Rice University’s Baker Institute researchers say limited water access and a lack of infrastructure are likely to stall shale gas development in Mexico regardless of whether Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador implements his campaign promise to ban hydraulic fracturing. Source: News
MRPL partially shutters units at Mangalore refining complex
Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals, a subsidiary of Oil & Natural Gas Corp., has implemented a partial shutdown of process units as part of a force majeure at its 300,000-b/d integrated complex in Mangalore, India. Source: News
Official: Normal Druzhba flow due mid-May
The Druzhba oil pipeline between Russia and Europe will resume normal operations in mid-May after a month-long curtailment responding to contamination, according to Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak in a report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Source: News
Dutch refiner lets contract for Zeeland refinery
Dutch refiner Zeeland Refinery, a joint venture of Total and Lukoil, has let a contract to Aspen Technology to implement asset optimization software designed to bridge gaps in planning and scheduling at its 72,300-b/d refinery at Vlissingen, the Netherlands. Source: News
DOE laboratories, ExxonMobil launch lower-emissions research effort
Two US Department of Energy national laboratories and ExxonMobil Corp. plan to invest as much as $100 million over 10 years to advance lower emissions energy technologies that could be brought to a commercial scale. The agreement involving DOE’s National Energy Technology and National Renewable Energy Laboratory is one of the largest between DOE’s labs […]
Karoon Gas completes Peruvian farmout to Tullow Oil
Karoon Gas Australia Ltd., Melbourne, has completed its farmout of a 35% participating interest in its offshore Block Z-38 Tumbes basin permit to Tullow Oil PLC. Tullow has acquired the interest in return for funding 43.75% of the cost of the first exploration well, capped at $27.5 million, beyond which Tullow will pay its 35% […]
Study: Natural gas will play key role in energy future of US
Natural gas will continue to play a key role in America’s economic growth and overall energy future in the coming decades as the country makes a transition to a low-carbon economy, a study commissioned by the INGAA Foundation concluded. Source: News
EIA revises upwards its oil price forecasts for 2019-20
In its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts Brent spot prices will average $70/bbl in 2019 and $67/bbl in 2020, both about $5/bbl higher than in last month’s STEO. This compares with an average of $71/bbl in 2018. EIA’s higher Brent crude oil price forecast reflects tighter expected global oil […]
EIA: US crude inventories down 4 million bbl
US crude oil inventories for the week ended May 3, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 4 million bbl from the previous week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. At 466.6 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are at the 5-year average for this time of year, the report indicated. Source: […]
MARKET WATCH: Crude oil prices fall on geopolitical uncertainties
Light, sweet crude oil fell to settle below $62/bbl on the New York market May 7 while Brent crude oil fell by more than $1 to settle below $70/bbl in London after US officials suggested China was reneging on its commitment to a US-China trade agreement. Source: News