Operators add seven oil rigs for fifth week of expansion

Operators in the U.S. added seven oil-directed rigs this week, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes. ...

Cheniere moves to streamline with $1-billion deal for unit

Cheniere Energy Inc. is offering about $1 billion for the 20% of Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC it doesn’t already own in a stock swap as it moves to streamline its corporate structure. ...

Lamprell delivers jackup rig to be deployed offshore Thailand

Lamprell (LAM), a provider of fabrication, engineering and contracting services to the energy industry, has announced the completion of construction of the Shelf Chaopraya jackup drilling rig, and its delivery to Shelf Drilling Ltd. The rig will sail within the next few days for deployment by Shelf Drilling at its drilling location, offshore Thailand. ...

Russia questions OPEC breakthrough, keeps budget bet on $40 oil

Russia is sticking with an assumption that oil will average $40/bbl in the next three years and won’t take a bait by revising its budget outlook after a preliminary agreement by OPEC on its first production cut in eight years, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. ...

Dresser-Rand delivers equipment for Shell Appomattox deepwater project

The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas Division, recently delivered power generation equipment for a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) for the Shell Appomattox deepwater oil and gas floating production platform. ...

IOG finds heavy oil, ups resource estimate with Skipper appraisal well

...

Songa Offshore to temporarily cut 430 workers amid strike

Songa Offshore is to temporarily dismiss hundreds of workers amid a Norwegian labor dispute. ...

Oil majors’ selloff worries Norway’s biggest opposition party

Norway’s Labor Party, the country’s biggest opposition group, is worried about oil majors, such as Exxon Mobil and Total, selling off assets in the North Sea, potentially reducing competition. ...

Lundin completes Alta appraisal well in Barents Sea

Lundin Norway has completed the drilling and testing of the re-entry of appraisal well 7220/11-3 A (Alta-3) on the eastern flank of the Alta discovery in PL609. The Alta discovery is estimated to contain gross contingent resources of between 125 MMboe and 400 MMboe. ...

Oil sands cost cutting ‘close to bone’ as crude recovery stalls

Canadian oil-sands producers are running out of tricks to buoy their share prices as crude prices keep bumping up against a $50 ceiling. ...

OPEC ‘capitulation’ leaves challenges for U.S. shale drillers

OPEC finally blinked in its two-year price war with U.S. oil producers. Whether that translates into a financial victory for the American shale industry remains to be seen. ...

Port Fourchon signs agreements, plans next generation of port facilities

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) is moving forward with its plans to develop the next generation of deepwater port facilities at Port Fourchon, thanks to a newly signed agreement with the Edward Wisner Donation, granting GLPC a Right of First Refusal on over 900 acres of property immediately south of the port. ...

Maersk Oil set to cut jobs at headquarters

Maersk Oil has outlined plans to review the scope and scale of its headquarters organization over the next three months, in response to the recent outcome of the Maersk Group’s strategic business review and Maersk Oil’s exit from Qatar in 2017. ...

Chesapeake receives subpoena on accounting practices

Chesapeake Energy said it’s facing U.S. Justice Department scrutiny of how the natural gas explorer accounted for its assets. ...

Oil climbs to one-month high after OPEC agrees on production cut

Oil rose to a one-month high after OPEC agreed to reduce production for the first time in eight years, surprising traders who had expected members to maintain output. ...

Maersk Oil starts drilling first production well on HPHT Culzean project

Maersk Oil has started drilling the first production well on the UK's Culzean field. ...

Packers Plus increases stimulation efficiency and reservoir coverage in the Montney formation

Packers Plus Energy Services developed a unique completion design that helped to significantly increase stage counts and pump rates to stimulate more pay zone over previous wells for an operator in British Columbia's Montney formation. ...

ITF and SPE sign MOU to accelerate technology development

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) to share and enhance global technology development opportunities in the oil and gas industry. ...

Here's what analysts are saying about the OPEC deal

OPEC's surprise agreement to cut oil production—for the first time in eight years— buoyed crude oil prices, amid signs the coordinated action would help to reduce supply in the market. ...

Saudi Aramco CEO calls on upstream industry to transform

The global upstream oil and gas industry needs to move away from a “business as usual” approach and capitalize on opportunities to transform itself to be at the forefront of the world’s energy industry. ...

KKR, Venado Oil and Gas form Eagle Ford partnership

KKR and Venado Oil and Gas are partnering to consolidate proven assets in the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas. ...

DNV GL launches JIP in fight against cybercrime

Cybercrimes cost energy and utilities companies an average of $12.8 million each year in lost business and damaged equipment. Platform operators need confidence that countermeasures can deal with bigger and more sophisticated cyber-attacks. ...

Wood Group establishes new center of excellence in data analytics

Wood Group has established a new data analytics center of excellence at its office in Galway, Ireland. ...

Shale revival seen taking hold as oil price recovers

The biggest reboot of U.S. oil and gas rigs in two years will gain traction as higher prices prompt producers to resume investment in the most profitable plays, according to a report by Platts RigData. ...

Goldman sees OPEC buying time as deal could boost oil $7-$10

Goldman Sachs Group said OPEC’s deal to cut output could add as much as $10/bbl to oil prices, though it remains skeptical along with other banks on how the accord will be implemented. ...

OPEC agrees outlines of first oil production cut in eight years

OPEC agreed to a preliminary deal that will cut production for the first time in eight years. Oil prices gained more than 6% as Saudi Arabia and Iran surprised traders who expected a continuation of the pump-at-will policy the group adopted in 2014. ...

OPEC said to agree on first oil output cut in eight years

ALGIERS (Bloomberg) -- OPEC agreed to cut production for the first time in eight years, sending oil prices more than 6% higher, as Saudi Arabia and Iran wrong-footed traders who expected a continuation of the pump-at-will policy the group adopted in 2014, according to a delegate briefed on the matter. ...

OPEC said to cap oil production at 32.5 MMbpd: Reuters

...

South America becomes home for U.S. shale gas amid rising demand

U.S. liquefied natural gas was supposed to go mainly to Asia and Europe, lured by prices as much as four times higher than those at home. So far, South America has been the destination of choice. ...

Libya’s oil output nudges higher as Wintershall resumes production

Libya, struggling to revive its energy industry after five years of armed conflict, restarted production at an eastern oil field and was poised to export crude from the port of Zueitina for the first time since November. ...

Nigeria’s shrinking economy puts sale of oil fields in play

Facing the likelihood of its first full-year economic contraction in 25 years, Nigeria is contemplating a rare sale of stakes in the oil and gas industry, the country’s biggest foreign-exchange earner. ...

OPEC freeze at today’s levels not good enough, Vitol chief says

A move by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to freeze output won’t be sufficient to buoy the market, according to the world’s largest independent oil trader. ...

Libya’s oil production nudges higher as Wintershall resumes output

Libya, struggling to revive its energy industry after five years of armed conflict, restarted production at an eastern oil field and was poised to export crude from the port of Zueitina for the first time since November. ...

Deep Sea Mooring to supply mooring equipment services to Safe Zephyrus semisubmersible

Global Maritime Deep Sea Mooring, the leading provider of offshore mooring services in Norway, has signed a contract with Norwegian operator Det norske oljeselskap to support Prosafe’s semisubmersible Safe Zephyrus accommodation rig in the Ivar Aasen North Sea field. ...

Energy Hunter Resources to acquire Permian basin mineral rights

Energy Hunter Resources, an oil-focused energy company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has entered into an agreement to acquire mineral rights under approximately 320 gross acres in Howard County, Texas. ...

Pacific to sell stake in Santos basin blocks to Karoon

Pacific Exploration and Production has reached an agreement to sell its 35% working interest in five concession agreements—S-M-1101, S-M-1102, S-M-1037, S-M-1165 and S-M 1166—in Brazil’s Santos basin to Karoon Gas Australia. ...

Jones Energy completes STACK/SCOOP acquisition, opens Oklahoma City office

Jones Energy has announced the closing of its STACK/SCOOP acquisition for a closing price of $136.5 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments, and announced the opening of an office in Oklahoma City. ...

