PO Valley is looking to raise up to $10.1m to fund development of its Selva Malvezzi onshore gas project in Italy. The company is looking to raise the funds through a placement of 35.7 million shares priced at 2.8c per share to raise about $1m and a fully-underwritten 1 for 2 pro-rata accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer at the same price to raise the remaining $9.1m. The entitlement offer comprises a $7.1m institutional component and a $2m offer to retail shareholders. Selva Malvezzi has proved and probable reserves of 44.9 billion cubic feet of gas net to Po Valley. Development costs are expected to be about €2.3 million ($3.6m) of which the company is responsible for €1.5m from its 63% stake in the project. The project is expected to deliver earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of €4.7m net to Po Valley per annum.

Libya’s long-standing neglected pipeline infrastructure sprang a leak this week when an aging 32-inch pipeline carrying crude from the Al-Samah oilfield to the Es Sider port burst, and some of the oilfield’s production may need to be shut in. Currently, production at Al-Samah is estimated at around 285,000 bpd, according to Attaqa.Due to insufficient investment in the repair and maintenance of oil infrastructure, Libya has had to contend with pipeline leaks in recent years. This past January a leak forced the shutdown of an oil pipeline carrying crude to the Es Sider oil port, reducing the country’s oil production by as much as 200,000 bpd for a week. Compared to last year’s eight-month-long blockade that crippled Libya’s oil production and exports, output has been relatively stable so far this year, but minor disruptions continued.

The two companies have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding and are in discussions on a joint venture that will include their liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. According to BP, oil&gas production from both companies would reach around 200,000 barrels of oil per day. The new company would be expected to generate significant synergies, create more efficient operations and increase investment and growth in the basin. It will also be self-funded, it said.

Iran has plans in place to swiftly restore its crude oil production to pre-sanctions levels of nearly 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd), while the world powers and the Islamic Republic are expected to resume this week talks about the U.S. and Iran returning to the nuclear deal. Iran plans to restore almost 1 million bpd of oil production within a month of the U.S. lifting the sanctions on Iranian oil, which of course would happen if the Vienna talks result in an agreement. According to OPEC’s secondary sources in its latest available monthly report, Iran’s crude oil production averaged 2.393 million bpd in April, up by 73,000 bpd from March.

According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the pipeline Nord Stream 2 is almost complete with a mere 100-km left to build. Novak said to reporters: “We hope that construction works on Nord Stream 2 will be completed by the end of this year. The new construction, led by Gazprom with its Western partners will allow Russia to ship more gas to Western Europe, while bypassing Ukraine. To this end, the United States last month grudgingly waived sanctions on Nord Stream AG, the gas pipeline’s parent company, in a move welcomed by the Kremlin. However, environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe said last week it had applied for Nord Stream 2’s construction and operating permit to be revoked on climate protection grounds, based on a ruling by Germany’s top constitutional court. The court forced Germany earlier this month to tighten its climate law after plaintiffs, including North Sea islanders fearing rising sea levels, challenged a 2019 climate law.

The International Energy Forum (IEF) has launched a new initiative to develop a methodology for measuring methane emissions from the energy industry, allowing its member countries to collect standardized data to address one of the main causes of climate change. The Methane Measurement Methodology project is conducted in collaboration with Kayrros, an advanced observation and data analysis company, to bridge the gap between observed and reported methane emissions at company level – a key step in reducing global methane emissions which are a major cause of global warming. Experts estimate that the methane emissions currently reported are about 10 percent of those observed by the satellite. The new methodology would allow IEF member countries and their energy industries to consider the best available data on methane emissions, define their historical methane base and set mitigation targets in a transparent and consistent manner.

President Biden has suspended oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, unspooling a signature achievement of the Trump presidency and delivering on a promise by President Biden to protect the fragile Alaskan tundra from fossil fuel extraction. The decision sets up a process that could halt drilling in one of the largest tracts of untouched wilderness in the United States, home to migrating waterfowl, caribou and polar bears. But it also lies over as much as 11 billion barrels of oil and Democrats and Republicans have fought over whether to allow drilling there for more than four decades. A formal order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland paused the leases until her agency has completed an environmental analysis of their impact and a legal review of the Trump administration’s decision to grant them.

A huge fire that tore through an oil refinery in the Iranian capital had been brought under control on Thursday, but was still not completely extinguished. The official IRNA news agency said: “The fire at the refinery has been brought under control and will be completely extinguished by noon,”. A column of black smoke was still visible over the site of the inferno around midday, AFP journalists reported, although it was not as thick as the day before. Teams of firefighters were seen battling the blaze in footage from the scene broadcast by state television. An investigation is underway.

Corinth Pipeworks, a company specialised in the construction of steel pipelines, will supply Snam with 440 kilometres of new pipes, one of the first certified pipelines for the transport of hydrogen up to 100% in a European gas network. The collaboration between Snam and Corinth Pipeworks is aimed at adopting technically and economically effective solutions for the safe transport of hydrogen along a network of high-pressure steel pipelines, large diameter and high strength. All the pipes were produced at the Corinth Pipeworks plant in Thisvi, Greece. As part of this project, Corinth Pipeworks and Snam have successfully concluded the action plan aimed at certifying these gas pipelines for the transport of hydrogen up to 100%.

Saipem has appointed Francesco Caio as its new CEO. He takes over from Stefano Cao who served as CEO of Saipem since 2015. Caio was born in 1957 and owns a degree in Electronic Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD Fontainebleau, France. Caio, the new CEO, has served on the board of directors of multinational companies in the United States, England, France, and Italy for companies such as Equant, Motorola, Bocconi University, Gruppo Sole 24 Ore, Invensys plc, Alcatel Lucent, Confindustria, Politecnico di Milano and BNL SpA. He has been an advisor to government initiatives in digital and broadband technologies.