Equinor plans upstream exit from three countries

: Crude oil, Natural gas
21/06/15

Norway's state-controlled Equinor plans to exit Nicaragua, Mexico and Australia and sell or relinquish some of its oil and gas assets in the Americas as it looks to optimise its upstream portfolio.

The plan was announced by executive vice-president of international upstream operations Al Cook at today's strategy update. In addition to its exploration assets in Nicaragua, Mexico and Australia, Equinor is looking to offload its stake in Canada's Terra Nova oil field offshore Newfoundland, its operated onshore position in Louisiana's Austin Chalk in the US and its interests in the Aguila Mara Noreste and Baja del Toro Este onshore exploration licences in Argentina. It also plans to relinquish its operated Utica shale acreage in the US.

The plan is part of Equinor's strategy to no longer operate onshore unconventional oil and gas assets and to partner local companies onshore instead. "That way we can enjoy regional expertise and economies of scale in a way we never could as an onshore operator," Cook said, adding that confining its operatorships to offshore projects will allow the firm to focus efforts in its areas of expertise.

Equinor has previously acknowledged that its foray into the US onshore sector has been far from smooth sailing. The firm disposed of its operated assets in the Eagle Ford shale in 2019, and sold its entire operated and non-operated acreage in the Bakken shale earlier this year.

By Rowena Edwards

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25/03/10

Brazil ignores fossil fuel phase-out in Cop 30 letter

Sao Paulo, 10 March (Argus) — Climate activists praised Brazil's stance of making UN Cop 30 a "turning point" for real climate change commitments but criticized the presidency's letter for turning a blind eye to fossil fuels' leading role in global warming. The summit's president Andre Correa do Lago unveiled on Monday a letter addressing the event's goals and outlooks, which includes boosting climate financing to $1.3 trillion/yr from the target stipulated at Cop 29 of $300bn/yr. "Lago calls on foreign countries — especially the US — to leave individuality and irresponsibility behind in exchange for cooperation and our planet's future," scientist Karin Bruning — a graduate of the University of Heidelberg and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — said. "However, the letter has no use if Brazil does not pull its own weight." Bruning recalled Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's [public feud](http://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2657369 with the country's environmentalist watchdog Ibama regarding the exploration in Brazil's equatorial margin region. "A country with so much renewable energy available cannot look at past solutions such as exploring and pushing for fossil fuels," Bruning said. She also highlighted the importance of respecting technical and scientific decisions on matters such as oil exploration. Environmental concerns have always been at the center of the equatorial margin debate, as it stands near a freshwater barrier reef. State-controlled Petrobras has long been trying to explore the area's Foz do Amazonas basin — which holds an estimated 10bn bl of crude, according to energy research bureau Epe — but has struggled to receive the environment licenses to do so. Ibama last denied the company a request to drill in the area in May 2023. Brazilian climate think tank Observatorio do Clima called the letter "inspiring," but added that it "excludes the elephant in the room." It recognized the letter as a "relief for giving the Paris Agreement negotiations to professionals who understand the gravity of the moment" but bashed it for keeping fossil fuels' gradual stoppage out of Cop 30's priorities list. Still, Correa do Lago's letter was celebrated for recognizing "the scale of the challenge and the urgency of response," according to climate change think-tank E3G's associate director Kaysie Brown. Holding on to past pledges Previous Cop agreements and global stocktakes (GST) — a five-yearly checkpoint agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Agreement — were ignored and pushed back against in Baku's final text. Correa do Lago's letter focused on rolling back decisions regarding developing countries and increasing financing for them, which has long been one of the Brazilian government's priorities. This includes the climate financing target of $1.3 trillion. "We do have pending issues to solve at Cop 30, notably the UAE dialogue on implementing the GST outcomes and the just transition work programme," Correa do Lago said in his letter. "The GST is an invaluable legacy that unites us. We must all continue to subscribe to it as the ultimate benchmark for climate implementation." By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Vitol's Sarroch refinery crude receipts at 6-year high

