Ghana Tells Eni To Merge Oil Field With Local Discovery

Ghana has told Italy’s Eni to merge its Sankofa offshore discovery with another field, discovered by a locally based company, Bloomberg reports, citing a letter by Ghanaian Energy Minister John-Peter Amewu. The letter follows the failure of Eni and the local company, Springfield Exploration and Production, to reach an agreement on how to develop the fields jointly. Eni, which operates the Sankofa discovery together with commodity trading giant Vitol, is against the move, according to the report, arguing that Springfield has not made sufficient tests at its discovery, Afina, to…

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Libya’s Oil Output Hits 1 Million Bpd

Libya’s crude oil production topped 1 million bpd, the National Oil Corporation said this weekend, although it added this level of production may not be sustainable. “It is worth mentioning that the National Oil Corporation faces very big financial difficulties and a huge shortage of its budgets which led to accumulating of debts on the sector’s companies and significant delay for the salaries of its service companies,” the NOC said. “The National Oil Corporation asserts that it may not be able to sustain the current production levels and these levels…

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Citibank Forecasts $49 WTI For 2021

Citi revised down on Monday its outlook for the WTI Crude price for next year by $5 to $49 a barrel, citing the global spike in coronavirus cases that is set to impact oil demand. Citi Research also cut its estimate for Brent Crude by $5 a barrel to $54 per barrel, Reuters quoted the bank as saying in a note on Monday. Two months ago, Citi was expecting oil prices to recover to $60 a barrel by the end of next year as the oversupply will have been drawn down by then, as major investment banks and…

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From Billions To Millions: Canada’s Offshore Oil Disappointment

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced disappointing results this week from its call for bids on offshore oil parcels, according to a press release. Of the 17 parcels offered up in the Eastern Newfoundland Region, only one received any bids—Parcel 9—for which the winning bidder, BP Canada Energy Group ULC, committed $27 million in exploration work. For the petroleum board—and for Canada in general—that must be a crushing disappointment. In contrast, 2018 saw bids totaling $1.3 billion in the province. But it’s not just this year that…

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Trump Replaces FERC Chairman In Surprise Move

President Donald Trump surprised many this week with the removal of Neil Chatterjee from the post of chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Chatterjee was replaced by the other Republican sitting member of the commission, James Danly. Chatterjee’s term was set to expire in June 2021, Axios reported, noting the chairman of FERC had said he intended to remain at his post until then. However, his departure might have been hastened by a policy statement that FERC issued in October. The statement concerns carbon pricing policies and encourages regional…

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