United States & Canada

ConocoPhillips to sell Canadian oil sands and gas assets

March 30, 2017 | Company Operations, Oil Sands, United States & Canada

London, UK | – ConocoPhillips has struck a deal with Cenovus Energy to sell oil sands and gas operations in west Canada, following in the footsteps of international oil major, Shell, which recently exited Canada’s oil sands industry, and Marathon Oil’s oil sands divestment. The Conoco deal is worth US$13.3 billion (C$17.7 billion) and includes Conoco’s 50-percent stake in the Foster Creek Christina Lake project, which the U.S. company ran together with Cenovus as operator, and most of its conventional offshore natural gas assets in the Deep …

America’s Anadarko to sell Eagleford shale assets in South Texas for $2.3billion

January 13, 2017 | Asset Acquisitions & Divestitures, Shale oil & gas, United States & Canada

London, UK | – American petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company  Anadarko has signed an agreement to sell its Eagleford Shale assets in South Texas, US to a strategic 50/50 partnership formed by Sanchez Energy and asset manager Blackstone Group for about $2.3bn. The sale, which is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, includes about 155,000 net acres located next to Sanchez’s Catarina asset, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio. Anadarko plans to use part of the proceeds …

Oil prices rise on US weather fears, OPEC speculation

August 31, 2016 | Commodities & Oilprice, OPEC, United States & Canada

London, UK | –  Oil futures rose on Tuesday  supported by production suspensions in the US Gulf due to an expected tropical storm and speculation that OPEC meeting in Algeria next month will act to prop up prices. Brent crude futures were trading at $49.53 per barrel at 1142 GMT, up 27 cents from the previous close.US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 36 cents at $47.34 a barrel. Oil and gas operators in the US Gulf of Mexico have shut output equal to …

Canada may ask oil firms to pay extra for far-offshore drilling

August 24, 2016 | Offshore, United States & Canada

Toronto, Canada | –  Canada may ask oil companies to contribute to the hundreds of millions of dollars or more the country has to pay to an international body if they drill far offshore, according to an internal government memo. If that happens, it could make the operations more expensive and strain talks that companies will have with provincial governments, which already require them to pay royalties. A United Nations convention, which Canada ratified in 2003, says signatories need to pay the International Seabed Authority …

U.S. challenges Halliburton merger with Baker Hughes

April 07, 2016 | Asset Acquisitions & Divestitures, Oilfield Services, United States & Canada

Washington, US | – The US Justice Department announced Wednesday that it had filed suit to prevent Halliburton, an oil-field services behemoth, from acquiring its rival, Baker Hughes. If successful, the antitrust suit could derail a huge merger between two of the largest oil-field services companies in the world, a deal that at one point was reportedly valued at $35 billion. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said regulators were concerned that the acquisition would lead to decreased competition and higher prices. European regulators also have …

Shell and Saudi Aramco break up 20 year US refinery joint venture

March 21, 2016 | Downstream, Refining & Processing, United States & Canada

London, UK | – Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco have announced the end of their 20-year US refinery joint venture and divided up a number of US assets between themselves. The Motiva joint venture, formed in 1998, had operated as a 50/50 refining and marketing joint venture between the London-listed international oil giant and Saudi Arabian national oil company. “Motiva’s performance has been transformed in the last two years. We propose to combine the assets we will retain from the joint venture with Shell’s other …

U.S. grants Shell final approval for oil drilling in Arctic Ocean off Alaska

August 18, 2015 | Government & Regulations, United States & Canada

London, UK | – The U.S federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell plc the final permit it needs to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced that it approved the permit to drill below the ocean floor after the oil giant brought in a required piece of equipment to stop a possible well blowout. The agency previously allowed Shell to begin drilling …

Halliburton develops app to access well solutions

August 06, 2015 | Products, Services & Techniques, United States & Canada

Houston, US |  –  American multinational oilfield services company, Halliburton has developed a mobile app that allows operators to find and share information about specific solutions for deepwater, mature fields, and unconventional resource challenges. The Solutions app gives access to Halliburton case studies, technical papers, news and product announcements, industry events and awards, as well as an oilfield trivia game in addition to an overview of solutions available for key areas. Solutions also provides access to Halliburton experts. It has a “Briefcase” to allow users …