Energy News to 25 Apr. 2022. OPEC daily basket price stood at $107.66/bl, 22 April 2022

Big Oil executives are reportedly dumping tens of millions of dollars worth of company shares.According to calculations made by Bloomberg, the chief executive of Hess Corp. alone sold stock worth $85 million in the first quarter in several deals, while the head of Marathon Oil sold $34.3 million. For the industry overall, more executives sold than bought shares in their companies, according to figures from Verify Data, cited by Bloomberg. Read More


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infinium, an Electrofuels innovator headquartered in California. The agreement, which builds on MHI’s 2021 investment in Infinium, will focus on exploring the deployment of Infinium’s proprietary Electrofuels technology in the Japanese market.

According to Infinium, Electrofuels are classified as ultra-low carbon fuels because they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 97 percent when compared to traditional jet and diesel fuels. They are a drop-in replacement for fossil-based fuels and can be used in airplanes, trucks, and ships without the need for costly engine modifications. Read More


Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) announced 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 May 27, 2022, to holders of Dana common stock as of May 6. Read More


PetroNor E&P ASA provides an update on first production from the Litanzi infill drilling program in Congo. PetroNor holds an indirect ownership interest of 16.83 per cent in PNGF Sud in Congo, which is the Company’s core production licence. Two wells of the initial Litanzi infill wells have been put on production; well #1 (injector) is flowing for a cleanup period producing some oil and mostly water as expected, Well #2 (producer) was put on production on April 14th and has produced above expectation for the first 8 days with an average 3,368 bopd, raising the average gross PNGF production to approximately 25,000 bopd for the period
(4,207 bopd net). The third well has been drilled to planned total depth (TD) and the Operator is currently preparing for running open hole logs. The infill drilling program on PNGF Sud commenced in November 2021 with the spudding of the first of four wells on Litanzi as part of a total drilling program of 17 infill and development wells across four fields in the licence area Read More


BW Energy provides an update on the operations and development of the Dussafu Marin license in Gabon. The Company will publish financial figures for the first quarter of 2022 on Friday, 27 May. Gross production from the Tortue field averaged approximately 11,600 barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of 2022, amounting to a total gross production of approximately 1 million barrels of oil for the period. The reduction in production compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 was due to the 12-day planned annual maintenance shutdown of the BW Adolo in February, which more than offset the positive impact of a full quarter of production from the two new Tortue phase-2 wells and the use of interim nitrogen gas lift. BW Energy completed one lifting in the quarter at a price of USD 120 per barrel. Production cost (excluding royalties) was approximately USD 33 per barrel. The overall production cost includes approximately USD 1 million related handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the period. BW Energy’s share of gross production was approximately 765,000 barrels of oil. The net sold volume, which is the basis for revenue recognition in the financial statement, was 1,015,000 barrels including 65,000 barrels of quarterly Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) deliveries with an over- lift position of 384,000 barrels at the end of the period. BW Energy had a cash balance of USD 111 million at 31 March 2022, compared to USD 150 million at 31 December 2021. The decrease was mainly due to high investment activities related to the Hibiscus/Ruche project. Payment for the March 2022 lifting is expected to be received by end of April. At the beginning of period, the Company had entered into commodity price hedges for a total volume of 1.6 million barrels for 2022 and 2023, of which 59% is for 2022. These were a combination of swaps and zero-cost collars that will allow for future cash flow stability for ongoing development projects. BW Energy has recognized crude oil hedge losses in the amount of USD 22.2 million for the first quarter, of which approximately 50% were realised in the period. Read More

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BW Energy has decided to proceed with the Maromba development project offshore Brazil and signed an agreement to purchase the FPSO Polvo from BW Offshore. The FPSO will be upgraded and redeployed on the field. The development plan is based on an initial drilling campaign of three wells with planned first oil in 2025 and a second campaign with a further three wells in 2027. The investment decision is subject to certain conditions precedent, including completion of the project financing.

Highlights:

Phased subsea development with six production wells and tied back to a redeployed FPSO
First oil from Phase 1 planned in 2025 Expected peak oil production of 30-40,000 barrels per day Agreement to purchase FPSO Polvo for a total consideration of USD 50 million

Plan for efficient FPSO refurbishment and life extension established Read More


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (MHIENG), a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group company based in Yokohama, has agreed to license its carbon capture technology and provide the process design package (PDP) for the foreseen phase 1 of Italy’s first CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage) project being developed by Eni S.p.A., the biggest integrated energy company in Italy. The phase 1 of the project targets the capture of approximately 25,000 tons of CO2 per year from the turbo compressor exhaust operating at Eni’s natural gas plant located in Casalborsetti (Ravenna), in Northeast Italy.

