Equinor Reopens Gas Field In A Boost For Exports To Europe

By Tom Kool - May 16, 2023

Norway’s energy major Equinor this week officially reopened the Njord gas field in the Norwegian Sea, aiming to more than double the field’s production and raise Norwegian gas exports to Europe.

The Njord field, which started production in 1997, was originally planned to produce until 2013. But systematic work with increased recovery means that there are still large volumes of oil and gas left. New discoveries in the area can also be produced and exported via Njord, Equinor said in a statement.

In 2016, the platform and the floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) were disconnected to undergo extensive upgrades. The field is now ready to produce oil and gas for the next 20 years.

Equinor now plans to drill new wells on Njord from an upgraded drilling facility and to carry out more exploration close to the field.

“With the prices we anticipate in the coming years this comprehensive upgrading project will be repaid in just under two years after startup,” said Grete B. Haaland, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration and production north.

The oil produced at the field is piped to the Njord Bravo FSO and onwards by tankers to the market. Gas from the field is exported through a 40-kilometer pipeline connected to the Åsgard transport system (ÅTS) and from there to the Kårstø terminal.

Commenting on the resumption of production at the field, Terje Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, said,

“With the war in Ukraine, the export of Norwegian oil and gas to Europe has never been more important than now. Reopening Njord contributes to Norway remaining a stable supplier of gas to Europe for many years to come.”

Equinor is now the single biggest provider of natural gas to Europe after Russia’s Gazprom cut off most of its supply to the EU after the Russian invasion of Ukraine early last year.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

Iraq And Iran Ignore U.S. Sanctions In Talks To Expand Energy Ties

By ZeroHedge - May 13, 2023,

• Iran and Iraq signed an agreement on Wednesday to expand energy ties.
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• As a result of harsh US sanctions, billions in Iraqi funds owed to Tehran have been frozen.
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• Due to the sanctions on Iran, Iraq is only allowed to receive Iranian energy imports and pay for them via waivers that extend up to 120 days.

Iran and Iraq signed an agreement on Wednesday to expand energy ties and establish a joint office aimed at overlooking cooperation between the two countries, the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced, coming as part of Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji’s visit to Baghdad.

Upon arriving in the Iraqi capital, Owji was received by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and discussed with him “the overall cooperation between Iraq and Iran, and ways to develop them,” as well as the ability to jointly confront “global economic challenges.”

The energy agreement was signed between Owji and Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghanni. The meeting between Sudani, Owji, and Abdul Ghanni “resulted in an agreement to establish committees to discuss the development of joint fields under international agreements and cooperation in refining, petrochemicals, as well as oil exploration and infrastructure development,” an Iraqi Oil Ministry statement reads.

According to the statement, the Iranian oil minister expressed his country’s desire “to expand the horizons of cooperation in the implementation of joint projects in oil and gas sectors, projects for the construction and development of oil refineries, the expansion of oil and gas pipelines, and environmental cleanup.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi called for expanding energy ties between Iraq and Iran.

Raisi also emphasized the need for Baghdad “fulfill its commitments” regarding gas and electricity payments owed to Tehran.

As a result of harsh US sanctions, billions in Iraqi funds owed to Tehran have been frozen as an attempt by Washington to pressure Iraq into avoiding energy cooperation with the Islamic Republic.

Iraq has paid around $1.6 billion out of the staggering debt; however, US sanctions continue to complicate matters. Due to the sanctions on Iran, Iraq is only allowed to receive Iranian energy imports and pay for them via waivers that extend up to 120 days, a policy implemented by former US president Donald Trump and kept in place by current President Joe Biden.

In March, an Iranian trade official announced that a US sanction waiver resulted in Iran receiving another $500 million from Iraq. Iran provides a third of Iraq’s electricity and gas supplies, and the two countries continue to cooperate despite the complications.

As a result of US economic hegemony, Iraq is one of the many regional countries considering the path of de-dollarization and fiscal independence from the west.

By The Cradle via Zerohedge.com

Refinery Utilization Plans Tell Story Of Strong Oil Products Demand in U.S.

By Julianne Geiger - May 16, 2023

U.S. crude oil refineries are planning to run at a rate of 94% utilization this quarter, according to company forecasts and analysts, Reuters said on Tuesday. U.S. total refining capacity is estimated at 17.9 million barrels per day.

U.S. refiners have been running at 91% of their operable capacity for the week ending May 5, according to the latest EIA data presented in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report published on Wednesday mornings.

Gasoline production was on the rise, averaging 9.8 million barrels per day for the week, while distillate production also rose to an average 4.6 million barres per day. Total products supplied rose over the four-week period ending May 5 to 19.9 million bpd—up 2.5% year over year, with gasoline seeing a 2.2% rise for the same period last year, and distillates up just 0.1%.

