Energy top stories to 06 July 2022. OPEC daily basket price stood at $114.30/bl, 05 July 2022
U.S. crude futures traded 3.3% lower at $104.81 a barrel, catching up after Monday’s Independence Day public holiday in the United States, while the Brent contract fell 4.1% to $108.86 a barrel.
Tesla is no longer the world’s largest electric vehicle maker: China’s Warren Buffet-backed BYD takes the top spot by outselling Elon Musk’s company by 77,000 EVs in the first six months of this year Read More
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) participated in the 21st edition of Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition, which is taking place in Abuja. This year’s theme is “Funding the Nigerian energy mix for sustainable economic growth.”
At the opening ceremony, OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, delivered a keynote address as the Honorary Chairman of the Conference. He emphasized the event’s importance and timeliness, given recent industry developments. Barkindo thanked HE Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, for his tireless efforts and continuous support for OPEC, the Declaration of Cooperation and the Charter of Cooperation during his two-term tenure as Secretary General. Referencing the event’s main theme, the Secretary General emphasized that investment is the lifeblood of the oil industry. He noted that it is essential to “develop new technologies, strengthen human capacity and remain leaders in innovation” to ensure that the world’s growing need for energy is met. Barkindo underlined that a cumulative investment of $11.8 trillion is required in the upstream, midstream and downstream oil sectors through to 2045 to meet energy demand, support the world economy and address the expected rise in global population, referencing OPEC’s World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2021.
The Secretary General noted that total primary energy demand is projected to expand by 28%, whereby oil is expected to retain a share of over 28% of the global energy mix, followed by gas at around 24%. Read More–>
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja expressed the nation’s gratitude to the outgoing Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, describing him as a worthy ambassador of the country.
Receiving Barkindo at the State House, the President said posterity will remember him kindly for making the nation and himself proud during his six years of meritorious service at the helm of affairs as the fourth OPEC Secretary General from Nigeria.
The President directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to mobilize the oil and gas industry to organize a befitting welcome reception in honour of Barkindo.
‘‘You have indeed been a worthy ambassador of our country. We are proud of your achievements before and during your appointment at OPEC and the proud legacies you will leave behind.
‘‘Your time in charge of the affairs of OPEC has been a very challenging one for the global oil industry. Oil producers were finding it difficult to come together to address challenges that were crippling the oil market.
‘‘Not long after, the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic that sent crude prices spiralling down at an alarming rate. You showed incredible leadership to rally industry players and pushed through the turbulent times.
‘‘There is no doubt about your efforts in putting together the Declaration of Cooperation, which is the largest cooperative effort in the history of OPEC and the global oil industry and also the longest in duration in the history of the organization. This was a herculean task,’’ the President said.
The Nigerian leader heaped more praise on his compatriot for providing experienced administrative management to OPEC, adding that his efforts have placed the Organization in a stronger position to confront the challenges it will face in the coming years. Read More
The oil and gas industry is “under siege” OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Tuesday.
After years of underinvestment on a global scale, the oil and gas industry is now “facing huge challenges along multiple fronts,” the Secretary General told delegates at an industry conference in Lagos.
“These threaten our investment potential now and in the long term, to put it bluntly, my dear friends, the oil and gas industry is under siege,” Barkindo said, citing geopolitical developments in Europe.
Barkindo also suggested that the supply shortage that would eventually come for the industry as a result of that underinvestment—and as a result of some country’s attempted shift away from fossil fuels—could be mitigated if more oil were allowed to be exported from OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.
While nations look to ditch fossil fuels and capacity falls, oil demand continues to grow, sending crude oil prices ever higher, Barkindo said, adding that “For us in Nigeria, fossil fuel will always have a share in our energy mix, for the foreseeable future. We will not at this time abandon fossil fuels. We have adopted gas as a transition fuel.”
OPEC’s Secretary General sees global oil demand increasing through 2045. Meanwhile, refining capacity in OECD countries fell by 3.3 percent last year. Read More
Austria’s energy minister said it intends to order industry and utilities to switch from using natural gas as it looks to stockpile more natural gas to help insulate it from being cut off from Russian supplies, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Austria will encourage industry and utilities to use alternate fuels such as crude oil, Austrian energy minister Leonore Gewessler said.
Austria gets 80% of its natural gas from Russia. And while its electricity is generated mostly from hydropower, its industrial sector and utilities, however, use a significant amount of natural gas. Natural gas is commonly used in district heating.
“Power plants and industrial companies will be instructed to upgrade their systems for dual operation to the extent that it is technically and economically feasible. That means that plants can run on natural gas as well as on other energy sources – in most cases it will be crude oil,” Gewessler told a news conference.