MHIENG’s role in the project will be to provide licensing for its carbon capture technology, the KM CDR Process, jointly developed with The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., which is a technology that captures the CO2 contained in flue gas by a process of chemical absorption using MHIENG’s proprietary KS-1 solvent. More


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has decided to expand Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines, Ltd. (MHIAEL) Nagasaki Plant, an aircraft engine component factory located in MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works. Demand for engine components for short and medium range commercial aircraft manufactured at this plant is expected to increase further in the near future. The expansion will further strengthen its in-house production capacity and cost competitiveness and put in place a structure that will allow MHIAEL to meet industry needs readily and accurately once growth resumes in the post-Covid era. The expansion is scheduled for completion in March 2024.

The existing production plant manufactures combustors for the PW1100G-JM engines which powers the Airbus A320neo family. Since the start of its operations in November 2020, production has gradually increased and currently all production lines are operating near the planned capacity. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused sharp demand decrease in the aviation industry, however business relating to short and medium range commercial aircrafts used on domestic routes has been seeing a quick recovery. Aircraft flying hours of the Airbus A320neo family has already exceeded its pre-Covid level. Airbus plans to gradually increase production of the A320neo in response to robust demand for narrow-body aircraft. Concurrently, demand for combustor components for the PW1100G-JM engines, as well as after-sales service, is expected to double over the next several years. More


The commodity market focus continues to alternate between supporting supply disruptions and the risk of lower demand driven by prolonged lockdowns in China hurting growth, and not least central bank efforts to combat inflation levels not seen since the 1980’s. If the latter was the only focus, a peak in commodities would be near, however we see an equally challenged supply side keeping the sector supported for a prolonged period of time. Crude oil continues to trade within a narrowing range around $107 in Brent and $102.5 in WTI. Beneath the surface, however, the market is anything but calm with supply disruptions from Libya and Russia currently being offset by the release of strategic reserves and lower demand in China where officials are struggling to eradicate a wave of Covid-19 in key cities. In addition, the market is on growth alert with the US Federal Reserve signaling an aggressive tightening mode in order to curb inflation, a process that most likely will reduce growth and eventually demand for crude oil. US refinery margins hit a record earlier this week before falling by more than 10%, developments still reflecting the high prices global consumers are forced to pay as supply of key fuels, such as diesel and gasoline, remain tight due to reduced flows from Russia.

Next week, the focus will turn to earnings from the oil supermajors such as Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies and Chevron. Apart from delivering eye-watering profits the market will mostly be focusing on the prospect for increased production and how they see the impact of the war in Ukraine, demand destruction from rising prices and monetary tightening. With the war ongoing and the risk of additional sanctions or actions by Russia, the downside risk to crude oil remains, in our view, limited. In our recently published Quarterly Outlook we highlighted the reasons why oil may trade within a $90 to $120 range this quarter and why structural issues, most importantly the continued level of underinvestment, will continue to support prices over the coming years. By Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank Read More


The combined net length in Brent (+27.3k lots) and WTI (-14.5k) crude oil rose by 12.8k lots to 414k lots, thereby highlighting a continued lack of interest in positioning for higher prices. The prospect for very tight market conditions due to sanctions on Russia and OPEC producers struggling to meet their production targets, have in recent weeks been offset by the release of oil from strategic reserves, prolonged lockdown in China and central banks stepping up efforts to lower inflation by killing demand through higher rates. Read More


Tullow Oil plc Annual General Meeting 2022

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company will be held at the London offices of Tullow Oil plc at 9 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road, London W4 5XT, on 25 May 2022 at 12 noon. The Notice convening the AGM is set out on pages 8 to 9 of this document. A Form of Proxy for use in respect of the AGM and a prepaid reply are enclosed. A location map is shown on the reverse of the attendance card that detaches from the Form of Proxy. I would like to take this opportunity to give you some information about the Resolutions to be considered at the AGM. Resolution 1: Reports and accounts This Resolution deals with the receipt and adoption of the accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2021 and the associated reports of the Directors and auditor. Read More


Oil and Gas BlendsUnitsOil Price $change
Crude Oil (WTI)USD/bbl$97.49Down
Crude Oil (Brent)USD/bbl$101.90Down
Bonny LightUSD/bbl$106.70Down
Saharan BlendUSD/bbl$107.83Down
Natural GasUSD/MMBtu$6.43Down
OPEC basket 22/04/22USD/bbl$107.66Down
At press time 25 April 2022

Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and Hassan Allam Utilities, the investment and development arm of Hassan Allam Holding Group, announced today that they have signed two Memorandums of Understanding with leading Egyptian state-backed organizations to cooperate on the development of green hydrogen production plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and on the Mediterranean coast. The Memorandums of Understanding were signed in the presence of His Excellency Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy for Egypt, and Her Excellency Dr Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairperson of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Read More