25/03/10

Vitol's Sarroch refinery crude receipts at 6-year high

Barcelona, 10 March (Argus) — Crude receipts at refiner Saras' 300,000 b/d Sarroch refinery in Italy rose to a six-year high in February, with the plant receiving a trio of new grades in February-March. Receipts were close to 320,000 b/d last month compared with 205,000 b/d in January, according to Argus tracking. Receipts averaged 245,000 b/d in 2024, slightly lower than around 250,000 b/d in 2023. Saras had aimed for 265,000-270,000 b/d last year, without success. In the past decade the unit has consistently underperformed targets, not achieving much more than 260,000 b/d in a year. Former workers said the plant is unable to distill crude in excess of 285,000 b/d. After repeated issues and "technical hiccups" it was unable to run at that pace for extended periods, a problem shared with the large majority of its Mediterranean peers. But Saras appears to have been making efforts to improve availability with a string of planned maintenance programmes in the past 18 months. New owners, trading firm Vitol, may be keen to test the unit's capabilities. Vitol purchased the unit last year in a €1.7bn ($1.84bn) deal and appear to be introducing new grades. Sarroch took receipt of a first cargo of 28°API Guyanese grade Payara Gold in February, having in December sampled Senegal's Sangomar crude for the first time. Receipts in February comprised 125,000 b/d of Libyan crude, split between Amna, Bouri and Zueitina grades, 70,000 b/d of Angolan crude split between Palanca and Pazflor, 50,000 b/d of Azeri BTC Blend, 30,000 b/d of US WTI, 25,000 b/d of Caspian CPC Blend and 20,000 b/d of the Payara Gold. Argus assessed these at a weighted average gravity of 35.4°API and 0.5pc sulphur content, compared with 32.2°API and 0.7pc sulphur in January. The slate averaged an estimated 33.3°API and 0.8pc sulphur last year, almost identical to 2023. The pace of delivery in March appears good, with around 600,000 bl of BTC Blend unloaded. Twi further new grades for Sarroch were received in the form of 1mn bl of heavy sweet Meleck from Niger, and 735,000 bl of the re-branded Kazakh Urals grade, Kebco. Sarroch was not a major buyer of Urals, prior to the imposition of sanctions following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and received its last Baltic-loaded Urals in April 2022 . A further 1mn bl each of Brazilian Frade and Libyan Attifel are on route. By Adam Porter Sarroch crude receipts mn bl Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mark Carney to be Canada's next prime minister: Update

25/03/10

Mark Carney to be Canada's next prime minister: Update

Adds recent poll data on national election, more on Carney's background. Calgary, 10 March (Argus) — Mark Carney is to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister after comfortably winning the governing Liberal Party's leadership contest. Carney, who served as governor for the Bank of Canada and then the Bank of England, will be sworn in later this week once Trudeau officially resigns. Carney has never held political office and does not have a seat in Canada's House of Commons. In his victory speech, he vowed to protect Canada's sovereignty and stand firm in the face of US president Donald Trump's trade war. Although Trump on 7 March repealed most of the tariffs he imposed on Canada just a few days earlier, Carney pledged to continue with retaliatory measures. "My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans can show us respect," he said. "The Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win." Carney also referenced Trump's repeated calls to make Canada "the 51st state" of the US, vowing that "Canada never ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form". Liberals rebound in polls on tariff war Carney will stand for the Liberal Party in the next general election, which must be held by 20 October. Opposition parties have vowed to trigger a general election at first chance when Parliament returns to session on 24 March, but a recent rebound in polls may prompt the Liberals to call one earlier yet. An Ipsos poll done in late-February showed the Liberals making up a 26-point deficit to take a narrow lead, the first time since 2021. The Conservatives have since pulled ahead slightly, according to Nanos Research, while a poll by Innovative Research Group indicates a 38pc to 31pc lead for the Conservatives over the Liberals. Even with the Conservatives ahead, both indicate a much tighter race compared to earlier in the year. The remarkable rebound for the Liberals comes after the promise Trudeau would no longer be the face of the party, and the perceived similarities between Trump and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Trump's aggressive actions and rhetoric towards Canada have stoked anti-American sentiment across the country and prompted the public to reexamine the trade relationship with its southern neighbour. A more recent poll by Ipsos shows only 1-in-10 Canadians want to strengthen their reliance on the US. Carney was born in Northwest Territories and grew up in Alberta, but it remains to be seen if his western upbringing will help the Liberal Party's success in the region given their unpopularity with the oil patch. The last time Canada had a prime minister born in western Canada was Kim Campbell in 1993 who succeeded Brian Mulroney under similar circumstances when he stepped down from the top post. By Brett Holmes and James Keates Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US targets 'lower' oil price, no target: Wright