The government is working on a draft of the direction it will provide to industry and utilities, but it will need to be signed off on by the main committee of the parliament’s lower house. The announcement comes as Austria contends with a slowdown in the amount of natural gas heading into storage. Read More
The secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has died, Nigerian authorities said.
Mohammad Barkindo, 63, died late on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s petroleum ministry told The Associated Press.
The cause of death is not immediately known. Mr Barkindo, a Nigerian, led the crude oil bloc since August 2016, seeing it through some of its most turbulent times including during the pandemic when the oil price was hit with declining demand.
He was wrapping up his tenure at Opec when he died. Read More
TechnipFMC (NYSE: FTI) has signed a Letter of Intent with Equinor Energy do Brazil Ltda., a subsidiary of Equinor ASA (Equinor), for an integrated Front End Engineering and Design (iFEED™) study on its BM-C-33 project offshore Brazil. The study will finalize the technical solution for the proposed gas and condensate greenfield development in the pre-salt Campos Basin before Equinor makes its final investment decision (FID).
The FEED study includes an option to proceed with a direct award to TechnipFMC for the integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (iEPCI™) phase of the project. The major(1) iEPCI™ contract would cover the entire subsea system, including Subsea 2.0™ tree systems, manifolds, jumpers, rigid risers and flowlines, umbilicals, pipeline end terminations, and subsea distribution and topside control equipment. TechnipFMC would also be responsible for life-of-field services. More
Shell Nederland B.V. and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., subsidiaries of Shell plc, have taken the final investment decision to build Holland Hydrogen I, which will be Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025. The 200MW electrolyser will be constructed on the Tweede Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam and will produce up to 60,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day.
The renewable power for the electrolyser will come from the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (noord), which is partly owned by Shell. Read More
Neptune Energy joins global initiative to cut methane emissions
Neptune Energy today announced it has joined the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative, a project to cut emissions of the harmful greenhouse gas to near zero by 2030. Neptune’s support for the initiative complements its own ambitious target for zero methane emissions by the end of the decade.
Developed by the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), the initiative aims for methane emissions to be “treated as seriously as the oil and gas industry already treats safety: aiming for zero and striving to do what it takes to get there”.
Signatories to the initiative aim to reach near zero methane emissions from their operated assets by the end of this decade, avoid methane venting and flaring, and report methane emissions annually and transparently. They are encouraged to introduce new technologies for methane monitoring, measurement and mitigation, and to support implementation of regulations to tackle methane emissions. Read More
During the period from June 27 to July 01, 2022, Eni acquired n. 3,873,333 shares, at a weighted average price per share equal to 11.5037 euro, for a total consideration of 44,557,749.10 euro within the authorization to purchase treasury shares approved at Eni’s Shareholders’ Meeting on 11 May 2022, previously subject to disclosure pursuant to art. 144-bis of Consob Regulation 11971/1999.
On the basis of the information provided by the intermediary appointed to make the purchases, the following are details of transactions for the purchase of treasury shares on the Electronic Stock Market on a daily basis: Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price $ | change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $101.40 | Down |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $105.20 | Down |
| Bonny Light | USD/bbl | $118.10 | — |
| Saharan Blend | USD/bbl | $117.77 | — |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $5.66 | Up |
| OPEC basket 05/07/22 | USD/bbl | $114.30 | Down |
WFW further strengthens Asia Disputes practice with second Singapore Partner hire
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that Kimarie Cheang has joined the firm’s dispute resolution group in Singapore as a Partner. Prior to joining WFW, Kimarie was a Partner and Director and Head of the China Practice at Incisive Law in the same city. She is the second Partner to join WFW’s Singapore dispute resolution practice in the past year, following Sumeet Malhotra who joined the firm in August 2021.
Triple qualified in Singapore, Hong Kong and England & Wales and fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, Kimarie has fifteen years’ experience advising on disputes in international trade and transportation, oil & gas (including LNG), metals and mining, soft commodities, shipbuilding, offshore and construction and insurance sectors. Her non-contentious expertise includes assisting clients with trade finance and regulatory matters and the drafting and review of contracts. Kimarie’s clients include oil majors, NOCs, SOEs, international mining companies, international trading companies and shipping companies.
Steven Burkill, WFW’s Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution Group Head commented: “Kimarie is a supremely talented litigator and her specific expertise – especially regarding maritime disputes and international arbitration – make her the perfect addition to our expanding Asia Pacific dispute resolution practice. I’m delighted to welcome her to the firm”.
Singapore Office Head Charles Viggers added: “With a fantastic book of high-profile clients in the commodities space, including outbound China business, Kimarie is ideally placed to take our contentious practice to the next level in Singapore alongside Sumeet”.
