Oil prices slump 8% as virus-related demand concerns resurface

NEW YORK – Oil prices tumbled about 8% a barrel on Thursday, fuelled by renewed concerns about demand destruction as new cases of coronavirus tick up globally, while crude inventories hit a record in the United States. U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, and new infections are rising…

China set to rival Dangote with Proposed $20 billion refinery

The race for crude oil domination will become even more interesting as China is set to go head-to-head with African giant, Dangote in the refinery business. With its reputation as the world’s biggest single-refinery train at 650,000 barrels per day capacity (bpd) after its completion in 2020, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has the potential to…

EIA Forecast for Liquid Fuels

Although revisions to EIA’s forecasts in the June STEO are generally smaller than they have been in recent months, this forecast remains subject to heightened levels of uncertainty because mitigation and reopening efforts related to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 continue to evolve. Reduced economic activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes…

OPEC+ Cuts Effective In Reducing Oil Market Volatility

The study, OPEC’s Pursuit of Market Stability, was conducted by the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) and published by the International Association of Energy Economics. The cartel’s performance between 2001 and 2014—three years before the advent of OPEC+ as opposed to just OPEC, was still robust, reduced oil volatility by as much…

Nigeria extends deadline for marginal oilfield bids

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) announced earlier today that it had extended, by one week, the deadline for the registration of interest to bid for the marginal oilfields in Nigeria. As Nairametrics reported last week, the initial deadline for interested applicants to indicate interest for the bid was supposed to be June 14.However, the…

Gabon’s DG of Hydrocarbons, PGS offering 3D seismic data across 35 blocks

Gabon’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and PGS have just expanded the Gabon MegaSurvey coverage, significantly increasing access to 3D seismic over the 35 blocks on offer under the ongoing 12th Offshore Licensing Round. In a very competitive market environment, Gabon is showing once again its willingness to remain attractive and engage with regional and global…

DGH panel to probe fire at OIL field in Assam

NEW DELHI: Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday constituted a three-member expert panel to probe the ‘blowout’ and subsequent fire at one of state-run Oil India Ltd’s production wells at Baghjan field in Tinsukia district of Assam. The committee will be headed by S.C.L. Das, who heads the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the ministry’s regulatory…

Bio-fuel boost: Govt to allow ethanol production from surplus rice, says Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari said he had a meeting with PK Sinha, advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and secretaries from the departments of petroleum, food, agriculture and MSME, and chairman of the food corporation of India (FCI) this week in this regard. Transport and MSME minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government is considering allowing ethanol…

LNG recovery in Asia depends on China, India policies

LAUNCESTON: The latest International Energy Agency (IEA) report on the global natural gas market makes sombre reading, especially for current and would-be producers of the super-chilled version of the fuel. No doubt much of the commentary on the report, issued on Wednesday, will be around the headline forecast that global natural gas demand will drop…