Aramco makes oil, gas discoveries near northern border

Spanish Market: Crude oil, Natural gas
30/08/20

State-controlled Saudi Aramco has discovered one new oil field and one gas field in the north of the kingdom, close to its border with Jordan, oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced today.

At the Hadabat al-Hajra gas field, condensate-rich gas flowed from the al-Sara reservoir at the rate of 16mn ft3/d, with around 1,944 b/d of condensate, Prince Abdulaziz said, while at the Abraq al-Tulul oil field, unconventional Extra Light Arab crude flowed at a rate of 3,189 b/d, along with 1.1mn ft3/d of associated gas from the al-Shurura reservoir. The al-Qawwara reservoir at the same field yielded 2.4mn ft3/d of gas and 49 b/d of condensate.

Aramco will drill more wells to delineate the two fields and evaluate their potential and reserves, said the oil minister.

Aramco, which has 261.5bn bl of crude oil and condensate reserves and 237.4 ft3 of gas reserves, recently said it is focusing its exploration efforts on finding more gas for use in power generation and to provide feed for the country's petrochemicals industry.

The company is currently shutting in around 3.5mn b/d of crude production in line with its commitments under the ongoing Opec+ agreement that came into effect on 1 May. But it said earlier this year that it eventually plans to boost its crude capacity to 13mn b/d from 12mn b/d today.

By Samira Kawar

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29/04/25

N Sea benchmark crude loadings at 20-year low in June

London, 29 April (Argus) — Combined loadings of the five local North Sea benchmark grades Brent, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll will drop to 350,000 b/d in June, the lowest in at least 20 years. Only one cargo of Ekofisk is planned for June, to load in the last days of the month. This is the lowest on Argus ' records going back more than 15 years. The number of the only June cargo suggests that one shipment was added to the May programme, but this was not confirmed. The drop in Ekofisk exports is a result of maintenance. ConocoPhillips will shut down the fields it operates in the Ekofisk area and the Nordpipe system for maintenance in June, the company previously told Argus . The planned shutdown will last around four weeks. The company did not specify by how much exports would be reduced. ConocoPhillips operates the Ekofisk and the Eldfisk fields in the Ekofisk area, which produced around 100,000 b/d of crude last year. Loadings of Brent will be largely steady at 23,000 b/d, or one cargo. Both Norwegian-produced Oseberg and Troll will have one fewer cargo in June, with two and three, respectively. Forties is the only grade of which exports will increase in June to 187,000 b/d across eight cargoes, up by 18pc, or one shipment, from May. Forties production will drop to a four-year low during maintenance in August . Such low availability of just one cargo of benchmark crude loading every other day can support the price of North Sea Dated in May. The sixth benchmark grade US WTI, added to the basket in mid-2023, offers much higher liquidity, with around 1.4mn b/d delivered to Europe so far this year — or roughly two cargoes a day. But local grades have been setting Dated as the cheapest option 84pc of the time this year so far, and tighter supply in June could support the benchmark's price. By Lina Bulyk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Spanish refineries, petchems restart after power outage

