Norway plans Barents Sea exploration expansion
Norway plans to persevere with exploration in its arctic frontier through the offer of blocks in the to-now fairly unproductive Barents Sea.
The country's energy and petroleum ministry plans to offer 125 Barents Sea blocks in eight areas in a new licensing round, along with 11 blocks in one Norwegian Sea area.
"Regular access to new exploration acreage is crucial to maintaining activity on the Norwegian continental shelf," energy minister Tina Bru said today. "By initiating the 25th licensing round, while we have the annual allocations in [mature] areas, the oil and gas industry gains access to acreage in both lesser-known and well-known areas."
Norway last week offered 36 new exploration blocks in mature areas of the Norwegian Sea, in its latest annual awards in pre-defined areas (APA) licensing round. That compares with the 69 new licences that were awarded in the previous mature areas round in January — 33 in the North Sea, 23 in the Norwegian Sea and 13 in the Barents Sea.
Exploration results in the Barents Sea, where there is little infrastructure, have been disappointing in recent years. Norwegian state-controlled Equinor is developing the much-delayed 400mn-650mn bl Johan Castberg field in the region. It also operates the Snohvit gas field, the first offshore development in the southern Barents Sea, and holds a stake in Italy's Eni-operated Goliat oil field. Those are the only two producing fields in Norway's Barents Sea.
"The last few months have been particularly challenging, both for oil companies and the supply industry," Bru said. "It is important not to lose sight of the more long-term prospects."
The 25th licensing round will be launched later this year after a consultation period, with awards in the second half of 2021. In the 24th round, Norway awarded 12 licences in 47 offshore blocks to 11 companies in June 2018, despite originally offering 102 blocks or parts of blocks in frontier areas.
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Australia’s Woodside to buy US LNG developer Tellurian
Australia’s Woodside to buy US LNG developer Tellurian
Sydney, 22 July (Argus) — Australian independent Woodside Energy is buying US LNG developer Tellurian, which is behind the planned 11mn t/yr Driftwood phase 1 project on the US Gulf coast. Woodside said the all-cash payment will position the firm as a global LNG powerhouse, with the purchase providing an "attractive entry" with more than $1bn spent on the Louisiana project to date. The deal values Tellurian at $1 a share with an implied value of $1.2bn. Driftwood's development plan envisions construction of five LNG production trains in four phases, totalling capacity of 27.6mn t/yr. Woodside is targeting completion of the Tellurian acquisition during October-December ahead of a final investment decision (FID) on Driftwood in January-March 2025, with its first LNG from 2029. The transaction adds scalable US LNG to Woodside's existing 10mn t/yr equity production in Australia, chief executive Meg O'Neill said on 22 July, with Driftwood complementing its existing output and enabling the company to better service customers while opening further marketing opportunities, including in the Atlantic basin. Tellurian planned to make a FID on Driftwood this year after beginning the plant's regulatory approval process in 2016. But the terminal does not yet have any publicly announced term customers. Contracts worth 9mn t/yr to supply Shell and trading firms Gunvor and Vitol were cancelled last year, as Tellurian did not reach a FID by the deadlines set out in the supply contracts. Woodside expects development costs of around $900-960/t for phase 1 and 2, which total 16.5mn t/yr capacity, implying a project worth about $10.6bn excluding pipelines. Phase 1 construction is under way with pilings for trains 1 and 2 complete, foundation work in progress and pilings under way for its LNG tanks, the firm said. Woodside earlier this year called off a proposed $53bn merger with fellow Australian independent Santos, with it focusing on completing its $12bn Scarborough project offshore Western Australia by 2026. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Biden abandons bid for re-election: Update
Biden abandons bid for re-election: Update
Updates with reaction Washington, 21 July (Argus) — President Joe Biden has dropped his bid for a second term and is endorsing vice president Kamala Harris to serve as his party's presidential nominee, bowing to pressure from top Democrats who no longer saw a viable path for him to defeat former president Donald Trump in the November election. Biden committed to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends on 20 January 2025. Biden's abrupt withdrawal from the presidential race will leave it up to Democratic delegates to decide who will become their nominee by no later than the Democratic National Convention on 19-22 August. "While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote in a letter posted on the social media site X. In calling for Democrats to rally around Harris as the nominee, Biden said he was giving his "full support and endorsement" of Harris and urged Democrats to "come together and beat Trump". Other top voices in the Democratic Party have called for a "mini-primary" to allow a new candidate to emerge, but doing so could run the risk of a protracted and politically risky intraparty fight. Trump, who has spent years attacking Biden's mental competency and age, said in a post today on Truth Social that Biden is not "fit to run for President" and had never been capable to lead the country. Other Republican leaders urged Biden to resign from the White House, which would lead to Harris being sworn in as president. "If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president," US House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in a post on X. "He must resign the office immediately." House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) called Biden "one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history". Jeffries did not explicitly endorse Harris. The Democratic revolt against Biden staying in the race followed the first presidential debate last month, when Biden often appeared feeble and confused and struggled to clearly articulate his policy positions. Biden called the debate "a stupid mistake" and blamed it on his busy travel and work schedule. But efforts by Biden and his campaign to reach out to Democratic lawmakers and donors have failed to assuage their concerns. Trump has also made polling gains in must-win battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, and even threatened to be competitive in typically Democratic strongholds such as New Jersey. Biden is the first sitting US president since Lyndon Johnson in 1968 to prematurely end his re-election campaign. Biden said he would speak "in more detail" later this week about his decision. The Trump campaign had already started preparing for the possibility that Biden would drop out of the race after the presidential debate last month. Last week, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign declined to set a date for the vice presidential debate, saying it would be "unfair" to "whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate", in a taunting reference to the uncertainty of Biden's candidacy. By Chris Knight and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Israel strikes Yemen’s Houthi-held Red Sea port city
