Brussels is studying oil&gas alternatives within the EU Repower, the Community Executive’s roadmap, to alleviate the energy crisis. For the first time the European Commission has considered the construction of a gas pipeline between Spain and Italy under the Mediterranean Sea, of about 700 kilometers. This project would require an investment of between EUR 2.5 billion and EUR 3 billion, and its construction would take between one and two years. The gas pipeline between Barcelona and Livorno is considered a second alternative to be able to supply both Italy and the countries of central and northern Europe. This project would give a certain economic return to Spain and could make France reconsider also the resumption of the construction of the Midcat.

The G7 countries intend to put a large-scale end to coal-fired energy production gradually but with a commitment to and a large part of the decarbonization of their energy sectors by 2035. The seven major industrialized countries have committed themselves to strengthening their climate protection measures. The transport sector should be as CO2-free as possible by 2030. In addition, the development and production of hydrogen must be promoted. Fossil fuel subsidies will be abolished by 2025. A report on greater transparency is expected to be published next year. The G7 organization recognizes for the first time that countries particularly affected need more support in addressing climate damage. The volume of funding for projects in developing countries will be doubled by 2025. Japan is also committed to ending international fossil fuel funding by the end of this year.

Romanian prime minister Nicoale Ciucă and sheik Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, recently met to discuss the diversification of the European oil and natural gas supply. The main topics of interest during the meeting were projects in the field of energy, port infrastructure, agriculture, and IT. The officials tackled the tense situation in the Black Sea, where the Russian blockade has stymied international trade. Investment opportunities in Romania in the field of renewable energy, both offshore and on-shore, were also approached. Last month, the Emirati government decided to send oil cargoes to the EU. The shipment followed a two-year gap in oil deliveries from the UAE to Europe and was the result of the attempts from the latter to find a replacement for Russian oil imports.

OPEC, together with allied producing countries (including Russia) will probably stick to a plan for accelerated oil output increases in August, hoping to ease surging oil prices and inflation pressure as U.S. President Joe Biden plans to visit Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. During the meeting on June 2, OPEC+ agreed to boost output by 648,000 barrels per day in July – or 0.7% of global demand – and by the same amount in August, up from the initial plan to add 432,000 bpd a month over three months until September. The move followed months of pressure from the West to address global energy shortages worsened by Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and was welcomed by Washington. OPEC+ holds its next meeting on June 30, when it will most likely focus on August output policies.

Global energy consumption increased by 5.8% in 2021, surpassing pre-pandemia levels while the strong growth of renewable energy has reduced the use of fossil fuels. This is what the latest BP Statistic Review states. Last year’s demand for oil was 3.7 million barrels per day below 2019 levels, driven mainly by the weakness of the aviation sector, 33% below pre-pandemia levels, BP said in its report. However, the rapid economic recovery has also led to a 5.7% increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to energy consumption, more or less similar to 2019 levels. “The pronounced drop in carbon emissions in 2020 was only temporary,” said BP chief economist Spencer Dale in the report. Global demand for natural gas grew by 5.3% in 2021, recovering above the 2019 pre-pandemia levels and surpassing the 4 trillion cubic meter threshold for the first time. Its share in primary energy in 2021 remained unchanged from the previous year at 24%.

The global Employees around the world are receiving conflicting information about job prospects in the oil and gas sector as some experts believe that the current geopolitical situation will increase employment data, while we are also witnessing job cuts. With a possible green transition that seems inevitable, many are concerned about their work, but as OPEC and other countries increase their oil production, will we see growth in the oil and gas labor market before any decline? The pandemic has led to the reduction of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector worldwide, because the demand for crude oil has collapsed and many energy companies have failed. With demand returning to pre-pandemia levels and the huge investments made in the oil and gas sector, before a green transition, the labor market should improve. A Rystad Energy report predicts that oil and gas employment in the United States in 2022 will increase by 12.5%, adding between 100,000 and 125,000 jobs across the industry. With American energy companies increasing production to meet the growing global demand, especially in response to Russian oil sanctions, the need for engineers and other skilled oil workers is clear. Although the rise in inflation will somehow limit the growth of the labor market.

According to companiesmarketcap.com, a list of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization which excludes non-publicly traded companies and updates rankings daily, Saudi Aramco has become the largest company, overtaking Apple. The Saudi company is now in the number one spot with a market cap at $2.38 trillion and Apple is in second place with a market cap of $2.30 trillion. Microsoft is in third place with a market cap of $1.90 trillion, Alphabet (Google) is in fourth place with a market cap of $1.48 trillion, and Amazon is in fifth place with a market cap of $1.08 trillion, according to the ranking. The next ranked oil and gas company is ExxonMobil in 16th place with a market capitalization of $364.67 billion. Chevron is the third ranked oil and gas company, in 22nd place overall, with a market cap of $323.62 billion, according to the ranking.

The Minister of Energy of Cyprus, Natasa Pilides, has announced, that the next drilling of the joint venture Eni-Total in the exclusive economic zone of the island will probably take place this month, as soon as the drilling platform finishes its work in Egypt. Pilides has also said that the joint venture Eni-Total will probably proceed with a second perforation in 2022. Furthermore, Pilides hopes that Cyprus will start exporting gas from the Aphrodite field in 2026. Aphrodite, Cyprus’ first natural gas field, is estimated to contain a gross reserve of between 3.6 and 6 trillion cubic feet (tcf). The explorations carried out by Eni in block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ revealed the extension of a carbonate activity similar to that of Zhor, while an exploration carried out by Exxon/Qatar Energy in the Glaucus field in block 10 revealed an estimated gas field of 5 to 8 cf.

Later this month, Biden has announced that the US would restart oil and gas drilling on federal lands, offering leases for sale to fossil fuel producers later this year. The new leases would open some 144,000 acres of federal land, scattered across nine states, to oil and gas drilling. According to Michael Freeman, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, “these leases are going to cause billions of dollars in social and environmental harm. Watching these lease sales move forward is particularly puzzling given Biden’s consistent promises on the campaign trail to end all oil and gas drilling on federal lands.” For a while, it looked like the administration was set to keep those promises: As one of his first acts as president, Biden issued an executive order pausing the oil and gas leasing program, including accounting for the “climate costs” of the program. A coalition of oil and gas-friendly states promptly launched a lawsuit against the order, and a judge sided with those states last June.

London-based Neptune Energy and partners have announced a new oil&gas discovery at the Hamlet exploration wells in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Volumes discovered in the Hamlet structure are estimated to be in the range of 5-11 million standard cubic metres or 30-70 million barrels of oil equivalent. Work is continuing to confirm potential recoverable resources, but Neptune’s preliminary estimate is 8-24 mmboe. Located 58 kilometres west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 358 metres, Hamlet will be considered as a tie-back to the Neptune-operated Gjøa semi-submersible platform. Hamlet is a new discovery in the Gjøa area, where Neptune already operates two fields. The Wintershall Dea-operated fields Vega and Nova are also tied back to the Gjøa platform.