Top Energy/Automotive News As Reported, to 28 April 2023
London, 28 April, 2023, (Oilandgaspress) : Brent is considered the world’s most important oil benchmark, but supplies of the North Sea crudes underpinning the contract are falling. The five British and Norwegian North Sea crudes – Forties, Brent, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll – that currently make up the contract have fallen below 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) versus 850,000 bpd in December 2020, according to Refintiv Eikon data. As production falls, the number of market participants, bids and offers have been declining.Platts says the inclusion, first proposed in December 2020, comes after extensive research and talks with market participants. Read More
Equinor’s first quarter 2023 safety results
According to the safety results per the first quarter of 2023 the long-term positive trend of several indicators continues, however the injury frequency is increasing.
No oil and gas leaks were recorded in the first quarter of 2023. Eight oil and gas leaks have been recorded during the past 12 months. Oil and gas leaks are classified by the severity of the leak rate.
There have been no incidents with major accident potential or serious well control incidents in the first quarter.
In January and February, we had four incidents with serious injuries.Through the “Always Safe” annual wheel Equinor is collaborating with other operating companies and suppliers to enhance the understanding of what conditions are preventing safe work.
Equinor recently launched an e-learning course on preventing major accidents. The course will help ensure good interaction and understanding of risk across tasks throughout the company. The course is mandatory for all employees and available to the company’s suppliers. Read More
Share-based incentive programme 2023
The Board of Directors of Vestas Wind Systems A/S has decided to continue the share-based incentive programme for all participants, including all members of Executive Management, and launch a new programme for 2023. The 2023 programme will be based on the terms and conditions governing the restricted performance share programme for the year 2022 and in alignment with Vestas’ Remuneration Policy approved by the Annual General Meeting on 8 April 2021.
As previously, the programme is based on restricted performance shares and the performance will be measured over a period of three years, based on financial key performance indicators, as well as commercial targets defined by the Board of Directors. Read More
Dana to Pay Dividend on Common Stock
Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) announced today that its board of directors has declared a dividend on its common stock.
The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable June 2, 2023, to holders of Dana common stock as of May 12. Read More
EPA Names 2023 Top Cities for ENERGY STAR Certified Buildings
.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its annual “Top Cities” list, spotlighting the cities with the greatest number of ENERGY STAR certified commercial and multifamily buildings in 2022. Coming in at first place for the fourth year in a row, Los Angeles leads with nearly 750 ENERGY STAR certified buildings. In second place is Washington, D.C. with 555 buildings, followed by Atlanta in third place with 376 buildings.
“In many cities, a majority of greenhouse gas emissions results from the energy used by buildings,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I applaud this year’s top cities, as well as the owners and managers of each ENERGY STAR certified building in them, for taking real action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help America address the climate crisis.”
Commercial buildings are responsible for 16% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and spend more than $190 billion per year on energy. In many cities, buildings are the largest contributor of emissions — responsible for 30% to more than 70% of a city’s total emissions. ENERGY STAR certified buildings use an average of 35% less energy and are responsible for 35% less carbon dioxide emissions than typical buildings. Read More
Wintermar Offshore (WINS:JK) Reports 1Q2023 Results
PT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk (WINS:JK) has announced results for 1Q2023. Operating Profit rebound to US$1.6 million from a loss of US$1.4 million in 1Q2022 after strong increase in Revenues. Stronger charter rates contributed to the 51%YOY increase in total revenue to US$15.9 million and gross profit of US$3.0 million for 1Q2023.