Kimarie said: “WFW’s long established and highly regarded network across the Asia Pacific region, combined with the firm’s stellar reputation in the maritime and energy sectors, especially for finance work, really do make it the ideal fit for me and my clients. I greatly look forward to working with all my new colleagues, especially in making WFW the ‘go-to’ firm bar none for commodities and maritime disputes in Singapore”. Read More
First Hydrogen Corp. announced its’ subsidiary, First Hydrogen Limited, has submitted two Green Hydrogen production projects for the initial round of funding thru the UK Government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) Strand 1 program. The program is funded by the Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for £240 million. The NZHF is part of the UK Government’s initiatives to promote the production of home-grown green hydrogen and is a means to achieving the ambitious 10 GW of domestic production by 2030, or which ‘at least’ 5GW will need to be from electrolytic sources.
The Company’s two projects will have an initial capacity of 40 MW each and are to be situated in Carrington, in Greater Manchester, and in the Thames Estuary area. The sites are in two regions with hydrogen growth strategies, with letters of support received for both projects from leading strategic stakeholders and the landowners for the projects in such regions.
The Thames Estuary Growth Board (TEGB) issued a letter supporting our application for Strand 1 funding, highlighting the regional demand across the Estuary for green hydrogen, endorsed in the TEGB Hydrogen Route Map document. First Hydrogen has also received a letter of support for its projects from INOVYN, a subsidiary of INEOS, one of the key hydrogen producers in the EU. Read More
Siemens Gamesa signs first contract with Turkish energy investor Kinesis Enerji in Spain for a 50 MW wind farm
Siemens Gamesa has signed its first contract with Turkish energy investor Kinesis Enerji in Spain for the 50 MW wind farm in the north of Spain. The wind farm will be equipped with ten SG 5.0-145 turbines and is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2024. The contract also includes the maintenance of the turbines for a period of 25 years.
The energy that this wind farm will produce will provide enough electricity to power 40,000 households and help to avoid the emission of 132,000 tons of CO2 a year, the equivalent of the emissions of close to 80,000 vehicles. To achieve this CO2 saving, 5.7 million trees would need to be planted.
The agreement helps Siemens Gamesa to consolidate its leadership in Spain, where it currently has around 15 GW installed, 53% of the wind energy in the country and which, according to the latest available data from the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE), reached 28.1 GW in 2021.
“It is great news we have signed this contract with Kinesis Enerji, the first in Spain and the second globally, as I believe this will strengthen our relationship and trigger many more agreements in the future. The wind farm adds new capacity for Siemens Gamesa in Spain, where we have signed four different contracts in the last quarter totaling more than 200 MW. Once installed, this will add to the 15 GW we already have in Spain, and help consolidate our leadership in the country,” said Javier Fernández-Combarro, managing director of Siemens Gamesa in Spain. Read More
Forty-four percent of surveyed EV owners and those considering purchasing an EV as their next vehicle weren’t confident in the definition of ‘smart charging’, a YouGov survey discovered. However, when prompted with correct responses, 62 percent of respondents were correctly able to identify that smart charging is better for the national electricity grid, while 67 percent knew that smart charging schedules charges at times when there are more renewables, a lower cost, and less CO2 emissions.
Yet 30 percent and 35 percent of respondents were unsure about accurately defining smart charging when presented with two correct definitions, meaning around a third of current and future EV owners are unaware as to what the new smart charging legislation means to them. Read More
Dragon LNG, operator of a liquefied natural gas (‘LNG’) terminal in Pembrokeshire, in partnership with renewables developer Anesco, is looking to transition to renewable energy, as part of a commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and supporting the country’s drive towards net zero.
The first step in this project has seen Anesco supporting Dragon LNG with the development of a successful planning application for a 9.9MW ground mount solar park, located on a 35-acre site at the terminal in Milford Haven. Construction is now underway and once complete, Anesco will also be providing operation and maintenance services, to ensure the installation continues to operate at its optimum efficiency.
Energy generated by the solar park will be used by the terminal site, with any surplus power exported to the local power grid. The 18,500 solar panel farm will provide the site with up to 9% of its electricity needs when the development goes live in Q4 2022.
The land the solar panels are on will benefit from an advanced biodiversity plan that will see the creation of habitats for local wildlife and at-risk species. Read More
International Rig Count is 824 with land rigs down 3 to 621, offshore rigs up 10 to 203.
U.S. Rig Count is 750 with oil rigs up 1 to 595, gas rigs down 4 to 153 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2.
Canada Rig Count is 166, with oil rigs up 5 to 109, gas rigs up 7 to 57.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change from Prior |
| U.S.A | 01 July 2022 | 750 | -3 |
| Canada | 01 July 2022 | 166 | +12 |
| International | June 2022 | 824 | +7 |
OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup |Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole @oilandgaspress.
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