The CBI has arrested E S Ranganathan, Director (Marketing) of GAIL, in a case of alleged bribery of over Rs 50 lakh for giving discounts to private companies buying petro chemical products marketed by the Maharatna PSU, officials said sunday.

A Petronas-led joint venture is analysing the results of the Bacalar-1 offshore exploration well in Mexico. The Malaysian national oil and gas giant has a 60% operated interest in Block 12, with Indonesia's Medco Energi and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production on 20% each. Medco said in its latest exploration update that post-drill analysis was under way as part of the well evaluation process. Bacalar-1, which is understood to have spudded in August 2021, has so far cost US$52.2 million, added Medco. Petronas had a one-well contract with US-based offshore rig owner Pacific Drilling to use the drillship Pacific Khamsin for an exploration programme in Mexico starting in the third quarter last year.

International Renewable Energy Agency will help India's efforts to advance “cost-effective decarbonisation” through the development of domestic green hydrogen. India is looking to further accelerate its energy transition by signalling its intent to further collaborate with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), including in the area of green hydrogen. Irena confirmed over the weekend that India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) signed a strategic partnership agreement to strengthen its collaboration with the international agency in the field of renewable energy.

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) - The Eagle Ford shale in South Texas, long overlooked compared to its larger cousin the Permian basin, saw its biggest one-week jump in drilling activity in more than two years as explorers look for growth beyond the world’s biggest shale patch. The number of rigs drilling for crude in the Eagle Ford rose by 5 to 43 this week, according to Baker Hughes Co. data released Friday. It’s the biggest weekly expansion for explorers in the region since December 2019. Even gas-rich basins got in on the crude-drilling growth, adding the most oil rigs in at least half a decade with two more going to work in Louisiana’s Haynesville and one starting up in the Marcellus.

"Leaks, rusted pipes, pieces of broken equipment scattered about and staircases leading nowhere: Lake Maracaibo’s oil field is a metaphor for Venezuela’s once-flourishing petroleum industry that is now on its knees.More than a century ago, the Maracaibo basin in northwestern Zulia state was the birthplace of a business that transformed the country into one of the world’s 10 largest oil producers and a Latin American economic heavyweight. By 2008, the country was producing 3.2 million barrels of oil a day. Just 13 years later, it can only muster 500,000 to one million barrels per day amid a grinding economic crisis marked by years of recession and hyperinflation. Venezuela’s gross domestic product per capita is now similar to that of Haiti."

A fire broke out in Kuwait's largest petroleum refinery on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring several others, Anadolu News Agency reports. In a statement, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company said that the fire erupted as maintenance work was being carried out at the gas liquefaction unit of Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery. The company said that five people with severe burns were transferred to hospital in critical condition. Two Asian workers succumbed to the injuries, it added. The fire has been extinguished, it said, adding that the incident did not affect operations at the refinery.

Canada’s largest oilsands companies have formed a new advocacy group they say will help to advance the sustainable development and operation of their industry. The Oil Sands Alliance was established Jan. 1, with membership consisting of oilsands producers Suncor Energy Inc., Cenovus Energy Inc., Imperial Energy Ltd., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and ConocoPhillips. It is not clear whether the new organization will be involved in political lobbying or how exactly it will be structured.

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The company will invest Rs 5 trillion over a span of 10 to 15 years to set up a 100 gigawatts renewable energy power plant.

TORONTO—Major oil companies, under pressure from investors and environmentalists, are fleeing Canada’s oil sands, the fourth-largest oil reserve in the world and by some measures one of the most environmentally unfriendly. Investment in existing projects has stalled, and banks are refusing to fund new ones. Nevertheless, oil production there is expected to continue for at least two more decades. Local companies have stepped in to keep working the existing mines and wells. Last year, the oil sands were on track to deliver more oil than ever.

