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London, 17 April, 2023, (Oilandgaspress): Saudi Aramco addresses the recent development announced by the State in connection with the State’s transfer of a portion of the State’s ownership in the Company to the Sanabil Investments (Sanabil)
Reference is made to the State’s announcement on the Saudi Press Agency on 25/9/1444H (corresponding to 16/04/2023G) in relation to the State’s transfer of 4% of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company’s shares to the Sanabil. Following the transfer, the State remains Saudi Aramco’s largest shareholder, retaining 90.186% shareholding. This is a private transfer between the State and Sanabil, and the Company is not a party to the transfer and did not enter into any agreements or pay or receive any proceeds from the transfer.
The transfer will not affect the Company’s total number of issued shares, and the shares transferred will rank equally alongside other existing ordinary shares in the Company. The transfer does not have an impact on the Company’s operations, strategy, dividends distribution policy or governance framework.
The Company will announce any material development as required by the applicable rules and regulations. Read More
GE Power Conversion was recently awarded a contract from Keppel Shipyard Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine Ltd, for the design, supply and delivery of two electrical modules for the Petrobras P-80 and P-83 Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels that will operate in Brazil.
The integrated electrical module to be provided by GE Power Conversion is considered the “heart” of the platform as it provides all the distributed energy to provide electric power for the entire FPSO operations, in addition to housing equipment that controls the vessel. GE Power Conversion scope of supply includes medium voltage and low voltage switchboards, MCCs (motor control centers), high power transformers and UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for both P80 and P-83 vessels.
As part of the project execution strategy, delivery of both P-80 and P-83 will be led by GE Power Conversion’s Asia team, based in Singapore. The team includes engineering, project management and commissioning capability and leadership, with GE Power Conversion having long-standing experience working in Singapore’s maritime and offshore sectors. Recognizing the importance of local content in Brazilian national projects, GE Power Conversion’s LATAM team will provide local engineering, project management and supply chain support, based in Belo Horizonte. The team in Brazil brings expertise developed during previous delivery of electrical modules to six of Petrobras’ FPSOs operating in the pre-salt area, including P-75 and P-77 in the Búzios field. Read More
GE announced it has secured a second order for its H-Class gas turbine technology from Eneva, the largest private natural gas operator in Brazil, which is turning to GE’s advanced HA combined cycle technology to expand the Azulão II Reserve Power Plant and support the ongoing energy transition in Brazil. The new plant will deliver up to 590 megawatts (MW) to contribute to the growth in the supply of gas as a fuel for the energy transition. The new power plant, consisting of a 7HA.02 gas turbine, an STF-A650 steam turbine, an H65 and an H53 generators, and a triple pressure reheat Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG), is expected to achieve commercial operation in 2027.
In addition to proving reliable and complementary source to renewable generation by producing energy steadily, emissions from gas turbines can be further reduced in the future using hydrogen fuel and carbon capture technologies.
Eneva selected GE based on a long-established relationship between the two companies, which is built on more than half a dozen of GE 7F gas turbines reliably powering Eneva’s power plants in Maranhão, Brazil for almost a decade. In October 2022, GE announced an order from Eneva to provide a GE 7HA.02 gas turbine for Azulão reserve power plant, built next to this newly announced power plant. The construction of the original first reserve power plant began in late 2022, targeting the start of commercial operation by 2026. Read More
GE Gas Power announced the completion of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)’s temporary reserve power plant located at GE’s Manufacturing Center in Birr, approximately 30 km west of Zurich. The 250-megawatt (MW) plant, powered by eight of GE’s trailer-mounted TM2500 mobile aeroderivative gas turbines, will help meet power demand, help prevent power shortages and enhance the critical reliability of the country’s energy supply. GE completed the installation of the equipment in only 26 weeks.
