24/7 Oil and Gas News Coverage

September 06, 2013

China and Turkmenistan pledge energy cooperation Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan (UPI) Sep 4, 2013 - China and Turkmenistan have agreed to promote bilateral energy cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping, alongside his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, told reporters Tuesday that the two countries "will be long-term, stable and reliable energy partners," China Daily newspaper reports. Turkmenistan was the first stop of Xi's four-nation Central Asian tour - his ... more

Philippines says it finds more Chinese blocks on reef Manila (AFP) Sept 04, 2013 - The Philippines said Wednesday it had spotted more concrete blocks allegedly installed by China within Filipino territory in the South China Sea, raising concerns Beijing is planning to build in the disputed waters. Aerial surveillance has discovered about 75 blocks scattered on a section of the Scarborough Shoal, said defence department spokesman Peter Galvez. "These can be used for pla ... more

Libya in crisis as armed groups throttle oil supplies Tripoli, Libya (UPI) Sep 4, 2013 - Lawless Libya, these days seen as a major haven for al-Qaida, is facing its greatest crisis since Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in October 2011, as armed groups besiege oil fields and terminals, cutting production to a trickle and threatening economic meltdown. Output has fallen from 1.4 million barrels per day in January to just 250,000 bpd, the government says, as militias, s ... more

India tells firms to be more adventurous in oil quest New Delhi (AFP) Sept 03, 2013 - India's foreign minister told energy firms Tuesday to be more adventurous in searching for global oil supplies as a report warned of a likely large rise in the country's fuel import needs. Oil imports already make up 75 percent of consumption, a dependence which has caused India's current account deficit to soar and prompted a crash in the value of the rupee. Import dependence is set to ... more

India's new LNG import terminal receives first delivery New Delhi (UPI) Aug 26, 2013 - Petronet says its new import terminal in India for liquefied natural gas has received its first shipment of about 123,000 cubic meters of LNG from Qatar. The Kochi terminal in Kerala is expected to promote a shift in India from conventional fuels such as petrol, diesel and naphtha to LNG. Petronet is India's largest importer of liquid gas. About 123,000 cubic meters of LNG had ar ... more

Iraq oil exports rebound in August: ministry Baghdad (AFP) Sept 01, 2013 - Iraq's oil exports rebounded in August from a 16-month low, as increased sales and rising prices lifted revenues to their highest level this year, a spokesman said on Sunday. Daily exports averaged 2.579 million barrels per day (bpd) in August and raised revenues of $8.3 billion, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a text message, representing the highest level of income from oil expo ... more

Japan's Abe visits gas-rich Qatar Doha (AFP) Aug 28, 2013 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed strengthening cooperation with gas-rich Qatar as he met emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani in Doha on Wednesday as part of a regional tour. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in the political and security fields, they said in a joint statement. Abe's tour of the Gulf is seen as his latest push to promote nuclear technology exports. ... more

Thousands protest in Romania against shale gas, gold mine Bucharest (AFP) Sept 01, 2013 - Thousands of people took to the streets of Romania on Sunday to protest against shale gas exploration and a controversial Canadian gold mine project using cyanide. Protesters also lashed out at the government and the president for supporting these controversial projects. In Bucharest, between 4,000, according to the police, and 7,000 people, according to organisers walked between the cen ... more

China halts environmental approvals for oil giants Shanghai (AFP) Aug 29, 2013 - China's environment ministry has suspended approvals of new projects by the country's two biggest oil firms for failing to achieve pollution reduction goals, it said Thursday. The ministry said it had temporarily halted approval of new refining projects, and renovation or expansion of existing facilities, for China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec ... more

Row between Portugal, Spain over Savage Islands Lisbon (AFP) Sept 02, 2013 - Portugal said Monday it will press the United Nations to let it expand its control over the waters around the uninhabited Savage Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, a move opposed by Spain. The tiny archipelago, made up of two major islands and several islets of volcanic origin that house a nature reserve, is located nearly midway between Portugal's Madeira Islands and Spain's Canary Islands. ... more