Owned Vessel Division
During the first quarter of 2023, charter rates were higher, boosting Owned Vessel revenue by 46%YOY to US$9.7 million, and generating a turnaround in the division with a positive gross profit of US$1.7 million for 1Q2023 compared to a loss of US$0.6 million for 1Q2022. Quarterly utilization for 1Q2023 was 67%, higher than 61% in 1Q2022, but lower than the high utilization of 82% in 4Q2022, as several longer-term contracts completed in 1Q2023 and vessels underwent interim maintenance while being prepared for new contracts. Direct Expenses were 10.6% higher, mainly due to higher maintenance (+154.4%YOY) and operations (+30.6% YOY) costs for parts and consumables. Depreciation was slightly lower at US$3 million (-2.5%YOY) as some of the additional vessels were not yet activated. Crewing costs rose by 2.6%YOY to US$2.1 million for 1Q2023. Chartering and Other Services Gross Profit from the Chartering Division rose by 16.6% YOY to US$0.4 million while Gross Profit from Other Services rose by 124.9% to US$0.9 million as demand for ancillary services also improved. Total Gross Profit jumped to US$3.0 million for 1Q2023, compared to only US$0.2 million in 1Q2022, reflecting more robust conditions in the industry. Indirect Expenses and Operating Profit During 1Q2023, total Indirect Expenses fell by 9.4%YOY to US$1.4 million. Staff salaries increased by 5.1%YOY due to new hires during 2022 after a hiring freeze ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this was offset by lower employee benefit expenses as actuarial liabilities were adjusted to comply with the new Omnibus law. Office utilities rose 39%YOY to US$0.1 million as most employees returned to work in the office compared to 1Q2022 where employees were still working from home. Operating Profit saw a convincing turnaround for 1Q2023 at US$1.6 million, compared to a loss of US$1.4 million in 1Q2022. Read More
Drax ends half a century of coal-fired power generation
Drax has announced that almost 50 years of power generation from coal at its North Yorkshire power station has come to an end.Drax has today announced the official end of coal-fired generation at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, marking a historic milestone in both the company and the UK’s transformation to a zero-carbon energy future.
Following the discovery of the Selby coalfield, construction of the coal-fired Drax Power Station began nearby in 1967. The power station started generating power out of its first unit in 1974 and in 1975, following the completion of two additional generators, the site officially opened. At the time, this provided enough power for around two million homes and in 1986, power generation capacity was doubled to just under 4GW.
Once the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, the plant is now the single largest generator of renewable power in the UK. Over the last decade four of the power station’s six generating units have been converted to use sustainable biomass, providing the UK with clean, green, and secure renewable electricity. Read More
Centek UROS centralizer patent successfully upheld by European Patent Office
The Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office has upheld Centek Group’s European UROS patent as valid. This was after a long battle originating in Downhole Products contesting the validity of the patent in 2014.
Centek successfully fended off this attack from Downhole Products and the Centek UROS centralizer patent was declared new and inventive at the highest level of the European patent system. Centek’s European patent provides exclusivity to the company’s unique combination of low insertion forces achieved by offset spring bows, and ultra high strength (and/or durability) achieved by forming the centralizer from a single sheet.
While other offset bow centralizers may exist from other suppliers, only Centek has its unique and incomparable performance achieved by forming the offset bows from a single sheet of steel. The specific scope of protection of the patent, EP2464811, can be found here.
This unique combination of features gives Centek’s patented UROS centralizer reduced start and running forces, and strong centralizing forces, while also being capable of passing through tighter restrictions. John Costine, Global Director, Marketing & Product Management at Centek said: “The performance of the UROS has been proven after 13 years of productive use in the world’s most challenging wells.
“The European Patent Office’s safeguarding of this patent demonstrates the UROS’s unique advantage in under reamed well sections and through restrictions.”
Tom Crone, Centek President & CEO said: “Centek has invested in innovation since it was founded more than 20 years ago and we will continue to prioritize securing exclusivity for our original product design and protecting our intellectual property”. This successful case in Europe validates the strength of Centek’s UROS patent and is evidence of Centek’s pioneering product portfolio and its place at the forefront of centralizer advancement. Centek instructed one of Europe’s leading IP law firms, Kilburn & Strode, to successfully defend the UROS patent in Europe. For further information, please contact: hannah.smith@centekgroup.com Read More
IEA should be ‘very careful’ about undermining key oil investments
The Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday that the International Energy Agency (IEA) should be “very careful about further undermining” oil industry investments, seen as vital for global economic growth.
Al Ghais added that OPEC and OPEC+ were not targeting oil prices but focusing on market fundamentals, and that finger pointing and misrepresenting the actions of the oil exporters and their allies was “counter-productive”.
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, has been critical of the OPEC+ group of oil producing countries’s announcement earlier this month of production cuts of 1.66 million barrels per day (bpd) from May until the end of 2023. Read More
Norway, Nigeria meet on maritime security
According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) latest piracy report released last week, five incidents were reported in the first quarter of 2023.
The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt, disclosed that safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea are very dear to her government, noting that this has made Norway give its support to Nigeria in the fight against piracy in the region.
