In an upcoming webinar, A changing of the Guard in Africa’s Upstream Investment Landscape, we will be discussing the changes that are happening in Africa’s Upstream Investment landscape. Fill in the form on the right of the page to secure your place on the webinar, which will take place on the 30th May 2024 and read on for an overview of the challenges and opportunities in Africa’s upstream industry. An expected increase in green field investment In the last decade, Africa accounted for 12% of green field investment, and we ...

The U.S. on Friday extended a license allowing certain transactions with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA so American energy service companies can maintain assets after Washington last month re-imposed wide sanctions on the OPEC member. The companies, however, remain prohibited from drilling, lifting, processing, purchasing, transporting or shipping any Venezuela-origin oil. The license is being extended through Nov. 15 and covers oil services Halliburton HAL.N, Schlumberger SLB.N, Baker Hughes BKR.O, and Weatherford International PLC WFRD.O, a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website showed. The Biden administration last monthre-imposed sanctions ...

Korean shipbuilders have recorded a share of more than 90 percent in the world LPG carrier market, after landing second-batch orders worth more than US$10 billion for LNG carriers from Qatar Energy’s LNG project. That LNG project has been underway for about six months since October 2023. A total of 37 LPG carriers were ordered globally in the first quarter of this year, according to British shipbuilding and shipping analyst Clarkson on May 9. About US$3.9 billion was invested in these orders. The big three global builders — HD Korea ...

The Panama Canal is in talks with U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers on how to meet increased demand for crossings as water levels recover after a prolonged drought, the canal’s administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told Reuters in an interview. The canal is typically used by U.S. Gulf Coast exporters to send LNG cargoes to Asia via the Pacific Ocean, but from last year low water levels forced cuts to daily crossings, driving many producers to seek more costly or longer alternative routes. In April, LNG transits through the canal’s Neopanamax ...

The project cargo trade, as with many segments of the shipping industry, experienced a boom during the pandemic owing to the constraints on available tonnage to match demand. This development emphasised the importance of careful stowage of multifaceted cargoes, as contracting parties sought to optimise cargo space on vessels. Whilst market conditions may have changed somewhat, correct stowage remains vital to charterers involved in this trade. Strict compliance with the vessel’s cargo securing manual is essential. Contractual and operational background There are customarily three principal contractual players in the carriage ...

Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping company, has reportedly postponed an order for 15 methanol-powered container ships from a Chinese shipbuilder. The delay is reportedly due to Maersk’s objections to design drawings submitted by the Chinese shipbuilder. Experts say that this means that South Korean technology has proved once again to be better than Chinese technology in high-value vessels. According to shipbuilding and shipping magazine TradeWinds on May 9, Danish shipping company Maersk recently informed Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding and Shipping Corporation (CSSC), that it would postpone ...

Chinese refiners will lift less Saudi crude oil in June than in May, people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The supply cuts come after the world’s top exporter Saudi Aramco hiked official selling prices (OSPs) for most of its crude to Asia to the highest in five months despite weak refining margins. The volume of Saudi crude to be loaded for China is estimated to fall by 5.8 million barrels in June from 45 million barrels in May, the sources said. These include supply cuts of 6.8 ...

Brazilian petroleum firm and bunker supplier Petrobras will temporarily be unable to provide LSMGO in Rio de Janeiro due to maintenance of its LSMGO supply barge. The scheduled maintenance will commence on 12 May and continue until mid-June. Petrobras has informed its customers that LSMGO will not be available in Rio de Janeiro during this period. It will still continue to offer VLSFO in Rio de Janeiro, along with LSMGO in other Brazilian ports such as Paranaguá, Rio Grande, Santos, and Suape. Bunker operations in the Rio Grande have been ...

Authorities hope to unblock the port of Baltimore’s shipping channel by the end of May, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The economically vital channel in Maryland’s Patapsco river has been largely closed since the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge on 26 March. The 948ft (289m) container ship that struck the bridge, the MV Dali, has been stuck on the Patapsco ever since. Six men who were fixing potholes on the bridge were killed in the incident. Mr Buttigieg told the BBC that he was “fully confident that by the ...

The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) has signed a significant Solar Lease Agreement with Starsight Energy, to provide an expected 1.2-Gigawatt hours of solar electricity each year over a 15-year period. This will see 30% of the Terminals’ electricity switch from Diesel generators to renewable sources in 2024. This partnership marks a major step forward in WACT’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions and contribute to APM Terminals’ industry-leading global commitment to be fully net zero by 2040, and to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 65% by 2030 ...

Biodiesel and other renewable diesel fuel oils are displacing a small but growing volume of petroleum-derived distillate fuel oil in the United States, especially in California and other parts of the West Coast. The result of this policy-driven change is that manufacturing and freight activity is correlated with total petroleum and renewable fuel oil supplied rather than just petroleum distillates alone. Distillate fuel oils such as diesel and gas oil are overwhelmingly used in freight transport, manufacturing and construction, so consumption is closely correlated with the industrial cycle. The cyclical ...

Asian spot liquefied natural gas prices rose this week on stronger demand amid high temperatures in north and south China, pushing European buyers to bid at relatively narrow discounts to attract sellers. The average LNG price for June delivery into north-east Asia LNG-AS rose to $10.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), from $10.40/mmBtu in the previous week, industry sources estimated. “We have seen Asian and European prices rise higher, mostly following news of the Gorgon LNG outage,” said Ryhana Rasidi, LNG analyst at data analytics firm Kpler. “However, we ...

U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a third week in a row, energy services firm Baker Hughes BKR.O said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by two to 603 in the week to May 10, the lowest since January 2022. Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count down 128, or 18% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell three to ...

Crude differentials were stable in the Mediterranean market in a quiet session on Friday, with Russia and a handful of European nations observing public holidays. The Mediterranean crude market is well-supplied, a trading source said on Thursday. On Wednesday, an Azeri BTC crude loading schedule for June showed a rise in exports from the Ceyhan terminal to 18.40 million barrels, up from 16.50 million barrels in May. A CPC Blend loading schedule for June could emerge early next week. PLATTS WINDOW No bids or offers were made for Urals, CPC ...

Trading of most African crude grades remained muted on Friday as refinery maintenance season peaks and is due to tail off, potentially unlocking more sales. Five to ten Nigerian crude oil cargoes loading in May remain for sale while 30 June-loading cargoes are yet to find buyers. Around 20 Angolan cargoes for export in June are still unsold, as state oil company Sonangol still seeks to sell spot cargoes. Equinor offered a cargo of Angolan Pazflor loading in mid-June at dated Brent minus 95 cents a barrel. Angolan state oil ...