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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday posted a 30 percent jump in first quarter profits, in a sign of recovery from last year’s oil market crash fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic. Aramco said its net profit rose to $21.7 billion in the first three months of the year, compared to $16.7 billion in the same quarter of 2020, owing to a stronger oil market and higher refining and chemicals margins. […]
LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Twelve people were killed and dozens of houses burnt when a fuel tanker overturned, spilled its contents and caught fire in central Nigeria, the emergency services said Monday. The accident, which occurred on Sunday in the Agatu area of Benue state, is the latest to hit the oil-rich West African nation in recent months. “Twelve bodies were recovered from the scene of the carnage yesterday, while over 50 houses and shops […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Oil prices nosedived Tuesday on lower demand prospects as Europe’s biggest economy Germany said it would reimpose strict coronavirus containment measures as it struggles, along with other EU nations, to roll out vaccines. European stocks ended the day mostly lower, as did US stocks, as renewed fears of spreading Covid-19 overtook hopes of a swift reopening to the world’s largest economy. On currency markets, the Turkish lira stabilized a […]
by Callum PATON Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that more than 40,000 people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria can make pollution claims against Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell in English courts. The ruling overturned a 2017 decision against the Ogale and Bille communities, who brought legal claims for clean-up and compensation following decades of repeated spills in the oil-rich region. The claimants have argued for five […]
by Julien MIVIELLE Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Already under pressure due to climate change, the world’s top listed oil firms suffered historic losses in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic sent demand and prices tumbling. The oil majors — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total — suffered $77 billion in losses for the year. Shell CEO Ben van Beurden called 2020 an extraordinary year. Total’s Patrick Pouyanne said: “All of us will remember 2020 […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s administration auctioned off 11 oil leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, in a last-ditch move to expand drilling in the areas coveted by some petroleum producers before he leaves office. Major oil companies however sat out bidding for tracts in the environmentally sensitive area, and nine of the leases went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, while […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The US has granted Iraq a three-month extension to a sanctions waiver allowing it to import Iranian gas, an Iraqi official told AFP Monday. The move represents a welcome reprieve for a country that relies heavily on its neighbour for energy supplies. Iraq buys gas and electricity from Iran to supply about a third of its power sector, worn down by years of conflict and poor maintenance and unable to meet […]
NEW YORK, New York (AFP) — ExxonMobil announced Monday it will reduce its emissions over the next five years bowing to growing public pressure from activists, including the Church of England, to make changes. The US oil giant said in a statement that by 2025 it will cut emissions from upstream activities, which includes oil drilling and extraction, by between 15 and 20 percent compared to the 2016 levels. It also will cut its flaring […]
WINDHOEK, Namibia (AFP) — Namibia’s environment minister on Thursday defended a decision to allow oil and gas drilling in a biodiversity hotspot and near UN-listed cave paintings believed to be thousands of years old. Canada-based firm ReconAfrica is set to begin drilling this month in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) — a unique ecological site spanning parts of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The petroleum exploration company secured rights in 2014 to drill […]
NEW YORK, New York (AFP) — The Trump administration on Monday invited oil companies to choose proposed drilling territories as it pushes ahead with a controversial Alaska leasing plan in its final days in office. The Bureau of Land Management said it will Tuesday officially open a 30-day period to accept nominations and comment on some 1.6 million acres (650,000 hectares) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The move aims to open up to development […]
by Benoît PELEGRIN Agence France-Presse The coronavirus pandemic that has slammed oil demand and prices is forcing energy majors to tighten their belts on exploration, even if finding new deposits remain essential to their existence. While the sector is increasingly diversifying into greener energies such as electricity and wind power, its core business remains oil and gas. “Questions abound over whether it is still profitable to look for oil given subdued demand growth prospects and […]
by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Global oil demand might have already peaked and will likely not stop falling for the next 30 years, hit by virus fallout and moves towards greener energy, Britain’s BP predicted Monday. At the same time, the oil cartel OPEC has revised its forecast for global demand lower this year and next for essentially the same reasons. London-listed oil giant BP, which is seeking to achieve […]