Add Energy, Trendsetter boost well kill injection rates

Add Energy and Trendsetter Engineering have combined their expertise in well control engineering and equipment design to develop the Relief Well Injection Spool (RWIS). ...

Petronas faces $27-billion question after Canada’s LNG approval

After more than three years of regulatory review, the energy companies behind a proposed $27-billion LNG plant on Canada’s Pacific Coast received conditional government approval on Tuesday. ...

$1-billion price tag no problem as Det Norske seeks fresh oil deals

Billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke has already seized on the collapse in crude prices to merge his oil company, Det Norske Oljeselskap, with BP’s Norwegian unit. As he looks for more deals, money’s not the issue. ...

Baker Hughes to partner with Venezuelan contractor to tap Orinoco belt

YandV Group, the only Venezuelan contractor selected to participate in a multi-billion-dollar drilling project in the country’s Orinoco belt, is relying on an alliance with Baker Hughes to start drilling more than 200 wells. ...

How actual nuts and bolts are bringing down oil prices

Last spring, Statoil announced it had used the same oil well design and components to drill three reservoirs for the price of one. ...

Petrotechnics survey reveals the time for operational excellence is now

Petrotechnics has today released the results of its Operational Excellence Index into attitudes towards operational excellence among the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. The Index shows operational excellence is regarded as a key priority for the majority of organizations. ...

Saudis see oil-freeze deal possible in November, not this week

A deal by major oil exporters to freeze output may have to wait another couple of months. ...

BP signs concession amendments in Egypt, reaches record production in Nooros field

BP announced it has signed with His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tarek El Molla, amendments for the Temsah, Ras El Barr and Nile Delta Offshore concessions in Egypt. ...

io oil and gas consulting appoints Richard Dyson as CEO

io oil and gas consulting, the independent venture backed by GE Oil and Gas and McDermott, has announced the appointment of Richard Dyson as its new CEO. ...

BP signs concession amendments, reaches record production in Nooros field

BP announced it has signed with His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tarek El Molla, amendments for the Temsah, Ras El Barr and Nile Delta Offshore concessions in Egypt. ...

BP signs three concession amendments and reaches record production in the Nooros field in Egypt

BP announced it has signed with His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tarek El Molla, amendments for the Temsah, Ras El Barr and Nile Delta Offshore concessions in Egypt. ...

Eni restarts Goliat production after gas leak

Eni resumed production from Goliat field early on Tuesday morning, the company said in a statement. ...

Sunoco buys Permian oil system from Vitol for $760 million

Sunoco Logistics Partners shares plunged the most since March after an announcement that it’s buying a Texas pipeline network to expand its position in one of the few places in the U.S. where oil producers are still eager to drill. ...

Statoil cancels contract for North Atlantic Drilling’s West Epsilon jackup

North Atlantic Drilling Limited has received a notice of cancellation from Statoil related to the contract for the West Epsilon. ...

In oil price battle with Saudi Arabia, it’s advantage Iran

Suddenly the tables have been turned on Saudi Arabia. ...

UK oil producers say new investment vital even as costs fall

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- The UK’s offshore oil producers called on the government to expand efforts to secure new investment after exploration sank to an all-time low. ...

Apache’s Delaware basin discovery drives interest, but lies in historically underperforming area, IHS Markit says

Apache Corporation’s recent announcement that it had made a significant new oil and gas discovery in the southern portion of the Delaware basin in West Texas has strengthened industry interest in the emerging sub-play, but previous well results from other operators in the immediate area have been poor, according to analysis from IHS Markit. ...

Iran doesn’t want oil deal in Algiers, won’t freeze output

...

Schlumberger releases new well test design and interpretation software

Schlumberger has release GeoTesting geology-based well test design and interpretation services. ...

Rice Energy expands in Marcellus with $2.7-billion Vantage Energy buy

Rice Energy has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire Vantage Energy, LLC and Vantage Energy II, LLC for approximately $2.7 billion, including the assumption of debt. ...

Rice Energy eyes Marcellus, Barnett with $2.7-billion Vantage Energy buy

Rice Energy has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire Vantage Energy, LLC and Vantage Energy II, LLC for approximately $2.7 billion, including the assumption of debt. ...

Baker Hughes introduces new drill bits to drill faster and farther

Baker Hughes has announced the commercial release of its line of Kymera XTreme (XT) hybrid drill bits, designed to help oil and gas operators lower their well construction costs through faster and more durable drilling performance. ...

Oil supply will exceed demand until late 2017, IEA’s Birol warns

Global oil output will exceed demand until late 2017, the head of the International Energy Agency said before major producing nations gather for talks. ...

Topaz secures contracts for Tengiz field in Kazakhstan

Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, has secured substantial contracts in connection with the development of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan during 2016. The two contract wins announced in the second and third quarter together represent revenue of more than $500 million. The two contracts bring Topaz’s backlog to approximately $1.6 billion. ...

HB Rentals invests in new product lines

Offshore accommodation and workspace solutions specialist, HB Rentals, has invested in excess of £750,000 into new product lines in response to customer demand. ...

UK’s Labour Party would ban fracing, spokesman says

The UK opposition Labour Party would ban hydraulic fracturing for shale gas if it wins the next general election, according to its energy spokesman Barry Gardiner. ...

DONG terminates contract for Maersk Resolve early

Maersk Drilling received a letter of early termination, from DONG Energy, for the Maersk Resolve after the jackup finalized the planned work scope at Hejre field, in the Danish sector of the North Sea, ahead of schedule. ...

Israel’s Leviathan partners sign gas export deal with Jordan

Partners in Israel’s Leviathan field, the country’s largest natural gas reservoir, signed an export agreement with Natural Electric Power Co. of Jordan. Tel Aviv gas stocks rose. ...

Swire Oilfield Services welcomes new CEO

Swire Oilfield Services, the world’s largest supplier of cargo carrying units to the offshore energy industry, has welcomed John Bruce (JB) Rae-Smith as the company's new CEO. ...

OPEC may finally be willing to curb oil glut, but not quite yet

After two years of pumping without limits, OPEC may finally be ready to do something to shrink the global glut. Just not quite yet. ...

Lamprell awarded contract for Johan Sverdrup development

Lamprell has received a new contract award from Jacktel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Master Marine, for the upgrade of the mobile operating unit Haven as an accommodation service vessel for the Statoil-operated Johan Sverdrup field. ...

Petrofac wraps up Horne and Wren decommissioning for Tullow

Petrofac’s differentiated approach to decommissioning, in support of Tullow Oil’s well plugging and abandonment campaign in the Southern North Sea (SNS), has delivered significant results and saved $2.5 million compared to traditional approaches. ...

Topaz nets contract for Kazakhstan’s Tengiz development

Topaz Energy and Marine has been named as the technical manager of three vessels by a consortium comprising Blue Water Shipping and Kazmortransflot. ...

Reactive Downhole Tools assists in achieving world record for Middle East operator

Reactive Downhole Tools, a supplier of lower completion systems, has completed an oil swellable packer installation in the Middle East for a major operator in Abu Dhabi. At 19,000 m, it’s the longest liner of this size deployed by all parties to date, and a world record for the liner type. ...

Saudi Aramco sees oil demand ‘steady’ as supply growth slows

Slower growth in oil supply is helping the crude market to re-balance, and prices are set to increase over time, according to the head of the world’s biggest producer. ...

Saudis willing to act on ‘critical’ oil market, Algeria says

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has offered to cut its output to January levels, Algeria’s energy minister said as he prepared to host a meeting of OPEC producers later this week. ...

EIA: Hydrocarbon production in the Utica play increasingly targets natural gas-rich areas

Production of oil and natural gas in the Appalachian basin's Utica play—which includes both the Utica and Point Pleasant formations—has increased significantly since 2012. ...

OPEC deal elusive even after Saudis offer oil cuts to Iran

OPEC members aren’t likely to reach a supply deal in Algiers next week, but an agreement to boost prices could be drawing closer after Saudi Arabia signaled for the first time in two years that it’s willing to cut production. ...