Israel strikes Yemen’s Houthi-held Red Sea port city
Dubai, 21 July (Argus) — Israel's military on Saturday struck Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen, in retaliation for a drone attack by the Iran-backed militant group on Tel Aviv a day earlier, further stoking heightened geopolitical tensions in a key shipping lane for the global economy. Israel's airstrikes targeted "the power station that supplies the coastal city of Hodeidah" and also "the Hodeidah port and fuel tanks," Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV broadcast live footage of flames and smoke raging in the port's oil storage facilities that it said were hit. Saree vowed an "inevitable" and "huge" retaliation to Israel's assault. Saree also claimed on Sunday that the group fired ballistic missiles targeting Eilat in southern Israel. Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) said on Sunday it intercepted a "surface-to-surface missile that approached Israeli territory from Yemen." The IDF on 20 July officially claimed the attack on Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory. "After 9 months of continuous aerial attacks by the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel, IAF [Israeli air force] fighter jets conducted an extensive operational strike over 1,800km away against Houthi terrorist military targets in the area of Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen," the IDF said. "This port serves as an entryway for Iranian weapons for the Houthi terrorist regime," the IDF said, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar remarks in a televised speech. Houthi spokesperson and chairman of Al Masirah media network Mohammed Abdulsalam in a statement on social media platform X said that the Israeli attack targeted "civilian facilities." He also vowed that the attacks will only "increase the determination of the Houthis to ramp up their support for Gaza." Yemen's crude production collapsed soon after the start of the country's civil war, from around 170,000 b/d in 2011-13. The Houthi group uses Hodeidah's port to import some needed fuel oil shipments, with data from analytics firm Kpler suggesting the port received two shipments totalling 156,000 bls between June and July. Hodeidah is also an entry port for humanitarian fuel and food deliveries under the UN auspices, which are then distributed both to the internationally-recognized government of Yemen and to the Houthi authorities. Video footage posted on social media appear to show long queues in front of gas stations in Houthi-controlled areas, in anticipation of a possible fuel shortage closing in. Yemen's internationally recognized and Saudi-backed governing body condemned Israel's attack in a statement. It also renewed its warning to "the terrorist Houthi militias against continuing to tie Yemenis' fate in service of the Iranian regime's interests and its expansionist project in the region." Saudi Arabia's defense ministry on Sunday denied any relation or involvement in the targeting of Hodeidah, adding that the country will not allow any entity to violate its airspace. Yemen's Houthis on 19 July claimed responsibility for a drone attack in central Tel Aviv in Israel that claimed the life of one citizen and injured eight, according to the IDF. It marked a significant escalation that risked a regional spillover of the 10-month conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, especially with Israel highlighting the Iranian origin of the UAV. Israel and Iran avoided a full-blown war in April after a significant escalation led to exchanging direct aerial strikes against each other's territory. But the IDF attack opens yet another area of confrontation for Israel in the region in the aftermath of the 10-month conflict between between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. Iran-backed Houthis began attacking commercial ships in and around the Red Sea six weeks after the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October last year in what they claim is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Houthis are part of Tehran's so-called 'Axis of Resistance,' a regional proxy network that includes the Gaza-based Hamas militant group, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia militias. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Biden abandons bid for re-election
Biden abandons bid for re-election
Washington, 21 July (Argus) — President Joe Biden has dropped his bid for a second term and is endorsing vice president Kamala Harris to serve as his party's presidential nominee, bowing to pressure from top Democrats who no longer saw a viable path for him to defeat former president Donald Trump in the November election. Biden committed to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends on 20 January 2025. Biden's abrupt withdrawal from the presidential race will leave it up to Democratic delegates to decide who will become their nominee by no later than the Democratic National Convention on 19-22 August. "While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote in a letter posted on the social media site X. In calling for Democrats to rally around Harris as the nominee, Biden said he was giving his "full support and endorsement" of Harris and urged Democrats to "come together and beat Trump". Other top voices in the Democratic Party have called for a "mini-primary" to allow a new candidate to emerge, but doing so could run the risk of a protracted and politically risky intraparty fight. The Democratic revolt against Biden staying in the race followed the first presidential debate last month, when Biden often appeared feeble and confused and struggled to clearly articulate his policy positions. Biden called the debate "a stupid mistake" and blamed it on his busy travel and work schedule. But efforts by Biden and his campaign to reach out to Democratic lawmakers and donors have failed to assuage their concerns. Trump has also made polling gains in must-win battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, and even threatened to be competitive in typically Democratic strongholds such as New Jersey. Biden is the first sitting US president since Lyndon Johnson in 1968 to prematurely end his re-election campaign. Biden said he would speak "in more detail" later this week about his decision. The Trump campaign had already started preparing for the possibility that Biden would drop out of the race after the presidential debate last month. Last week, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign declined to set a date for the vice presidential debate, saying it would be "unfair" to "whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate", in a taunting reference to the uncertainty of Biden's candidacy. By Chris Knight and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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