British Columbia’s (BC) once high-flying liquefied natural gas (LNG) ambitions are taking yet another hit. The one-time goal of the Canadian province to have several LNG projects exporting gas to the Asia-Pacific market has already stalled amid plunging global oil and natural gas prices. Now, the Petronas–led C$36 billion (US$32 billion) Pacific Northwest LNG Project… Keep reading →
A new study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin in conjunction with the Environmental Defense Fund and 10 oil companies pinpointed methane emissions sources at natural gas production operations. “Researchers found 19% of pneumatic devices accounted for 95% of the emissions from those devices. Meanwhile, 20% of the wells that vent emissions to… Keep reading →
Malaysian state company Petronas has agreed to sell a 15% stake in its proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG export facility to be sited in British Columbia, and a 15% stake in the upstream shale assets designated to feed the plant to Chinese state-controlled Sinopec. Taking a page from Japan’s LNG supply playbook, which has companies secure… Keep reading →
Malaysian national oil company Petronas is selling a 10% stake in its proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG Ltd. (PNW LNG) export facility and the gas reserves underpinning the project to Indian Oil Corp. As part of the deal, Indian Oil will offtake 1.2 million tons of LNG – 10% of production capacity – from the liquefaction… Keep reading →
Berkshire Hathaway energy unit MidAmerican Power Holdings has agreed to buy wind turbines with an estimated value of more than $1bln from Siemens. IFM Investors has agreed to invest $1.3 billion in equity funding for the proposed three-train Freeport LNG natural gas liquefaction and export plant in Texas, sourced from a consortium of project finance ledners. The funding in question… Keep reading →
Sapphire Energy and refiner Phillips 66 – comprised of ConocoPhillips’ former refining assets – have announced a joint development agreement to commercialize Sapphire’s Green Crude, an algae-based crude oil. The two companies will expand Sapphire’s ongoing testing program to ensure that Green Crude can be processed in traditional refineries and meet Environmental Protection Agency standards under the… Keep reading →
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought 40.1MM shares of ExxonMobil for $3.45bln, and now holds about 0.9% of the company’s stock. UK’s BG has sold additional interests in its Queensland Curtis LNG project in Australia to China National Offshore Oil Corp. for $1.93 billion, and to supply the state-controlled Chinese firm with an additional 5 million tons per year of LNG… Keep reading →
Well it’s not quite that dramatic, but Houston was passed over as host of the 2017 World Petroleum Congress in favor of Istanbul, Turkey. The Texas energy capital hosted the event in 1987 and nearly won the honors for the 2014 event, narrowly losing out to Moscow. [Houston Business Journal] Eni drilled a successful appraisal… Keep reading →
Jellyfish in the cooling water intake have forced the shutdown of Sweden’s largest nuclear reactor, which generates about 10% of the country’s electricity. As bizarre as this sounds, jellyfish have caused problems at power plants in several countries, including the US. [CNN] Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that state-controlled energy company Petronas is going… Keep reading →
National oil companies have popped up in a significant number of mergers and acquisitions in the oil patch in recent years, and have led in joint venture partnerships.Flush with cash and in search of resources, Chinese companies have consistently remained in the headlines, but the biggest deal last year involved Russia’s Rosneft.
“In 2012, National Oil Companies (NOCs) were involved as buyers in the two largest deals in the oil and gas industry. Both deals came in the fourth quarter and helped push the total value of all oil and gas deals in 2012 to more than $402 billion, a 19% increase on the total a year earlier,” Dale Nijoka, Ernst & Young Global Oil & Gas Leader wrote in “National Oil Company Monitor Q4 2012,” a corporate publication. The largest deal was Rosneft’s $61 billion cash and shares acquisition of TNK-BP and the second biggest deal was China National Offshore Oil Company’s $15.1 billion Nexen takeover. Keep reading →
