The world’s largest offshore rig operator Transocean has hired Lazard to advise it on strategic alternatives for its capital structure, Bloomberg has reported, citing a company statement. Transocean reported a net loss of $497 million for the second quarter of the year, compared to a negative result of $392 million for the first quarter. Still, the offshore rig operator also reported an increase in contract drilling revenues for the second quarter, at $930 million, up from $759 million for the first quarter of the year. The offshore drilling rig…

OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, is promising additional cuts of around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month in order to compensate for the lack of compliance with the OPEC+ agreement in the previous months, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a statement from the Iraqi oil ministry. Iraq, which has been the least compliant member of the OPEC+ production cut pact since it was first launched in January 2017, has been promising for months that it would reduce its oil production and fall in line with its quota—something it hasn’t…

O-I Glass Inc, a glass manufacturer, is trying to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker as part of efforts to secure the $500 million in arbitration compensation granted it by a court after Venezuela expropriated two plants, Reuters reports, citing documents filed at a Singapore court. This is the latest in a series of attempts by various companies to collect compensation that courts had granted them after the sweeping nationalization of private businesses undertaken by late Hugo Chavez. And with options few, oil tankers are among the first ones to attract…

The Dakota Access can stay open and should not be emptied of crude, a U.S. appeals court ruled after a lower court had ordered the oil pipeline shut until a new environmental assessment is made.    Dakota Access doesn’t have to shut down, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said on Wednesday. However, the court did order an expedited schedule for the parties to submit briefs over whether a new environmental impact statement will be needed for the pipeline. A federal judge ruled on July 6 that…

The last active drilling rig in Wyoming was idled yesterday, leaving the state with no operating rigs for only the second time in its oil and gas history. The AP reports that the gas rig was located near the border with Colorado and quotes the executive director of the state’s Petroleum Association, Pete Obermueller, as saying, “It is historic, but not in a great way. There are so many jobs attached to these rigs, and now, people are painfully learning so much revenue is attached too. It’s mind boggling and hard to capture the…

Barrels of ink have been spilled covering the geopolitical conflicts in the South China Sea over the past few years, with plenty of speculation over whether these diplomatic tensions could explode into genuine warfare as China pushes further and further into the territory. The disputed area includes both islands and maritime areas that are the subject of contentious claims on the part of Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.  The main source of these tensions has arisen from China’s continued military presence…

Back in June, we reported that China had begun ramping up imports of U.S. LNG ostensibly in a bid to fulfill the January trade agreement with Washington and possibly avert another full-blown trade war.  According to Wood Mackenzie via NGI, China took in 10 LNG cargoes from U.S. suppliers between April and May at the expense of its traditional suppliers, including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. But it’s now emerging that the LNG purchases could have been a mere smokescreen. Reuters has reported that China’s imports of U.S. energy…

After a grim Q2 season for Big Oil, the world’s third-most valuable energy company is warning that 20% of the world’s oil and gas reserves may no longer be viable, according to Bloomberg. According to Exxon Mobil, one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas reserves will no longer qualify as “proved reserves” at the end of this year if oil prices fail to recover before then. A flurry of oil and gas companies have written off billions in oil and gas assets as the value of those assets in the current oil price climate is no…

After a grim Q2 season for Big Oil, the world’s third-most valuable energy company is warning that 20% of the world’s oil and gas reserves may no longer be viable, according to Bloomberg. According to Exxon Mobil, one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas reserves will no longer qualify as “proved reserves” at the end of this year if oil prices fail to recover before then. A flurry of oil and gas companies have written off billions in oil and gas assets as the value of those assets in the current oil price climate is no…

BP now says it will reduce its oil and gas production by 40 percent by 2030 as part of its pivot to low-carbon operations. But many will wonder why natural gas–the bridge between our fossil fuel present and renewable energy future–is being included on the chopping block.  Despite its much lower emissions footprint, natural gas is also under threat not only by the bare fundamentals, but by the trends shaping energy policies. The EU Green New Deal is perhaps the best example of these trends and their effect on future fossil fuel demand, including…