UAE EYES SHELL, BP, TOTAL PARTNERSHIP

United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said he hopes BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA have “a good chance to compete” for concessions in the nation’s biggest onshore deposits of crude oil.

The three companies, together with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Portugal’s Partex Oil & Gas, were partners with Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s largest emirate, in a joint-venture agreement that expired in January.

Read @ The Punch

AS US SHUTS ITS DOOR ON NIGERIA’S OIL EXPORTS

Nigeria has become the first country to completely stop selling oil to the United States of America, the world’s largest oil producer and consumer, due to the impact of the shale revolution – an astounding reversal – as the country was only four years ago one of the top five oil suppliers to America.

According to the US Department of Energy, Nigeria did not export a single barrel of crude to US-based refiners in July for the first time since records started in 1973.

Read more @ Thisday Live

OPEC COUNTRIES PANIC AS OIL PRICE DROP PERSISTS

Nigeria and some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries are now in a panic mode owing to the fall in price of oil which has persisted for months now.

The countries are calling for supply cuts after the drop in oil prices, but core Gulf members are betting winter demand will revive the market, suggesting the group is no closer to any collective steps.

Read more @ The Punch

OIL LOADING SCHEDULE INDICATES NIGERIA EXPORTS TO HIT 1.91M BPD

There are strong indications that Nigeria’s oil export will improve significantly despite difficult challenges ranging from unbearable oil theft, community unrest and vandalisation of oil facilities.

The export figure is believed to soar to a 14 -month high of 1.91 million barrels per day (bpd) in November.

Read more @ Leadership

FOR THE FIRST TIME, US SHUNS NIGERIA’S OIL

The search for alternative energy by the Barack Obama administration in the United States of America (USA) has begun to take a toll on Nigeria’s crude oil export as the US for the first time failed to import a single barrel of crude oil from Nigeria.

This troubling scenario experienced in the month of July, according to industry watchers, may spell doom for the Nigerian economy.

Read more @ Leadership

ENI PAID $533M BRIBE TO POLITICIANS – PROSECUTORS

Italian oil and gas major, Eni, the parent company of Nigeria Agip Oil Company, has been alleged to have used at least half of the $1.1bn paid to purchase a Nigerian oil field in 2011 to bribe local politicians, intermediaries and others, according to official documents and a person close to the investigation.

The Milan prosecutors, who recently opened a probe into the acquisition, have placed the company, its former chief executive officer, Paolo Scaroni, and current CEO, Claudio Descalzi, under investigation for alleged international corruption surrounding the deal for the Oil Prospecting Licence 245 offshore oil field concession.

Read more @ The Punch

NNPC REFORM, FISCAL CHANGES, OTHERS STALL PIB PASSAGE

With the Petroleum Industry Bill seeking to restructure the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the lingering concerns of International Oil Companies over the changes in fiscal terms, the passage of the bill should not be expected anytime soon, industry analysts have said.

The delay in the passage of PIB, which seeks to overhaul the oil and gas industry, is said to be taking a toll on the industry

Read more @ The Punch