Exxon said to mull sale of more than $1 billion in Norway assets

Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering a sale of some of the oil fields it operates in Norway’s North Sea in a deal that could fetch more than $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. ...

Gazprom discovers new gas field on Sea of Okhotsk shelf

MOSCOW – Gazprom has reported a new gas and condensate field in the Sea of Okhotsk, near Russia’s Sakhalin island. ...

Teekay awarded North Sea shuttle tanker contracts

Teekay Offshore Partners has been awarded new three-year shuttle tanker contracts of affreightment, plus extension options, with BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell and OMV Group, to transport the oil produced from the new Glen Lyon FPSO, which is part of the Quad204 development located west of Shetland in the North Sea. ...

Oil rebounds as Saudi Arabia said to offer output deal to Iran

Oil rebounded to head for a weekly gain after Saudi Arabia was said to have offered to reduce production if Iran agreed to freeze its output. ...

Former OPEC president optimistic there will be deal in Algiers

Chakib Khelil, the former Algerian energy minister who steered OPEC the last time it decided to cut supply, said he’s confident the group will reach an accord next week as low oil prices force members to act. ...

Maersk Oil seen surviving split to become independent producer

Maersk Oil may well survive as an independent oil company after being split off from its larger parent. While assets that include a stake in the giant Johan Sverdrup project off Norway will draw suitors, listing the company would make sense, analysts said. ...

Oil firm spending seen up in 2017 for first time since 2014

The oil industry may be ready to open its wallet after two years of slashing investments. ...

Trump vows to speed energy infrastructure projects

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed to speed the government’s approval of energy infrastructure projects -- after the Obama administration moved to stall an oil pipeline in the Dakotas that has drawn protests. ...

Analyst touts industry’s cost reductions in U.S. shale plays

Recent analysis and statistical research have shown that break-even prices for oil production in the major U.S. shale plays have fallen, on average, at least $30/bbl for WTI. ...

Canacol Energy doubles natural gas drilling activity in Colombia

Canacol Energy has revised its capital plan for 2016. The new capital plan accelerates the corporation's natural gas opportunities in Colombia, with three new gas wells. ...

Top Permian oil producer says rig counts in the region are going to soar

The biggest player in the Permian basin, America's most coveted oil field, thinks rig counts in the region are poised for explosive growth. ...

Papua New Guinea backs new Total LNG facility, Exxon PNG project expansion

Papua New Guinea is backing a new greenfield liquefied natural gas facility led by France’s Total SA, in addition to an expansion of the existing $19-billion Exxon Mobil Corp. PNG LNG project. ...

CGG completes Phase 1 processing for Davros multi-client survey in northern Carnarvon basin

CGG announced today that the final pre-stack depth-migrated data for Phase 1 of its Davros 3D BroadSeis and BroadSource multi-client survey in the northern Carnarvon basin on the North West Shelf of Western Australia is available now. ...

Schlumberger executes contract with PETRONAS for multi-client wide-azimuth deepwater seismic survey

Schlumberger announced today that PETRONAS, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PETRONAS (EandP) OVERSEAS VENTURES SDN. BHD., has signed an agreement to license a significant part of the WesternGeco Campeche wide-azimuth (WAZ) deepwater multi-client seismic survey in the southern Gulf of Mexico. ...

Chet Morrison Contractors partners with OEM on riser project

Chet Morrison Contractors’ (CMC) Deepwater Riser Services division recently completed work on a complex deepwater riser maintenance project for an offshore drilling rig that included complete disassembly, blast, paint and reassembly of 57 risers. ...

Saipem awarded onshore drilling contracts worth $430 million

Saipem has been awarded new contracts and extensions to existing contracts in the onshore drilling segment in the Middle East and South America. The awards have an overall value of $430 million. ...

H2Oil and Gas wins produced water contract in Malaysia

...

YPF sees Argentina reforms drawing billions in shale investments

Argentina’s biggest oil company sees the government removing production subsidies by the end of 2017, a step that may help lure investment as President Mauricio Macri tries to sell his vision of a more competitive economy. ...

Eni, BP boost potential of Baltim South West to 1 Tcf

Eni has upgraded the potential of Baltim South West field to 1 Tcf of gas in place following the results of the Baltim South West 2X appraisal well, which was drilled immediately after the discovery well. ...

Petrofac awarded Statoil UK training contract

Petrofac Training Services has been awarded a significant contract for Training and Emergency Response Services with Statoil (U.K.) Limited to support its UKCS operations. ...

Imperial sees Syncrude, Suncor mines sharing to cut costs

Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy are looking for more ways to shave costs at their Syncrude joint venture by sharing trucks, storage and other resources with nearby operations owned by Suncor, Imperial CEO Richard Kruger said. ...

Now is the ‘right time’ for OPEC to reach oil-output deal, Iraq says

Now is the right time for OPEC to reach an agreement on oil output, and crude prices may fall if its members fail to take a decision when they meet next week in Algiers, Iraq’s governor to the producer group said. ...

Bolivia’s Incahuasi field brought into commercial production

Today marked the start of commercial production from the Incahuasi field in Bolivia. Incahuasi is one of the largest active gas and condensate fields in Bolivia. ...

Russia’s northernmost active oil field enters commercial production

Russia’s northernmost active oil field has entered commercial production. ...

High interest in exploring for oil and gas in Norway: APA 2016

The deadline for applications to the annual licensing round in the best known exploration areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (APA 2016) expired on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016. Thirty-three companies have shown their interest in receiving oil and gas exploration licenses in these areas. ...

Halliburton launches next generation of drilling motors

...

Deloitte survey: OandG executives predict 2017 as a year of recovery

The two-year downturn in the oil and gas industry may be coming to a close. ...

PDVSA set to start $3.2-billion drilling program

Petroleos de Venezuela is getting ready to start what it’s dubbed “one of the world’s largest drilling projects” in the Orinoco heavy crude belt with investment totaling $3.2 billion even as its president, Eulogio Del Pino, says the global oil market is oversupplied. ...

Oil extends gain after U.S. crude supply tumbles to 7-month low

Oil extended gains after government data showed U.S. crude inventories declined to the lowest level since February. ...

Shell Canada strikes out in Shelburne basin

Shell Canada, operator of the Shelburne basin joint venture exploration project, has advised that the drilling of the first exploration well has been completed and is non-commercial. ...

At $500 million a pop, it’s a gamble that has no precedent

In a far corner of the Caribbean Sea, one of those idyllic spots touched most days by little more than a fisherman chasing blue marlin, billions of dollars worth of the world’s finest oil equipment bobs quietly in the water. ...

ClearSign completes initial phase of California flare campaign

ClearSign Combustion, a provider of industrial combustion technologies that help to reduce emissions and improve efficiency, has announced the completion, customer acceptance and issuance of payment for the initial phase of a multi-phase project to retrofit Duplex technology into enclosed ground flares for a major California oil producer. ...

Enping 18-1 oil field starts production, CNOOC says

CNOOC’s Enping 18-1 oil field, which lies in the Pearl River Mouth basin of the South China Sea and has an average water depth of approximately 90 m, has commenced production. ...

Claxton launches latest evolution conductor recovery tower, SABRE cutting system

Claxton, an Acteon company, has introduced the latest modular versions of its conductor recovery tower and SABRE abrasive cutting system to increase efficiency and flexibility in decommissioning and late-life projects. ...

Scots university to propose skills training framework for India’s subsea sector

Robert Gordon University (RGU) has been awarded funding from the UK government to establish a sustainable training framework for the Indian energy sector with a focus on accelerating subsea skills development. ...

OPEC seen failing to clinch oil-output deal at Algiers talks

OPEC probably won’t clinch a deal to limit oil production in Algiers next week as members stay focused on either boosting output or defending their market share, according to a Bloomberg survey. ...

Libya oil port ships first cargo since 2014 as fighting ebbs

A tanker sailed from Libya with a crude cargo bound for Italy after a halt in fighting between rival armed forces enabled the OPEC country to resume exports from its third-largest oil port for the first time since 2014. ...

GE introduces new Industrial Internet Control System

Today, GE’s Automation and Controls business introduced GE’s new Industrial Internet Control System (IICS) at its 2016 Connected Controls Symposium at the company’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y. ...

