Petrobras Invests $450 Million in World’s Largest Seismic Monitoring Project
Petrobras and its partners Shell, TotalEnergies, CNPC and CNOOC are spending roughly $450 million on what they call the world’s largest deep‑water seismic monitoring program in Brazil’s Mero pre‑salt field. The first phase, completed in March, laid 460 km of optical‑sensor cables across 222 km² to feed real‑time reservoir data to two FPSVs. A second phase is adding 316 km of cables over an additional 140 km², with full deployment expected by 2027. The data will support a planned fifth FPSO that could process 200,000 bpd of oil and 12 MMcmd of gas.
New Operator for Stalled Gas Facility Plan at Western-Led Kazakh Project
Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry appointed state‑run Qazaqgaz as the new operator of the stalled Karachaganak associated‑gas processing facility. The plant, originally planned for 4 bcm per year, is now targeted to handle up to 5 bcm of sour gas, reducing reliance on Russian...
Contractor Wins $562 Million Middle East Upstream Deal
Kuwait’s state‑owned Kuwait Oil Company awarded Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) a 174.2 million dinar contract—about $562 million—to construct flowlines and related upstream infrastructure. The award is part of a larger package aimed at expanding Kuwait’s upstream oil capacity and...
ExxonMobil Anticipates Higher First Quarter Earnings Despite Middle East Disruptions
ExxonMobil expects a stronger first‑quarter earnings report thanks to a sharp March rally in oil prices, which could lift upstream earnings by $1.9‑$2.3 billion and add $200‑$600 million from higher natural‑gas prices. The company also warned that recent attacks on LNG facilities...
Santos Facing Another 10 Days to Restart Production at Flagship Gas Project
Australian gas producer Santos announced it expects to restart production at its flagship Barossa gas project around 18 April 2026. The restart follows a temporary halt at the Darwin LNG plant while BW Offshore replaced dry‑gas seals on the BW Opal FPSO...
FPSO Player Loses Its CEO
Bumi Armada announced that CEO Gary Christenson stepped down early, with his term originally set to end on May 15, 2026. The company said CFO Luke Targett and COO Alex Bridgen will jointly lead the firm until a permanent chief executive...
US Operator Names New CFO Months After Previous Executive’s Departure
Expand Energy announced Marcel Teunissen as its new chief financial officer, effective Monday, replacing interim CFO Brittany Raiford who will resume investor‑relations duties. Teunissen joins after serving as North America president and former CFO of Canada’s Parkland Corporation, and after a two‑decade...
Lion Secures Rig for Game-Changing Offshore Wildcat
Lion Energy has secured Silver City Drilling’s SCD‑20 rig to drill the Bula Karang‑1 offshore wildcat in Indonesia’s East Seram PSC, targeting an unrisked 12 million‑barrel oil resource. The well, slated for a July spud, will deviate about 1,000 m offshore and...
US LNG Terminal Delayed by Contractor Bankruptcy Reaches First Production
QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil’s Golden Pass joint venture in Sabine Pass, Texas, has achieved first liquefied natural gas production on its inaugural train. The 18‑million‑tonne‑per‑annum facility, delayed by Zachry Group’s 2024 bankruptcy, is now on track to begin LNG exports in...
Santos Steps up for Australia’s Energy Security Amid Middle East War
Australian independent oil producer Santos is accelerating crude deliveries to support domestic refining amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted over 20% of global seaborne oil and LNG trade. The company reshaped a 575,000‑barrel Cooper Basin...
Chevron-Led Development Lifts Earnings at Kazakhstan National Oil Player
KazMunayGaz's 2025 earnings rose as Tengiz output jumped 40% to over 850,000 barrels per day, boosting revenue 13% to 9.4 trillion tenge (≈$18 billion). The Chevron‑led $47 billion capacity upgrade launched in January 2025 drove higher production and added $1.14 billion EBITDA from Tengiz...
Lukoil Writes Off $20 Billion of Foreign Assets in Sanctions Hit
Russian oil major Lukoil recorded a $20 billion write‑off of its foreign assets after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned its international holding LIG. The impairment pushed the company into a 1.06 trillion‑rouble net loss for 2025, a sharp reversal from the 852 billion‑rouble profit...
Race Heats up for Major Deals at World's Largest Offshore Oilfield
Saudi Aramco’s Safaniyah offshore complex, the world’s largest, can pump more than 1.3 million barrels of oil per day and contains over 30 billion barrels of proven reserves. The field’s scale has sparked a fierce bidding war among international oil‑service firms seeking...
Ukraine Accepts EU Offer to Help Repair Damaged Russian Oil Pipeline
Ukraine has accepted the European Union’s offer of technical and financial assistance to repair the Brody pumping station on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was damaged in a suspected Russian aerial strike. The repair is expected to take about one...
TotalEnergies Readies Azerbaijan Offshore Field for Europe's Gas Market
TotalEnergies will take the final investment decision on the second phase of Azerbaijan’s Absheron gas and condensate field in the second half of 2026, with first gas expected to flow to shore by September 2029. The expansion will add about...
Brazil Imposes 12% Tax on Crude Exports Amid US-Iran War
Brazil announced a provisional measure that eliminates federal PIS and Cofins taxes on diesel for domestic consumption while imposing a 12% export tax on crude oil and a 50% levy on diesel shipments. The move, driven by soaring crude prices...
Petronas Confirms Gas Condensate Discovery Offshore Indonesia
Petronas has confirmed a gas condensate discovery at the Barokah‑1 wildcat in the North Ketapang block offshore East Java, Indonesia. The well tested at depths of around 2,730‑2,770 metres and is projected to produce roughly 12 million cubic feet of gas and...
Azerbaijan Signs up Canada Player for Major Exploration Effort
State oil company Socar has signed an exploration, development and production‑sharing agreement with Canadian firm Gran Tierra Energy for a 1,600 km² on‑shore block in Azerbaijan’s Guba‑Khazaryani area. Gran Tierra will hold a 65 % operating stake while Socar retains 35 %, with...