Shell has signed a deal with Iraq worth $11billion to build a petrochemicals plant.
The agreement was announced by Industry Minister for the country, Nasser al-Esawi, who said the Nibras complex was expected to come on line within the next five to six years.
The southern oil hub in the Basra region would make it the largest petrochemical producer in the Middle East.
Financial results from a fourth quarter that saw the collapse of the crude market will provide a window into how the world’s biggest oil companies are adjusting to a new reality of slowing growth and low prices.
Oil that topped $115 a barrel as recently as June has been trading below $50 a barrel since the first week of the year, portending a bleak 2015 for the world’s five so-called supermajors -- Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp., Total SA and BP Plc.
The companies, whose businesses combine oil and natural gas exploration with refining and chemical manufacturing, have historically been among the most resilient players during down cycles.
This could be the oil bust that breaks that pattern.
Profits at Ashtead Technology jumped by almost 40% after the Aberdeenshire-based subsea machinery supplier invested a record amount in rental equipment.
The company pumped £10.1million into its capital expenditure programme in the year to April 30, 2014,up from £9million in the previous 12 months and the highest tally since the business was founded 29 years ago.
Operating profits rose to £13.6million, from £9.7million previously, on the back of a 23% increase in turnover to £27.4million.
Norwegian energy service giant Aker Solutions said yesterday the current phase of its work on Premier Oil’s Solan development in the UK North Sea would end on February 27.
About 280 contractors who were recruited for the work on temporary terms have been notified about the end date, which was determined by the planned departure of the Safe Scandinavia accommodation vessel.
Safe Scandinavia is leaving for another project later than expected, with Aker having previously anticipated it would be available only until sometime this month.
The new energy jobs taskforce, launched by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier this month in response to tumbling oil prices, will meet for the first time in Aberdeen today.
Chaired by Scottish Enterprise (SE) chief executive Lena Wilson, it will focus on jobs across the entire energy industry but with an initial emphasis on the oil and gas sector.
Membership includes industry bodies and commercial interests as well as cross-government representation.
North Sea helicopter manufacturer Airbus Helicopters is betting on military deals to lift orders as the plunge in the price of crude hits demand from oil explorers.
The French company, which is part of aerospace and defence giant Airbus Group, said yesterday it expected stabilisation in the industry during 2015.
Its new helicopter deliveries fell by 5.2% to 471 last year, while net sales fell by 20 units to 402.
The more oil a country produces, the more likely a foreign power will intervene in its internal conflicts, according to new research.
The study by the universities of Portsmouth, Warwick and Essex has found that oil is often the reason for interfering in another country’s civil war - confirming the beliefs of many conspiracy theorists.
The researchers found that the decision to interfere was dominated by the interveners’ need for oil over and above any historical, geographical or ethnic ties.
An oil tanker that hauled 1 million barrels of Kurdish crude to the US six months ago didn’t unload its cargo and is now making a return trip across the Atlantic Ocean with the shipment still on board.
The United Kalavryta is heading to Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern tip of Spain, Kyriakos Maragoudakis, operations manager at Piraeus, Greece-based Marine Management Services M.C., the ship’s operator, said.
Industry officials believe the Budget is the right time to bring forward any further North Sea oil tax changes, George Osborne has claimed amid calls for urgent action.
The Chancellor gave assurances in the Commons that the Government will do everything to support the North Sea oil and gas industry while it attempts to cope with falls in the oil price.
But Labour and the SNP warned Mr Osborne against waiting for the Budget on March 18 to announce further help for the industry.
Saudi Arabia won’t balance global crude markets on its own even as prices fall “too low for everybody” and threaten the investment needed to meet long-term demand, the head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said.
The world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has the most spare capacity in OPEC and has historically played the role of swing producer, cutting its output to raise prices and pumping more barrels to lower them.
Oil prices have dropped 55% in the past year as rising production from the US and Russia helped global output exceed demand.
Hess Corporation has cut its 2015 exploratory budget by 16%.
The company said it would be spending $4.7billion, a reduction from its 2014 spend of $5.6billion.
Chief operating officer Greg Hill said the company would increase activity as oil prices began to recover.
Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has agreed a $17billion deal to buy its affiliate Regency Energy Partners in the wake of lower crude prices.
According to reports both companies are structured as limited partnerships and are controlled by a third partnership, Energy Transfer Equity, which owns 21.7% of Regency and 8.7% of ETP.
The deal is structured as an exchange of units.
Oil giant BP is expected to reveal a plunge in full-year profits due to the collapse in oil prices, analysts have warned.