Exxon’s accounting said to prompt SEC review after oil slump

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s accounting has prompted a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into whether the energy giant should have written down assets as a result of the oil slump, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. ...

Halliburton introduces acoustic analysis service

Halliburton has announced the release of the Acoustic Conformance Xaminer service (ACX), a technology to help operators identify and pinpoint costly wellbore leaks by analyzing sound waves that describe flow patterns in the formation and casing. ...

Algeria urges 1 MMbpd cut in world’s oil production

OPEC and oil-producing countries outside the group must find a way to cut crude supplies by 1 MMbpd to re-balance markets and stabilize prices, Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said. ...

Saudi oil export terminal fire injures eight

Saudi Aramco has successfully responded to a minor fire at its oil terminal facility in Ras Tanura. ...

Endeavor Management announces shale completion best practices JIP

Endeavor Management has opened participation in its latest joint industry project (JIP)—Best Practices for Shale Completion Operations. ...

Libya crude output rises as oil fields restart, ports reopen

Libya boosted crude production by more than 70% since August as some oil fields resumed output and export terminals in the OPEC country reopened for their first overseas loadings in two years. ...

Lundin Norway granted drilling permit by Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Lundin Norway AS a drilling permit for well 7219/12-1, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. ...

Bellatrix to sell non-core assets for C$47 million

Bellatrix Exploration has entered into an agreement with InPlay Oil Corp. to sell certain non-core Cardium focused assets in the greater Pembina area of Alberta for a total consideration of C$47 million ($35.6 million). ...

Petrobras cuts five-year spending plan 25% to $74 billion

Petroleo Brasileiro reduced investments and said it will sell more assets in its latest business plan as it looks to downsize operations and slash the industry’s biggest debt load. ...

CGG delivers 38,000 sq km of seismic data ahead of Mexico’s licensing round

CGG said Tuesday that the Fast Trax Reverse Time Migration (RTM) data from its Encontrado multi-client mega-merge project, covering the Perdido fold belt, has been delivered on time to the industry and the Comision Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) ahead of Mexico’s December Licensing Round. ...

Expro awarded $30-million production contract in India

Expro has been awarded a contract worth over $30 million with the Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) for Dirok gas field in India. ...

Saudi Arabia’s July oil exports reach record as local use eases

Saudi Arabia’s oil exports climbed in July to a record level for that month, as the kingdom curbed the amount of crude it burns to generate energy domestically, according to the Joint Oil Data Initiative. ...

Oil servicers looking for output boost in Venezuela, PDVSA says

The world’s largest oilfield services providers are making plans to help boost output in Venezuela, according to the president of the country’s state-run oil company. ...

Majors must count on MandA to replenish reserves, WoodMac says

Major oil producers will rely on acquisitions for about half their reserve replacement in the future after cutting exploration budgets to weather the crude-price collapse, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. ...

Encana to sell 107 million shares to fund drilling, repay debt

Encana Corp., the Canadian oil and natural gas producer, plans to sell 107 million shares to fund part of its 2017 budget and repay debt. ...

Petrobras union says salary freeze unacceptable, mulls strike

Brazil’s main oil workers union is meeting Monday and doesn’t rule out a strike as it battles with state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro for more compensation, union leader Jose Maria Rangel said in an interview. ...

Stacked oil and gas make Permian deals costly in spite of rout

Oil prices are depressed, but Texas shale has never been more valuable. ...

Oil rises as Libyan fighting thwarts export resumption

Oil rebounded from the lowest close in more than a month after clashes halted what would be the first crude shipment from Libya’s Ras Lanuf export terminal since 2014. ...

Statoil celebrates 5 billion barrels from Statfjord

...

Junex's Galt No. 4 well delivers historical results in Quebec

Junex Inc. has announced that long-term oil production testing of its Galt No. 4 horizontal well continues to deliver strong results. ...

Sound Energy reaches final casing point at Morocco's Tendrara

Sound Energy, the European and African focused upstream company, has announced that the second Tendrara well has now been drilled to the third and final casing point at an MD of 2,623 m and that operations have started to set and cement the 7-in. liner in the TAGI-I shale formation. ...

MacGregor wins contracts for seven support vessels

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has won comprehensive equipment package contracts for seven specialist support vessels that will operate in the Middle East. ...

Eni connects Tunisia’s Laarich East-1 well to production

Eni has resumed exploration activities onshore Tunisia in the Sahara desert, approximately 700 km south of Tunis. ...

Oil jumps as Libyan fighting thwarts export resumption

Oil rebounded from the lowest close in more than a month after clashes halted what would be the first crude shipment from Libya’s Ras Lanuf export terminal since 2014. ...

Steelhead, Seven Generations in LNG development agreement

A new development agreement between Steelhead LNG and Seven Generations Energy sets the stage for engaging Aboriginal groups and communities as the two companies explore the development of new midstream infrastructure to support Steelhead LNG's proposed natural gas liquefaction and export projects on Vancouver Island. ...

ADD Energy wins maintenance optimization contract in Oman

Add Energy, an international energy consultancy provider, has been awarded a contract worth £120,000 ($156,000) with a leading upstream gas operator in Oman. ...

Oil seen recovering but glut will persist into 2017

McKinsey Energy Insights (MEI), a data and analytics specialist, forecasts that it will take more than six months for the oil markets to fully rebalance. ...

Big Oil was never that big a money-maker, Goldman Sachs says

Oil companies longing for the glory days of ultra-high crude prices might wish to think again. ...

OPEC ‘very close’ to agreement to stabilize market, Venezuelan president says

OPEC members are close to reaching an agreement on how to stabilize the market, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said after speaking to his counterparts from Iran and Ecuador. ...

OPEC may hold formal meeting if members agree in Algiers

OPEC may convene an extraordinary meeting if the group’s ministers reach a consensus on oil markets at an informal gathering in Algiers later this month, Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said, according to Algeria’s official news agency. ...

Three new oil sands developments receive initial approval following Regulator review

Three new proposed oil sands developments have cleared an important early step in the regulatory process. ...

Fund manager who foresaw price plunge stays bullish on oil, predicting ‘hefty’ drop in supply

Pierre Andurand, the hedge fund manager who foresaw oil’s plunge in 2014, says he expects a “hefty" decline in global crude stockpiles next year that should drive prices higher. ...

Statoil completes sale of non-core U.S. onshore assets

On Sept. 15, Statoil and Antero Resources Corporation completed their previously announced transaction, whereby Statoil has sold some of its non-operated interests in the U.S. state of West Virginia to Antero. ...

Tullow Oil confirms discovery at North Sea's Cara prospect

Tullow Oil plc is pleased to announce that drilling and testing of the Cara prospect in licence 636 in the Norwegian North Sea has been completed. ...

Tullow Oil confirms discovery at the North Sea's Cara prospect

Tullow Oil plc is pleased to announce that drilling and testing of the Cara prospect in licence 636 in the Norwegian North Sea has been completed. ...

Against all odds, North Sea proves resilient to oil-price slump

Oil producers in the North Sea were supposed to be among the first victims of OPEC’s battle for market share. Instead their high-cost, decades-old facilities are proving surprisingly resilient to the price slump. ...

Statoil awards Troll B contract to Aker Solutions

Statoil has decided to exercise the option for engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of a gas module that will increase gas processing capacity on the Troll B platform. ...

Maersk Supply Service awarded contract for North Sea’s Janice field

Maersk Supply Service has been awarded a contract to provide decommissioning services for Janice field in the North Sea for Maersk Oil UK. Maersk Supply Service will assume responsibility for engineering, project planning and managing the scope of the subsea decommissioning. ...

Frank’s International casing running tool deployed in industry’s first 30-in. CwD job

In a project that established a new worldwide milestone in casing while drilling (CwD) operations, Frank’s International provided its FA-1 casing running tool (CRT), modified for 30-in. casing drilling and running, to Schlumberger for a 30-in. CwD shallow water project in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico. ...

ENGIE's Cara prospect proves pay offshore Norway

Tullow Oil announced Friday that the drilling and testing of the Cara prospect, in license 636 in the Norwegian North Sea, has been completed. ...