25/03/10

US targets 'lower' oil price, no target: Wright

Washington, 10 March (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's administration is pushing for lower oil prices but has set no specific price target and expects to bring more supply into the market through deregulation and permitting reform, US energy secretary Chris Wright says. "We certainly believe it's in the best interest of the American people, and honestly, the citizens of the world to have lower oil prices," Wright said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. But he added that "I won't have a specific price" and that "the actions of this administration are to make it easier to produce more oil and natural gas for the producers, and therefore you get more investment." Unlike Wright, a former oil industry executive who has taken over the Department of Energy under Trump, other senior advisers to Trump have referred to $50/bl as a preferable oil price target. Those include treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro. Trump's call on Opec to "bring down the price of oil" preceded the producer group's decision last week to proceed with plans to gradually return 2.2mn b/d of supply to the market. "We're pleased, of course, to see Opec returning barrels to the marketplace," Wright said, but he added that the US has made no "specific requests or demands". Climate change as "side effect" Wright, in a speech before the general CERAWeek audience, pounded on former president Joe Biden's administration for allegedly ignoring the concerns of the US oil and gas industry and basing its energy sector decisions on what Wright called "irrational, quasi-religious climate policies". Wright called climate change a "side effect" of economic development. "Everything in life involves trade-offs," he said. The potential benefits of Biden-era climate policies were not worth the "endless sacrifices on our citizens", Wright said. "The Trump administration intends to be much more scientific and mathematically literate." Wright's spirited defense of oil and gas and denunciation of climate change policies drew some applause from the audience. Still, the rapid pace of change in the US energy policy every four years is "not the right policy approach," Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth said at CERAWeek. The Trump administration's executive actions affecting the energy sector need to be backed by legislation that makes permitting reform possible, Wirth said. Wright acknowledged a possible contradiction between Trump's vision for lower oil prices and more output, but said that enabling more investment and new infrastructure would address that dilemma. "It's not just 'drill baby drill', it's also 'build baby build'," Wright said. Nasser supports transition Speaking at a separate panel, Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser echoed many of the same themes raised by Wright, including the claim that the energy transition did not address the needs of the world's poorest citizens in the emerging economies. But, unlike Wright who appeared to disparage solar and offshore wind resources, Nasser said that Saudi Arabia's energy transformation will make good use of renewable energy sources and will continue to aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Trump's administration surprised the US oil and gas industry on 4 March by proceeding with plans to impose a 10pc tax on Canadian energy imports and a 25pc tax on energy imports from Mexico. Trump lifted the tariffs on 7 March but has said he may bring them back on 2 April. "We have, behind closed doors, vigorous debates about tariffs, people arguing all sides of that," Wright said. "What is the ultimate outcome going to be? We don't know for sure." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Houthis threaten to resume Red Sea attacks

25/03/10

Houthis threaten to resume Red Sea attacks

London, 10 March (Argus) — Yemen's Houthi group has threatened to resume attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea if humanitarian aid is not allowed into Gaza. "We are announcing a four-day notice," the group said in a video statement on 7 March. "This is to allow mediators to do what they do. If the enemy continues, after four days, to stop humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip, including food, medicine, then we will return to continuing our sea operations against the enemy." The four-day deadline expires in the evening of 11 March local time. Israeli energy and infrastructure minister Eli Cohen signed an order on 9 March to cut electricity supply to Gaza in an effort to pressure Palestinian group Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages being held in the territory. The Houthis began their attacks in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they said was a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The group announced a cessation of hostilities against ships in the Red Sea in January this year, with the exception of Israeli-owned and Israeli-flagged vessels. The Houthi campaign has weighed heavily on trade flows between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal, forcing many shipowners to take the longer and more expensive route around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope. By Andrey Telegin and Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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