While the United States has yet to undertake a major project such as a new refinery, some refiners have added units to their existing refineries or upgraded to increase their throughput.

Last year at this time, U.S. refinery utilization was at 90%, although utilization often increases in the second quarter as we head into summer travel season. It often isn’t until September that we see refinery utilization dip back below the 90% threshold, EIA data shows. But last year, refinery utilization was up above 95% into the winter months.

This year, with gasoline inventories 7% below the five-year average for this time of year, and distillate inventories a staggering 16% below the five-year average, refiners are anticipating that utilization rates will remain high.

Marathon Petroleum has said it plans to run at 91% of capacity, Reuters said, while Valero plans to run between 90% and 93%. Phillips 66 said it plans on a utilization rate in the mid-90s.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

The Great Potential Of Tidal Energy

By Haley Zaremba - May 12, 2023

• The potential of tidal energy is huge, but the U.S. currently doesn’t have a single tidal power plant operational.
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• the total energy potential of marine sources is estimated to be more than double (57%) the amount of energy currently being produced in the country each year.
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• Breakthroughs in tidal energy will almost certainly be piecemeal and low-impact, but tidal energy eventually could become a larger part of the renewables puzzle

As the world begins to feel the urgency of the decarbonization imperative, more investing dollars and public support are available than ever before for renewable energy research and development. As a result, even some of the most futuristic and far-fetched ideas are getting real backing – with real results. Already, technologies that feel ripped out of the pages of science fiction are being proven feasible – from creating an artificial sun here on Earth, to beaming solar power straight from the stars to our own energy grids. But it turns out that space is not the only final frontier for clean energy extraction – and the other one is a lot closer to home. 

Looking to the ocean to solve some of our biggest global crises is not a new idea. Seawater – a vast and seemingly inexhaustible resource – has been a source of hope and experimentation for extracting everything from fresh drinking water in the face of a mounting water crisis to creating limitless green hydrogen to replace industrial fuels. The constant motion of the ocean through waves and tides has also been viewed as a potential source of renewable energy, but scaling tidal energy in a practical and affordable way has remained elusive. But the promise and allure of harnessing the full potential of tidal energy is so great that scientists and researchers around the world have persisted in finding a way to do it. In the United States alone, the total energy potential of marine sources is estimated to be more than double (57%) the amount of energy currently being produced in the country each year. These findings came from a groundbreaking report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released in 2021. The numbers released by NREL are particularly flooring when you consider that the United States has particularly low tidal energy potential compared to other countries. 

That’s why the United States has no tidal plants, while other countries including South Korea and France have had tidal plants online for years now. But that may not be the case for long. For one thing, there is currently unprecedented government support for exploring marine energy sources in the United States. he Biden administration has given special attention through the promise of marine energy sources through its Ocean Climate Action Plan, which notes the potential of offshore wind power as well as sourcing renewable energy from ‘less-explored sources’ such as waves, tides and currents. 

These three phenomena – waves, tides, and currents – present numerous different methods of potential energy production. Each is suited to different parts of the coast and ocean where the waters behave differently, allowing for more ways to create marine energy in more places. But each also presents certain challenges for achieving efficient and scalable energy production. Waves certainly pack a wallop, but they’re unsteady and still quite unpredictable despite scientists’ best modeling efforts, which makes machine design for wave energy extremely difficult. Tides are far more predictable, which is why tidal energy is way further along its own R&D trajectory. However, tidal energy is only feasible in very specific conditions that don’t exist in very many places on Earth. Currents, too, are predictable and constant, but scientists worry that harvesting too much of that energy could alter important oceanic patterns that regulate the climate, ultimately making matters worse.

While none of these energies provides a silver bullet solution, scientists are constantly working to refine and improve their methods in the hope that one day, one of these technologies could make a real impact. One example is a groundbreaking wave power project called PacWave, currently underway off of the Oregon coast. According to recent reporting from CNET, the ‘ambitious’ project is “an offshore experimental testbed built to develop and demonstrate new technology that converts the power of waves into onshore electricity.” Seven miles of conduit have already been laid between the testbed out in the Pacific and the Oregon coast using “pioneering horizontal drilling techniques.” The project could be fully operational as soon as 2025, when it would have an energy production capacity of 20 megawatts. This isn’t enough to revolutionize the energy sector by any means, but it will be able to provide a few thousand homes with clean and renewable energy. 

This is likely indicative of the trajectory of marine power on the whole. Breakthroughs will almost certainly be piecemeal and low-impact, but hopefully they will snowball into what is eventually a robust energy alternative. It likely will never provide a silver-bullet solution to fix the energy sector and the climate, but it’s one more piece of a diverse clean energy puzzle that is slowly but surely developing strong enough technologies to replace fossil fuels over time. And that’s a good thing. A diverse energy mix is a resilient energy mix. Relying too much on any one energy source is a very dangerous game. In this sense, a little bit of tidal, a little bit of wave energy, and a little bit of current energy could go a very long way. 

