By Jennifer Hiller HOUSTON, July 31 (Reuters) – Chevron Corp on Friday reported an $8.3 billion loss in the second quarter on asset writedowns from plummeting fuel prices, a forced exit from Venezuela and expenses tied to thousands of jobs cuts. Multibillion-dollar asset writedowns have become a...
offshore oil and gas
Offshore Driller Noble Corp. Files for Bankruptcy
By David Wethe (Bloomberg) –Noble Corp., the offshore drilling contractor, filed for bankruptcy after the crash in crude prices made undersea oil wells too expensive to compete. The Chapter 11 filing in Texas envisions eliminating all of the company’s borrowings — more than $3.4 billion — by...
Keppel Posts Huge First Half Loss on Rig Building Impairments
SINGAPORE, July 30 (Reuters) – Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp reported a loss in the first half of 2020 due to impairments in its offshore and marine business that has been battered by low global oil prices. Keppel posted a net loss of S$537 million ($390 million) for the six months to June,...
Shell Drills Dry Hole Offshore Brazil, Dimming Hope for Brazilian Oil
By Peter Millard (Bloomberg) –Royal Dutch Shell Plc has just drilled a dry hole in Brazil’s premier offshore region, a sign state-controlled Petrobras may have already grabbed the best oil deposits and left competitors hunting for smaller game. Shell completed its first well at the high-profile...
U.K. Oil Industry at Odds With Government on Mass Covid Testing
By Ryan Hesketh (Bloomberg) –The U.K. oil and gas industry says blanket testing of its workers is essential to avoid Covid-19 outbreaks offshore, but the authorities have so far refused to provide the means to do so. The standoff creates another threat for an industry that’s already reeling from a...
Norwegian Billionaire Reshapes Oil Empire for Renewable-Energy Future
By Mikael Holter and Lars Erik Taraldsen (Bloomberg) –Billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke is transforming the structure of his business empire as he seeks to revive struggling oil-service firms and seize on opportunities in renewable energy. Rokke’s investment company Aker ASA plans to combine its two...
Wave of North American Oil and Gas Bankruptcies to Continue at $40 Oil
By Liz Hampton July 9 (Reuters) – A wave of oil and gas bankruptcies in North America is likely to continue this year as oil prices remain depressed and a new surge of COVID-19 cases threaten to stall any recovery in fuel demand, law firm Haynes and Boone said in a report released this week. […]
Total Sends Oil Rig to South Africa for Rare Frontier Drilling
By Paul Burkhardt (Bloomberg) –Total SA has deployed a rig to South Africa to look for more oil near a massive discovery, in a rare example of exploration in a frontier area. The Odfjell Deepsea Stavanger has left Bergen in Norway for the southern tip of Africa, Africa Energy Corp., Total’s partner...
Satellites Reveal Major New Gas Industry Methane Leaks
By Shadia Nasralla LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) – Last fall, European Space Agency satellites detected huge plumes of the invisible planet-warming gas methane leaking from the Yamal pipeline that carries natural gas from Siberia to Europe. Energy consultancy Kayrros estimated one leak was spewing out...
Offshore Drillers Face New Round of Bankruptcies
By Liz Hampton and Nerijus Adomaitis DENVER/OSLO, June 24 (Reuters) – The companies that operate offshore drilling rigs for major oil producers face a second wave of bankruptcies in four years amid a historic drop in energy prices that likely will leave surviving drillers more closely tied to big...