Endeavor Management completes initial Subsea Decommissioning JIP

Endeavor Management has announced the completion of its initial Subsea Decommissioning Joint Industry Project (JIP), which was initiated last year and funded by seven operators and five service companies. ...

Statoil awards Troll B gas module contract to Aker Solutions

Statoil has decided to exercise the option for engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of a gas module that will increase gas processing capacity on the Troll B platform. ...

Maersk Supply Service awarded decommissioning contract for North Sea’s Janice field

Maersk Supply Service has been awarded a contract to provide decommissioning services for Janice field in the North Sea for Maersk Oil UK. Maersk Supply Service will assume responsibility for engineering, project planning and managing the scope of the subsea decommissioning. ...

Chesapeake bondholders owed $440 million on appeals court ruling

Chesapeake Energy owes bondholders $440 million for improperly redeeming a 2012 bond issue early, a U.S. appeals court said in upholding a ruling that dealt another blow to the second-largest natural gas producer in the country. ...

Andurand stays bullish on oil, predicting ‘hefty’ drop in supply

Pierre Andurand, the hedge fund manager who foresaw oil’s plunge in 2014, says he expects a “hefty" decline in global crude stockpiles next year that should drive prices higher. ...

Crude glut belies risk from OPEC’s dwindling output cushion

As most of the world focuses on how unfettered oil production will weigh on prices, a few say a rebound is on the cards as the market starts to reflect a growing risk of shortages. ...

Noble, Marathon said to weigh bids for Permian’s Silver Hill

Noble Energy and Marathon Oil Corp. are weighing bids for Silver Hill Energy Partners, a Permian basin explorer that could fetch more than $2 billion in a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. ...

RockPile Energy Services targets Bakken workovers with AWS acquisition

RockPile Energy Services, a portfolio company of White Deer Energy, has acquired American Well Service (AWS), a Kenmare, North Dakota-based workover rig company. ...

Netherlands approves stricter caps at Groningen gas field

Europe’s largest natural gas field may only produce less than half of what it did four years earlier as the Netherlands seeks to reduce the risk of earthquakes linked to output. ...

ONGC Videsh raises stake in Vankor field in East Siberia

ONGC Videsh has signed definitive agreements with Rosneft to acquire an additional 11% stake in JSC Vankorneft, which is the owner of Vankor field and the North Vankor license. ...

Tap Oil completes drilling of appraisal well MNA-17 in the Northern Gulf of Thailand

Mubadala Petroleum, Operator of the Manora Oil Development joint venture, has advised that drilling of the MNA-17 well, in the Northern Gulf of Thailand, has now been completed. ...

Drilling of appraisal well MNA-17 complete in the Northern Gulf of Thailand

Mubadala Petroleum, Operator of the Manora Oil Development joint venture, has advised that drilling of the MNA-17 well, in the Northern Gulf of Thailand, has now been completed. ...

The Netherlands approves stricter caps at Europe’s largest gas field

Europe’s largest natural gas field may only produce less than half of what it did four years earlier as the Netherlands seeks to reduce the risk of earthquakes linked to output. ...

Offshore drillers brace for more pain even with bottom in sight

Offshore drilling contractors, grappling with the biggest industry downturn in a generation, say they finally have the bottom in sight. The problem is, they could be stuck there for a long time. ...

Eni enters Montenegro’s upstream with award of four blocks

Eni has signed a Concession Contract with the government of Montenegro related to the exploration of four blocks in the country’s offshore. ...

M-I SWACO gets green light for barite mine in Scotland

Proposals to develop a world-class barite resource at Duntanlich, Scotland, have been approved, subject to conditions, by the local authority. ...

Wintershall in discovery near North Sea’s Vega field

Wintershall Norge, operator of production license 248 F, is in the process of completing the drilling of four wells in the North Sea. ...

Team Oil Tools acquires top Notch Energy Services

Team Oil Tools has acquired the assets of Top Notch Energy Services. ...

Talks to sell 20% of North Sea field to Delek end, EnQuest says

EnQuest has ended talks to sell a 20% stake in Kraken field in the North Sea to Delek Group. ...

Goldman sees oil staying below $50 as surplus lingers

Don’t count on a big rally in crude oil, said Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group. Or any rally, for that matter. ...

Global oil glut set to worsen as Nigeria, Libya fields restart

Amid the most enduring global oil glut in decades, two OPEC crude producers whose supplies have been crushed by domestic conflicts are preparing to add hundreds of thousands of barrels to world markets within weeks. ...

ONGC Videsh to acquire additional interest in Vankor field in East Siberia

ONGC Videsh (and its wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd., Singapore – OVVL) jointly signed definitive agreements with Rosneft, the national oil company of Russia for acquiring additional 11% shares in JSC Vankorneft, a company organized under the law of Russian Federation which is the owner of Vankor field and North Vankor license. ...

RockRose Energy acquires interest in UK North Sea's Scott and Telford fields

RockRose Energy has announced that it has agreed non-binding headline terms and a period of exclusivity from Maersk Oil North Sea UK to acquire its non-operated interests in the Wytch Farm (7.43%), Scott (5.16%) and Telford (2.36%) fields. ...

Suncor CEO sees more volatile oil price in coming years

Oil prices will become more volatile after next year amid under-investment in production and uncertain growth in demand, Suncor Energy CEO Steve Williams said. ...

GE Oil and Gas wins contract for third train at BP's Tangguh LNG facility

GE Oil and Gas has been awarded a contract to supply gas turbine-driven compressors for a third natural gas liquefaction train for the Tangguh expansion having provided the original equipment for Trains 1 and 2 when the plant was first established. ...

GE Oil and Gas awarded contract by BP for third natural gas liquefaction train in Tangguh expansion

GE Oil and Gas has been awarded a contract to supply gas turbine-driven compressors for a third natural gas liquefaction train for the Tangguh expansion having provided the original equipment for Trains 1 and 2 when the plant was first established. ...

Exxon Mobil launches Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis to the oil and gas sector

Exxon Mobil has launched Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis, a new mobile-enabled used oil analysis service. ...

Oil erases decline as EIA reports surprise inventory drop

Crude oil erased a decline in New York after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. inventories declined last week. ...

Kvaerner awarded more work on Statoil’s Njord platform

Statoil has made a call-off from the framework agreement for upgrading of its Njord A semi-submersible platform. ...

PGS, TGS jointly acquire Dolphin Multi-Client library

PGS and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company have jointly agreed principal terms and conditions for the purchase of a majority of the MultiClient library of Dolphin UK Ltd. PGS and TGS will make this purchase on a 50/50 basis. ...

Eni pledges fewer mishaps on Goliat platform in safety shake-up

Eni is shaking up safety measures at the Goliat platform in Norway’s Arctic in a bid to draw a line under a series of incidents that have hurt production at the world’s northernmost offshore oil field, giving ammunition to opponents of drilling in the region. ...

ITF launches JIP to increase speed, cut costs of reservoir characterization

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF), together with Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), has launched a joint industry project (JIP) which will reduce time and costs for oil producers to determine whether gas fields are economically viable. ...

Patterson-UTI to acquire drilling technology company Warrior Rig

Patterson-UTI Energy has entered into an agreement to acquire Warrior Rig Ltd. and certain related entities. ...

Ophir starts production from Indonesia’s Kerendan field

Ophir Energy, a UK-based independent, has commenced commercial production from Kerendan field in Indonesia. ...

PGS, TGS jointly acquire Dolphin MultiClient library

PGS and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company have jointly agreed principal terms and conditions for the purchase of a majority of the MultiClient library of Dolphin UK Ltd. PGS and TGS will make this purchase on a 50/50 basis. ...

Clariant bolsters production chemicals business with acquisitions

Clariant has announced two acquisitions in the oilfield production chemicals business. After closing, the agreed purchases of Kel-Tech and X-Chem will add about $200 million of sales, as well as personnel, technology and expertise to the company’s existing activities in North America. ...

Oil industry may cut spending for third year in row, IEA says

The oil industry may cut spending for a third straight year in 2017 as lower costs kick in and companies continue to grapple with weaker finances because of crude’s slump. ...