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

The IEA Says Russia Isn’t Cutting Oil Production As Promised

By Tsvetana Paraskova - May 16, 2023

• In February, Russia said that it would cut its oil production by 500,000 bpd, a cut that was called into question when Russian exports climbed.
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• The International Energy Agency says that Russia hasn’t cut its oil production by 500,000 bpd and may even be looking to boost output.
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• Russian oil export revenues are estimated to have increased by $1.7 billion month-on-month in April but were down by 27% compared to a year ago.

Russia has failed so far to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) as promised, and it may even be looking to boost output to compensate for lost revenues, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

Russian crude oil and oil product exports continue to prove resilient, with exports hitting in April the highest level since the invasion of Ukraine, at 8.3 million bpd, the IEA said in its closely-watched Oil Market Report.

The record exports contrast with expectations that Russia would lower supply to the market now that it has promised to cut output until the end of the year.

Russia warned in February that it would cut its crude oil production by 500,000 bpd due to EU import bans and price caps on its crude oil and oil products. Initially, Russia said this lowered production would apply to March. But Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced partway through March that the cuts would be extended until the end of 2023.

“By our estimates, Moscow did not deliver its announced 500 kb/d supply cut in full. Indeed, Russia may be boosting volumes to make up for lost revenue,” the IEA said in Tuesday’s report.

Russian oil export revenues are estimated to have increased by $1.7 billion month-on-month to $15 billion in April, but they were down by 27% compared to a year ago, while tax receipts from the oil and gas sector were down by 64% year-over-year, the agency added.

“Russia seems to have few problems finding willing buyers for its crude and oil products, frequently at the expense of fellow OPEC+ members in the two-tier market that has emerged since the embargoes came into force,” the IEA noted. 

Tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Monday that Russia’s crude oil exports by sea rose in the four weeks to May 12 to a new record-high and are now estimated to have increased by 10% from early April. Crude on vessels departed from Russia’s oil export terminals and en route to international markets hit another record at 3.61 million barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to May 12, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee. That’s the highest volume of Russian seaborne crude oil exports since Bloomberg started detailed tracking of the cargoes at the beginning of 2022.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

 

BSEE: Workers Hauled into Air by Taglines Four Times Since November

Rig worker hauled aloft by a tagline (BSEE)

PUBLISHED MAY 16, 2023 4:04 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

After a series of offshore accidents in which riggers were hauled into the air by tangled taglines, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a warning to operators about the hazards of lifting operations. None of the accidents resulted in injury, but they had high potential to cause harm to personnel. 

According to BSEE, there have been four separate tagline incidents on the U.S. OCS since last November. The incidents varied in severity, but in the worst case, the rigger ended up dangling from a tagline about 20 feet off the deck. 

In the first incident, a deckhand on an OSV got his leg tangled in a tagline after unhooking a load. The crane operator began raising the hook, and the deckhand's leg was raised about two feet off the deck before the operator stopped. The deckhands crewmates helped support him while the crane whip lowered again. 

In the second, after a series of lifts aboard an offshore platform, workers were sending a bundle of taglines up to the top deck on the crane hook. One of the riggers got tangled in a tagline as the bundle went up, and he was lifted about 8-10 feet over the top of a shipping container. He was able to grab and hang onto one of the lines, and the safety flagger spotted him before the situation could get any worse. The crane operator lowered him back down without any further incident. 

The third incident occurred in December. After taking aboard a bundle of pipe from an offshore platform, a deckhand on an OSV attached taglines onto the crane hook to return lines back up. When the taglines were lifted, he got tangled in them and was hoisted about five feet off the deck. He landed on a bundle of pipe and was able to free himself without injury. 

In January, a worker on a rig stepped onto a coiled tagline as a welding machine was being lifted into the air. He grabbed the tagline while entangled, and he was lifted 20 feet off the deck before the crane operator stopped the lift. He was lowered back onto the deck without harm.

To reduce risk, BSEE advised the use of push-poles, tangle-free taglines, and taglines that are just the right length. It recommended against taking a wrap around any other material to control a swaying load, a standard practice for deck operations. It also reiterated standard guidance: stay out of the bight, wear gloves, inspect the condition of the line, do not walk under the load, check your rigging before the lift, and hold a toolbox talk before operations begin. 

BSEE did not address workers' access to adequate means to cut themselves free from entanglement. Knives are essential safety equipment for mariners; however, they are often banned on offshore rigs by company policy and may not be available to personnel for their intended purpose - self-rescue in the event of a line-handling emergency, particularly entanglement.  

Unavailability of edged tools has proven to be a serious safety hazard offshore. In 2010, a liferaft of survivors from the Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 was nearly lost in the fire because no one aboard had a knife to quickly cut the raft's painter line.