Oil and Gas NEWS

As Germany scrambles to avert a fuel crisis this winter, one rural district has become a role model for how the country might wean itself off dwindling imports of Russian gas - by producing all the energy that it consumes itself. The western district of Rhein-Hunsrueck uses a combination of solar, wind and biofuel to generate enough power to run its homes, public buildings and businesses, with enough left over to contribute to an electric car-sharing service and e-bikes. "Up until 1995, not a single kilowatt hour of energy used in our district was produced by us. Everything had to be imported," said Frank-Michael Uhle, the district's climate protection manager.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday for a second day on increasing concerns about tightening European supply after Russia, a key oil and natural gas supplier to the region, cut gas supply through a major pipeline. Brent crude futures for September settlement rose $1.66, or 1.6%, to $106.81 a barrel by 0618 GMT, extending a 1.9% gain in the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for September delivery increased $1.47, or 1.5%, to $98.17 a barrel, having gained 2.1% on Monday. Russia tightened its gas squeeze on Europe on Monday as Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would drop to just 20% of capacity. read more Russia's cut in supplies will leave countries unable to meet its goals to refill natural gas storage ahead of the winter demand period. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, faces potentially rationing gas to industry to keep its citizens warm during the winter months.

Russia tightened its gas squeeze on Europe on Monday as Gazprom said supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would drop to just 20% of capacity. Gazprom said flows would fall to 33 million cubic metres per day from 0400 GMT on Wednesday - a halving of the current, already reduced level - because it needed to halt the operation of a Siemens gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog. Germany said it saw no technical reason for the latest reduction, which comes as Russia and the West exchange economic blows in response to what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia reported a 90% jump in adjusted second-quarter profit on Monday, citing soaring oil prices and a sharp increase in its refining margin. Rapid recovery in demand after pandemic lockdowns and a surge in energy prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have boosted profits for oil companies around the globe.

French oil and energy company TotalEnergies has begun production from the Ikike field in Nigeria, which is expected to deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2022, it said on Monday. The European Commission's deputy director general for its energy department this month said that the European Union was seeking additional gas supplies from Nigeria as the bloc prepares for potential Russian supply cuts.

Schlumberger NV on Friday raised its annual revenue forecast after beating analysts' second-quarter earnings expectations, buoyed by higher demand for its oilfield services and equipment. The company has benefited from a boost in activity driven by stronger oil and gas prices. Global crude prices hovered above $100 per barrel last quarter, fueled by tight supplies following Western sanctions on Russia, a major producer, and as energy consumption returned to near pre-pandemic levels.

Gary Gensler is the kind of regulator who gets things done. That’s not always the kind that serves America best. The chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission has flexed the rulemaking process in a way that has been helpful to a Democrat-led administration struggling to pass laws. The precedent Gensler has set will make it easier for future SEC bosses to play fast and loose too.

India's Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) on Friday reported a 46.3% jump in June-quarter profit, as robust refining margins due to intake of cheaper Russian crude and fuel exports buoyed its dominant oil-to-chemicals business.The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate said consolidated profit rose to 179.55 billion rupees ($2.25 billion) in the three months ended June 30 compared with 122.73 billion rupees a year earlier.

The Japanese government has not yet received word that a new Russian company set to operate the oil and gas Sakhalin-2 project has been established, industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said on Tuesday. "We will decide on our next steps once the terms of getting involved in the new company are made clear," he added.

China's Sinopec Corp said on Tuesday it has tapped a daily flow of 30 tonnes of oil and 1,500 cubic meters of gas at a mature oilfield in east China's Jiangsu province. The company said the flows, from exploration well Hua-2-ce in the Jiangsu oilfield, marked a breakthrough in unlocking 1.1 billion tonnes of prospective shale oil resources in the Subei basin. The firm will accelerate the construction of a pilot shale oil production zone in the area, Sinopec said, without giving further details.

In a bid to boost the natural gas-based economy, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri dedicated 166 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations to serve the community. The 166 CNG pumps have been set up by GAIL (India) Limited and nine of its group City Gas Distribution (CGD) companies in 41 Geographical Areas (GAs) across 14 states. According to Puri, the CNG stations will incentivise the market of such vehicles and will have a positive impact on manufacturing and employment generation.

President Joe Biden told Arab leaders the United States would remain an active partner in the Middle East, but he failed to secure commitments to a regional security axis that would include Israel or an immediate oil output rise.“The United States is invested in building a positive future of the region, in partnership with all of you — and the United States is not going anywhere,” Mr Biden said on Saturday (Sunday AEST), according to a transcript of his speech.

Even as energy prices trend down from recent highs, Bank of America still expects the Federal Reserve to make a 75-basis-point rate hike at the next FOMC meeting, but there's a chance of an even more aggressive move."We think the main takeaway from the June inflation data is that underlying price pressures remain robust and unacceptably high relative to the Fed's mandate," BofA analysts wrote in a Friday note.

'This is the first such incident against commercial shipping'. In the Ukrainian Port city of Mariupol, Russian-backed separatists have seized two foreign flagged ships.That’s according to Dryad Global’s latest Maritime Security Threat Advisory (MSTA), which highlighted that these were the Panama flagged Blue Star I and the Liberia-flagged Smarta vessel. The Blue Star I is a general cargo ship built in 2005, while the Smarta is a bulk carrier built in 2007.

Solar stocks tumbled Friday after Sen. Joe Manchin said he will not support increased spending to address climate change, according to NBC News, citing a Democrat briefed on the conversations.The Invesco Solar ETF, which tracks the industry, fell more than 7% at one point. Some of those losses were recovered later in the day, with the fund ending Friday’s session about 2% lower. For the week, the fund is down more than 10%. Sunrun, Sunnova, First Solar and Maxeon Solar all fell more than 10% at one point.

Hilcorp Energy Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp., are the U.S. oil-and-gas industry’s top emitters of planet-warming greenhouse gases, according to a new report based on federal data.

Privately-owned Momentum Midstream has agreed to buy pipeline assets in the East Texas part of the Haynesville Shale from Mid-coast Energy for $1.3 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Houston-based Momentum has been a prolific developer of pipeline companies, although it has been out of the market since 2019 when it sold its fourth and fifth projects to Williams Companies and DT Midstream respectively.

British lawmakers approved a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers in the British North Sea on Monday, which the government says will raise 5 billion pounds ($5.95 billion) in one year to help people struggling with soaring energy bills.The Energy Profits Levy will target profits made from a spike in oil and gas prices as energy demand is going up after pandemic lockdowns ended and the Russia-Ukraine conflict started.