The new chairwoman of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) has claimed women are opposed to fracking because they “don’t understand” it. Averil Macdonald made the remarks after research showed men are nearly twice as likely to support fracking. According to reports in the Times, the leading scientist said women were more likely to form their opinions on a “gut reaction”.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed by OMV and Gazprom on oil supply. A working meeting was hosted in Vienna between Gazprom's chairman of its management committee Alexey Miller and Rainer Steele, chairman of the OMV executive board.
Dolphin Geophysical said it had received a notice of time charter termination for two of its vessels. The notifications had been for the Sanco Swift and the Sanco Sword.
Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest natural gas exporter, is planning for the lowest price for its fuel in its main European market for more than a decade. The state-run exporter is drafting its budget for 2016 with preliminary estimates for gas prices outside the former Soviet Union of about $200 per 1,000 cubic meters ($5.45 a million British thermal units), said two people with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Russia's Energy Minister has offered gas supplies to Iran as part of a swap agreement with the Middle Eastern country. The politician said the Kremlin-controlled gas producer Gazprom was also considering other possible deals. The country has been looking to boost its efforts to foster political and economic ties with Tehran.
Northcote Energy has snapped up all rights for the Shoat Creek field in Louisiana from its partner Springer Oil.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate wants unmanned wellhead platforms to be considered more often as an alternative to subsea tie-back in connection with development decisions.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved a drilling permit for Conoco Phillips in Alaska. The decision was awarded on the proposed Greater Mooses Tooth Unit oil and gas development project. It will open the way for the first production oil and gas from federal land in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
New World Oil and Gas has negotiated a 12-month extension to its production sharing agreement for its Blue Creek project in Belize until October 31 2016.
88 Energy has started drilling at its major Icewine project in Alaska.
Beach Energy has agreed to buy Drillsearch creating an $842.7million energy company in Australia. The move comes amid a decline in oil prices and will create what could be the region’s biggest onshore oil producer and natural-gas supplier. Drillsearch has been valued at about $384million in the deal which its chairman says will help provide growth in the challenging market.
Nighthawk has said it is disappointed with drilling results from its main Colorado asset, although its Arikaree project may far exceed original expectations
Genel Energy continued its receipt of payments for oil exported through the Kurdistan region of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
A Senator has urged the US Government to disclose whether any oil swaps with Mexico have been finalised after transactions were approved in August. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski who heads the Senate’s energy committee, wrote to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker calling for further details. Administration officials previously said the Commerce Department was “acting favourably” on a number of applications to export US crude in exchange from imported oil from Mexico.
The UK treasury made a multimillion-pound loss on North Sea oil and gas for the first time in 40 years. Thanks to the plummeting oil price, dipping government revenues were outweighed by repayments to producers in the first six months of this financial year. It is thought to be the first loss recorded over a six-month period since the industry was established. Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing insisted that oil and gas could proposer for decades in the North Sea – but opposition parties suggested the revelation reflected the benefits of being part of the UK.
With oil prices still wobbling around $50, Norway is in danger of a recession that could drive its benchmark interest rates, already at a record low, to zero. That’s what economists at Svenska Handelsbanken AB in Oslo say as they warn that “recessionary risks are significant.” The central bank in September cut rates to 0.75 percent and signaled more than a 50 percent chance for a third reduction since the drop in oil prices accelerated, about a year ago. Handelsbanken sees three cuts next year, bringing the benchmark to zero by the end of 2016. “The Norwegian economy will now experience a deeper downturn than during the financial crisis, with output expected to stay below its potential for longer than it did last time,” Kari Due-Andresen and Knut Anton Mork, economists at Handelsbanken, wrote in their latest report.
Halliburton Co.’s proposed purchase of Baker Hughes Inc. faces further regulatory scrutiny after Australia’s competition watchdog raised concerns that the $34.6 billion deal would shrink the number of suppliers for oilfield goods and services, particularly for offshore drilling. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission delayed its decision until Dec. 17 and asked for further comments from market participants, according to a statement from the regulator on Friday. The businesses have significant competitive advantages in providing services as they benefit from extensive product ranges, economies of scale and scope as well as industry experience, the ACCC said. Halliburton and Baker Hughes last month flagged the sale of additional business units in an effort to satisfy antitrust concerns over the takeover. The world’s second- and third- largest oilfield service companies have been seeking to complete the deal by either Dec. 15, or 30 days after both certify compliance with US Justice Department requests, whichever is later.
MOL Group said it aims to be in the "top 25%" in the refinery business across Europe. The Hungarian company, which has seen a boom in its downstream production amid the oil price decline, saw the creation of its Danube refinery 50 years ago. During that time like much of Eastern European the country was under a socialist regime.
GE Oil & Gas has signed a $610 million agreement with Cheniere Energy to provide spare parts and maintenance support on two LNG trains at Chenier's export facility in Corpus Christy, Texas.
A decision on Shell's takeover of BG Group by Australia's competition watchdog has been postponed until the middle of November. The move follows an earlier deferral last month by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). It said last month that market participants had expressed concerns the takeover may harm gas supply competition in eastern Australia.
Tethys Oil said it produced more than 9,000 barrels per day from its onshore blocks in Oman last month. The company said its share of production before government take from blocks three and four amounted to 295,502 barrels of oil in total.
Saudi Arabia’s move to maintain its share of the global oil market and expand in Europe will backfire, said the chief executive officer of Russia’s largest oil producer. “The strategy that Saudi Arabia has chosen doesn’t bring any significant victories,” Igor Sechin, CEO of OAO Rosneft, said Thursday at the Eurasian Forum in Verona, Italy. “More likely the opposite.” After the US cut imports amid a boom in domestic production, exporters from the Middle East are increasing output and seeking new markets, a move that isn’t helpful for the global industry, Sechin said.
Some of Africa's most popular music stars have joined a crowdfunding scheme to invest in an oil and gas company that aims to light up the continent.
Russia’s defence minister says the country will have a military unit permanently stationed in the Arctic by 2018.
Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority has expressed concerns over the threat Artic sea ice could pose to oil and gas installations in the Barents Sea.