Oil and Gas

OE Staff July 24, 2020 Arcadis Ost 1 Map - Credit: Parkwind The construction of the upper part of the offshore substation for the Arcadis 1 Ost offshore wind farm has kicked off. The facility is being built at the former Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. The news of the construction start was shared by Belgium’s high-voltage transmission system operator Elia. Elia's German subsidiary 50Hertz is working with Belgian company Parkwind to more efficiently connect the new Baltic wind farm, Arcadis Ost 1, to the German high-voltage grid. Parkwind and 50Hertz are jointly build...

Gabriela Mello July 24, 2020 Image Credit: Ranimiro/AdobeStock Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras said on Friday it has approved the start of a tender to build three new floating platforms, known as FPSOs, in the Buzios oilfield, one of the biggest deepwater discoveries this century. Earlier in July, Reuters reported that Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, was preparing to launch the leasing tender by the end of August as part of its ambitions plans to boost deepwater production. In a securities filing on Friday, Petrobras said the t...

OE Staff July 24, 2020 Illustration - Image by corlaffra/AdobeStock Malaysian offshore vessel operator TAS Offshore has canceled shipbuilding contracts for 16 offshore support vessels. The company had signed the contracts in the 2013-2015 period with two Chinese shipbuilders Guangzhou Hangtong Shipbuilding and Shipping Co. Ltd. (“HangTong”) and Jiangmen Hangtong Shipbuilding Co. The contracts were for 16 offshore support vessels with values ranging from $10.38 million to $39.38 million per vessel. The vessels had initially been slated for delivery between 2014 to 2017, ...

CALGARY — Two of Canada’s biggest oilsands producers are taking different approaches to restoring production that was shut down during the pandemic lockdowns as signs of an economic recovery and higher oil prices emerge. Both Cenovus Energy Inc. and Suncor Energy Inc. reported millions of dollars in losses in the second quarter as they throttled back oil production amid a global crude market awash in surplus barrels. However, while Cenovus brought back 60,000 barrels a day in June to take advantage of higher bitumen prices, Suncor signalled Thursday the shutdown of one of the two production trains at its 194,000-bpd Fort Hills oilsands mine could remain in place for some time. “In response to the sharp decline in oil prices in April, we quickly reduced production vo...

New Placer Dome (NGLD: TSXV) is the junior gold miner with a Nevada double shot —— not one, but two company making assets.  This is a market where a good drill result–witness Vizsla, the last stock pick I sent you–makes a stock like that go up 500% in a week or two. NGLD has TWO advanced stage assets, with both assets in Nevada, both with big resource potential like I see in Vizsla. And NGLD has a full treasury that will see both assets drilled in the coming weeks. Three drill rigs, two advanced stage asset, in one micro-cap company. “Advanced stage” means they KNOW where the gold is–recent drilling has outlined that. This summer we find out how big and how high-grade they are. The extra potential of this double shot would explain why the company a...

  In order for a greener future to be possible, we have to reduce our environmental footprint. Using biomass and biofuels can help us achieve this by diverting waste from landfills and overseas recycling facilities to produce electricity and transportable fuels to lessen our reliance on non-renewable energy sources. This session is scheduled for July 27th at 10:30 AM MST, and will be hosted by GLJ VP & CFO, Tim Freeborn. We will discuss the state of the industry in Canada, and how we compare to the rest of the world. Tune in to learn how biomass and biofuels can provide waste and energy solutions for a range of Canadians–from large and small municipalities, to remote communities, to oil sands mining projects. A live Q&A will be offered at the end of the session. Registe...

Shariq Khan July 22, 2020 For Illustration only; Image Credit: Baker Hughes Baker Hughes Co posted its second consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday and said it would rein in costs as it prepares for a longer period of volatility in oil prices that has crushed demand for its oilfield services. Oil producers halted drilling new wells and drastically cut their budgets following a collapse in crude oil prices in March and April, clipping demand for services offered by Baker Hughes and rivals Schlumberger and Halliburton. Revenue from Baker Hughes' oilfield services busine...

The ravaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and industries worldwide makes it imperative for companies in the extractives space to think outside the box in order to survive the crisis. The much-reported fall in oil prices and historic agreement sealed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on April 12, 2020 to cut global oil production by close to 10 million barrels a day has accelerated the pressure for a low carbon economy on a global level.The disruption of the entire sector and consequent loss of export earnings, threat to livelihoods is a major concern for many developing countries.Amongst those impacted by the outbreak are National Oil Companies (NOCs), exploration and production companies and then companies that provide support service...

Algeria’s state-run oil company, Sonatrach, has resumed liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from its Skikda plant after the completion of maintenance works, according to Reuters. Operations restarted on July 16 and the downtime did not adversely impact the country’s output and exports. The fallout from the Skikda Plant closure was compensated by an increase in production at Arzew.  A delegation from Sonatrach also examined the Skikda oil port expansion project. This is seen as a vital project in terms of the company’s expansion by allowing the loading of large LNG tankers to export gas to the Asian market. The project also aims to export petrochemical products from the industrial compound as well.  Sonatrach shut down operations in December 2019 for what was expected to be a two...

The Malaysian oil company, Petronas, has restarted production at Iraq’s Gharraf oil field at a rate of 50,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) after a forced shutdown in March due to the pandemic, according to S&P Global. It was reported that production restarted on July 21 after the Malaysian oil company dispatched personnel back to the plant. Gharraf was initially evacuated to protect its staff from the spread of the coronavirus. This decision to resume production comes shortly after OPEC+ decides to relax record production cuts for the upcoming month of April. Global output will be cut by 7.7 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) in August as opposed to 9.7 mmbbl/d in June and July.  Pre-pandemic, the Gharraf oil field was producing an average of 75,000 bbl/d. The Gharraf field st...