BP, which is due to unveil its fourth quarter and full year results on 3 February, could see annual earnings slashed by 60% to £6.2billion on 2013, says BMO Capital.
Buru Energy has spudded the Sunbeam 1 well in the Canning Basin of Western Australia.
The well has a maximum depth of 1,200metres and is expected to take some 16 days to drill.
It is located in the exploration permit of EP 129 and the completion of the well will satisfy the four year work commitment on that permit.
Billionaire pipeline owner Kelcy Warren knows better than most how the tumultuous energy market is ripe for empire-building.
Warren, who built a fortune worth $5.3 billion over the past 15 years through more than a dozen acquisitions, made a first move Monday designed to pave the way for more deals.
His Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) agreed to pay $11 billion to consolidate its Regency Energy Partners LP (RGP) unit under one roof.
Low-cost airline easyJet said the fall in oil prices could knock as much as £2 off its average fare this year.
The Luton-based airline estimates that the slump in oil prices by more than half since last summer will take between £90 million and £130 million off its annual fuel bill.
A spokesman added that this would be passed on to passengers, taking up to £2 off last year’s total revenue per passenger of £62.64.
Technip has been awarded two subsea contracts in the Gulf of Mexico by Stone Energy.
The flexible pipe supply contract and an installation contract are for the Amethyst field located at the Mississippi Canyon 26.
The first contract includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, assembly and testing of a five-inch production static riser.
Oil extended losses to trade near an almost six-year low as OPEC’s warning that prices may surge without new investment in production failed to shift the market’s focus from more immediate signs of a global supply glut.
Futures fell as much as 0.6% in New York. A spike to $200 a barrel is possible without spending for the long term, according to OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri.
US crude inventories probably rose to 402.1 million barrels last week, the most in records dating back to August 1982, a survey shows before a government report on Wednesday.
Data from Oil & Gas UK puts the average cost of operating a field in 2013 close to £30m. This is a significant increase on the £23m reported for 2011, with costs continuing to rise more or less linearly in that time.
Concerns over the rate of increase in lifting costs are nothing new; however, the more recent and rather dramatic fall in the price of crude has elevated the level of concern from ‘challenging and worrying’ to something approaching ‘crisis point’.
One thing is for sure: Both the absolute level and rate of growth are unsustainable and, if not arrested, will curb investment in the UKCS and forever change the shape of the industry in the UK.
Vital North Sea oil and gas reforms remained on track last night after a bid to scupper the plans failed in Westminster.
The "cornerstone" of Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations for the future of the sector is now poised to become law within weeks after a wrecking amendment by a group of MPs fell in the Commons.
Members of the environmental audit committee tried to remove a section of the Infrastructure Bill which for the first time would enshrine in law "the objective of maximising the economic recovery of UK petroleum".
The north-east can become a carbon capture and storage (CCS) “powerhouse” of Europe, benefiting from job creation and other economic rewards as the fledgling industry takes off, seminar delegates will hear today.
Chaired by Aberdeen Harbour Board chief executive Colin Parker, the event throws the spotlight on new CCS opportunities facing the region as it battles to overcome a big slump in oil prices.
But it will also highlight concerns about the dangers of any sluggish action from Westminster in getting projects off the ground.
BP is freezing base pay across the group this year, the latest in a series of steps by oil majors to cut costs in response to sinking oil prices.
Many have accelerated cuts in capital and operating expenditures, including freezing some projects, as crude prices more than halved since June to below $50 per barrel.
Salaries in the oil sector are a major part of operating expenses.
A former BP executive who contested whether he can be charged for downplaying the severity of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill has had his appeal declined by the US Supreme Court.
Prosecutors alleged David Rainey had misled members of Congress over the size of the spill almost five years ago.
Mr Rainey said the government had missed the deadline to file an appeal after a district court judge dismissed an obstruction charge.
Companies with technologies that can cut the cost of oil and gas production will be highlighted in a new showcase at the subsea industry’s leading event this year.
In an effort to demonstrate how recent innovations can help operators and oil services firms reduce costs, Subsea Expo will provide a platform for organisations to introduce, discuss and demonstrate their latest innovations.
Chaired by Dr Gordon Drummond, project director for the National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI), the session will give a dozen companies ten minutes in the spotlight to outline their innovation and potential applications.
Power and temperature rental service Aggreko has extended a project in Africa by three years.
The Glasgow head-quartered firm confirmed a three year extension to its 200MV gas-fired power project with an option to carry on for a further two.