chevron will be eligible to receive a $1bn …