Oil and gas press monitor. OPEC daily basket price at US$76.60/bl

London, 11 May, 2023, (Oilandgaspress) : China’s exports rose 8.5% in April, beating economists forecasts, signaling global demand remains robust. Imports, though, dropped 7.9%, worse than the median projection in a Bloomberg survey.


Dana Incorporated announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dana Financing Luxembourg S.à r.l. (the “Issuer”), is proposing to issue €425 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2031 (the “2031 Notes”) in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The 2031 Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Dana. Dana intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the 2031 Notes (i) to redeem $200 million of the Issuer’s outstanding 5.750% Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 Notes”), (ii) to repay $245 million of outstanding borrowings under Dana’s revolving credit facility and (iii) to pay related fees and expenses. This transaction is expected to be leverage neutral. Read More


UK heavy duty and commercial vehicle projects The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is investing £77 million in seven UK-based automotive collaborative research and development projects. The seven projects, each involving a group of companies working in partnership on green transport technology, will each benefit from industry support, together with a government grant.

The £77 million awarded today is made up of £38.4 million from Government, backed by a further £38.7 million from the automotive industry. A significant commitment to the decarbonisation of transport, and an investment into achieving net-zero in the sector’s supply chain.

Much of the focus is on how to effectively decarbonise commercial and working vehicles including vans, buses, HGVs, and zero-emission emergency vehicles. This funding enables a range of solutions to be developed, including hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen combustion and battery electric versions.

The package of support is the 22nd funding round from APC.

Ford to design, develop, and build a fleet of 8 hydrogen fuel cell powered Transit vans, with the latest advances in technology
Wrightbus to develop a new world-leading zero-emission battery and hydrogen fuel-cell electric, multi-axle vehicles
ULEMCo creating a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell range extender for prototype ambulance, fire engine and road sweepers
Bramble Energy developing a hydrogen double-deck bus, using innovative, low-cost fuel cell technology
BorgWarner developing hydrogen combustion systems for heavy-duty commercial transport
Leyland Trucks scaling up the production of electric trucks through innovations in automation and advanced testing

JLR leading a consortium research project to develop a high-efficiency and highly integrated 800V inverter designed and built in the UK Read More


TEKEVER, the European market leader in advanced unmanned aerial systems (UAS), has been chosen by AERIAL ROBOTIX, Nigeria’s leading UAS operator, for environmental monitoring of oil and gas infrastructure in Nigeria.

Based out of their client’s facility, TEKEVER’s AR3 carries out 6-hour flight missions six days a week at distances of up to 85km from the GCS (ground station) and provides live feedback imagery through TEKEVER’s ATLAS software direct to the client over an area of more than 30.,000km2. Since the service began in late 2022, the AR3 has flown more than 500 hours, covering over 41,000km and detected more than 400 points of interest (POIs).

The partnership between TEKEVER and AERIAL ROBOTIX is impacting the local economy in a positive manner, as local operators have successfully undergone training.

The training program will continue to support the local community while generating new jobs and career opportunities in the high-tech industry. Read More


ACWA Power Company announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2023, a three-month period ending 31 March 2023.

Operating income before impairment loss and other expenses for the quarter ending 31 March 2023 increased by 7% from the same period last year, and reached SAR559 million. Contribution from both the new projects that came online, and the existing ones including those that were out of operations in the same period last year due to outages increased by SAR175 million. This was partially offset by lower development and construction management services fees, higher corporate general admin expenses, and other income recognised in 1Q2022.

In the first quarter of 2023, the company recorded a consolidated net profit, attributable to equity holders of the parent, of SAR270 million, representing a 78%, increase when compared to the same period last year. Earnings per share for the period was SAR0.37. In addition to higher operating income, the increase was primarily due to lower Zakat and tax charge and higher financial income that were partially offset by higher finance charges and exchange losses.

During the quarter, ACWA Power also announced the expansion of its leadership team to steer the company through its next phase of growth and expansion. ACWA Power appointed Raad Al-Saady as Vice Chairman and Managing Director, and Marco Arcelli as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Paddy Padmanathan. Both leaders bring a wealth of expertise in building and executing high growth strategies, operations and stakeholder management and driving leadership. Read More


EPA Announces Phase 2 Winners of the Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its co-sponsors, American Public Health Association, the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N), Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Justice journal, and Groundwork USA, announced the Phase 2 winners of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Video Challenge for Students. The winning teams, which consisted of college students and local community organizations, worked together to develop community capacity building strategies to address an environmental justice issue important to a local community. Read More


Eni supports development of Dadu’s bespoke Research Centre

Eni is joining Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar as one of the ‘Founding Family’ members of Qatar’s first publicly funded national entity, along with others. Eni will be the exclusive sponsor of Dadu’s Research Centre, which will provide a bespoke space for teachers, parents and academics interested in the latest research on child development and informal learning, as well as support children to participate in research and develop 21st Century research skills.

Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar is being designed to provide cutting-edge child development surroundings and resources to help children and their families thrive. The new Research Centre will further support this vision by providing central research and resource space, offices, comfort facilities and more.

With Eni’s contribution, the Research Centre will place children and families at the heart of cutting-edge child development and museum research, as participants, stakeholders and co-researchers. Outcomes of professional and academic research will in turn benefit local and global child development understanding and practice, supporting the evolution of visitor engagement and museum practice in Dadu. The centre is a cornerstone in Qatar Museums’ drive to be a global cultural epicentre for research and education.

By joining Dadu Eni will contribute to the growth and development of Qatar’s bright next generation. The joint expertise of Eni and Qatar Museums will further support Qatar’s creative vision and the human and social development pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030. Read More


AW-Energy signs MoU in Namibia AW-Energy, a leader in near-shore wave energy technology, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kaoko Green Energy Solutions (Pty) Ltd in Namibia.

The MOU is devoted to the development of renewable energy and aims to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources including wave energy. This latest initiative comes on the back of AW-Energy’s latest advancement of its WaveRoller® technology.

Finland, May 3, 2023: AW-Energy, a leader in near-shore wave energy technology, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kaoko Green Energy Solutions (Pty) Ltd in Namibia.

The MOU is devoted to the development of renewable energy and aims to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources including wave energy. This latest initiative comes on the back of AW-Energy’s latest advancement of its WaveRoller® technology. Read More


Energy Storage Coalition launched
On 4 May 2023 the Energy Storage Coalition, a new organisation aimed at accelerating the decarbonisation of the European energy system by increasing the deployment of sustainable and clean energy storage solutions to support renewables, hosted its launch event.

The event was attended by over 150 policymakers, industry and associations representatives. It provided an opportunity to discuss how the upcoming EU Electricity Market Design can address today’s barriers to the deployment and use of energy storage technologies in Europe. Read More


Saipem won recognition for technologies in the subsea robotic area

Saipem has been conferred the 2023 Spotlight on New Technology® Award by Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) for its FlatFish Autonomous Underwater Inspection Drone. The award is assigned by OTC to those exhibitors who are revolutionizing the future of offshore energy through technological advancement and innovation. The conference is one of the world’s leading offshore energy events, held this year from 1-4 May in Houston, Texas.

For this year’s Spotlight on New Technology award, 15 technologies from 13 companies around the world were selected. The winners are selected based on five key criteria: the technology’s novelty in the marketplace, innovativeness, demonstrated success, broad commercial appeal, and ability to make a significant impact across the offshore industry.

FlatFish is an advanced underwater inspection drone, designed, industrialised and manufactured by Saipem based on a research and development cooperation agreement signed under the ANP program initially between Shell and Senai CIMATEC. FlatFish aims at inspecting and monitoring complex subsea infrastructures in an innovative and safe manner, from shallow waters down to 3,000mwd. The drone features an advanced AI-based control system and navigation features combined with state-of-the-art inspection capabilities, which have been recently demonstrated in a deepwater pilot project executed in almost 1,800mwd offshore Brazil with the support of Shell Brasil, SAIPEM, Senai CIMATEC and Petrobras, via a JIP (joint industry project). Read More


North American open-network of commercial hydrogen refueling stations

Nikola Corporation and infrastructure solutions, via the HYLA brand, and Voltera announced a definitive agreement to develop the hydrogen fueling infrastructure required to support Nikola’s deployment of its innovative zero-emissions vehicles. Through this strategic partnership agreement, Nikola and Voltera plan to develop up to 50 HYLA stations throughout North America over the next five years. This partnership underpins Nikola’s prior announced plans to develop 60 stations by 2026.

Through this partnership, Nikola and Voltera will create the largest North American open-network of commercial hydrogen refueling stations, providing fuel to vehicles from various manufacturers to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vehicles. Voltera will site, build, own, and operate the strategically located, fit-for-purpose hydrogen refueling stations, and Nikola will supply the hydrogen fuel and provide technical expertise. This partnership will accelerate the deployment of the several billion dollars Voltera plans to invest into EV charging and hydrogen fueling facilities. Together, Nikola and Voltera will develop a reliable and optimal refueling experience. Read More


GE reports demand for its electric ship solutions

GE Power Conversion convened with the world’s leading navies and industry at IMDEX Asia, to showcase its electric ship power and propulsion solutions.