“After the connection to the power grid was completed at the end of February 2023, the tests for commissioning have also been completed successfully and the power plant is able to supply electricity. If required. The power plant will provide a source of emergency power for the electricity grid, and one whose emission levels can be reduced using blends of hydrogen fuel in the future,” said Christian Verhoeven, Chief Technology Officer – Switzerland, GE Gas Power. “The scope and nature of this project are extraordinary: GE built not just the power plant but also supporting infrastructure and orchestrating the work of more than 200 people. On the peak in January, we had approximately 500 people working on this project, that was executed safely and in record time.” As a company with strong commitment to and presence in Switzerland, GE worked closely with SFOE to raise the current generation capacity during energy-demanding winter seasons. The temporary reserve power plant installed in Birr has dual fuel capability for both gaseous and liquid fuels. GE’s TM2500 gas turbines can run on several different fuel sources, depending on the combustion system configuration, including hydrogen, biogas or biodiesel and synthetic fuels/SAF (sustainable air fuels) produced with renewable energy. The TM2500 is capable of burning up to 85% hydrogen by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas and GE is working to expand this capability in the future to further lower carbon emissions from operations for the TM2500 fleet.
The 34-MW units were engineered for flexibility and quick dispatch. These units can reach full power in 5 minutes and have a smaller footprint for sites where space is limited. GE’s TM2500 is derived from jet-engine technology powering the world’s airlines. With more than 20 years of experience and over 300 units installed around the world, GE’s TM2500 is a proven solution for providing a baseload bridge to permanent power installations, or for generating emergency power in the wake of natural disasters, plant shutdowns, grid instability or in isolated locations. Read More
Neptune Energy today welcomes Equinor’s announcement of the start of production from the Bauge subsea field in the Norwegian Sea. Recoverable resources are estimated at 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Bauge is tied back to the recently upgraded Njord platform, operated by Equinor.
Neptune Energy’s Managing Director for Norway and the UK, Odin Estensen, said: “We congratulate Equinor for their safe and successful start-up of the Bauge field. Tied back to existing infrastructure, Bauge is an example of how a small discovery can become a profitable development.”
The Njord Area, which includes the fields Bauge and Hyme, will for Neptune provide net production of 20 kboepd.
Estensen added: “This makes Njord our second largest producing hub in Norway and is aligned with our strategy to foster production with low unit cost and low CO2 intensity.”
The platform is also currently preparing to receive production from the Neptune-operated Fenja field later this month. Neptune Energy has a 12.5% owner share in Hyme and Bauge, and 22.5% in the Njord unit. Read More
The leaders of the world’s top seven rich countries have agreed to speed up the energy transition by setting more ambitious targets for wind and solar power.
The G7 leaders also agreed to accelerate the phaseout of fossil fuels although they stopped short of setting a deadline for the phaseout of coal, Reuters reported. “In the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis, it’s important to come up with measures to tackle climate change and promote energy security at the same time,” Japan’s minister of industry said, as quoted by Reuters. “The United States and all the developed world has the responsibility to help the developing world through this crisis,” U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told the AP.
“Those countries will really determine what happens. If they will reduce, if they will take the lead, if they will start deploying the new technologies, if they will stop using unabated fossil fuels, we’ll up the chance of winning this battle.” The main commitments of the G7 were a boost of offshore wind energy generation capacity by 150 gigawatts and a similar boost to solar capacity, to over 1 terawatt.
While all G7 members were firm on the issue of a coal phaseout, they appeared unable to agree on a single deadline for that. Canada and several other G7 members committed to a coal phaseout by 2030 but others refrained from making such a commitment. “Others are still trying to figure out how they could get there within their relevant timeframe,” Canadian resource minister Jonathan Wilkinson said. Read More
Norwegian Energy Company ASA, to be renamed BlueNord ASA announce it has entered into a strategic partnership with Semco Maritime A/S (“Semco Maritime”). In addition, BlueNord has submitted a licence application for acreage containing the gas discovery Elly-Luke in the Danish part of the North Sea, and as such will participate in the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities’ upcoming mini-round of licencing.
The strategic partnership agreement with Semco Maritime will allow the two companies to jointly identify Read More
United Oil & Gas PLC announce Long Stop Date Extension – Sale of UK Central North Sea Licence
As announced on the 17 th January 2023, United has entered into a binding asset purchase agreement (“APA”) with Quattro Energy Limited for the conditional sale of the UK Central North Sea Licence P2519 containing the Maria discovery in Block 15/18e.
The long stop date for the satisfaction of the APA conditions was 16 th April 2023. The parties to the APA have agreed an extension of this long stop date to the 17 th May 2023 to allow additional time for the APA conditions required for completion to be satisfied. A further update will be provided to the market in due course. Read More
United Oil & Gas PLC (AIM: “UOG”), the full-cycle oil and gas company with a portfolio of production, development, exploration and appraisal assets, provided an update on operations in the Abu Sennan licence, onshore Egypt. United holds a 22% non-operating interest in the Abu Sennan licence, which is operated by Kuwait Energy Egypt.
