Petroleum Economist
Indian government seeks energy investors
Delhi is looking to the Mideast for energy investment, oil ministry secretary Tarun Kapoor tells Petroleum Economist
Energy transitions for a sustainable future
The challenge of meeting global energy demand while hitting net-zero targets will be at the core of this year’s World Petroleum Congress
Energy transitions for a sustainable future (1)
The challenge of meeting global energy demand while hitting net-zero targets will be at the core of this year’s World Petroleum Congress
Outlook 2022: Profiting from the transition
The shift to lower-carbon energy may disrupt legacy business models but will also present major opportunities for many oil and gas companies
European chemicals sector rises to climate challenge
Industry responds to EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package with new business models and alliances with other sectors, says PwC’s global head of chemicals
European chemicals sector rises to climate challenge (1)
Industry responds to EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package with new business models and alliances with other sectors, says PwC’s global head of chemicals
IEA warns of commodity cost threat to renewables
Rising prices could delay wind and solar projects and add $100bn to costs, agency warns
Renewables pairing drives China energy storage growth
Mid-decade storage target within reach despite challenging business model, conference delegates say
Letter from South America: Mexico plays catch-up
The country’s upstream strategy seems at odds with reality and will require an about-turn if there is any hope of meeting its production targets
Colombian upstream kicks through the gears
Prospects look bright for 2022 as bullish companies predict production growth and exploration activity
Module price surge wrongfoots Chinese solar firms
Solar module prices up 28pc this year on the back of soaring feedstock costs, conference delegates say
Aramco’s domestic petchems path remains bumpy
The firm still faces challenges balancing economics with politics
Outlook 2022: A ‘just’ energy transition for Africa
The move towards a more sustainable energy mix must not penalise the continent
Aramco back to petchems drawing board
The Saudi heavyweight’s international downstream expansion strategy will need another reboot
Southeast Asian NOCs take different paths
Petronas, PTT and Pertamina are pursuing divergent strategies after coming to dominate the region’s upstream in recent years
North Sea independents aim to reap carbon footprint benefits
Two of the basin’s larger producers consider ways to cash in on relatively greener production
Greening of UK power system gathers pace
Lenders back phase three of £9bn Dogger Bank offshore windfarm, and power distributor proposes £4bn clean energy overhaul
US ‘Build Back Better Act’ aims for EV policy shift
Bill includes point-of-sale credits on US-built EVs and $1bn towards charging and refuelling stations
Equinor enters UK battery storage market
Norwegian company agrees to buy stake in battery developer as UK’s renewables expansion increases need for storage
Outlook 2022: IOCs face scope three emissions challenges
Quantifying CO₂ emissions from processes outside of a firm’s control—never mind influencing and reducing them—represents a hugely complex new undertaking
RWE in €15bn German renewables push
Investment in local wind and solar projects comes as new German coalition government targets 80pc renewables by 2030
UK majors fend off breakup questions
Both Shell and BP face scrutiny on whether they might be better off as more than one company
Letter from the Middle East: Gas businesses see swift evolution
Self-sufficiency targets and opportunities to shift to renewables are driving big upsurge in gas production
Asian demand green lights US LNG
Chinese deals are driving boom in cargoes and LNG export capacity
Wentworth champions gas-to-power in east Africa
Gas has a bright future in Tanzania and across Africa, where it will be vital to the energy transition, says CEO Katherine Roe
ExxonMobil targets net zero in Permian by 2030
Strategy includes end of routine flaring by end of next year and electrification of operations in New Mexico and Texas using low-carbon power
BP enters US EV fleet-charging sector
Acquisition of California-based fleet-charging specialist Amply Power provides springboard for expansion in US market
EU carbon prices surge to record levels
Number of investment funds active in EU ETS market up 50pc in 2021, exchange data shows
Leveraging intelligent data to improve sustainability
Digitalisation can help process and manufacturing facilities achieve sustainability goals
Leveraging intelligent data to improve sustainability (1)
Digitalisation can help process and manufacturing facilities achieve sustainability goals
Outlook 2022: Recovering the costs of the energy transition
Recouping the cost of wide-ranging support payments in an efficient way is a major challenge and requires a new approach to avoid undesirable outcomes
Indian oil companies advance refining agenda
The country’s refinery sector continues to grow, but remains largely state-controlled
Letter from Houston: Omicron moves the dial
Covid-19 variant sends oil price tumbling as SPR release makes little impact
US industry and government must work together on abandoned wells
Dealing with end-of-life oil and gas wells has costs and challenges. But a joined-up approach should also offer benefits
Global finance must deliver on Cop26 pledges
Private sector needs to translate ambitious promises into real action, finance experts say
Red tape slows Southeast Asia’s renewables growth
Pace of deployment to leave Indonesia and the Philippines heavily reliant on coal through end of decade, analysts say
Digitalisation the new normal
Covid-19 has accelerated the shift towards greater digital maturity for oil and gas operators
PKN Orlen forms nuclear power venture
Polish oil refiner and Synthos Green Energy aim to commercialise small modular reactor technology in Poland
Angola: short-cycle oil gains but gas travails?
The country’s government may have different upstream development priorities to IOCs, with particular impact on the gas sector
Enbridge loses regulatory decision
Pipeline verdict is music to the ears of many Western Canadian oil producers, but will only add to surplus capacity
Outlook 2022: Digitalisation holds the key
Decarbonising existing and future energy production can be achieved only through technological innovation
Outlook 2022: Setting a strategy for net-zero steel
Industry endorsement of the Net-Zero Steel Sector Transition Strategy promises to unlock decarbonisation in steel and beyond
Data-based decisions require AI at enterprise scale
Operational data is generated on a vast scale across the value chain every day but has yet to be fully exploited by predictive, analytical digital technologies
Data-based decisions require AI at enterprise scale (1)
Operational data is generated on a vast scale across the value chain every day but has yet to be fully exploited by predictive, analytical digital technologies
Carbon markets poised for rapid growth
Surging prices signal arrival of emerging asset class, with voluntary market expected to grow exponentially over coming decades, conference speakers say
IOCs plot risky Libya return
Despite the continuing threat that the country’s security situation could implode, oil firms are keen to get going again
Outlook 2022
Outlook 2022 is out now!