Centrica Business Solutions, a provider of integrated energy solutions that balance profitability and sustainability, and Fluence, a global market leader in energy storage products, services, and digital applications for renewables and storage, have announced their collaboration with Google for the supply and optimisation of a zero-emission energy backup system at a hyperscale data centre in Saint-Ghislain. For Google, it is the first-of-its-kind project globally that uses a battery-based energy storage system to reduce the use of diesel generators needed to provide backup power to the facility. The installation of 2.75 MW of Fluence’s Gridstack energy storage product at the St.Ghislain data centre serves as a proof-of-concept for wider use of battery-based energy storage at Google’s facilities to help Google deliver on its commitment to operate globally on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. Centrica will connect the battery storage assets to the Belgian electricity grid, allowing Google’s on-site batteries to flexibly store and discharge energy using Centrica’s specialised FlexPond™ software. The project further demonstrates the role that industrial consumers can play in stabilising electricity grids via on-site batteries. Read More


Oil, Gas, Energy News Release Service


U.S. Rig Count is up 2 from last week to 695 with oil rigs up 1 to 549, gas rigs up 1 to 144 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2.

Canada Rig Count is down 2 from last week to 101, with oil rigs down 1 to 48, gas rigs down 1 to 53.

RegionPeriodRig CountChange from Prior
U.S.A22nd April 2022695+2
Canada22nd April 2022101-2
InternationalMarch 2022815
Baker Hughes

Oil, Gas, Energy News Release Service


Construction is underway on an 18MW solar farm in Wiltshire, the first step on Centrica’s ambition to build a 650MW solar portfolio by 2026. The 18MW Codford Solar Farm, near Warminster in Wiltshire was acquired in 2021 and received Centrica investment approval in December. Local MP Andrew Murrison visited the site last week (22 April ‘22) to help install one of the first solar panel racks, on to which the 33,000 panels will be installed. The solar farm is expected to be complete by the summer. In late 2021, Centrica Business Solutions announced ambitions to deliver 900MW of solar and battery storage by 2026. Codford will be the first solar farm completed as part of those aims and follows the acquisition of a 30MW battery storage plant in Dyce, Scotland. Once complete, the 72-acre site will be capable of powering some 4,850 homes. Read More


Schlumberger and PETRONAS recently signed a memorandum of understanding that formalizes the parties’ collaboration, leveraging Schlumberger’s domain expertise and technology solutions.“This strategic partnership will further leverage digital capabilities while supporting the decarbonization of PETRONAS’ operations, through industry-leading technologies enabled by fit-for-basin digital solutions,” said Amy Chua, President of Asia Basin, Schlumberger. “We are fully committed to exploring joint technology development projects that deliver performance sustainably to PETRONAS.” The collaboration will include key sustainability initiatives such as the setup of a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Centre of Excellence, encompassing a cloud-based data repository for carbon storage, CO2 separation technologies, a competency development program, and emissions management.

The parties will also continue to focus on delivering operational excellence through digital transformation initiatives such as connecting facilities via internet of things (IoT) edge technologies, and building digital twins. Read More


The installation of the first turbines started with the loading of the turbine components from the quay on the Maasvlakte. The installation vessel Wind Osprey from Cadeler loaded parts for four turbines on board: four masts, four turbine nacelles and twelve turbine blades. Søren Andersen, Senior Turbine Installation Package Manager at Vattenfall: “With the arrival of the Wind Osprey in the week of April 12 and the loading of the turbine components, the first installation could start on April 16. The vessel will take four wind turbines on board each trip, with the goal of having all turbines installed by 2023. It is great to see how all the plans come together and how we shape the energy transition with the installation of these gigantic turbines. It is an absolute honor to be able to play a role in the transition to a fossil-free future,” he says. Read More

Vattenfall’s interim report for January to March 2022 will be published on Friday April 29 at 08.00 CEST on group.vattenfall.com. A live webcast for analysts and media will start at 09.30 CEST. Read More


Vattenfall will participate in the offshore wind farm tender for Hollandse Kust West (HKW) Sites VI and VII, partnering with BASF for Site VI. The offshore wind farms are of great significance for both companies in achieving their sustainability goals. The renewable electricity from Hollandse Kust West would be another important step towards Vattenfall’s ambition to create fossil-free living within one generation and would support BASF’s ambitious goal to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The Hollandse Kust West wind farm zone is located approximately 53 kilometers off the west coast of the Netherlands. The full area is auctioned in two separate tenders (Site VI and Site VII). Each of the two sites will accommodate 700 megawatts of offshore wind power capacity. To win the tender for Site VI the bidding parties have to include ecological measures in their concept, whereas Site VII requires investments and innovations which are beneficial for the Dutch Energy System. The tenders for both sites close on May 12, 2022. A decision on who won the tender is expected after summer. Read More


BASF and its employees donate an additional €4.2 million for people in Ukraine. This is in addition to the €1 million in emergency aid already provided by BASF at the end of February and the company’s ongoing financial support for Ukrainian colleagues.

The amount donated by employees will go 100% to BASF colleagues from Ukraine. The second half of the total amount – the sum added by BASF – will benefit the Ukrainian refugees as a whole through UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe (“UNO Refugee Aid”), the national Partner of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR in Germany. Read More


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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