29/04/25

Spanish refineries, petchems restart after power outage

Madrid, 29 April (Argus) — Spanish oil companies Repsol and Moeve are restarting refineries and petrochemical plants after they were halted by a massive power cut across Spain and Portugal yesterday, 28 April. Power has returned to Repsol's five Spanish refineries, which have a combined 890,000 b/d of capacity, and its two petrochemicals plants in Tarragona and Puertollano, as well as Moeve's 464,000 b/d of refining capacity and two petrochemicals plants in southern Spain. Facilities are "restarting progressively" after power was restored from late on 28 April, according to the companies. They declined to say when they expect production to return to levels prior to the outages. A momentary and as-yet-unexplained drop in power supply on the Spanish electricity grid of over 10GW at around 12.30 CET (10:30 GMT) caused power cuts across most of Spain and Portugal yesterday, shutting down industrial complexes . The outage followed a localised and unexplained loss of power in Cartagena southern Spain on 22 April which shut down Repsol's 220,000 refinery for several days, the company confirmed. Portugal's Galp has not yet responded to requests for confirmation that its 226,000 b/d Sines refinery in southern Portugal halted yesterday, although one worker at the facility confirmed to Argus that the refinery is restarting now after a "total shutdown" following the power cut. BP said operations at its 108,000 b/d Castellon refinery in eastern Spain "have not been affected by the power outage" but the facility did "activate an emergency response plan" and is working "closely with local authorities to manage the situation." Spain's dominant oil product pipeline and storage operator Exolum, whose facilities connect refineries and ports, and deliver to service stations, said its infrastructure is working "normally" today after yesterday's disruption, adding that it managed to supply essential services and airports with fuel throughout the blackout. Repsol's 220,000 b/d Bilbao refinery, which has limited hydrocracking capacity and no major petrochemicals units, took just two days to return to prior production levels after a power outage caused a total shutdown in 2016. Any recovery to normal functioning of a plant could take longer depending on the configuration of a particular refinery, whether any damage to units occurred and whether any petrochemical units were affected. Airport operations Aena — the firm that operates 48 Spanish airports — said that all airports in its network had fully resumed operations as of Tuesday morning. Airlines including Iberia, AirEuropa and Easyjet expect all flights to operate as scheduled today. The power outage halted operations at airports in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and southern France. Morocco's National Airports Office (Onda) announced that check-in and boarding procedures have been fully restored at all airports in the country. Around 500 flights were cancelled in Spain and Portugal, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, after deducting double-counted flights between the two countries. Lisbon airport was the worst hit, with 45pc of departures cancelled, as well as about 30pc of departures at Seville airport. Around 50 flights each were grounded at Madrid and Barcelona airports — Spain's busiest. By Jonathan Gleave and Amaar Khan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK's Grangemouth refinery stops processing crude

29/04/25

UK's Grangemouth refinery stops processing crude

London, 29 April (Argus) — The Petroineos joint venture's 150,000 b/d Grangemouth refinery in Scotland has stopped processing crude and the company will now import transport fuels to meet demand, it said today. The move ends more than 70 years of refining at Grangemouth, and around 400 workers will lose their jobs. The closure removes 13pc of the UK's refining capacity, which will probably increase the country's reliance on imported refined products. Petroineos — a joint venture between PetroChina and UK-based Ineos — said in November 2023 it would close the refinery in spring this year, later deciding to repurpose the site to an import and distribution terminal. It said today it has invested £50mn ($67mn) in this. Petroineos rejected a call from UK labour union Unite for the refinery to be converted into a a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant. London has said it would provide £200mn for investment in clean energy at the Grangemouth site, which it hoped would unlock private sector funds. Unite today said "for all the talk, nothing has been done", and said the closure was because the UK and Scottish governments "have effectively allowed China to shutdown Scotland's capacity to refine fuel". Slow death UK refinery output dropped to a 17-month low in March, reflecting Grangemouth's gradual drop in run rates ahead of processing its final barrel. The effect on national fuel balances has already been felt, with UK gasoil imports at an almost six-year high of 1.484mn t in April, and net gasoline exports the lowest on record at 65,000t, according to the country's latest submission to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (Jodi). The Grangemouth closure is one of three major refinery shutdowns planned this year in Europe. In Germany, Shell began to close its 147,000 b/d Wesseling refinery in March , and BP plans to remove a third of the crude distillation capacity at its 257,000 b/d Gelsenkirchen site this year . This removal of 400,000 b/d of capacity represents around 3pc of Europe's total. This year's plant closures are widely expected to exacerbate a supply squeeze of middle distillates on the continent, while failing to address a growing gasoline supply overhang exacerbated by the ramp-up of production from Nigeria's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery. Further unplanned European refinery closures are anticipated by market participants as product margins slide from post-pandemic highs and elevated overheads squeeze operating profits. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Thailand’s PTTEP posts higher 1Q oil, gas sales