Investing.com – Oil was down on Friday morning in Asia over concerns that the U.S. would implement measures to cool prices. Investors were also concerned that the latest COVID-19 outbreaks in China could dent fuel demand in the country. Brent oil futures were down 0.18% to $28.09 by 10:24 PM ET (3:24 AM GMT) and crude oil WTI futures were down 0.38% to $81.66. However, both Brent and WTI futures are set to climb for a fourth consecutive week, with the black liquid supported by a tight supply market in Libya and Kazakhstan as well as a fall in U.S. crude inventories to 2018 lows. Meanwhile, China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, re-imposed stricter measures in response to the latest COVID-19 outbreaks. The omicron COVID-19 variant has already spread from the city of Tianjin to Dalian.

SINGAPORE :China's annual crude oil imports slid 5.4per cent in 2021, dropping for the first time since 2001, as Beijing clamped down on the refining sector to curb excess domestic fuel production while refiners drew down massive inventories. China has been the global oil demand driver for the last decade, accounting for 44per cent of worldwide growth in oil imports since 2015, when Beijing started issuing import quotas to independent refiners. Benchmark Brent crude oil weakened slightly to $84.40 per barrel in the wake of the data release.

South Korea shipyard says this is the first time it has won offshore orders for two years in a row since 2014

A pipeline ruptured a few hundred feet from the Mississippi River in New Orleans last month, spilling more than 300,000 gallons of oil, and reports of the spill are only now being discovered. The oil spill stemmed from a pipeline operated by Collins Pipeline Co. and was discovered on Dec. 27 near a levee in St. Bernard Parish, just east of New Orleans, according to The Associated Press. More than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled, contaminating soil and creating a pool of diesel in an environmentally sensitive area a few hundred feet from the Mississippi River.

Melbourne — Oil prices slipped on Thursday, trimming big gains from the previous two sessions, amid uncertainty over near-term demand as cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus surge around the globe.

WTI crude oil follows broad based risk-on sentiment and closed higher overnight. Rise from 62.90 resumed by breaking through 80.63 temporary top and hits as high as 81.79 so far. Current rally is expected to target 161.8% projection of 62.90 to 73.66 from 66.46 at 83.86, which is close to 85.92 high. Rise from 62.90 is seen as the second leg of the consolidation pattern from 85.92 only. Hence, we’re not expecting a firm break of 85.92 yet. Instead, another fall should be seen before the consolidation completes. Break of 77.97 support will indicate rejection by 85.92 and target 73.66 resistance turned support first.

Global oil and gas investments will expand by US$26 billion this year as the industry continues its protracted recovery from the worst of the pandemic and the hurdles imposed by the Omicron variant. An analysis by Rystad Energy projects overall oil and gas investments will rise 4% to US$628 billion this year from US$602 billion in 2021. A significant factor behind the increase is a 14% increase in upstream gas and LNG investments. These segments will be the fastest-growing this year, with a jump in investments from US$131 billion in 2021 to around US$149 billion in 2022. Although this falls short of pre-pandemic totals, investments in the sector are expected to surpass 2019 levels of US$168 billion in just two years, reaching US$171 billion in 2024. Upstream oil investments are projected to rise from US$287 billion in 2021 to US$307 billion this year, a 7% increase, while midstream and downstream investments will fall by 6.7% to US$172 billion this year. “The pervasive spread of the Omicron variant will inevitably lead to restrictions on movement in the first quarter of 2022, capping energy demand and recovery in the major crude-consuming sectors of road transport and aviation. But despite the ongoing disruptions caused by Covid-19, the outlook for the global oil and gas market is promising,” says Audun Martinsen, head of energy service research at Rystad Energy.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): The Bursa Malaysia Energy index was up in Wednesday (Jan 12) morning trade after crude oil prices leapt by nearly 4% overnight. At 10:15am, the Bursa Malaysia Energy Index — which tracks oil and gas (O&G) counters — had added 10.38 points or 1.43% to 738.73 points. At the time of writing, five out of six of the sector’s top active counters were in positive territory, namely Sapura Energy Bhd (up 10% to 5.5 sen), SAPNRG-WA (up 16.67% to 3.5 sen), Reservoir Link Energy Bhd (up 4.55% to 57.5 sen), Bumi Armada Bhd (up 2.06% to 49.5 sen) and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd (up 3.05% to 84.5 sen).