US crude oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 11, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 2.7 million bbl from the previous week, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed. At 437.1 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are about 8% above the 5-year average for this time of year, the report indicated. […]

CNOOC Ltd. reported the start of production from the Huizhou 32-5 oil field comprehensive adjustment/Huizhou 33-1 oil field joint development project in the south-central part of the eastern South China Sea. Source: News

Crude oil benchmarks jumped more than $1/bbl on the New York and London markets Jan. 15 with light, sweet crude oil prices for February and March settling above $52/bbl while Brent crude for March and April settled above $60/bbl in London. Source: News

Oil Search Ltd., Port Moresby and Sydney, has expanded its acreage position on the North Slope of Alaska following the recent 2018 Alaska Lease round with the acquisition of interests in prospective blocks close to and adjacent to its existing position in the Pikka Unit east of Prudhoe Bay. Source: News

Swedish refiner Preem AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corral Petroleum Holdings AB, Stockholm, has restarted the bulk of operations 228,900-b/d at its refinery at Lysekil, Sweden, following a late December 2018 production disruption caused by an electrical power failure. Source: News

Ineos AG has selected Antwerp, Belgium, as the site for its previously announced plan to build both a grassroots ethane cracker and propane dehydrogenation unit in northern Europe. To be co-located with Ineos’ existing polymer-production sites in Europe and connected by pipeline to several the operator’s ethylene and propylene derivative units in the region, the €3-billion […]

Equinor and Aker BP dominated awards by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum as part of the Award in Predefined Areas (APA) for 2018 held Jan. 15. Thirty-three companies were offered ownership interests in 83 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf—the largest number ever awarded in one licensing round, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Twenty-one […]

The Colorado Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision that would have required the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission to consider potential health and climate impacts before authorizing more exploration and production. The suit was filed after COGCC rejected a late-2013 petition asking it to reject applications for new drilling permits unless they did […]

SDX Energy Inc. reported its SRM-3 appraisal well encountered oil on the South Ramadan license offshore Egypt in the Gulf of Suez. The operator is Pico. SDX has a 12.75% interest. Source: News

The light, sweet crude oil price for February dropped more than $1 on the New York market Jan 14 to settle just above $50.50/bbl while Brent crude for March dropped nearly $1.50 to settle just under $59/bbl in London. Source: News