Huitfeldt stated this during her visit to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Resource Center in Kirikiri, Lagos on Monday. She commended Nigeria for her role in combating maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, which she said has curtailed pirate activities in the region. She linked the relative peace and security the shipping community is currently enjoying in the region, to the dedication and commitment of Nigeria and NIMASA to the safety and security of the troubled region.
The minister said Nigeria is one of the respected partners of Norway and therefore her government appreciates its role in the Gulf of Guinea. Read More
Industries Team Up at Suzuka Opener
Toyota enters its third season of competing in the Super Taikyu Series ST-Q class, aiming to expand options for creating a decarbonized society. The team’s efforts are driven by the mindset that the enemy is carbon, not the internal combustion engine. Within this ST-Q class, different companies are trialing new forms of energy that can expand carbon-neutral options: hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and biodiesel. As the name suggests, Toyota’s hydrogen-powered Corolla runs on hydrogen, which emits no carbon dioxide during combustion, releasing only water. While problems in practice forced the Corolla to miss the year’s opening race, this season, the team is taking on the challenge of switching from gaseous to liquid hydrogen, which offers higher energy density. Mazda’s Spirit Racing Mazda3 Bio concept will race on a bio-based diesel fuel produced from materials such as microalgae fats and used cooking oil. Read More
RWE announce results for first quarter 2023
RWE expects to close the first quarter of 2023 with an adjusted EBITDA of €2.8 billion at Group level and adjusted EBITDA of €2.3 billion in the core business according to preliminary figures. The result for the first three months is thus significantly higher year-on-year. Adjusted net income is expected to reach €1.7 billion.
The increase in earnings is primarily due to higher earnings from international power generation in the Hydro/Biomass/Gas segment. In addition, previous year’s earnings were impacted by charges from sanctions on hard coal from Russia. They amounted to about €850 million. Furthermore, additional generation capacities based on renewable energies contributed to the strong result. This includes the commissioning of new-build projects as well as the activities of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses, acquired on 1 March 2023 and integrated into the newly created RWE Clean Energy. Thanks to this acquisition, RWE is also one of the leading renewable energy companies in the US.
The outlook for fiscal 2023 as a whole and the dividend target of € 1.00 per share for the current financial year have been confirmed. Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price $ | change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $74.86 | Up |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $78.51 | Up |
| Bonny Light | USD/bbl | $77.73 | Down |
| Saharan Blend | USD/bbl | $77.97 | Down |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $2.33 | Down |
| OPEC basket 27/04/23 | USD/bbl | $78.40 | Down |
The International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held the 9th Joint IEA-IEF-OPEC Workshop on the Interactions between Physical and Financial Energy Markets.
The high-level meeting was chaired by Dr. Ayed S. Al-Qahtani, Director of OPEC’s Research Division, together with IEF Secretary General, HE Joseph McMonigle, and Ms. Toril Bosoni, Head of the IEA’s Oil Industry and Markets Division.
In pre-recorded welcoming remarks, OPEC Secretary General, HE Haitham Al Ghais, said: “What this past year has shown us is the need for the continued monitoring of factors driving volatility in energy-related financial markets, and how it can impact not only the short term, but the medium and long term too.”
He highlighted that, when required, OPEC Member Countries and their partners within the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ have “undertaken extraordinary efforts to stabilize the oil market in these extraordinary times, in the interests of producers, consumers, the oil industry and the wider global economy. This is on the physical side of the oil market. On the financial side, we have been observing an accelerated trend in speculative trading, with investors and other players trading futures and options at faster rates, sometimes severely impacting market liquidity and hindering price discovery mechanisms.”
In his opening remarks, the IEF Secretary General, HE McMonigle, told the workshop: “Both financial and physical markets continue to tighten. Rising inflation and underinvestment in physical supplies expose new vulnerabilities. Producers and consumers must have this in mind when engaging risk in investment or to understand the evolution of energy costs for consumers.” Read More
U.S. Rig Count is up to 753 with oil rigs up 3 to 591, gas rigs up 2 to 159 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 3.
Canada Rig Count is down to 105, with oil rigs down 3 to 42, gas rigs down 3 to 63.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change from Prior |
| U.S.A | 21 April 2023 | 753 | +5 |
| Canada | 21 April 2023 | 105 | -6 |
| International | March 2023 | 930 | +15 |
OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.
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