Calfrac weighs entry into big oil regions such as Saudi, Permian

Calfrac Well Services, the Canadian oilfield services provider, is considering expansion opportunities into two of the world’s largest producing regions. ...

Oil rebounds as API data shows modest stockpile build

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Oil rebounded after industry data showed a smaller-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. ...

Billionaire Tenaris owner sees oilfield supply MandA as prices recover

The billionaire owner of Tenaris sees scope for consolidation in the industry with drilling activity and oil prices set to recover. ...

BP seeking more investment opportunities in Argentina shale

BP Plc would rather invest in Argentina’s shale oil fields than in Texas’ Permian basin, the U.S. drilling hot spot, CEO Bob Dudley said. ...

Saudi Arabia ousts U.S. as biggest oil producer, IEA says

Saudi Arabia has retaken the position of the world’s top oil producer from the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency. ...

Kashagan field seen taking another decade to reach target

Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field has taken 16 years and more than $50 billion to bring to the verge of production. It could take another decade to reach its potential, with initial output at half the forecast level. ...

Nexans wins contract for BP’s West Nile Delta project

BP Exploration (Delta) Limited has ordered approximately 100 km of static umbilicals and associated accessories from Nexans for the next stage of the West Nile Delta project. ...

Ophir stats production from Indonesia’s Kerendan field

Ophir Energy, a UK-based independent, has commenced commercial production from Kerendan field in Indonesia. ...

Zenith Energy wins well management contract with UK operator

An Aberdeen-based well engineering and project management company has secured a significant new contract with a UK operator. The contract will see the company provide a full management service for an onshore exploration well in the Weald basin. ...

Scottish university to advise Mexico on oil, gas skills development

Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen has been awarded funding to create a skills development framework for the oil and gas sector in Mexico. ...

Aker Solutions, Det norske, Subsea 7 form development alliance in Norway

Aker Solutions, Det norske oljeselskap and Subsea 7 have agreed on a "one for all, all for one" collaboration model that marks a major shift in how an operator and its suppliers can work together on oil and gas developments offshore Norway. ...

Oil map redrawn as cheap tankers make crazy voyages profitable

From Norway to the Bahamas, from Algeria to Australia. Ultra-low crude prices combined with cheap shipping rates are encouraging a host of exotic new oil trading routes that wouldn't look out of place in the latest travel brochures. ...

Libya’s oil comeback derailed as former general seizes ports

Libya’s plans to restore oil production suffered a significant setback after forces loyal to the eastern region’s powerful military commander ousted government-backed fighters from key export terminals, just days before a tanker was due to load the first shipment in nearly two years. ...

IEA sees oil oversupply persisting in 2017

The surplus in global oil markets will last for longer than previously thought, persisting into late 2017, as demand growth slumps and supply proves resilient, the International Energy Agency said. ...

Over 5,000 DUCs await completion in U.S., EIA says

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), released Monday, now includes a supplement that provides monthly estimates of the number of DUCs in the seven key oil and natural gas producing regions covered by the report. ...

U.S. natural gas rallies again in August, IHS Markit says

U.S. natural gas production levels in the lower 48 states increased by about 1.4% in August 2016 compared to July 2016 levels, according to analysis from IHS Markit. ...

Anadarko buys deepwater Gulf assets from Freeport for $2 billion

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. agreed to buy deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets from Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas for $2 billion. ...

U.S. natural gas rallies again in August, up nearly 1.4% compared to July, IHS Markit says

U.S. natural gas production levels in the lower 48 states increased by about 1.4% in August 2016 compared to July 2016 levels, according to analysis from IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. ...

Endeavor Management announces best practices for the FPSO industry

Endeavor Management has opened participation in its latest Joint Industry Project (JIP)—Best Practices for the FPSO Industry. ...

Eni boosts Nooros production to 128,000 boed just 13 months after discovery

Output from Egypt’s Nooros field has reached 128,000 boed (700 MMcfgd) just 13 months after its discovery, Eni said in a statement announcing the production landmark. ...

Oil extends drop as U.S. drillers return, OPEC sees more supply

Oil extended declines following the biggest drop in more than a month after U.S. producers increased drilling and OPEC boosted its estimate for rivals’ output next year. ...

EandP debt recoveries hit ‘catastrophic’ level, Moody’s says

Creditors of EandP companies that went bankrupt last year recouped less than half the usual amount for their claims, and 2016 is shaping up just as bad, according to Moody’s Investors Service. ...

Stripper wells still vital for U.S. production, energy security

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) has released the 2015 Marginal Well Report that documents marginal well activity and the economic contribution of marginal production in the U.S. ...

Ichthys LNG project reaches milestone with startup of offshore power generators

The INPEX-led Ichthys LNG project has reached a key milestone with both its central processing facility (CPF) and FPSO facility safely starting up their main power generators in the South Korean shipyards where they are being constructed. ...

Dakota pipeline’s fate may hinge on next president after setback

The Obama administration halted work on a stretch of land where Energy Transfer Partners is building its Dakota Access oil pipeline, a move that could threaten to thrust the fate of the project into the hands of the next president. ...

CNOOC’s Weizhou 6-9/6-10 comprehensive adjustment project starts production

CNOOC’s Weizhou 6-9/6-10 comprehensive adjustment project has commenced production, the company said Monday. ...

Statoil awards NCS supply contract to Kraemer Maritime

Statoil has awarded Kraemer Maritime a contract to supply provisions for the company’s installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. ...

OPEC flips forecast to predict rebound in rival supply next year

OPEC flipped its forecasts for rival supplies in 2017, predicting an increase in output from outside the group instead of a decline, the latest sign that the global surplus is persisting. ...

Oil bears dominate market as doubt grows over output limits

The longer OPEC and other producers talk about a ceiling on crude output, the more doubts grow in the market. ...

Trump camp's call for oil freeze will be ignored by OPEC: Column

Energy adviser to Donald Trump, CEO of Continental Resources, Harold Hamm has history with OPEC. ...

RockPile Energy Services announces acquisition by White Deer Energy

RockPile Energy Services, a subsidiary of Triangle Petroleum Corporation, has been acquired by White Deer Energy. ...

Operators add more U.S. rigs as Gulf work resumes after hurricane

Oil explorers added more rigs in the U.S., as vessels in the Gulf of Mexico went back to work after a pause to avoid last week’s Hurricane Hermine. ...

Explorers add U.S. rigs as Gulf work resumes after hurricane

Oil explorers added more rigs in the U.S., as vessels in the Gulf of Mexico went back to work after a pause to avoid last week’s Hurricane Hermine. ...

Iran, Nigeria have right to raise oil output, Algiers host says

OPEC and other producers can reconcile talks aimed at stabilizing the oil market with the prerogative of Iran, Nigeria and Libya to boost output, according to Algeria’s energy minister. ...

Condor Petroleum to begin production at Shoba oil field in Kazakhstan

Condor Petroleum Inc. has announced that the Shoba Production Contract has been executed with the Government of Kazakhstan, which provides for commercial production at the company’s 100% owned Shoba oil field. ...

Bengal Energy announces discovery in Australia

Bengal Energy has announced that the first four wells of the Cuisinier 2016 five well drilling campaign have been cased as future oil producers in the Murta horizon. ...

Pemex budget slashing to continue as minister signals austerity

Mexico will continue to hack into the budget of its oil producer next year, a move likely to mean further financial duress and continued output declines for Petroleos Mexicanos. ...

OPEC focus moves from freeze to output ceilings as unity sought

As OPEC officials shuttle between Tehran, Moscow and Paris in preparation for an informal meeting in Algiers, the focus of their efforts appears to be moving from a production freeze to voluntary output caps. ...

U.S. crude imports seen surging after storm-related slowdown

A historic decline in U.S. crude imports will probably be followed by a surge in arrivals. ...

Operations progress at UK's Lancaster field development

Hurricane Energy announces that the company has completed the testing and logging phase of the 205/21a-7 well and operations are now progressing as planned to permanently abandon the pilot well reservoir section, prior to side-tracking the top-hole to form the 7Z horizontal sidetrack. ...