ASD-3 Well Spud
The ASD-3 development well has now commenced drilling. This well will be drilled approx. 1.2km to the north-west of the ASD-2 well which was drilled in March 2022, and which has recovered circa 400,000 bbls since it came on production just over a year ago. The ASD-3 well has primary targets in the Abu Roash-E (“ARE”) and Abu Roash-C (“ARC”) reservoirs, as well as secondary objectives in the Lower Bahariya. The well has a prognosed total depth of 3,649 metres, and is expected to take approx. 55 days to drill and complete.
Abu Sennan Production Update: United’s net oil production from Abu Sennan for Q1 2023 averaged 841 bopd. The exit rate for the quarter was 1,275 bopd oil and 170 boepd gas (1,445 boepd net) which incorporates the material contribution from the ASH-8 well, which has continued to flow at a stable rate with no water-cut since it came onstream on the 16 March 2023. Read More
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing maintained its winning start to the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with victory in a dramatic 6 Hours of Portimão.Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, the reigning World Champions and 2022 Le Mans winners in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, delivered a faultless performance in Portugal to dominate the race and win by a lap from the #50 Ferrari and the #6 Porsche. Read More
Lexus unveiled Shaped by Air―an installation by acclaimed New York-based artist and architect Suchi Reddy, founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design―alongside prototypes by the four LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 winners. Responding to an overarching theme―shaping the future―the public exhibition will be on view until April 23 at Superstudio in Milan.
Lexus has created compelling, immersive experiences for visitors at Milan Design Week for many years, partnering with visionary creatives such as Philippe Nigro, Neri Oxman, Sou Fujimoto, Rhizomatics, and Germane Barnes, among others. Continuing in this tradition, Reddy’s Shaped by Air draws inspiration from the Lexus Electrified Sport concept vehicle and its quality of being “shaped by air.” It was first presented in the sculpture garden at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) during Miami Art & Design Week 2022, and it has been reimagined for Milan Design Week as a multisensory experience through which visitors can travel. Reddy’s ethereal installation celebrates the collaborators’ shared commitment to human-centered, carbon-neutral, and impeccably-crafted design.
“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Suchi Reddy in Milan, a place that has inspired so much groundbreaking creativity. We hope that by situating her human-centered approach to design in dialogue with the innovation of our LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 winners, we will inspire visitors to imagine new futures,” said Brian Bolain, Lexus’ Global Head of Marketing. “The Lexus Electrified Sport, Reddy’s interpretation of it, and these award-winning ideas all represent forward-looking design and express our ongoing commitment to craftsmanship and sustainability.” Situated inside Superstudio, the site-specific installation invites guests to discover a to-scale interpretation of the Lexus Electrified Sport after traveling through an enveloping forest of its composite shapes, which are suspended from the ceiling. These organic and textured leaflike forms―produced in varying heights in a vibrant shade of green―subtly call to mind the cutouts of Henri Matisse. Comprised in part of post-consumer materials, the sculptural steel and aluminum elements are punctuated by dappled light, creating an environment that invites deep absorption and evokes the natural world. An accompanying soundscape, which draws inspiration from the wind, brings visitors further into harmony with nature. Read More
Dana Incorporated today announced the development of metallic bipolar plates specifically engineered to maximize the performance and accelerate the commercialization of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers used to produce hydrogen fuel.
Debuting at Hannover Messe this week in hall 13, stand E03, the bipolar plates will leverage Dana’s more than two decades of design-to-manufacturing experience with similar components for fuel cell stacks used in mobile applications.
Dana’s integrated bipolar plates are made of steel or titanium with various coating options used as surface treatment of the active area. They also improve stack efficiency through better flow field design and reduced electrical losses, and they feature integrated molded sealing to prevent permeability at operating pressures of up to 50 bar.
Currently in prototype testing with global manufacturers of electrolyzers and electrolysis stacks, the bipolar plates will be ready for commercial production by the end of 2023.
“Dana is committed to developing innovations that are helping to propel the energy transition,” said Antonio Valencia, president of Dana Power Technologies and Global Electrification. “These new bipolar plate designs for hydrogen electrolyzers demonstrate how we can readily adapt our portfolio of advanced technologies to serve new markets and applications.”
