12th July 2024

Let’s wrap this week up. Here’s all you need to know today in the most important industry on planet earth:

• 🤡 UK considering O&G drilling ban

• ❌ Game over for Biden?

• ✋ FTC delays Chevron / Hess review

• 💰 Marathon reaches $241m settlement 

• ➕ plus a golden era for SE Asia gas; China’s wind and solar boom; Indian refiners courting Russia; Saudi crude exports drop to decade low.

Have a top weekend.

📈 THE NUMBERS

🗞️ WELL-HEADLINES

 🗽 North America

• Marathon Oil hit with record fine - the company will pay a total of $241m to settle a dispute over alleged air pollution violations at dozens of facilities in North Dakota. The settlement includes a $64.5m fine (largest ever under the Clean Air Act) and $177m commitment to upgrade its facilities.

• US FTC delays Chevron / Hess deal review - the agency will wait until the dispute over Guyana between Chevron / Hess and Exxon has been resolved before passing judgement on Chevron’s $53bn Hess takeover. Hess said it expects to have a decision on Guyana by the end of the year.

• Regulator wants more info on Conoco / Marathon - the FTC has sent a second request for info as it reviews the $22.5bn takeover, which risks delaying the closing of the deal.

• Equinor nearing major Canada wildcat - operations will soon start at the latest exploration well at Equinor’s closely watched Bay du Nord prospect, offshore Newfoundland & Labrador. The project is targeting ~1.3 bnboe of resources.

🏰 Europe

• Confusion over UK North Sea drilling ban - the media was awash with reports that the new UK Energy Minister (who is vocally anti-oil and gas, not to mention energy and economically illiterate) had suddenly banned new drilling in the UK North Sea. The government has since denied those reports but the entire UK oil & gas industry is on edge.

• Sanctions taking their toll on tankers - over 50 oil tankers that have previously transported Russian oil, and have been the target of Western sanctions, are now sitting empty and idle around the world.

• “The unlocking of Wisting continues” - AkerBP has confirmed a series of successful exploration and appraisal wells at the offshore Wisting field, the country’’s largest undeveloped discovery with ~500 mmboe, and counting, of recoverable reserves.

🕌 The Middle East

• Saudi crude exports fall to decade low - according to data from Kpler. The decline has been driven by weak demand in Asia and increased domestic consumption.

⛩️ Asia & Oceania

• SE Asia’s gas golden era - Rystad Energy forecasts $100bn of investments into offshore gas between 2025-28, more than twice as much as the previous 10 years combined. The growth is being driven by a string of exploration successes and the region’s growing thirst for gas.

• Indian refiners seeking long term Russian supplies - ignoring sanctions, India has been mopping up cheap Russian crude in recent years. Now the world’s third largest crude importer is in talks to lock in long term supply deals.

🦁 Africa

• South Sudan’s NOC head gets the sack - the country’s president has fired the CEO of state oil company NilePet as well as his finance minister, amid dwindling oil revenues and economic malaise. The president has now sacked six finance ministers in the past four years.

🗿 Central & South America

• Petrobras pushing ahead in Espirito Santos - Brazil’s NOC hasn’t had much luck yet in the region’s ultra deepwater play but is kicking off a new campaign in the hope that it can replicate the success in the nearby Campos and Santos basins.

🌍 GEOPOLITICS & MACRO

• Biden: “Introducing the President of Ukraine, President Putin” - oh dear. As far as gaffes go, that’s a pretty bad one. The blunder on stage at NATO will crank up the heat further on a president who is facing more and more calls from donors and other allies to step aside due to his blatant ill health. He also got his VP, Kamala Harris, mixed up with his opponent, Donald Trump. Surely that’s it for Biden?

💨 CARBON, CLIMATE, & OTHER ENERGY STUFF

• China’s wind and solar boom continues - the country has twice as much capacity under construction as the rest of the world combined, according to a new report. The 339 GW currently being built excludes an additional ~700 GW in earlier stages of the development. Crazy numbers.

• ESG fund shake up - new rules meaning funds labelled as “ESG” can’t contain certain stocks (including O&G stocks) are expected to drive a $30bn selloff by fund managers looking to comply with the legislation.

🛢️ BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

👋 BEFORE YOU GO 

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Thanks for reading. Have a day out there. 🛢️🛢️

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