Turritella FPSO achieves first oil, formally on hire

SBM Offshore has announced that FPSO Turritella is formally on hire as of Sept. 2, 2016, after achieving Commencement of Commercial Production (CoCP). ...

Turritella FPSO achieves first oil

SBM Offshore has announced that Turritella, the FPSO it designed for the Stones project in the U.S. Gulf Of Mexico, has achieved first oil. ...

Saudi oil output said to drop as OPEC debates production freeze

Saudi Arabia told OPEC that its oil production dropped by 40,000 bpd in August to 10.63 MMbpd as the group debates a deal to curb output to shore up prices. ...

Total strikes out with HPHT Solaris wildcat in North Sea

Total Norge, operator of production license 618, is in the process of completing the drilling of exploration well 1/5-5. The well, on the HPHT Solaris prospect in the North Sea, is dry. ...

Origin Energy’s new CEO to focus on cutting $6.8-billion debt

Frank Calabria, who was named Friday as Origin Energy Ltd.’s new CEO, said he’ll focus on paying down a A$9-billion ($6.8-billion) debt pile and consider more asset sales when he takes over from Grant King next month. ...

Total takes over joint acreage in Barnett shale from Chesapeake

Total EandP USA is exercising its preemption right to acquire Chesapeake’s 75% interests in the jointly held Barnett shale operating area in North Texas. Total EandP USA has owned the remaining 25% in the Barnett assets since December 2009. With the preemption, Total EandP USA will be the 100% owner and operator of the assets. ...

Crescent Point taps equity market to boost drilling budget

Crescent Point Energy is turning to equity investors to fund more drilling, the latest energy company to boost activity as oil prices rise. ...

Oil trims weekly gain as U.S. stockpile plunge seen as one-off

Oil trimmed its weekly gain after the biggest U.S. stockpile slump in 17 years was seen as a one-off caused by a tropical storm that disrupted imports and offshore production. ...

Charger Shale Oil Co. and Oaktree announce $900-million Permian basin JV

Charger Shale Oil Company, an oil and gas partnership headquartered in Midland, Texas, and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., today announced their recently formed joint venture focused in the Permian basin. ...

Maersk Drilling secures new contract for Gallant jackup rig

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract for the jack-up rig Mærsk Gallant with Maersk Oil. ...

Resource Energy in $75-million deal for Samson Resources' Bakken assets

Resource Energy Can-Am has entered into a stalking horse asset purchase agreement with Samson Resources Company to acquire certain of Samson’s North Dakota and Montana properties in the Bakken play. ...

Rio Grande LNG receives DOE authorization to export LNG to FTA countries

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has authorized NextDecade, LLC to export liquefied natural gas from its proposed Rio Grande LNG facility to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. ...

Weatherford awarded two large completions contracts with supermajor

Weatherford has won two large contracts with a supermajor operator for sand screens and for upper completions products, including gas-lift equipment, chemical-injection equipment, subsurface safety valves (SSVs) and downhole measurement tools. ...

Resource Energy Can-Am enters into stalking horse agreement with Samson Resources covering Williston basin assets

Resource Energy Can-Am announced that it has entered into a stalking horse asset purchase agreement with Samson Resources Company to acquire certain of Samson’s North Dakota and Montana properties in the Bakken play. ...

Rio Grande LNG receives DOE authorization to export LNG to free trade agreement countries

NextDecade, LLC announced today that the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has authorized the export of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from its proposed Rio Grande LNG facility to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. ...

Oil extends gains after U.S. supplies tumble the most since 1999

Oil extended gains after a government report showed that U.S. stockpiles plunged. ...

Oil rises as industry data signal drop in U.S. crude stockpiles

Oil advanced as weekly industry data showed a big decline in U.S. crude inventories, trimming supplies that are at the highest seasonal level in at least 30 years. ...

Kuwait Energy starts production from Al-Jahraa SE-1X well in Egypt

Kuwait Energy has started production from the Al-Jahraa SE-1X well in the Abu Sennan concession in Egypt’s Western Desert. ...

Emerson awarded contract for Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility

Shell Australia has chosen Emerson to provide automation maintenance and reliability services for Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility. ...

Aker Solutions wins work for tie-in of Utgard field to Sleipner area

Aker Solutions will provide engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) services to enable a tie-in of the Utgard gas and condensate field to the Statoil-operated Sleipner facilities in the North Sea. ...

Eni’s Norway troubles risk fueling fight against Arctic oil

A series of mishaps at the world’s northernmost producing oil field shows Norway’s plan to boost its flagging production by tapping the Arctic Ocean may not be so easy. ...

Four scenarios for oil producers as they seek to boost prices

A meeting in Algiers at the end of September between OPEC and Russia—which together pump more than half the world’s oil—has raised expectations that a deal could be struck to boost prices. ...

Biggest oil traders see another year of pain as glut endures

The largest oil traders are anticipating little relief to what has become the worst market slump in a generation. ...

ONGC’s profit falls 21% as oil prices slump, output drops

Oil and Natural Gas Corp.’s (ONGC) quarterly profit declined 21% as oil prices slumped and output fell. ...

EIA boosts U.S. oil production outlook

The U.S. Energy Information Administration bolstered its crude production outlook for 2016 and next year. ...

GE Oil and Gas inks FPSO agreement with MODEC

GE Oil and Gas has signed a major agreement with MODEC, an owner/operator and EPCI general contractor of floating production systems, to supply and service gas turbines for FPSOs in Brazil. ...

TGS in exclusive commercial well log agreement with ANCAP in Uruguay

...

OPEC giants are too sour for top oil buyer in coveted market

OPEC’s biggest producers are playing second fiddle to smaller suppliers in a coveted corner of the oil market. ...

Bonavista Energy in strategic asset exchange

Bonavista Energy has entered into an agreement to acquire certain liquids rich, natural gas weighted properties within its Deep Basin and West Central Alberta core regions in exchange for properties within its non-core region in northeastern British Columbia. ...

Callon Petroleum acquires Midland basin acreage

Callon Petroleum has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain undeveloped acreage and producing oil and gas properties for a total consideration of $327 million in cash. ...

Schlumberger, ION in new reimaging program offshore Mexico

Schlumberger WesternGeco and ION Geophysical have announced a new 3D multiclient reimaging broadband program offshore Mexico, which uses Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) data library. ...

Apache reports significant new play in Delaware basin

...

World’s biggest crude buyers make cuts the oil giants won’t

As the world’s biggest crude producers stop short of taking action to address the global oversupply, output cuts by their largest customers are helping to mop up the glut. ...

OPEC risks ‘crying wolf’ as oil trader Gunvor doubts accord

One of the world’s biggest commodities traders doubts oil producers will be able to agree on curbing output to pull up prices. ...

Iran oil output near target means freeze is ‘political decision’

Iran hinted that it may soon drop its opposition to an oil-production freeze, with a senior official saying the OPEC member’s crude output is closing in on its pre-sanctions level and that limiting supply is “a political decision.” ...

Devon Energy reports third successful STACK spacing test, high-rate extended-reach oil wells

Devon Energy has successfully tested its third Meramec spacing pilot and commenced production on two high-rate, extended-reach lateral oil wells in the core of the over-pressured oil window of the STACK. ...

Devon Energy announces third successful STACK spacing test and high-rate extended-reach oil wells

Devon Energy Corp. has announced that it has successfully tested its third Meramec spacing pilot and commenced production on two high-rate, extended-reach lateral oil wells in the core of the over-pressured oil window of the STACK. ...

Iran President says ‘vital’ to restore pre-sanctions oil output

Iran’s President said he supports efforts by OPEC to stabilize oil prices, while reiterating that the country must restore production lost during years of sanctions. ...

ION registered to conduct petroleum reserve audits in Mexico

ION Geophysical Corporation’s Mexican entity was approved by the nation's National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) to conduct reserve audits in Mexico. ...

Shell starts production at Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico

The Stones FPSO vessel, which is the host facility for the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project, started producing from the Lower Tertiary. ...