29/04/25

Thailand’s PTTEP posts higher 1Q oil, gas sales

Singapore, 29 April (Argus) — Thai state-controlled upstream firm PTTEP's oil and gas sales rose in the first quarter of 2025, but revenues fell slightly on a decline in crude prices. PTTEP's sales over January-March totalled 484,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), up by 2pc from the same period a year earlier on higher production from its G1/61 project and a rise in crude oil sales from the Malaysia Block K project. But sales dropped by 3pc on the quarter, primarily because of lower crude oil and condensate sales from its overseas projects — namely Oman's Blocks 6 and 61, and Algeria's Hassi Bir Rekaiz project — and a drop in gas sales volumes because of a maintenance shutdown at its G2/61 project. The firm has signed an amendment to the gas sales agreement for its Arthit project to raise the daily contracted quantity of natural gas supplied to parent company and trading firm PTT from 280mn ft³/d to 330mn ft³/d from June onwards. This is to "help address domestic natural gas demand and reinforce national energy security," said the firm. PTTEP in April acquired additional stakes in Apico, a joint venture partner in the Sinphuhorm onshore oil field in northeastern Thailand, raising its share from 80.487pc to 90pc. This has in turn led to a higher share of production volumes from the project, which produced an average of 105mn ft³/d of gas and 222 b/d of condensate in 2024. The company is also currently progressing towards taking a final investment decision (FID) on its Arthit carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Front-end engineering design for the project has been completed and the firm is currently preparing agreements, it said. PTTEP aims to reduce 700,000-1mn t/yr of CO2 emissions through this CCS project. The firm recorded revenues of $2.185bn for January-March, down by 1pc on the year and by 9pc on the quarter. Its average selling price fell to $45.74/boe on a decline in crude prices, said the firm. This resulted in the firm's profit for the first quarter falling by about 7pc on the year and by 9pc on the quarter to $488mn. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Carney’s Liberals to form next Canadian government

29/04/25

Carney’s Liberals to form next Canadian government

Calgary, 28 April (Argus) — Canadian prime minister Mark Carney and his Liberal party are projected to win the country's 45th general election, but securing a majority of seats in Parliament is unclear with many tight races still to be determined. The Liberal party is on track to take 156 of the 343 seats up for grabs, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada at about 11pm ET. The Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, will form the official opposition with an estimated 144 seats so far. The Liberals seat count is comparable to the 160 won in the 2021 election while the Conservatives are up from 119. If the Liberals win a minority they would need the support of other parties to pass legislation, as they did prior to the election. The win completes the comeback for the Liberal party which just a few months ago languished in polls as dissatisfaction of then-prime minister Justin Trudeau rose. Carney and his experience navigating economic crises resonated with voters as they found themselves in a trade war initiated by US president Donald Trump. The US has imposed a 25pc tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum since 13 March and Canadian automobiles since 9 April. Canada has retaliated to each wave with tariffs of their own. Canadian oil and gas has been exempt from US tariffs but Trump's trade action has led many politicians and Canadians at large to re-examine the need to diversify its energy exports. Trade corridors, pipelines and LNG facilities were promoted by both Carney and Poilievre. Carney and Trump agreed in late-March that broader, comprehensive economic negotiations would happen after the election. The Liberals have held power since 2015, but only in a minority capacity since the 2019 election. Inflation, housing, Trump top concerns The key issues for Canadians this election cycle were inflation, housing, cost of living and international relations — particularly the aggressive moves from the US, according to polls. Diversifying trade and growing energy production have been promoted by both Conservative and Liberal leaders — and prime minister hopefuls — looking to become less dependent on US customers and kickstart a lagging economy. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer with over 5.7mn b/d of output, and the fifth-largest natural gas producer at 18 Bcf/d, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). The US is Canada's largest foreign customer of each, but verbal and economic attacks on Canada by Trump have prompted politicians and Canadians at large to reexamine their trade strategies. Poilievre says Liberal policies over the past decade have stifled the country's productivity and allowed it to become the weakest performer in the G7. Liberal policy needs to be undone so Canada can "unleash" its oil and gas sector to better protect its sovereignty , says Poilievre. Carney's campaign had centered heavily on Trump, emphasizing the threat comes from abroad, not within. Carney wants to make Canada an "energy superpower" but maintains current legislation is the way to do it, despite calls to the contrary by oil and gas executives . By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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