EXPLORATION NEWS
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait restart production at huge shared oil field
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have restarted production at the Al-Khafji oil field in the neutral zone between the two countries, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported, citing a statement by the acting CEO of the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company. An earlier report by Argus News from late June said Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had plans to restart Read more
HOEC temporarily suspends operations at PY-1 field
The field will resume operations once the Covid-19 situation situation in Tamil Nadu is improved.Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) has temporarily suspended operations at PY-1 field from 3 July 2020 considering the Covid-19 situation in Tamil Nadu. The precautionary measure is for ensuring the safety of employees. PY-1 field is in the offshore part of Read more
India’s oil demand from cars to factories limps toward normalcy
The world’s fastest-growing oil market is showing an uneven recovery two months after easing demand-destroying virus-control measures. Provisional fuel sales in June had climbed within 88% of 2019 levels from less than half in April in the midst of the world’s biggest lockdown, the oil ministry said citing sales of the three major state-owned retailers. Read more
BPCL holds 62 patents; 68 more innovations awaiting approvals
Bharat Petroleum’s Corporate Research & Development Centre (CRDC) has bagged as many as 62 patents since its inception 19 years ago and is awaiting 68 more. Since its establishment in July 2001, CRDC has developed a bouquet of innovations, bagging as many as 62 patents from the country as well as abroad, including the US Read more
Reliance plans to up aviation fuel stations by 50 per centCompanies
New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to increase its network of aviation fuel stations by 50 per cent as it looks to capture greater market share in the business currently controlled by public sector oil retailing firms. In its latest annual report, RIL said the double-digit growth observed over 52 consecutive Read more
Gas Economy may remain pipedream for India in near future
The much vaunted Gas Economy drive propelled by the NDA Government, in pursuit of a cleaner and cheaper fuel is likely to be stumbled, at least in the short and medium terms due to the price shock that has forced major global suppliers to shut-in many of their projects and put planned investments on hold. Read more
Oil rises on positive US economic data; Covid-19 concerns limit gains
Oil futures were up on Thursday, supported by a drop in US unemployment and a drawdown in crude inventories, but the spike in US coronavirus infections fanned concerns that economic activity will weaken in coming weeks. New Covid-19 cases in the United States rose by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, the Read more
Oil up more than 2% on U.S. jobs data but virus fears cap gains
NEW YORK – Oil futures gained more than 2% on Thursday, supported by a drop in U.S. unemployment and a drawdown in crude inventories, but a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus infections fanned concerns that economic activity will weaken in coming weeks. New COVID-19 cases in the United States rose by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, the Read more
U.S. Shale Needs To Rethink Its Strategy To Survive
U.S. shale is hurting. While the entire global energy industry has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic and its disastrous effect on oil prices and oil demand, West Texas shale takes the cake for the biggest economic collapse. While the international Brent crude benchmark did take a beating, the West Texas Intermediate crude Read more
Sweeter, lighter, cheaper: refiners seek oil to meet rising gasoline demand
LONDON – With more cars taking to the roads as coronavirus lockdowns ease, demand for lighter, sweeter oil more suitable for refining into gasoline is ticking up.European refiners especially are moving away from sour varieties like Russian Urals, which have risen in price since a supply cut pact by producer countries made the grades scarcer, Read more
US tries to seize Iranian gas heading toward Venezuela
US federal prosecutors are seeking to seize four tankers sailing toward Venezuela with gasoline supplied by Iran, the latest attempt to disrupt ever-closer trade ties between the two heavily sanctioned anti-American allies. The civil-forfeiture complaint filed late Wednesday in the District of Columbia federal court alleges that the sale was arranged by a businessman, Mahmoud Read more
BP completes sale of Alaskan oil and gas producing properties to Hilcorp Energy
HOUSTON: BP Plc said it completed the sale of its Prudhoe Bay oil and gas producing properties to closely-held Hilcorp Energy, ending 60 years as a top Alaskan oil producer. BP and other oil majors have reduced their production roles in the northernmost US state as output slid and lower-cost fields emerged elsewhere. Hilcorp, known Read more
U.S. oil & gas rig count hits record low for 9th week -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to a record low for a ninth week in a row although the reductions have slowed as higher oil prices prompt some producers to start drilling again. The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by Read more
For IGL, the future is digital: Jana
MUMBAI : For Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), India’s largest compressed natural gas distribution company, being under lockdown not only meant a nearly 80% impact on its trading volumes, but also a change in consumer pattern. In an interview for Mint’s Pivot or Perish series, A.K. Jana, managing director, IGL, said that in sync with consumer Read more
Well-oiled machine
Mukesh Ambani takes deadlines seriously—not just the ones he gives his employees, but also those he sets for himself. In the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries Ltd on August 12, 2019, Ambani, the company’s chairman and managing director, said he had “a clear roadmap to becoming a zero net debt company within 18 months”. Read more