Maersk Drilling has secured a contract from Shell Brasil for the provisioning of the semi-submersible rig Mærsk Developer in the Campos basin offshore Brazil where the rig will drill one exploration well and perform subsea well interventions at the BC-10 field. The contract is expected to commence in March 2023, in direct continuation of the rig’s current contract, with an estimated duration of 90 days. The contract value is approximately USD 37m, including a mobilisation fee. “We’re delighted to confirm that Mærsk Developer will continue working in Brazil after it ...

A spokesman for Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) on Friday said 800 million cubic metres of natural gas had escaped after explosions hit two pipelines under the North Sea, Tass news agency reported. It said spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov had told a session of the United Nations via video link that the volume of escaped gas was equivalent to three months’ of supply for Denmark. Source: Reuters (Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Chris Reese)

North America Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO grades are readily available in the Houston area and off the US Gulf Coast. Houston’s VLSFO benchmark fell to nine-month lows earlier this week, before recovering some of these losses. Bunker availability has remained steady in Houston and New York in recent weeks, with prompt deliveries more readily available compared to other bunker hubs where prompt suppliers are still unpredictable. All grades remain tight for prompt dates in Long Beach and Los Angeles ports on the US West Coast. Some suppliers in Long Beach ...

The spread between Dubai and Brent, also known as the EFS, continued to narrow with demand for Middle Eastern (ME) crude remaining strong and with reports of Indian refiners looking to scale down purchases of Russia’s ESPO blend due to high freight rates. This is likely to raise the demand for spot Murban crude oil cargoes in the coming weeks. Timespreads for Dubai swaps softened in the latter part of the week (September 19-25th) following the broader fall in benchmarks as economic concerns took precedence despite the market remaining tightly ...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was still too soon to speculate who might have been behind the Nord Stream pipeline ruptures. “In terms of the attack – or the damage to the pipeline, at this point I think there’s a lot of speculation. But quite frankly, until a complete investigation is done, no one will be able to really determine for certain what happened,” Austin told a news conference in Hawaii. Austin added that he discussed the incident with his Danish counterpart on Wednesday, “and he pointed out ...

OPEC oil output rose in September to its highest since 2020, surpassing a pledged hike for the month, after production in Libya recovered from disruption and Gulf members boosted output under a deal with allies, a Reuters survey found on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has pumped 29.81 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, the survey found, up 210,000 bpd from August and the highest since April 2020. OPEC and its allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, has been boosting output for months to unwind ...

Dutch wholesale gas prices fell on Friday as EU energy ministers gathered to discuss measures to tackle the energy crisis, including a cap on prices, while British prices rose due to a rise in gas for power demand. In the Dutch market, the day-ahead price was 9.90 euros lower at 169.10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0915 GMT, while the weekend price fell by 13.23 euros to 163.77 euros/MWh. The UK day ahead contract was up 5.00 pence at 185.00 pence per therm, and the weekend price was 15.00 ...

The European Union must find a way to approach gas price caps that all of the bloc’s 27 member countries can accept, the EU’s energy policy chief said on Friday. “Because different member states do expect different solutions, the Commission has to present an idea that has overall broad support… We have to find a way that is acceptable for all the member states,” EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on her arrival to a meeting of EU energy ministers, who will discuss the issue. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Kate ...

Economic growth is forecast to remain robust at 3.1% in 2022. Consumer spending in value terms has performed well in recent months — better than indicated by underlying sentiment, particularly in Western economies. Positively, this weakening sentiment seems to have been offset so far by a combination of ongoing social welfare measures in advanced economies, rising wages and salaries, increasing debt-financed consumption, particularly in the US, as well as consumers tapping into their savings. In terms of economic sectors, support has come from a recovery in the contact-intensive services sector, ...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set out a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) “defensive shield”, including a gas price brake and a cut in sales tax for the fuel, to protect companies and households from the impact of soaring energy prices. Europe’s biggest economy is trying to cope with surging gas and electricity costs caused largely by a collapse in Russian gas supplies to Europe, which Moscow has blamed on Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in February. “Prices have to come down, so the government will do everything it ...

Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas on liquefied natural gas(LNG), including emergency measures, the industry ministry said. Japan, one of the biggest importers of the super-chilled fuel, faces a historic energy security risk as the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war threatens to disrupt supply while Europe scrambles to buy more fuel to ensure adequate energy for the winter. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Petronas signed the MoC at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo. The memorandum includes consideration of joint upstream investment, ...

The U.S. Coast Guard is assessing damage at Port Tampa Bay after Hurricane Ian dropped more than 12 inches of rainfall in southern Florida, but the port said on Thursday that fuel can currently move from terminals onto trucks. Major Florida ports are expected to have avoided significant damage from one of the mightiest storms to hit the U.S. mainland in recent years and could re-open within days. Still, one in four gasoline stations in the region lack fuel, according to data from petroleum analyst GasBuddy. Ian flooded communities before ...

European Union countries on Friday edged towards agreeing what would be the bloc’s eighth round of sanctions against Russia for waging war against Ukraine, diplomatic sources told Reuters. The EU executive earlier this week recommended that the bloc imposes more trade curbs and individual blacklistings, and moves towards – rather than adopting straightaway – a price cap for Russian sea-borne oil deliveries to third countries, mostly insured by European companies. The 27 EU countries’ envoys to Brussels discussed the proposal on Friday and several sources said they hoped for a ...

European Union countries disagreed on Friday about whether and how to cap runaway gas prices, with Germany among those opposing the measure that 15 other states said was needed to tackle Europe’s energy crunch. Meeting in Brussels on Friday, ministers from the 27 EU member states approved levies on energy firms’ windfall profits to try contain an energy price surge aggravated by Russia’s war against Ukraine. The agreement covers a levy on fossil fuel companies’ surplus profits made this year or next, another levy on excess revenues low-cost power producers ...

Oil prices were on track for their first weekly gain in five on Friday, underpinned by a weaker dollar and the possibility that OPEC+ will agree to cut crude output when it meets on Oct. 5. Brent crude futures for November, which expire on Friday, rose by 17 cents, or 0.19%, to $88.66 a barrel by 1202 GMT. The more active December contract was down 27 cents at $86.91. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 17 cents, or 0.2, to $81.06. Both contracts rose by more than $1 ...