Cenovus high grades its portfolio
Debt management has been the immediate priority for the firm, but 2022 holds plenty of growth opportunities
UK launches its biggest renewables CfD auction
Bulk of funds earmarked for offshore wind but solar, tidal and geothermal projects also invited to bid
Norway seeks return to fiscal stability
Next year should see another change in the tax regime confirmed. The hope is that it will signal the country’s much-vaunted predictability is back
Exit options still cloud Cyprus gas optimism
Post-pandemic green shoots for the island nation’s fledgling upstream industry are blighted by the same old questions
Hunt for more reserves at South Pars
Tehran’s attention is turning to underexplored areas of the field
Namibia’s prospects gain momentum
The Venus field could prove a game-changer for the country
Shell buys US solar and storage developer
Missouri-based Savion has more than 18GW of utility-scale solar and battery storage capacity under development in the US
Managing the EV nickel pickle
Global plans for decarbonisation are driving massive growth in electric vehicle uptake, but production of key battery metal comes with a problematic carbon footprint of its own
Managing the EV nickel pickle (1)
Global plans for decarbonisation are driving massive growth in electric vehicle uptake, but production of key battery metal comes with a problematic carbon footprint of its own
Australia and South Korea to finance hydrogen development
Countries will each commit $35mn to collaboration on hydrogen, steel and CCS technologies
Sembcorp’s UK arm plans Europe’s biggest battery storage system
Short-term duration system will have capacity of 360MW using lithium-ion batteries
Adnoc faces both ways
The state firm caught the global mood in the fourth quarter with a string of decarbonisation initiatives, but it also set out plans to raise oil and gas production
Licensing round December update
The industry's most comprehensive list of current and recent rounds for onshore and offshore licences
Chad’s Doba oil changes hands
UK independent Savannah Energy expands into Chad and Cameroon, as ExxonMobil and Petronas divest
Suncor unshackles oil sands
Output scaled up as company eyes falling breakeven and billions in additional cash
Eni and CIP partner for Polish offshore wind
The two firms expand existing French partnership with an eye to bidding in upcoming CfD auctions
US shale closes the gap
Supply is gradually returning, but the market will remain tight into next year
New Dutch government pledges €35bn transition fund
The incoming Dutch government will throw much more weight behind green energy, but also supports North Sea gas exploration and nuclear power
Basra Energy starts amid output push
The JV assumes the role of Rumaila’s main contractor as a new production target is set
Ireland tarries on joined-up gas thinking
The island nation has endorsed gas for power supply security. But it will not be rushed on its parlous procurement options for the primary fuel
China’s gas production grows apace
State firms saw their gas production gains outpace those of crude in the first nine months of 2021
Action needed to curb record coal demand – IEA
Report warns of gap between ambition and action as rising coal power generation in Asia threatens net-zero goals
Referendum to shape Taiwan’s LNG future
Taiwanese voters will decide whether to relocate the $2bn Taoyuan project
Outlook 2022: Maritime can decarbonise with methanol
The industry faces challenges in adopting new technologies, but methanol could offer a near-term solution
Outlook 2022: Plan for decarbonisation now or pay later
Many firms are yet to formulate a clear plan to get to net zero, despite the rising cost of inaction
December 2021/January 2022
The December 2021/January 2022 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
Nigeria poised for refining renaissance
The country is set to end a lengthy period in the doldrums with the launch of several small facilities
Meeting the oil and gas supply gap
The world has no lack of recoverable oil and gas resources. But where they will come from in the future will change
Green shoots emerge in Libyan reconstruction
Shell, Eni and TotalEnergies signal interest in large-scale solar projects as returning economic growth drives surge in electricity demand
China embraces US LNG
Rising imports and fresh supply deals signal China’s growing interest in US supplies of the fuel
Rotterdam CCS project signs up four major users
Porthos cluster project nearing FID as Shell, ExxonMobil, Air Liquide and Air Products sign final contracts
LNG Canada hits pipeline problem
Canadian export project buffeted by hitches in its Coastal GasLink feedstock provision
EU warns of energy price impact on transition
Commission urges against knee-jerk policy reactions as record energy prices make transition more abrupt and difficult
Beyond buzzwords
Industry pioneer Cognite warns that digitalisation’s track record of over-promising and under-delivering threatens to overshadow its huge potential to transform oil and gas
Petro Matad plans Mongolian oil in 2022
Production from the Heron field could peak at 9,000bl/d and feed both exports and the domestic market
CER provides narrow view of Canada’s oil production future
The worst possible future for the country’s oil producers goes underexplored in scenario planning
California rethinks rooftop solar rules
The state’s Public Utilities Commission proposes controversial changes to net-metering programme that would cut payments to homeowners in US’ largest solar market
Outlook 2022: Global gas crisis resets transition narrative
Conversation must shift towards low-emission oil and gas production and consumption, rather than starving the industry of capital
Cop26: What role for hydrogen in the journey to net zero?
Hydrogen can play a key role in many of the pledges made by participants at the talks
Cop26: What role for hydrogen in the journey to net zero? (1)
Hydrogen can play a key role in many of the pledges made by participants at the talks