ExxonMobil has announced a discovery at Pinktail in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, as it develops a major new oil and gas find. The oil&gas company operates the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek Block as part of a consortium that includes Hess Corp. and China’s CNOOC Ltd. It has made at least 20 discoveries there. According to Exxon, the discovery would add to the previous recoverable resource estimate of more than 9 billion barrels of oil and gas, without specifying the size of reserves in its latest discovery. Exxon expects to submit a development plan for its fourth Guyana project, Yellowtail, later this year.

Los Angeles County supervisors on Wednesday voted to ban drilling in unincorporated areas and to end oil&gas drilling. There are currently 1,046 active wells, 637 idle wells, and 2,731 abandoned wells in unincorporated areas of the nation’s most populous county. The Board also voted to create a program to ensure that wells are properly closed and cleaned up, and to expand the county’s task force focused on a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities. Among the sites is the Inglewood Oil Field, one of the largest U.S. urban oil fields. Inglewood Oil Field is adjacent to several communities, including Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights and View Park, where residents have worried about the field’s impact on their health and the local environment for at least a decade. Residents have complained of foul odors from the wells and say they have seen oil bubbling through sidewalk cracks in their neighbourhoods.

Fitch Agency’s natural resources and raw materials expert Dmitry Marinchenko in Sputnik said that this is due to scarce reserves in underground gas storage facilities following the cold winter of last year and the hot summer. European deposits now count for 10-15 billion cubic meters of gas less than they would need to cope with the winter season at best. This is compounded, according to indirect signals, by Gazprom’s reluctance to significantly increase gas traffic in storage or to increase sales on the spot market on the eve of the commissioning of Nord Stream 2,” added Marinchenko.
Last year prices were at their lowest and are now at their highest. It is wrong to expect them to remain at the current record levels. Prices have already reached record levels and further growth cannot be excluded, but this level is unlikely to be stable in terms of demand. Moreover, these high prices could have a negative impact on the recovery of the global economy.

Eni announced a huge oil and natural gas discovery offshore of the Ivory Coast. The deep-water exploration led to the discovery at 3,445 meters deep of the field that could contain as many as two billion barrels of oil and 51 million cubic meters of natural gas. According to the Ivorian Energy Minister Thomas Camara, the discovery would greatly increase Ivory Coast’s proven reserves in the coming years. The 3,445-metre-deep well was drilled about 60 kilometres (40 miles) off the coast in 30 days, Eni said, and added that it would now carry out a further evaluation of the wider potential of the find. Ivory Coast comprises 51 identified oil fields. Of those, only four are in production whereas 26 remain in exploration and 21 are untapped. In 2019, Ivory Coast signed contracts for exploration with Eni and Total.

“The region of Basilicata “must be classified as not suitable for new oil concessions”. This is what Gianni Rosa, Regional Councilor for the Environment recently recalled in a statement. Numerous constraints have been placed by the Region excluding, for example, the sites of the Nature Network with all protected areas, active volcanic and seismic areas etc.. Rosa added that in the coming weeks the Region will provide the Government with more detailed reasons to explain that Basilicata intends to open the era of renewable energy as indicated by the European Union and the Government. Eni operates the Val d’Agri concession with 61%, while the remaining share belongs to Shell. There are currently 24 wells in production in the Val d’Agri concession. Val d’Agri is located between the Sirino mountains and Volturino in Basilicata. The area takes the name form the Agri river.

Iran has resumed its fuel exports to Afghanistan again, following a request from the Taliban government. The Taliban feel empowered by the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan to buy more openly Iranian oil sanctioned by Washington. The oil&gas price in Afghanistan has reached 900 USD per tonne. In the chaotic situation, to counter the soaring prices, the Taliban have asked Shiite Iran to keep its borders open for traders. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would send messages to Iran saying: “You can continue exporting oil products”, reports Reuters, citing the Union of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Exporters of Iran. Despite a history of hostility based on Sunni-Shiite antagonism, Tehran does not seem concerned about the return to power of the Talibans. Iran shares a 921 kilometres border with Afghanistan, more than three million Afghan refugees and undocumented migrants now live in Iran.

Oil giant Eni has asked the newspaper “Domani” the payment of 100 thousand euros “within 10 days”, in the absence of which will file a lawsuit. In the scope of the company’s lawyers an article dedicated to the Attorney General of Milan Francesca Nanni, in which it was written that the court, in the grounds of the judgment in which he acquitted the 15 defendants at first instance in the trial on alleged corruption in Nigeria, “recognizes the possibility of a bribe but points the finger at the prosecutors who would have been unable to bring full evidence for the conviction”. The Court had written that “at the outcome of the investigation it was not possible to reconstruct with certainty all the facts subject to the indictment despite the acquisition of thousands of documents and the cross-examination of dozens of witnesses and consultants of the party”. Eni contests the fact that the newspaper directed by Stefano Feltri did not acknowledge in the article that the acquittal was recognized “because the fact does not exist”. The group considers more generally to be the subject of a “smear press campaign” by the newspaper, consisting of several articles of which that is considered “exemplary” and for this reason it asks of compensation for the damage it claims to have suffered.

Intesa Sanpaolo announces the updated of the rules for the group’s credit operations in the coal sector. The bank has also introduced dedicated rules for the oil and unconventional gas sectors.
According to an official note, the rules will be applied to all companies in the group and in all countries where they operate. In particular, by updating the rules, the group undertakes to reduce by 2025 the share of financial services to counterparties in the coal mining sector. The rules for credit operations in the unconventional oil&gas sector introduce limits and exclusions in relation to the resources “shale oil&gas”, “tar sands” and “tight oil&gas” which obtained by unconventional techniques and whose extraction generates greater greenhouse gas emissions than resources extracted by conventional techniques, resulting in greater environmental impacts. The policy also excludes exploration and extraction in geographic areas characterized by fragile ecosystems, such as the Arctic or the Amazon Sacred Headwaters.

After threats of sanctions US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have reached an agreement for the completion of Nord Stream 2 pipeline, avoiding transit through Poland and Ukraine. Warsaw and Kiev consider this agreement “favor to Vladimir Putin and a discourtesy towards them”. Instead, Angela Merkel spoke of “a good step”, explaining that the agreement does not in itself imply the end of all disagreements about the controversial project, but represents an attempt to set certain conditions. ” The United States and Germany are united in their determination to hold Russia responsible for its aggression and malicious activities by imposing costs through sanctions and other instruments”, they stated in a joint statement, referring to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and support for Dombass separatists. “If Russia attempts to use energy as a weapon against Ukraine, Germany will act at international level and press for effective measures including sanctions.

Plans for the construction of a bi-directional natural gas subsea pipeline linking Malta to Sicily go ahead. With the 159 km pipeline, Malta would be able to export natural gas from its LNG import terminal at Marsaxlokk Bay to Sicily and the rest of the Italian gas grid. On the other hand, Italy could export natural gas to Malta for use by it gas power stations. The project’s estimated capacity is about 1.2 billion cubic meters per year and a guaranteed flow of 141,000 Sm3/hour. According to surveys carried out, a new terminal at Delimara where a gas pipeline from Sicily will land, requires 8,000 sq.m of land and a new access road to connect the existing Delimara power stations to the new gas terminal. This will also include a 4,840sq.m revetment, a sloping structure, to minimise wave damage. The next step will be to discuss the project with the Environmental Resources Authority in a board meeting.