Ineos completes USA acquisition as Ratcliffe calls for North Sea rethink
Ineos Energy announced the completion its acquisition of CNOOC Energy Holdings USA’s assets in the US Gulf of Mexico.
E&P
Biden bans US offshore oil and gas drilling ahead of Trump’s return
Analysts say the ban will have little practical impact on US oil and gas production, but sends a "strong political signal" to other nations including the UK.
Exxon plays hardball with Chevron to hoard Guyana’s oil riches
It’s rare for disputes between any of the world’s supermajor oil companies to spill out in public. It’s even rarer that one could end up costing $53 billion.
Equinor targets US, UK and Brazil for cash flow growth
“But most of the cash flow increase is coming from improvements in the quality of the portfolio. We're shifting from mature legacy assets to next generation assets.”
Equinor’s Bay du Nord project passes 1bn barrels of reserves
An Equinor representative confirmed to Energy Voice the company was “now in the market again with concept and feasibility studies related to the Bay du Nord development project”.
Exiting Egypt, United’s Larkin eyes a return to deal making
“The first target has an NPV of $4bn, for a $30mn well. We know it’s frontier exploration and the chance of success is maybe 20%, but it stands up.”
Molecular spuds Paraguay well as last hurrah
Molecular has repeatedly pushed back drilling on the Paraguay well. It was nearly ready to begin in September but ran into problems with its blow out preventer (BOP).
Adnoc Drilling JV takes US drilling company stake
Adnoc Drilling and Alpha Dhabi set out their plans for the joint venture in November 2023. The company will acquire and invest in “tech-enabled oilfield services”. It aims to spend $1.5 billion.
Trion: Aberdeen’s Wood to design huge topsides for Gulf of Mexico oil project
Wood (LON: WG) will design the topsides for Trion, a new oil project in the Gulf of Mexico from Australian energy giant Woodside.
Democrats tackle Diversified over decommissioning challenge
Citing its analysis, the letter said it was “highly unlikely” that Diversified would "have adequate funds to clean up all of its marginal wells when they should be retired”. Failing to account for costs on these wells could lead to thousands of orphaned wells.
Shell approves Great White wells
Shell said the investment demonstrated its long-term commitment to the Gulf of Mexico.
Occidental to buy oil driller CrownRock for $10.8bn
With many of the best production sites already tapped, companies flush with cash from the post-pandemic run-up in oil prices are increasingly buying rivals to secure new places to drill.
Exxon starts up third Guyana FPSO, on track to double production
“Each new project supports economic development and access to resources that will benefit Guyanese communities while also helping to meet the world’s energy demand.”
Petronas scores oil discovery offshore Suriname
Vice president of exploration Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman said the success would “drive further exploration for commercially viable hydrocarbon resources in the surrounding areas”.
Guyana seeks gas investors to unlock additional liquids
These low-liquid yield finds trap a “large proportion” of the discovered oil. These resources “will not be able to be developed and monetised unless infrastructure solutions for the evacuation of gas are put in place in tandem with the associated gas that is being recycled today in the current production operations”.
Guyana hits another “significant discovery” at Stabroek
Lancetfish-2 found around 20 metres of net oil pay in a new interval, the government said.
Conoco among many considering shale patch M&A
Conoco is not alone in its pursuit of CrownRock, though.
ReconAfrica bids fond farewell to Mexico
The company had made a commitment to spend $31mn on the Chiapas blocks by February 2024.
Argentina heads to vote as energy industry watches offshore
“As political and policy volatility becomes a feature of the operating landscape, even private companies with a high risk appetite could be facing binding constraints when seeking to invest in Vaca Muerta and offshore plays,” the analyst said.
Exxon to buy Pioneer for $60bn to dominate shale oil
The deal is apt to face tough antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission.
Arrow sets out plans to triple Colombian production
There is scope for further finds in the Llanos Basin licence. Arrow acquired 3D seismic with some “very exciting” results. The company now plans to drill some low-risk exploration wells in 2024 with a second rig, just north of the Carrizales Norte field.
TotalEnergies aims for Block 58 decision in 2024
The $9 billion project would aim to produce these fields, through subsea wells, to an FPSO. The facility would be around 150 km off the Suriname coast, with the reserves in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 metres.
Biden to cancel Arctic oil drilling rights sold by Trump
Alaska’s congressional delegation cast the moves as irresponsible, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying they represented “incoherent energy policy.”
Facing Argentine politics, Molecular makes plan to sell out
Molecular said Argentina is “economically and politically volatile and unstable and has degraded materially” since it invested.
Seatrium scores hat trick with Shell FPU award
The FPU would follow the same model as the Vito and Whale facilities, with Seatrium involved in both.