Shell starts production at Stones in the Gulf of Mexico

Shell announces today that production has started from the Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico. Stones is expected to produce around 50,000 boed when fully ramped up at the end of 2017. ...

Oil-market rescue seen no nearer amid Saudi-Russia ‘lip service’

An international agreement to cap crude-oil output in a way that would restrict actual supply and support prices looks no nearer after the two largest producers pledged to cooperate. ...

FMC wins contract for Eni's Block 15/06 West Hub Development Project

FMC Technologies will provide subsea multiphase boosting pumps, manifolds, and installation support services for Eni Angola's Block 15/06 West Hub Development Project located off the coast of Angola. ...

Statoil increases share in Wisting discovery in Barents Sea

Statoil and Tullow Norge have agreed on a transaction whereby Statoil will increase its equity in four licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The transaction includes the Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea. ...

Ashtead Technology lands deal with Dutch engineering firm

Ashtead Technology has secured a deal with international contractor Van Oord to provide the latest generation of video processing systems for worldwide offshore construction operations. ...

EOG Resources to combine with Yates in $2.5-billion deal

EOG Resources and Yates Petroleum Corporation have announced definitive agreements under which EOG has agreed to combine with Yates Petroleum Corporation, Abo Petroleum Corporation, MYCO Industries, Inc. and certain other entities (collectively, Yates). ...

ION awarded all 2016 North Sea 4D towed streamer optimization projects

ION Geophysical announced Friday that North Sea operators selected ION in-field Acquisition Optimization Services for all time-lapse, or 4D, towed streamer projects for the 2016 North Sea season. ...

Brent declines as Saudi-Russia deal falls short of freeze

Brent oil dropped after a pledge by Russia and Saudi Arabia to cooperate to stabilize the market failed to include any specific measures to bolster prices. ...

Enbridge to buy Spectra Energy in $28-billion deal

Enbridge will buy Spectra Energy Corp. in a $28-billion stock-for-stock transaction that will create the largest energy infrastructure company in North America, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. ...

Murphy, Petronas, Sierra said to plan deepwater Mexico oil bid

Murphy Oil Corp., Petroliam Nasional Bhd. and Sierra Oil and Gas are in talks to form a group that would bid jointly for the first opportunity in more than seven decades to independently operate offshore fields in Mexico’s deep Gulf waters, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said. ...

KrisEnergy begins drilling Bangora, onshore Bangladesh

KrisEnergy Ltd, an independent upstream oil and gas company, announced that the Bapex Bijoy 10 rig has commenced drilling of the Bangora-6 development well in the Block 9 production sharing contract, onshore Bangladesh. ...

Saudi oil minister says no need now to freeze crude output

There is currently no need to limit oil output, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Monday, after signing an energy agreement with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak. ...

U.S. crude exports competitive to Asia-Pacific, delivered prices show

A drop in global shipping costs and competitive pricing of crude produced in North America is opening the door for U.S. crude exports to reach Asia-Pacific more economically than rival grades from elsewhere in the Atlantic basin, including the North Sea and West Africa. ...

JDR invests in next generation of subsea technology

JDR, a UK-based supplier of subsea umbilicals and power cables to the offshore energy industry, has unveiled a state-of-the-art horizontal lay-up machine (HLM) at its Hartlepool manufacturing facility in northeast England. ...

Iran’s ready to pump more as OPEC faces ‘prisoner’s dilemma’

As speculation swirls over whether oil producers will reach a deal to coordinate output and aid a recovery in prices, Iran says it’s ready to pump more. ...

Woodside eyes LNG boost after $400-million gas deal with BHP

Woodside Petroleum may look to funnel gas from Scarborough field off Western Australia to one of its existing LNG plants after agreeing to a $400-million deal to buy half of BHP Billiton Ltd.’s stake in the remote offshore resource. ...

Stable oil price requires Saudi, Russian cooperation, prince says

HANGZHOU, China (Bloomberg) -- Global oil-market stability is impossible without the cooperation of Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude producers, the kingdom’s influential deputy crown prince said, speaking with Vladimir Putin ahead of an OPEC meeting later this month. ...

Oklahoma quake triggers closing of disposal wells

OKLAHOMA CITY (Bloomberg) -- One of the strongest earthquakes among many in Oklahoma since the introduction of hydraulic fracturing struck early Saturday near a complex of oil-storage facilities, leading state regulators to order the suspension of about 37 wastewater-disposal wells. ...

OPEC output rises to record before talks with Russia on freeze

OPEC’s crude production climbed to a record last month as increased output from Gulf members made up for persisting losses in Nigeria and Libya, according to a Bloomberg survey. ...

Petrobras sheds 11,704 employees in $1.2-billion dismissal plan

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras plans to save billions of dollars after completing a voluntary dismissal program to help reduce debt and adjust to lower oil prices. ...

Oil India opens new office in Houston

Despite the oil industry slowdown, international oil companies are adding their presence in the city that still remains the energy capital of the world. The latest is Oil India Limited, India’s second largest public sector company after ONGC. ...

Putin sees Rosneft sale as soon as this year to ease budget

Vladimir Putin said Russia is pushing ahead with plans to sell a fifth of Rosneft PJSC, the country’s largest listed oil producer, as the government seeks to cut its budget deficit. ...

Rosneft, BP and Schlumberger sign technology agreements

Rosneft, BP and Schlumberger have announced agreements for collaboration on seismic research and development. ...

Exxon Mobil ignores near-term glut to play LNG long game

When it comes to natural gas, Exxon Mobil Corp. believes in playing the long game. ...

Enbridge scraps plan to build Sandpiper pipeline amid Bakken slump

Enbridge said it has withdrawn a regulatory application for its $2-billion Sandpiper pipeline amid a slump in production in the Bakken. ...

Putin pushes for oil-freeze deal with OPEC, exemption for Iran

Vladimir Putin said he’d like OPEC and Russia, producers of half of the world’s oil, to reach a deal to freeze supply and expects the dispute over Iran’s participation can be resolved. ...

Oil slides to three-week low amid plentiful U.S. stockpiles

Oil tumbled to the lowest in almost three weeks after U.S. government data showed crude supplies at the highest seasonal level in more than 20 years. ...

Shell said to become first non-bank to join Mexico’s oil hedge

Royal Dutch Shell participated in protecting Mexico against low crude prices in 2017, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, the first time an oil company has taken part in the world’s largest commodities hedging program. ...

Royale Energy starts drilling in California’s Rio Vista field

Royale Energy has started drilling the first well under its joint venture agreement covering Rio Vista field in the Sacramento basin. Discovered in 1936, Rio Vista is the largest natural gas field in California. ...

Worst is over for oil as investment at risk, IHS’s Yergin Says

The worst has passed for oil prices, which are now too low to ensure investment in the new supplies needed during the rest of the decade, IHS Markit Ltd.’s Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin said. ...

New Zohr appraisal well confirms resource potential at 30 Tcf

Eni has drilled a fifth well on the Zohr structure, offshore Egypt, and confirmed the field’s resource estimate of 30 Tcf. ...

U.S. onshore production has stopped declining; growth is coming from Permian basin

Looking only at oil production in the Lower 48 states (excluding the Gulf of Mexico), Rystad Energy observes 120,000 bpd higher output in August 2016 compared to EIA’s latest August 2016 STEO. ...

First Shah Deniz 2 platform jacket sent offshore

The Shah Deniz consortium said Thursday that the jacket for one of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 platforms sailed away from the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deepwater Jackets Factory (BDJF) for offshore installation. ...

BP signs second Chinese shale gas contract with CNPC

BP has signed a second production sharing contract (PSC) for shale gas exploration, development and production with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). ...

Pioneer Natural Resources closes acquisition of Midland basin acreage

Pioneer Natural Resources has closed its acquisition of approximately 28,000 net acres in the Midland basin from Devon Energy for $435 million, before normal closing adjustments. ...

Norway’s oil seen luring smaller fry as big players retreat

...

Russia says oil output freeze not needed with price near $50

Russia sees no need for talks with other major oil exporters on freezing output with prices at around $50/bbl, according to the Energy Ministry in Moscow. ...