Poll finds 70% of oil-rich Norwegians against EU membership Oslo, Norway (UPI) Aug 29, 2013 - A new poll finds more than two-thirds of Norwegians opposed to the country's membership in the European Union. Sentio market research, which conducted the survey, found that opposition to EU membership is consistent across all age-groups, regions and education levels, reporting that seven out of ten Norwegians would vote no in any referendum on the country joining the EU. The fin ... more

Pakistan hoping that U.S. govt. figures on shale gas reserves accurate Islamabad, Pakistan (UPI) Aug 30, 2013 - Severe energy shortages have left Pakistan's private power companies with about 50 percent less electricity generation capability than normal demand, leading to blackouts. The companies - ramshackle and starved for investment - are blacking out both urban and rural areas, with some blackouts lasting 20 hours per day. The National Grid faces a shortfall of more than 5,000 megawa ... more

China graft probe to focus on oil firm: media Beijing (AFP) Sept 02, 2013 - China's corruption inquiry into Jiang Jiemin, the highest-ranking official to be caught in a crackdown under the new leadership, will focus on a giant state oil firm, state media said Monday. An earlier Hong Kong report had highlighted an even more senior figure linked to China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's biggest oil producer. Jiang worked for decades in China's petrole ... more

New fracking touted as Quebec eyes energy boom Port-Menier, Canada / Quebec (AFP) Sept 01, 2013 - Fresh moose tracks dot the ground where plans are afoot to dig for oil. Quebec's largest energy firm, Petrolia, is eyeing an estimated 40 billion barrels of oil beneath the surface of Anticosti Island, an ecological gem at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence. But it has caused a rift among the island's few inhabitants and sparked a broader debate about the economic benefits and environmenta ... more

Indian oil tanker still being detained by Iran New Delhi (UPI) Aug 22, 2013 - India said Thursday there have been "intensive discussions" but no progress toward gaining the release of an Indian oil tanker detained by Iran for the past week. The vessel, belonging to Shipping Corp. of India, was carrying crude oil from Iraq to India. Iranian naval authorities detained the ship Aug. 13 in the Persian Gulf, saying it was polluting Iranian waters. India, the wo ... more

Technip to lay world's deepest gas pipeline in Gulf of Mexico Paris (AFP) Aug 23, 2013 - French firm Technip will lay the world's deepest gas pipeline for energy giant Shell in the US Gulf of Mexico, the oil services company said in a statement on Friday. This was the second big announcement by Technip in 10 days concerning deep-sea pipelaying. In the latest statement, the company said it was awarded "an important engineering, procurement and installation contract for the de ... more

India's OVL may block Chinese bid to buy into Brazil oilfield New Delhi (UPI) Aug 20, 2013 - Both China and India have both been scouring the globe for reliable energy resources. One of the latest battlegrounds between the two Asian competing energy giants is Latin America. Competing interests have collided in Brazil, Latin America's biggest nation. India's state company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. subsidiary Videsh Ltd. is considering exercising its pre-emption ... more

Belarus, Ukraine begin joint geological surveys for oil and gas Minsk, Belarus (UPI) Aug 21, 2013 - The USSR collapse in 1991, left many post-Soviet states, including Belarus and Ukraine, bereft of energy supplies. Accordingly, energy poor Belarus and Ukraine have begun joint oil and natural gas prospecting. According to Belarus Oil and Gas at the Scientific and Production Center for Geology State Enterprise chief geologist Iaroslav Gribik, the survey is part of the Belarusian- ... more

PetroChina says H1 profit up 5.6 percent Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 22, 2013 - PetroChina on Thursday said first-half net profit increased 5.6 percent for 2013, citing a boost from policy reforms, which helped narrow losses for its refining and chemical businesses. China, one of the world's largest oil consumers, brought in fuel pricing mechanisms in March that are more in line with international market standards, giving more room for oil companies to set prices close ... more

Since 25 July, Libya loses nearly $1.6 billion in oil ports shutdown Tripoli, Libya (UPI) Aug 18, 2013 - Libya's oil and gas minister says the closure of the country's oil ports has resulted in massive economic losses. During a press conference Saturday in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Oil and Gas Minister Abdel-Barri Arrousi told reporters that since July 25 the nation had lost nearly $1.6 billion in oil revenues as a result of the shutdown, adding that a further consequence would be a loss ... more