Author: Rigs & Barge World

Saudi Arabia’s Liquids Displacement Program (LDP) is beginning to have an impact on global trade flows. For years, Saudi oil burn was on a steady upwards trajectory as a rising population drove strong electricity demand and domestic gas production growth was unable to keep up. Oil burn ultimately peaked at 1.1mn b/d over 2022-2024 before targeted investments in gas and renewables finally put it in reverse. Oil burn fell by around 100,000 b/d in 2025, with the latest Jodi data to November implying that it could have fallen below 1mn b/d on an annual basis for the first time since…

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with senior leaders from US oil major Chevron in Washington to accelerate the technical and commercial agreements required to link Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field to Egyptian infrastructure. The meeting established a roadmap for further negotiations, with all project parties set to convene in Cairo by the end of March 2026, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR). The discussions focused on finalizing the framework for transporting gas from the Aphrodite field to Egypt’s processing facilities. Badawi emphasized that leveraging Egypt’s established infrastructure is the…

The Three Pillars of ContentionThe “tall order” of these negotiations rests on three deeply entrenched issues:The Nuclear Issue: Washington continues to demand that Iran permanently halt high-level uranium enrichment. While Tehran has expressed a willingness to discuss its nuclear program, it maintains that enrichment for civilian energy and medical needs is a sovereign right.Ballistic Missiles: The U.S. remains concerned about Iran’s missile range, which currently extends to 2,000 km—capable of reaching Israel and regional U.S. assets. Iran has labeled its missile program a “red line,” viewing it as its primary conventional deterrent.Regional Militancy: A core U.S. demand is the cessation…

QatarEnergy has entered into a long-term agreement with Malaysia’s state energy firm, Petronas, to supply two million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually for 20 years. The sales and purchase agreement, scheduled to begin in 2028, marks the first long-term LNG supply partnership between the two national energy giants. The deal was finalized in Doha on the sidelines of the LNG2026 international conference. It was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Tengku Muhammad Taufik, President and Group CEO of Petronas. Under the terms of the agreement, LNG volumes…

Libya signed a number of upstream agreements this week, most notably a $20bn deal with the Waha consortium grouping state firm NOC with Tota… Source link

Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, has honored Amr Tawfik from the Refining and Manufacturing Department at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for developing a locally made demulsifier used for injection in oil wells, with specifications comparable to imported products. The chemical helps separate water from the produced crude and reduces its viscosity. In recognition of the achievement, the minister also honored the team responsible for the product’s localization and marketing, which included Michael Wagdy of the Cairo Oil Refining Company (CORC) and Ehab Shokry of Khalda Petroleum Company, according to a statement by the Ministry of…

2026 looks to be a seminal year for Cyprus’ gas aspirations. Eni is due to take a final investment decision to develop the 3.1tcf (gas in place) Cronos field in Block 6 by the end of March (MEES, 16 January), while US major Chevron should have more clarity on development plans for the 3.5tcf Aphrodite, having launched a front-end engineering design (FEED) study earlier this month (MEES, 23 January). Momentum is clearly building, and ExxonMobil VP Global Exploration John Ardill was in Nicosia on 23 January to discuss plans for Block 10 (Exxon 60%op, QatarEnergy 40%). Exxon could declare Block…

US oil major Chevron has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Petroleum Company and Qatar’s UCC Holding to explore oil and gas opportunities off the Syrian coast. The agreement marks a significant shift in the region’s energy landscape and represents the first major Western entry into the Syrian offshore sector in over a decade, Reuters reported. The partnership aims to identify and develop untapped offshore reserves, diversifying a sector that has historically been concentrated inland. Currently, the vast majority of Syria’s crude production is tied to onshore fields in the northeast, led by the Al-Omar field. This…

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded the global oilfield services firm, SLB, a five-year integrated contract worth about $1.5 billion for the next phase of development at Kuwait’s Mutriba oil field, SLB reported. The contract covers design, development and production management work and builds on SLB’s existing subsurface studies of the Mutriba field. It includes development of high-pressure, high-temperature reservoirs with sour conditions, expanding SLB’s scope as the project moves into more technically complex stages. SLB said the award reflects its long-standing partnership with KOC and gives the company end-to-end responsibility for planning and execution as field development progresses. The…

Libya has fired the starting gun on what will be a pivotal year for a number of Opec’s more fragile members that have struggled to attract IOC investment in recent years. While US President Donald Trump is extolling the opportunities on offer in Venezuela, the real action lies further east; in Libya, Algeria and Iraq. These three countries have, to varying degrees, struggled in recent years, and have therefore implemented regulatory reforms in a bid to once again attract foreign investment and rejuvenate their upstream sectors. (CONTINUED – 1121 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years…