UPSTREAM NEWS

Halliburton has introduced a new logging-while-drilling technology, PixStar High-Resolution Ultrasonic Imaging Service. With the help of this new technology, operators will get real-time images of the borehole which will make it easy for them to identify fractures. It will also improve well stability and optimize completion design. PixStar has ultrasonic transducer through which high-resolution images are developed.

US oil major, Marathon Oil Corp yesterday registered a 44.5% dip in quarterly adjusted profit, stressed by weak crude and gas prices which limited the gains from higher output in its U.S. shale basins. Marathon Oil’s total production in the quarter rose 6.5% to an average of 425,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), excluding divestitures.

Occidental Petroleum yesterday reported $93 million in adjusted net income, disappointing the consensus estimate. The oil major, who recently acquired Anadarko, steered clear of the immediate impact of the acquisition move. Occidental's production in the quarter reached 1.155 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D), up 70% from the corresponding quarter last year.

Viewport3 is a Subsea 3D scanning specialist and has bagged two pre-removal scanning contracts. These contracts have a combined value of £100k. After securing these contracts the company will embark its new journey in the decommissioning market. The technologies provided by Viewport3 will help the operators in making decisions about the removal of items from the seabed, reduce ad-hoc engineering and minimize time spent offshore.

Total E&P South Africa has given a conditional letter of award for a 2D seismic acquisition and fast-track processing project to Shearwater Geoservices. This will also be Shearwater’s first project offshore South Africa. The two-month-long project will commence in Q4 2019 and includes fast-track processing, facilitated by Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) SW Cook and experienced processing teams.

In an unprecedented move, the UK government has effectively banned the controversial practice of hydraulic fracing, dealing a severe blow to the fracing industry. The move came just weeks ahead of a general election, putting an end to the technique in the UK after growing concerns about earthquakes in the region. The decision will serve as a major roadblock to firms like Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. and Ineos Group Ltd.

Oil behemoth, Saudi Aramco has said that it registered a net income of $68 billion during the last nine-month, which ended on September 30. Aramco recorded $244B in revenues and other income related to sales for the same period. The company recently announced its intention to list shares on the Saudi stock exchange. Aramco also said that Saudi nationals subscribing to the listing will remain eligible to receive bonus shares.

Saudi-India strategic partnership has taken a major leap forward on Wednesday. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited has signed an agreement with energy supermajor Saudi Aramco to lease part of the 2.5 million-tonne Padur storage in Karnataka. This bilateral deal focuses at building emergency crude reserves against volatility of the market.

BP has reported a sharp decline in profit in Q3. Its revenue was hurt the most by a fall in oil prices. Although strong refining operations have helped BP perform better than expected by the market. The firm has taken one-off charge of $2.6 billion linked to large asset sales. "BP delivered strong operating cash flow and underlying earnings in a quarter that saw significant hurricane impacts", informed it's CEO.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil have taken on lease offshore block for 30 years. The companies have paid Somalia $1.7 mn as the preliminary rent. According to the information from Shell, these charges are for retrospective charges. Also, the operation will be withheld in what is known as force majeure.

As Canada’s energy sector struggles with sluggish growth, the layoff trend continues with the latest layoffs coming from Husky Energy. The firm laid off a number of employees yesterday, spokeswoman for Husky said. The sackings come a day right after the federal election in Canada, where Prime Minister Trudeau failed to secure an outright majority of seats. Concerns of further delay in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion are now worrying the industry.

Shell has dropped out of the Khazar offshore project in Kazakhstan, while a multinational consortium including Shell is also getting rid of its plans for the Kalamkas block. The Khazar project has seen approximately $900 million in investments from Shell. In a statement, Shell said, “The (Khazar) project was not competitive enough versus other opportunities in Shell’s global portfolio,”. KazMunayGaz and Oman Oil Co were Shell’s partner in Khazar.

Danish drilling contractor, Maersk Drilling has landed a contract for its Maersk Viking for a three-well drilling campaign, offshore Myanmar. The contract was awarded by Korean operator, POSCO International Corporation. The $33 million-contract is projected to begin by the end of 2019 and will continue for an estimated 154 days. The contract also includes an additional one-well option.

ONGC’s overseas division, ONGC Videsh Ltd has made major oil discoveries in Brazil and Colombia. In a statement released on Wednesday, the E&P major informed about encountering the oil bearing sands of 8 meters at a depth of 2852m in Block CPO-5. ONGC Videsh operates the block where PDSA is the partner. In Brazil, ONGC Videsh drilled with its consortium partner, Petrobras in block BM-SEAL-4, encountering oil and gas bearing sands.

Woodside will delay the final approval date for its mega Browse gas project. Also, the company has decided to bring in the plans to sign off on its smaller Scarborough project. Woodside is focusing on the final investment decision on the $20.5 billion Browse project in the first half of 2021. In early 2020, it will sign off on the $11 billion Scarborough gas project and Pluto LNG expansion.

Sources have said that oil supermajor, Exxon Mobil and ONGC have inked an expertise-sharing agreement to enable the Indian state-owned to develop its resources in offshore blocks. Sources also said that the two firms have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for now, and will be later inked as a definitive deal after the US oil major studies ONGC’s block.

British E&P firm, Neptune Energy has inked a conditional SPA with Energean Oil and Gas to acquire the production, development and exploration assets of Edison E&P in UK and Norwegian North Sea. The agreement is conditioned on the proposed acquisition of Edison E&P by Energean. If successful, the deal will provide Neptune with an estimated 30 MMboe of 2P reserves, apart from material growth in contingent resources, and near-term production.

ConocoPhillips has farmed out its northern Australian business to Santos Ltd in a $1.39 billion deal. The acquisition, which will boost Santos’ output by 25%, is second in the line of major acquisitions made by the Australian firm this year. While ConocoPhillips will let go of the Darwin LNG plant and gas fields off northern Australia, it will hold onto its stakes in the Australia Pacific LNG plant in Queensland.