Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) agreed to sell its 90% stake in a Brazilian natural gas pipeline company to France’s Engie SA and Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec for $8.6 billion. Engie and Caisse won the bidding war for the unit, Transportadora Associada de Gas, known as Tag, beating out Australia’s Macquarie
The U.S. Friday added two companies which ship crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba, along with 34 ships, to a financial sanctions list aimed at increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down and turn over power to his opposition. A Treasury Department statement announcing the designation identified one of the companies as Ballito Bay
Power failures that kept Venezuela in darkness for much of March also briefly slashed the country’s crude production by 50%, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. Rolling blackouts across much of the country that started on March 7 temporarily paralyzed most of the country’s oil industry, Kallanish Energy finds. Oil output averaged less than
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating what could end up being the first case of water well contamination from fracking in Allegheny County, Pa., since the shale boom began, according to State Impact. Shortly after the Midas 8M well was completed, a landowner near the well reported that his water well nearly dried up, its
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed legislation funding an examination of the state’s natural gas distribution system, a move prompted by recent gas pipeline explosions, Kallanish Energy reports. In September, gas explosions and resulting fires in the state’s Merrimack Valley killed one person, injured at least 24, and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes,
Brent crude oil prices Thursday pushed through $70 per barrel for the first time in nearly five months, as expectations of tight global supply outweighed pressure from rising U.S. production and lower global demand, Kallanish Energy reports. Brent futures touched $70.03/Bbl, the highest level since Nov. 12, when it last traded above $70/Bbl. The international benchmark for
Royal Dutch Shell Plc this week said it was leaving a U.S. refining lobbying organization in 2020 because the oil supermajor disagrees with the firm’s climate policy, Kallanish Energy learns. The oil giant, in its first review of its association with 19 industry groups, said it found “material misalignment” over climate policy with the American
Ascent Resources achieved record daily production in December 2018, producing roughly 2.4 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) gross and 1.9 Bcfe/d net, according to Kallanish Energy. Ascent and its subsidiaries also increased proved natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids reserves to roughly 7.6 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) with a PV-10 value at Securities and
Embattled PG&E Corp. and its utility Pacific Gas and Electric, on Wednesday announced the appointment of William “Bill” Johnson as president and CEO, Kallanish Energy reports. In addition, the company, currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, named 10 new board members, to be appointed at the company’s next board meeting. The San Francisco-based utility
Liquefied natural gas is expected to become a big part of China-U.S. trade once the dispute is resolved between the two countries, a senior executive from China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc) said Wednesday. LNG will also continue to dominate China’s natural gas imports, having accounted for 60% of its gas imports in 2018, said Cnooc vice
A federal judge in San Francisco is barring utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric from re-issuing dividends in favor of using the funds for reducing the risk of wildfires in the company’s service area. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, in a court hearing Tuesday, also said he will monitor PG&E’s compliance with new wildfire prevention
Last year natural gas production in the United States grew by 10 billion cubic feet per day, according to reports conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The 11%-production increase marked the largest annual production increase on record, reaching an all-time high for the second consecutive year, according to The Youngstown Business Journal. The Utica/Point
Energy midstreamer/transporter/storage giant Energy Transfer LP is opening an office in Beijing, looking to capitalize on China’s demand for ethane and other natural gas liquids. By opening its first office outside the U.S., Energy Transfer hopes to better leverage the increasing business opportunities in the export of energy products to China and other Asian markets,
The liquefied natural gas arm of oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell has become the first customer of NextDecade’s proposed $15 billion Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. NextDecade announced the 20-year sale and purchase agreement at the LNG2019 conference in Shanghai Monday night, Kallanish Energy learns. Under the deal, Shell will
ExxonMobil has held talks on the sale of a number of oil and gas fields in Nigeria, as the company focuses on developments in the U.S.’s Permian Basin and Guyana, industry and banking sources told Reuters. The potential sales are expected to include stakes in onshore and offshore fields and could raise up to $3