The new supercomputer of Total is said to enhance efficiency, enable its geologists to find oil faster, cheaper and with a better success rate. Total informed, "The Pangea III computer build by IBM will help process complex seismic data in the search for hydrocarbons 10 times faster that before". This computer has secured top rank among supercomputers in the oil and gas sector, according to TOP500 table.

Two explosions and a gas leak at a chemical plant south of Rotterdam have resulted in a heavy fine for energy major Shell. The company has been fined $2.8 million by a Dutch court for violating Dutch labour and environmental laws. The company has also been found responsible for a leak of ethylene oxide gas that lasted from Nov.14, 2015, until Jan. 27, 2016, at the same plant.

The largest single energy project in Arica received approval recently. The energy firm Anadarko agreed for the construction of a $20 billion gas liquefaction and export terminal in Mozambique. Mozambique falls in the category of the poorest nations and so this project is expected to transform various segments of the nation. According to its government, this project might create more than 5,000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect jobs.

US oil major, ConocoPhillips has inked an agreement with Caelus Natural Resources Alaska to buy 100% interest in the Nuna discovery, Alaska. Discovered in 2012, the Nuna prospect is located 5 mi southwest of Oooguruk field. The agreement signed by ConocoPhillips Alaska (COPA) includes the purchase of 11 tracts spanning across 21,000 acres. COPA will appraise the Nuna discovery in the upcoming years.

Joining a number of energy firms, Spanish energy company Repsol SA, yesterday, announced plans of laying off about 30% of its Canadian workforce as part of global restructuring. Repsol will intimate employees affected by the reorganization in the Canadian exploration and production and corporate units this week. While the firm refused to give an exact number of cuts, Repsol’s Canadian workforce stood at approximately 700 in 2018.

Oil prices rose in the international market on Wednesday after US President Trump tweeted about preparations to meet Chinese President in Japan, next week at the G20 summit. Brent crude futures climbed to $62.17 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $54.02 a barrel. Oil prices were also affected by the rising tensions between the US and Iran, after the attack on oil tankers last week.

Sources have revealed that Keane Group Inc and C&J Energy Services will soon announce a merger to form a $1.5 billion-U.S. oilfield services company. Houston-headquartered Keane and C&J have market capitalizations of $733 million and $708 million, respectively. The proposed merger is in line with the current industry trend where services providers are trying to gain scale in order to save on costs by removing the overlap.

State-owned oil major, Petrobras informed in a regulatory filing yesterday of making natural gas discoveries in six deep-water fields in the Sergipe Basin. Petrobras will now plan a budget to finance production from the potential wells discovered in recent years. A Brazilian Newspaper has estimated that Petrobras could extract up to 20 million cubic meters of natural gas per day from the discovered fields.

In response to the approaching monsoon season in India, E&P major ONGC has re-located a record 35 offshore drilling rigs to new positions. Offshore engineering consultant, Aqualis Offshore, yesterday, informed about assisting the oil major in moving majority of the rigs. The firm deployed a specialist team of mariners and structural and geotechnical engineers who worked closely with ONGC’s in-house rig move cell.

India's Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) planned to invest $2.2-2.4 billion in the Rovuma Offshore Area-1 gas field in Mozambique. This investment plan has got approval after being scrutinised by the group of ministers. But it is still waiting to get a nod from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Apart from BPCL, ONGC Videsh and Oil India also have stakes in this field.

DeltaTek has successfully completed its first SeaCure deployment for Total E&P UK. This cementing service took place in Total's Ballindalloch oil field. Chief Commercial and Operations Officer of DeltaTek said, “We are absolutely delighted with the results of the Total deployment. This project was a major success and again illustrated how SeaCure can optimize drilling operations.”

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday over the signs of global economic downturn due to escalating US-China trade tension. Brent dropped by 0.3% and was traded at $60.78 a barrel. WTI went down by 0.2% and was traded at $51.92 a barrel. However, the losses from the drop in prices were restricted due to the tanker attack in Middle East last week.

After the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo assured to take necessary steps for safe navigation in the Middle East, oil prices went up. Brent increased by 0.4% and was traded at $62.27 a barrel. WTI climbed 0.3% and was traded at $52.68 a barrel. Mike said, "We don’t want war. We’ve done what we can to deter this".

If sources were to be believed, India’s E&P major, ONGC will soon auction off over 60 discovered small and marginal fields to private companies. ONGC will follow the production enhancement contracts (PEC) mechanism to auction the fields to global energy firms. People aware of the development said that leading services firm KPMG has been made aware of ONGC’s decision to carry out the PEC process.

Operators of the two oil tankers attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week are undergoing examination off the UAE coast. The oil tanker explosion on Thursday escalated tensions between Washington and Iran, with the former blaming the Persian country for the assault. Once the authorities in Sharjah conclude security checks, Japanese tanker Kokuka Courageous will undergo assessment, post which ship-to-ship transfer of its methanol cargo would begin.

Japanese oil firm, Inpex Corp. has reached an agreement with Indonesia for the $20 billion Abadi liquefied natural gas project. In an interaction with reporters at a G-20 energy and environment meeting in Japan, Inpex President informed that the heads of agreement contains a contract extension for Inpex to operate the Masela field until 2055. Inpex holds a 65% stake in Abadi field where Royal Dutch Shell is partner.

Malaysian process equipment manufacturer, KNM Group Bhd has landed two contracts worth a combined sum of about RM27.71mil through its subsidiaries. As part of the first contract, the firm will supply air cooler heat exchangers to the Petroleum Refinery and Polypropylene Plant in Nigeria. The second contract will see the firm delivering replacement heat exchangers to Khor Al Zubair’s gas processing plant in Iraq.

Protests from Greenpeace activists continue at Transocean’s drilling rig on Friday to prevent it from heading to a BP oilfield in the UK North Sea. A statement released by Greenpeace read how police had removed and arrested two Greenpeace activists on Thursday night. Friday saw another couple of Greenpeace activists climbing up a leg of the rig. BP has said that it is coordinating with Transocean and Scottish police.