Chevron shuts in Alba platform as Mitsui and Statoil try to sell the field

Chevron the operator of the Alba field in the UK North Sea has announced at the end of last week that it had been forced to shut down production at the field. This follows a power outage at the platform. Emergency back-up power is in place and the crew continues to try and restore power. The mature heavy oil field which was brought onstream in 1994 is exploited from a fixed platform tied to a floating storage unit. Endeavour had tried to sell...

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Nova development could face delays with Gjøa tie-back challenges

Nova (formerly Skarfjell) is planning to submit the field development plan to the Norwegian authorities in H1 2018. The selected development concept is four production wells and three injection wells from two subsea templates tied back to the Gjøa platform. Neptune which operates Gjøa has raised concerns about the potential tie-back which it has now raised with the Ministry of Petroleum. Nova is an oil and gas field operated by Wintershall...

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Petronas makes offshore discovery in Gabon

PETRONAS has made the Boudji-1 discovery in deepwater Gabon. The discovery is located in Block F14 or Likuale in which PETRONAS holds 50% as an operator, Woodside holds 30% and the government holds 20%. The block lies in deepwater between depths of 2,500-3,200m. Exploration activity in the deepwater has been slow with the country previously focussing in the onshore and coastal areas. Gabon has held ad-hoc licensing rounds for the offshore...

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SOCO terminates merger talks with Kuwait Energy

Soco has formally terminated merger talks with Kuwait Energy over valuation differences. Full press release from Soco below. On 8 January 2018, SOCO International plc (“SOCO”) announced that it was in preliminary discussions with the newly-constituted Board of Directors of Kuwait Energy plc (“Kuwait Energy”) regarding a potential transaction. SOCO confirms that it has terminated these discussions because it could not reach agreement with Kuwait Energy on the basis for an acceptable transaction. SOCO’s Board remains committed to its strategy...

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US Gulf Coast claims strategic trading hub title

The US Gulf Coast has inadvertently become a strategic trading hub for global oil flows in the rapidly evolving oil market marked by North American short cycle shale production. The region is blessed with access to premium upstream acreage linked by a strong network of infrastructure and ports which have been converted from import to import/export terminals following the lifting of the crude export ban two years ago. Source: EIA The PADD...

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Marathon fully exits Libyan operations to Total for USD450 million

Marathon announced this morning that it had sold its Libyan upstream operations to Total for USD450 million. Marathon had a 16.33% in the Waha licence area which covers a series of blocks in northern Libya and encapsulates a large number of fields and discoveries. Although Waha predominantly produces oil, there are significant undeveloped gas discoveries as well. Waha licence acreageSource: Wood Mackenzie The divestment represents a full...

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Papua New Guinea LNG force majeure a week after expansion plans announced

ExxonMobil has declared force majeure on PNG LNG after Papua New Guinea was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Monday. The partners in the plant, which exported 7.8 million tonnes last year, are ExxonMobil (33.2% operator), Oil Search (29%), State of Papua New Guinea (16.8%), Santos (13.5%), JX Nippon (4.7%) and Mineral Resources Development Company of Papua New Guinea (2.8%). Latest reports are that the pipeline and liquefaction plant...

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