UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that hundreds of new oil and gas licenses will be granted in the UK, the UK government revealed in a release posted on its website this week. The government, which noted in the release that it continues to back the North Sea oil and gas industry “as part of drive to make Britain more energy independent”, highlighted that it and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) were announcing a joint commitment to undertake future licensing rounds. These will continue to be subject to a climate compatibility test, the government outlined. The NSTA is…
Author: Automotivedealernews.com
Sumitomo Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sumitomo Corporation Middle East FZE, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) for a potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. Sumitomo and SNOC will conduct a joint feasibility study to assess the viability of the CCS project, covering a techno-economic analysis including but not limited to the applicability of Japanese technologies relevant to carbon capture, transport and storage, identification of business models, and assessment of regulatory frameworks, Sumitomo said in a news release. Sumitomo’s CCS project aims to capture and transport…
Valero Energy Corp. has reported $1.944 billion in net income for the second quarter, with $1.3 billion returned to investors. Earnings after deductions for the refining and petrochemicals company fell from $3.067 billion in the first quarter with sales volumes up but refining margins down, according to a Valero press release. The Texas state-based company sold at lower prices in the three months ended June as petroleum and natural gas weakened. Last year for the same quarter Valero logged $4.693 billion in net profit as energy prices soared amid a trade disruption in oil and gas that followed Russia’s invasion…
CME’s NYMEX light sweet crude oil contract in Cushing, OK, is not West Texas Intermediate — WTI. Instead, it is Domestic Sweet — commonly referred to as DSW — with quality specifications that are broader and generally inferior to Midland-sourced WTI. In fact, pristine Midland WTI delivered to Cushing sells at a reasonably healthy premium to DSW. That difference in specs, and the fact that the quality of DSW is considerably more variable than straight-as-an-arrow Midland WTI, makes most purchasers of exported U.S. crude (and many domestic refiners too) strongly prefer the more quality-consistent Midland WTI grade. For that reason,…
Imperial Oil Ltd. has posted $511 million (CAD 675 million) in net income for the second quarter, down $1.3 billion (CAD 1.734 billion) against the same period 2022 due to lower output and refining margins. Maintenance activity resulted in upstream production falling to 363,000 gross barrels of oil equivalent a day. “Lower volumes were primarily driven by the timing of planned turnaround activities at Syncrude, and production and steam cycle timing at Cold Lake, partially offset by the absence of extreme cold weather and reduced unplanned downtime at Kearl”, the Canadian company said in a press release Friday. Downstream, refinery…
First Solar Inc. is investing up to $1.1 billion to construct its fifth manufacturing facility in the USA, further expanding America’s capacity to produce its own photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. First Solar’s planned fully vertically integrated facility is expected to grow the company’s nameplate manufacturing capacity by 3.5 gigawatts (GW) to reach approximately 14 GW in the USA and 25 GW globally in 2026, the company said in a news release last week. First Solar has not yet chosen a location for the new facility, which it expects to be completed and commissioned in the first half of 2026. The…
Oil posted its largest monthly increase in more than a year on signs that the market is tightening, with analysts estimating that crude demand is running at a record clip just as OPEC+ cuts back production. Crude futures in New York have now erased their year-to-date losses, with expectations that the Federal Reserve is close to ending its cycle of monetary tightening also aiding sentiment. The US crude benchmark has rallied more than 15% this month, propelling it to the commodity’s biggest advance since January 2022. A reduction of supply from OPEC+ heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia has improved the…
The first thing that greets visitors entering the headquarters of billionaire Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources Inc. is a 9-foot-long statue of a snarling bull named Boe. Boe — short for barrels of oil equivalent — is an apt symbol for a veteran wildcatter who’s still betting big on more crude production in the US. Hamm is a shale pioneer, the first to figure out how to drill miles-long wells sideways to unleash oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale region. At the time, it was the biggest US oil find since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay in 1968. Today, Continental, which he and his family…
North America added one rig week on week, according to the latest rotary rig count from Baker Hughes, which was published on July 28. The region’s total rig count figure is now 857, Baker Hughes’ count showed, highlighting that this figure is made up of 664 rigs from the U.S. and 193 rigs from Canada. Although the U.S. dropped five rigs week on week, Canada added six rigs during the same timeframe, the count revealed. The total U.S. rig figure of 664 comprises 529 oil rigs, 128 gas rigs, and seven miscellaneous rigs, according to Baker Hughes’ count, which outlined…
By November 1, 2023, Terje Askvig will take his new role as the CEO of Prosafe. Until then, Reese McNeel will continue as interim CEO, Prosafe said in a press release. Terje Askvig has experience from shipping, oil service, family office and private equity. For the last 11 years, he has been Operating Partner and Senior Advisor in Triton Partners, a leading European private equity firm, Prosafe said. Before joining Triton Partners, Askvig worked as CEO of Eitzen Chemical for five years and seven years in Fred. Olsen & Co, including Managing Director of Fred. Olsen Renewables. Askvig also worked…