Drones NEWS

Equinor has claimed a “world-first” with the use of a drone to deliver lifeboat system parts offshore. A drone flew from the Mongstad base to the Troll A platform in the North Sea. The flight spanning around 80 kilometers to the Troll field took about one hour, at an altitude of approx. 5000 feet. The flight was a test, the world’s first of its kind.

A group of farmers in Tamil Nadu has petitioned the state government against BPCL for conducting land surveys through drones without prior knowledge. A private consultancy utilized drone cameras to conduct survey in farmland for BPCL’s Irugur-Devangonthi Petroleum and Petroleum Product Pipeline (IDPL) on October 14. A senior official from BPCL acknowledged that the consultancy had deployed the drone cameras without the company’s knowledge.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince has warned of an unimaginable spike in oil prices lest the world comes together to deter Iran, though he added that a political solution is preferred. Speaking in an interview, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed with a statement made by the U.S. Secretary, Mike Pompeo who referred to Sept 14 attacks as an act of war by Iran.

Oil prices slipped on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia assured full restoration of oil production by month’s end, but were capped by looming cuts in US interest rates. Benchmark Brent crude futures were traded 0.1% lower, at $64.50 a barrel. WTI crude futures, on the other hand, dropped 0.5% to $59.06 per barrel. Saudi Energy Minister yesterday reassured markets about restoring the lost oil production by month-end.

Oil prices jumped in the international market on Monday, climbing on the back of the drone attack by Yemen rebels on a Saudi oil facility. Brent crude LCOc1 rose by 1.1% to $59.28 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 was traded 1% higher at $55.42 a barrel. Tensions escalated in the middle east region on Saturday after Yemen’s Houthi group carried out a drone attack on an oilfield in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Oil prices continued its uphill journey in the international market, supported by the growing tensions in the Middle East. International benchmark, Brent crude futures rose by 0.4% to $65.45 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by 0.6% to $57.80 a barrel. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has indicated imposition of “significant” sanctions on Tehran on Monday. Oil prices jumped last week after Iran shot down a US military drone.

Oil prices climbed on the back of escalating tensions in the Middle East after Iran shot down a US military drone yesterday. International Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.6%, to $64.84 a barrel. US WTI crude was traded 0.6% higher, at $57.39 a barrel. While Washington said that the drone was in international airspace, the Persian country justified shooting down the unarmed Global Hawk surveillance drone on grounds of spying.

In order to narrow down its $28 billion trade surplus, India is seeking more oil, drones and aircraft from the U.S. Government officials have said that India could bridge the surplus by $4 billion through oil imports alone. There are emerging concerns of probable collateral damage to the Indian economy from Trump’s trade friction with China.