Production

National Iranian South Oil Co. and Iranian Offshore Oil Co. will sign deals with domestic contractors covering onshore fields in Bushehr, Fars, Khuzestan, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, National Iranian Oil Co. said in a statement.

Venezuela has managed to defy sweeping U.S. sanctions against state-owned producer PDVSA and keep shipping some crude abroad, mainly to China. But Washington has intensified the crackdown on companies that break the restrictions, and PDVSA has struggled to sell its barrels in Asia.

The RRC reports that from November 2019 to October 2020, total Texas reported production was 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 10.4 trillion cubic feet of total gas.

“To restore our output, that we’ve reduced a lot, the price range of $45 to $55 a barrel is the most optimal,” Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters in Moscow. “Otherwise we’ll never restore production, others will restore it.”

Algeria’s Energy Minister Abdelmajid Attar, who holds OPEC’s rotating presidency, said there was no guarantee the group and its allies would raise crude production by 2 million barrels a day by April, even after an agreement earlier this month to reach that level in steps.

Government-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. picked Occidental to explore for oil and natural gas at a block in the desert along the UAE’s border with Oman, ADNOC said Wednesday in a statement. The block is adjacent to an exploration area that ADNOC awarded to Occidental last year.

Total has been selling assets to curb debt as plunging oil and gas prices sap earnings, including oil field assets in Brunei and the UK, as well as a stake in a renewables subsidiary in France.

Discussions have focused on a gradual relaxation of output cuts over several months, and according to one delegate there could be a one-month delay before the tapering starts.

Market-watchers have been expecting OPEC+ to agree on a three-month delay -- and if the group doesn’t deliver prices will suffer. At stake also is the credibility of the cartel whose actions have underpinned the market since the spectacular oil crash earlier this year.

With oil prices hitting decade lows and energy activities downsized during a global pandemic, operators globally are seeking assurance that every spend drives a strong return on investment. Yet many completion and production choices are made in an environment of uncertainty, making technology that can inform well design and operational planning more crucial than ever. Chemical tracers are one such tool. A proven and reliable method of reservoir surveillance, tracer studies have demonstratable value for quickly and accurately adapting field strategies to real-time market needs. Whether a conventional or unconventional field, a properly designed and utilized tracer study has the potential to reduce lifting costs, improve production, and mitigate risk to CAPEX/OPEX spends. In this webinar, industry experts will provide an overview of current tracer technologies, dispel marketing myths, and detail a holistic use of tracers and the value added for multiple case studies across the globe. Application of tracers in hydraulically fractured wells, extended-reach well inflow studies, and flood-driven EOR case studies will all be covered. By the conclusion of this talk, the audience will have a working knowledge of the frontiers of tracer technology as well as an understanding of how this potent, low-risk, and low-cost tool can innovate their current field production plans.

After big wins shorting U.S. shale, a hedge fund is turning its sights on the beaten-down Canadian oil sector.

Cenovus Energy Inc. joined some of its oil-sands peers in setting a goal of reaching net-zero emissions from its operations, part of a push to improve the industry’s reputation and win over environmentally minded investors.

Alberta’s government has loosened output limits imposed at the start of 2019 to counter a glut caused by a lack of pipeline capacity and too much oil production. Before the cuts, Western Canadian Select’s discount to WTI has grown as wide as $50 a barrel.

The hedging may extend a lifeline to producers, allowing them to maintain higher output at a time when analysts are expecting growth to slow.

Nissan Chemical America Corporation has partnered with industrial gas supplier, Messer Americas, to improve oil and gas production.

Oil buyers in Asia are increasingly wary that Iraq’s entanglement in the worsening dispute between the U.S. and Iran could disrupt shipments from one of their key Middle East suppliers.

Five new oil pipelines are set to open in the Permian Basin through 2021, expanding a gap between production and takeaway capacity that’s already spurring midstream rate cuts and could mean cutthroat competition ahead.

Hedge funds are approaching the end of the year more optimistic on global oil prices than they’ve been since May.

OPEC+ output cuts have stabilized the global oil market but can’t last forever, Russia said as uncertainty persists over the future of the agreement beyond March.

America’s top shale field is becoming increasingly gassy as drilling slows down, undercutting profits for explorers at a time when investors are demanding better returns.

Oil prices are likely to remain in check during 2020 as OPEC+ production cuts are offset by higher output from other countries and a mixed outlook for demand, according to analysts.