1. Egypt has signed nine $1 billion oil and gas exploration agreements
Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s oil minister, said in a statement over the weekend that Egypt has signed nine $1 billion oil and gas exploration agreements with local and international energy companies. Six large oil and gas companies (including ExxonMobil and Chevron) will drill 17 oil wells in the eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Red Sea region for oil and gas exploration.
2. Oil and gas rigs in the United States rose for the sixth week in a row, with the largest quarterly increase since 2017
Baker Hughes, an American energy services company, said in a report on Wednesday that the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States increased by three to 351 in the week ending December 30, the sixth consecutive week. In this quarter, the number of crude oil rigs has increased by 90, the largest quarterly increase since 116 were added in the second quarter of 2017. Crude oil prices have risen about 160% in the past eight months, prompting several energy companies to step up exploitation.
3. Iraq confirms US $2 billion oil prepayment agreement with Chinese companies
On January 2, the director general of Iraq’s national oil marketing organization told the Iraqi national news agency that a $2 billion oil supply contract with partial prepayment has been awarded to Chinese buyers and is not subject to destination restrictions. This flexibility includes the freedom to determine the date of loading, the destination of export and the possibility of resale.
Oil revenue is crucial to Iraq’s budget revenue, and the country is trying to improve its financial situation. Oil advances are part of an emergency plan to increase Iraq’s national budget and overcome the financial crisis
4. Devon and wpx energy shareholders approved a $5.75 billion full share merger
On December 30, shareholders of Devon Energy Corp. and wpx Energy Inc. voted for a more than $5 billion full share merger.
The merged company will be named Devon Energy, which will become the leading unconventional oil producer in the United States and dominate the Delaware basin, according to the joint statement that announced the merger plan in September
5. Shah Deniz starts sending gas to Europe
The Shah Deniz consortium recently announced that it will start to transport commercial natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea of Azerbaijan to Europe through the newly built Southern Gas corridor (SGC) pipeline system. This marks the full integration of sGC’s natural gas value chain, which extends 3500 km from Azerbaijan to Europe. Shah Deniz gas field is located off the Caspian Sea of Azerbaijan. So far, the field has produced more than 130 billion cubic meters of natural gas and more than 31 million tons of condensate.
6. ExxonMobil is expected to report a fourth quarterly loss in 2020
ExxonMobil hinted in a filing with the securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it would record another quarterly loss this year – its fourth consecutive quarterly loss in 2020. The company had previously announced that it expected to record a huge write down of $20bn in the fourth quarter. ExxonMobil plans to release its fourth quarter financial report on February 2, 2021.
Post time: Jan-04-2021