NorthAmOil - North America Oil & Gas
Weekly rig count flat after 20 weeks of declines
The total US rig count stayed flat in the week up to July 31, according to the latest data from oilfield services firm Baker Hughes, having declined for the previous 20 weeks.
Marathon Petroleum to close two refineries, sell Speedway
Marathon Petroleum has announced plans to permanently close two small US refineries and to sell its network of Speedway gasoline stations to 7-Eleven, a subsidiary of Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, for $21bn.
MPLX warns of impact from potential Bakken pipeline shutdown
MPLX, the master limited partnership formed by Marathon Petroleum in 2012 to focus on midstream assets, has flagged up the financial impact of a potential shutdown of two pipelines serving the Bakken play.
Total writes down $7bn of Canadian oil sands assets
France’s Total has reported as part of its second-quarter results that it has written down its Canadian oil sands assets by $7.0bn.
NRG: Emerging bright spots
Even as major companies continue to report quarterly losses, world crude oil prices have remained steady and some LNG markets are still heading for growth.
Russia overtakes US in LNG supplies to China
The latest Chinese customs data show that Russia supplied 396,000 tonnes of LNG to the Asian country in June, compared with 340,000 tonnes arriving from the US.
US LNG exports still booming despite cargo cancellations
Exports of LNG from the US have still risen year on year, despite a spate of cargo cancellations over the summer as a result of global oversupply.
Schlumberger posts weakest sales in 14 years
Oilfield services giant Schlumberger has reported a $3.4bn net loss for the second quarter of 2020, down from a profit of $492mn in the same quarter a year ago.
Hess raises 2020 production outlook
US independent Hess has raised its production outlook for the whole of 2020 by 10,000 boepd to about 330,000 boepd.
EQT restores curtailed gas production
EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the US, said this week that it had restored all of the output it curtailed in May, and that there had been no degradation in well performance.
Enbridge submits Line 5 damage report, posts lower profit
Pipeline operator Enbridge has submitted the findings of its investigation into damage to an underwater section of its 540,000 bpd Line 5 pipeline to Michigan state – as well as federal – authorities.
Oil sands giants report quarterly losses
Suncor Energy and Cenovus Energy – two of the four leading producers in Canada’s oil sands – have reported losses for the second quarter of 2020.
Oil rig count inches up instead of another fall
The slight weekly increase in the oil rig count was cancelled out by declines in the number of gas rigs, but is nonetheless being welcomed by the industry as a positive sign.
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