Brunei Shell Petroleum has awarded Offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling a one deep-water well exploration contract.
The contract includes an additional one-well option and represents the deployment of Maersk’s seventh-generation drillship Maersk Viking at Brunei Shell Petroleum’s drilling campaign offshore Brunei Darussalam. The contract is valued at around $9m, including mobilization fee and other services provided. “We’re happy to get this opportunity to add further to our great relationship with BSP,” remarked Morten Kelstrup, chief operating officer of Maersk Drilling. The 35-day contract is expected to start in March 2021.

Eni, together with the Norwegian energy investor HitecVision have set up a new joint venture company called Vårgrønn. The company aims to develop new green energy projects in Norway and the Nordic market. Vårgrønn will pursue opportunities in the offshore wind sector by participating in the upcoming Norwegian tender processes for offshore licenses. The new company will also explore opportunities within renewables, with a long-term ambition of reaching an installed capacity in the region of 1 GW towards 2030. According to Eni, “This new joint venture is part of Eni’s overall strategy for decarbonization and contributes to the progression of our transformation path towards green energy and the circular economy”.

Snam has signed a series of deals involving hydrogen and low-carbon mobility projects in India. The company stated it had agreed to set up a partnership with India’s Adani to develop a hydrogen business and use biogas for low-carbon transport projects. The group also reached an agreement with state-owned Indian Oil to work on energy transition projects, including gas storage and regasification. The agreements were announced as part of a virtual summit between the prime ministers of Italy and India. Snam makes most of its revenue from gas transport in Italy and is now planning to invest on new green business.

Shell is ready to shut down its 53 years old Convent refinery in south Louisiana by mid-month while it continues to seek a buyer for the facility. This is part of a plan to reduce its global sites and focus on combined oil refining and chemical plants. With global demand and profits stung by the spread of Covid-19, the shutdown of the refinery is part of Shell’s larger strategy to shrink its portfolio to 6 facilities from 14 by 2025. The remaining sites will have integrated oil refineries and chemical plants.

Legambiente, Greenpeace and Kyoto Club have signed together with Anev (National Wind Energy Association) the Manifesto for the development of offshore wind in Italy, in compliance with environmental protection and landscape. The manifesto was presented at the digital conference on offshore wind power, as part of the online events of the fair Key Energy 2020. The potential of 900 MW for offshore turbines is included in the Italian PNIEC (National Plan on Energy and Climate) for 2030. At stake there are investments of 9 billion euros for a park of 2.9 GW with 190 turbines.

Blocked for more than 10 months, the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) has announced in a statement that it has lifted the ”force majeure in force at the last oil camp ”El Feel” (the elephant) and the end of closures of all oil fields, oil lines and ports starting on Monday, October 26, the date of resumption of oil production in Libya”. The announcement comes days after the signature of a ceasefire agreement by Libyan representatives reached in Geneva on October 23. The NOC announced the same day that the cease-fire was signed the reopening of two key export terminals, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra.

A vessel filled with 1.3 million barrels of crude oil is floating 24 miles off Venezuela in the Gulf of Paria in the Caribbean Sea. The ship, which suffered damage early in September, has prompted mitigation measures by both TT and Venezuelan governments. The FSO Nabarima, a stationary storage facility, has been pictured listing, rusting, and taking on water, sparking fears that it will spill its contents. The crude, bound originally for Citgo refineries in Texas and Louisiana, has been stuck in the Gulf of Paria for almost two years.

The company is about to cut around 1,900 employees as a result of ongoing reorganizations and work-process changes that have been made over the past several years to improve efficiency and reduce costs. According to ExxonMobil’s spokesman: “These actions will improve the company’s long-term cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through the current unprecedented market conditions. The impact of Covid-19 on the demand for ExxonMobil’s products has increased the urgency of the ongoing efficiency work.”. The company has confirmed that employees who will lose their jobs will be support through outplacement services.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline TAP is finally complete and has been filled with natural gas from the Greek-Turkish border up to the pipeline receiving terminal in Southern Italy. Preparations for launching the commercial operations will be finalized soon and the natural gas transmission system of Snam Rete Gas in Puglia (Italy) is expected to be completed and ready to transport gas by mid-November 2020. The 878 km long pipeline is designed to provide gas to various southeastern European countries, with the Italian entry point providing opportunities for further transport of Caspian gas to wider European markets.

Eni was recognized, for the second year, as an example of good practice in the area of “Sustainability governance” and was included among the 10 companies with the best sustainability reporting in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The elements positively evaluated also include the clear description of the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors and the Committees on sustainability issues, climate and the distinction between management roles at central and local level and the distinction between the sustainability objectives of the short- term and long-term incentive plan of Eni’s CEO.