Author: Rigs & Barge World

TotalEnergies has entered into a strategic partnership with Aspen Technology, a business of Emerson, aimed at deploying advanced digital solutions across its industrial sites. These solutions will help in leveraging the efficiency of real-time data collection leading to improved operational efficiency, reduced energy consumption, and enhanced environmental performance. Within the frame of the partnership, TotalEnergies will apply Emerson’s AspenTech Inmation™ across its industrial sites worldwide. This data will continuously gather and consolidate millions of real-time data points from TotalEnergies’ sites, enabling secure and centralized access to information throughout the organization. “At TotalEnergies, digital technology is a key enabler of our…

During Qatar’s 12-year moratorium (2005-2017) on development of its massive North Field, Doha’s greatest fear was damage to the field’s reserves. It did not want to rush into development that could cause reservoir pressure to drop or increase water cut. During this time, it focused on conducting studies of the field and only carrying out work to maintain output. One of the few projects Qatar carried out was the Plateau Maintenance Project (PMP) which started up in 2014. It involved brownfield work in the North Field and a revamp to onshore facilities aimed at maintaining the 10mn t/y capacity at…

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi met with William Lin, Executive Vice President of bp Global for Gas and Low-Carbon Energy Affairs, along with other bp officials, to discuss the company’s new plans to invest in the development and production of natural gas in Egypt, particularly following its recent discoveries in the Mediterranean. This year, bp completed drilling activities from two gas discoveries offshore the Mediterranean; El-King-2 and El Fayoum-5. The two exploration wells will be tied into the company’s existing onshore infrastructure as part of the West Nile Delta (WND) Gas Development project. During the meeting, Minister…

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi held a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. The meeting addressed the state’s efforts to secure citizens’ needs for petroleum products and provide natural gas to various state sectors, especially the electricity sector. Discussions also covered updates on exploration activities and added petroleum reserves. During the meeting, Badawi reviewed the main pillars of the ministry’s current operations and activities. The minister reviewed the main results achieved from July 2024 to June 2025, including an increase in added local oil and gas production. He highlighted the petroleum sector’s…

Iraq is looking to lease oil tankers to serve as floating storage after the US sanctioned an important oil products terminal at Basra’s Khor al-Zubair port earlier this month. The US Treasury imposed sanctions on VS Oil, registered in the UAE as VS Oil Terminal FZE, alleging that it was actively involved in blending sanctioned Iranian fuel oil with Iraqi barrels at the six-tank facility it manages. Volumes were then exported as Iraqi fuel oil to regional hubs using forged documents, according to the US. Washington says the terminal and its VS Tankers affiliate have ties to Iraqi-British businessman Salim…

bp has appointed Albert Manifold as the new Chair of the company, succeeding Helge Lund. The company’s statement explained that Manifold will join the board by the start of September as non-executive director and chair-elect, and will take over the Chair position starting from October. Manifold served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CRH plc (CRH) from January 2014 to December 2024. During his tenure, he led a strategic transformation of the company’s portfolio and consistently delivered strong growth and performance. Additionally, he is recognized for his proven ability in strategic leadership and effective execution, with a particular emphasis…

Turkey has sent a request to Iraq asking to renew and expand the collaboration between the two countries in energy, the Iraq News Agency reported. The request was attached with a draft for a new inclusive agreement in oil, gas, petrochemical industries, and electricity. This followed Turkey’s announcement to terminate the agreements and protocols signed between Turkey and Iraq regarding the crude oil pipeline extending from Iraq to Turkey, effective July 27, 2026. An anonymous official source at the Iraq Oil Ministry explained that the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement, which was signed between the two neighboring countries, Iraq and Turkey, in…

Kufpec, the overseas upstream arm of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) reported a decline in its oil and gas production in 2024 to 76,205 boe/d, well short of its 107,000 boe/d target for the year. CEO Mohammed al-Haimer attributed the decline in production from last year’s 96,022 boe/d to the divestment of the company’s Norwegian assets, which had accounted for 21% of its total production in 2023. Kufpec finalized its exit from Norway in early 2024, selling assets to Poland’s PGNiG (MEES, 12 January 2024), following exits from China and the Philippines in 2023 and Tunisia in 2022. The Norwegian…

The Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Asia-Potash International Investment (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. The MoU is designed to strengthen joint cooperation in exploring and assessing phosphate ore reserves. The objective is to maximize the added value of this crucial resource. The signing took place in the presence of Karim Badawi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, according to the Ministry’s statement. The MoU was signed by Yasser Ramadan, MRMIA’s Chairman, and Zeng Yuy, Vice President of the Chinese company Asia-Potash. Following the signing ceremony, Badawi stated that this initiative aligns…

Oman’s state hydrocarbons firm Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) responsible for operating the country’s largest oil and gas asset Block 6 (EDO 60%, Shell 34%, Total 4%, PTTEP 2%) produced a 22-year high 679,922 b/d of liquids in 2024, which the firm says surpassed its target by 7,000 b/d. PDO says that total hydrocarbons output increased to a new record high, although it doesn’t provide a figure. While output was on an upwards curve, PDO may have been disappointed by the return on its exploration efforts. According to its recently released sustainability report, oil reserves dropped by 140mn barrels to a…