IMDEX represents a respected platform within the large Asia Pacific maritime sector in Singapore, where GE Power Conversion showcased electrification technologies that are helping the world’s leading navies to energize their missions.

GE Power Conversion has an industry-leading, complete range of electric ship technologies, and decades of naval sector experience with 15 different navies around the world.

Solutions range from full naval-specification, high voltage electric grids for power and propulsion, to cost-effective hybrid electrification options.

Through integrated electrification, energy management, automation and control, power in the ship’s electric grid can simultaneously supply high-energy defense systems, and propulsion. Energy-efficient electric architectures also serve as an effective way to integrate new, cleaner, energy sources as they emerge, and host digital technologies to implement more autonomous systems. Read More


RWE’s 300 MW Biblis Grid Stability Power Plant Powered by GE

GE and RWE officially celebrated the inauguration of the Biblis power plant, which started operation for Germany’s transmission system operators in early March. The plant uses 11 units of GE’s flexible LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbine technology and GE’s advanced gas-insulated-substation (GIS) equipment. The 300 megawatt (MW) plant is a so-called special grid-technical equipment located in Biblis, a municipality in the Southern Hesse region of Germany, and will only operate when needed – aiming to deliver power in under 30 minutes upon request from a transmission system operator – to help ensure continual grid stability.

Grid flexibility is important to the German government which is committed to achieving 80% of renewable energy generation for the country’s electricity mix before the end of the decade after exiting nuclear and ideally phasing out coal power generation. Dispatchable gas power – gradually decarbonized through hydrogen or carbon capture solutions – shall cover the remaining 20% of power generation. Read More


Oil and Gas BlendsUnitsOil Price $change
Crude Oil (WTI)USD/bbl$73.21Up
Crude Oil (Brent)USD/bbl$77.02Up
Bonny LightUSD/bbl$76.23Up
Saharan BlendUSD/bbl$76.79Up
Natural GasUSD/MMBtu$2.17Down
OPEC basket 10/05/23USD/bbl$76.60Up
At press time 11 May 2023

Oil and Gas News Undiluted !!! �The squeaky wheel gets the oil�


In response to last week’s announcement from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), the BVRLA has re-emphasised the challenges being faced by van operators in their transition to zero emission solutions. The association has also outlined the support required to enable the transition and ensure Net Zero targets can be met.

In the announcement OZEV confirmed that the limit of Plug-In Van Grant (PIVG) orders per end user has been increased from 1,000 units to 1,500 per financial year. The limit was implemented in December 2021 “to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer, as well as ensuring budgets were protected and distributed as fairly as possible.” The extension is effective immediately and until further notice. It is in response to market conditions and OZEV is keeping the grant under continual review. Read More


BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles, presented its HAN EV, Yuan Plus EV and Dolphin EV models in Ecuador and announced a strategic alliance with Andor Corporation, one of the main players in the automotive industry in Ecuador, which will be in charge of the exclusive representation and sale of BYD models in the country. This is another big step for BYD in Ecuador. The debut of these models injects a boost to the Ecuadorian electric vehicle market and Andor Corporation has announced the launch of an exhibition of BYD electric vehicles in 3 shopping centers: Quicentro Shopping, Paseo San Francisco and Mall del Sol as the beginning of its strategic marketing plan, the growth vision includes reaching 6 points of sale between Quito, Guayaquil and Manta in the next 6 months and expand to 12 points of sale in 2024. Read More


China is ground zero for the price war in electric vehicles and the battleground is shifting to SUV-styled EVs, the largest segment of the market, dominated by Tesla Inc and BYD. The market, crowded with more than 90 models, is about to get even tighter with at least 20 new models of both Chinese and foreign brands launched in April.Chinese EV startups Xpeng and Nio have six SUV models and the EV-only brands launched by Chinese state-owned car companies, such as GAC’s Aion, are also pushing full-electric utility vehicles. Read More


Baker Hughes Rig Count
International Rig Count is up 17 rigs from last month to 947 with land rigs up 18 to 720, offshore rigs down 1 to 227
U.S. Rig Count is down 7 from last week to 748 with oil rigs down 3 to 588, gas rigs down 4 to 157 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 3.
Canada Rig Count Unchanged at 93, with oil rigs at 36, gas rigs at 57.

RegionPeriodRig CountChange from Prior
U.S.A05 May 2023748-7
Canada05 May 202393
InternationalApril 2023947+17
Rig Count Overview & Summary Count

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Oil and Gas News Undiluted !!! �The squeaky wheel gets the oil�

OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.

Disclaimer: News articles reported on OilAndGasPress are a reflection of what is published in the media. OilAndGasPress is not in a position to verify the accuracy of daily news articles. The materials provided are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to provide tax, legal, or investment advice.
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