On 1st August 2019, the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched a restricted Out of Round offer for two blocks 3/24c & 3/29c, around the Northern North Sea Rhum Field. Decisions are expected to be made in Q4 2019. Overall, 768 blocks or part-blocks on offer across the main producing areas of the UK Continental Shelf.
Neptune Energy, oil and gas company, commenced its first subsea installation and construction campaign on the Duva field in the North Sea off Norway, with the installation of the Integrated Template Structure (ITS). First production from the projects is expected in late 2020.
Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. is continuing response efforts regarding a release from the platform on July 17. Production remains shut in, while HMDC is continuing its investigation. The initial slick size was estimated by HMDC to be 900m x 20m, while it was also estimated to be approximately 4.6 kms at its widest part.
A Japanese oil rig hired by Rosneft Vietnam to carry out drilling activities in the East Vietnam Sea will expand its operations for a month and a half, with China refusing to withdraw its vessels from Vietnamese waters. Namely, Hakuryu-5’s operations will last until September 15, according to the Southern Vietnam Maritime Safety Corporation.
The US Gulf of Mexico drillship market is currently in quite an enviable position, Westwood Global Energy Group says, as from mid-July, marketed utilization of the 25-rig fleet stood at 96%, with 24 units either working or committed to start contracts in the next few months.
According to IEA’s statement, the Administration is ready to take action if needed, concerning the recent incidents that took place in the strait of Hormuz. IEA is of the opinion that free energy transit is crucial to the global economy and that’s how it has to be maintained.
About two months after the White House banned the purchase of Iranian oil, tankers are offloading millions of barrels of Iranian oil at Chinese ports, resulting to piles of cargoes. Bloomberg reports that the store of oil could lead to a push down of global prices, in the possibility that Chinese refiners decide to draw on it.
Vietnam accused a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts of breaching its sovereignty and demanded China to remove the vessels from Vietnamese waters. The two countries are engaged in a dispute regarding the possible energy-rich of waters in the South China Sea for years.
The US Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer 77.8 million acres for a region-wide lease sale scheduled for August 21, 2019. The sale would include all available unleased areas in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Hibernia Management and Development Company notified the C-NLOPB on July 17, 2019 of an oil slick observed on the water near the Hibernia platform, located 315 kilometres from St. John’s, NL. The initial slick size was estimated by HMDC to be 900m x 20m, while it is also estimated to be approximately 4.6 kms at its widest part.
