Qatar ///
Shrugging off a global supply glut that’s left liquefied natural gas prices struggling to recover from a three-year low, the world’s biggest producer of the fuel said it’s on track to expand production.
Qatar has invited Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA, ConocoPhillips and other “big players” to submit bids to help expand its part of the world’s largest natural gas field, Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.
Kurt Abraham, World Oil
Another mixed outlook awaits the E&P sector
Ministers from OPEC+ are gathering in Abu Dhabi with deeper production cuts off the agenda for now, but with a backdrop of growing concern about the strength of oil demand as the global economy slows.
Seadrill and Gulf Drilling International have entered into a 50:50 joint venture, GulfDrill, which will initially manage and operate five premium jackups in Qatar with Qatar Petroleum commencing throughout 2020.
Australia is on track to surpass Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter, according to Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science (DIIS). Australia already surpasses Qatar in LNG export capacity and exported more LNG than Qatar in November 2018 and April 2019.
EIA says unplanned crude oil production outages for OPEC averaged 2.5 MMbpd in the first half of 2019, the highest six-month average since the end of 2015.
McDermott International, Inc., announced it has been awarded a sizeable contract by Qatar Petroleum (QP) to carry out front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for offshore wellhead platforms, pipelines and cables associated with the North Field Expansion (NFE) project.
Sparrows Group has been awarded their first contract for the provision of rigging loft maintenance services in Qatar.
McDermott International, Inc. has announced a large* contract award from Qatargas for engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for expansion of the North Field offshore facilities in the State of Qatar.
Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), the world’s first fullstream oil and gas company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar Petroleum (QP) to unlock new opportunities to expand its presence in the country and to support Qatar Petroleum’s Tawteen Program.
His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Interior Minister, launched Qatar Petroleum’s Localization Program for Services and Industries in the Energy Sector “Tawteen” – an initiative to enhance localizing the sector’s supply chain and expand the small and medium enterprises base.
Qatar Petroleum entered into an agreement with Eni to acquire a 35% participating interest in three offshore oil Fields in Mexico.
Qatar Petroleum is buying stakes in three offshore oil blocks in Mexico from Eni SpA, as the Arab country signs another global expansion deal after leaving OPEC.
The immediate question raised by Qatar leaving OPEC is, of course, what to call this? Qatarexit, or even Qatexit, sound wrong. Qatar-ta-for-now has a nice ring to it, even if it’s a tad unwieldy. Maybe just go with Qatout.
Oil surged the most in more than five months as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended a cooperation pact and U.S.-China trade tensions cooled. Unprecedented supply cuts in Canada also drove prices higher.
Qatar said it will leave OPEC next month, a rare example of the toxic politics of the Middle East rupturing a group that had held together for decades through war and sanctions.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi was appointed minister of state for energy issues and vice chairman of Qatar Petroleum after 32 years at the company.
Occidental Petroleum dropped the most in over a year after deciding to hand over an oil field in Qatar to the government, an announcement that appeared to catch some investors off-guard.
Michele Cowart, World Oil
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remain the quintessential oil exporting region, replete with considerable assets and tensions.