Established Leadership in Bipolar Plate Engineering and Production
In addition to introducing the company’s latest innovations for electrolyzers at Hannover Messe, Dana will showcase its end-to-end capabilities for designing, engineering, testing and producing metallic bipolar plates and graphite fuel cell plates for mobile and stationary applications.
As the only supplier offering capabilities for both metallic and composite designs, Dana will supply nearly 2 million bipolar plates this year with integrated seals and coatings that offer reliable, cost-effective product solutions for a wide range of advanced fuel-cell engine configurations. Dana delivers improved performance and reliability at a lower system cost through its expertise in precision stamping, laser welding, composite molding, integrated seals, and in-line coating technologies. Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price $ | change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $82.13 | Down |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $85.94 | Down |
| Bonny Light | USD/bbl | $86.04 | Down |
| Saharan Blend | USD/bbl | $87.72 | Up |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $2.166 | Up |
| OPEC basket 14/04/23 | USD/bbl | $86.80 | Down |
OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) made up of Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
The latest IEA’s Monthly Electricity Statistics report including January 2023 data shows that for Total OECD:
In the OECD, total net electricity production amounted to 941.9 TWh in January 2023, down by 5.9% year-on-year compared to January 2022.
Electricity production from renewables went up by 1.6 % year-on-year to 313.4 TWh in January 2023, driven by strong wind (+5.5%y-o-y or 5.9 TWh) and solar (+7.7%y-o-y or 2.4TWh) output. This growth couldn’t compensate the negative trend witnessed by fossil fuels, amounting to a loss of 56.8 TWh (-10.9% y-t-d) compared to 2022.
Electricity production from coal fell by -16.4% y-o-y or 34.1 TWh, essentially driven by a lower output in the OECD Americas (-29.8% y-o-y) and in OECD Europe (-10.2% y-o-y), while in OECD Asia-Oceania production slightly increased (+0.9% y-o-y). Electricity production from natural gas went down by 5.5% y-o-y or 15.6TWh, with OECD Europe being the main contributor to this drop (-22.3% y-o-y or 16.1TWh). Nuclear electricity production in the OECD decreased by 4.3% y-o-y or 7.3 TWh in January 2023, mainly because of reduced nuclear output in the OECD Europe region (-10.0% y-o-y or 6.7 TWh) In Finland, total net electricity was 7.5 TWh in January 2023, up by 0.7 TWh or 10.4% y-o-y compared to same month previous year. This trend was mostly driven by the growth in electricity production from wind, which increased by 49.0% y-o-y and reached a record-high share of 26.4% in the electricity mix, as a result of increased wind power capacity in the course of 2022. While electricity generated from nuclear increased (11.2% y-o-y), fossil fuels continued to decline (-23.7% y-o-y), driven by natural gas (-55.0% y-o-y). Read More
Eversheds Sutherland has strengthened its regulatory practice with the return of former partner Nicola Williams to the firm’s UK practice. Nicola was most recently Legal and Compliance Director and Company Secretary at Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru Cyf).
Nicola joined Eversheds Sutherland in 2004 and was appointed partner in 2007, leading regulatory investigations and disputes for utilities clients, before joining Welsh Water a decade ago.
Throughout her time at Welsh Water, Nicola expanded the responsibilities of the company’s legal team to develop its expertise across additional regulatory and compliance functions. This included managing central compliance, integrated management systems and processes, and policy management across operational functions. Nicola also led on the development of Welsh Water’s enterprise risk management capability prior to the appointment of its first Chief Risk Officer.
Nicola has significant corporate governance and ESG experience including establishing Welsh Water’s approach to its ESG responsibilities, and devising its first report under the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework. She was also the key liaison at the company for both membership and reporting to the UN Global Compact, linking reporting under the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the goals set out in the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act. Read More
U.S. Rig Count is down 3 from last week to 748 with oil rigs down 2 to 588, gas rigs down 1 to 157 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 3.
The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 3 to 20, up 8 year-over-year.
Canada is down 16 to 111 rigs.
Canada Rig Count is down 16 from last week to 111, with oil rigs down 7 to 45, gas rigs down 9 to 66.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change from Prior |
| U.S.A | 14 April 2023 | 748 | -3 |
| Canada | 14 April 2023 | 111 | -16 |
| International | March 2023 | 930 | +15 |
OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.
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