27th February 2024

Rise and shine. This is Both Barrels. Here’s what hit the wires today in all things oil, gas, and energy:

• 🥊 Exxon and Chevron showdown in Guyana

• 🤫 Nord Stream II cover up continues

• 🦘 A shale gas boom in Aus?

• 💀 Skull found at BP refinery 

• ➕ plus Russia’s new gasoline ban; more delays to BP’s West Africa LNG; T&T oil spill spreads; Woodside bullish on LNG prospects; battery realities.

📈 THE NUMBERS

🗞️ WELL-HEADLINES

 🗽 North America

• Exxon threatens Chevron’s Hess takeover - last year, Chevron agreed to buy Hess and its crown jewels in Guyana, for $53bn. Not so fast said Exxon and CNOOC, who have now claimed they have first right of refusal on any sale of the giant Stabroek block in Guyana. Exxon released a statement saying it will "preserve our right to realize the significant value we’ve created and are entitled to in the Guyana asset”. Wow. Get ready for a showdown between the two US big dogs. Hess’ shares fell 4% on the news. Would Chevron want Hess without Guyana? Unlikely.

• Human skull found at BP’s refinery - excavators discovered the remains at BP’s Whiting Refinery. Yikes.

• O&G industry preps LNG approval lawsuit - the American Petroleum Institute and six other groups say Biden’s LNG moratorium is “arbitrary and capricious” and violates federal law.

• Venture digs in its heels, again - America’s most unpopular LNG developer refuses to provide certain documents to its angry customers unless it’s ordered to do so by the government. Customers want documents to help validate their claims that Venture is illegitimately delaying selling them LNG.

• Some good news for Canadian oil producers - who will likely enjoy a temporary bump in oil prices as the Trans Mountain pipeline opens just oil sands operations go into a maintenance period.

• Drop by drop for the SPR - the US government has announced another 3 mmbbls purchase for the SPR, taking the total to 26 mmbbls over the past few months (only another ~250 mmbbls to go).

🏰 Europe

• Russia’s new gasoline export ban - the restriction will start from March 1st and last for 6 months to keep domestic prices low as seasonal demand picks up. Last year Russia temporarily halted nearly all fuel exports for several months to tackle local shortages.

⛩️ Asia & Oceania

• A shale gas boom in Australia? - partners at a well in the Beetaloo basin in North Australia have said that tests results compare to those in the Marcellus basin of the US. Australia is estimated to have the world’s 5th largest reserves of shale gas but has yet to unlock these riches like the US has.

• Vietnam looking for gas - got LNG? PetroVietnam has issued tenders for 1-2 cargoes of LNG on the spot market. Vietnam’s power consumption is growing 10-12% a year as it industrializes and its economy booms.

🦁 Africa

• BP’s West Africa LNG project delayed again - start-up from the 2.3 mtpa Greater Tortue Ahmeyim export project offshore Mauritania and Senegal is now due in Q4 this year, meaning the landmark project is about 1 year delayed.

🗿 Central & South America

• Marechal Duque de Caxias on its way - the giant 180 kb/d FPSO has left China to begin its journey to Petrobras’ Mero oilfield in Brazil. Once installed, the vessel will increase the field’s installed production capacity to 590 kb/d.

• Trinidad oil spill spreads - fuel oil is still leaking from the upturned tanker that was first spotted back on 7th Feb and is now reaching neighboring Caribbean islands like Grenada and Bonaire. It’s still a mystery as to who owns the offending ship.

🌍 GEOPOLITICS & MACRO

• Denmark ends Nord Stream 2 sabotage investigation - after Sweden closed the case last month, Denmark is now doing the same without any conclusion. If this really was Russia, as the West is suggesting, don’t you think these investigations would be quick to point the finger at the Kremlin if there was even a shred of evidence? Instead, the whole thing is gradually being swept under the rug. Makes you wonder…

• Woodside v bullish on LNG growth - the Australian LNG player expects global LNG demand to grow by 50% in the next ten years, largely driven by Asia. “There’ll be points in time where we’ll see a fair amount of new supply arriving, but the demand growth is really likely to absorb that over the course of the coming years”, the CEO commented. The future is very bright indeed for the LNG sector.

💨 CARBON, CLIMATE, & OTHER ENERGY STUFF

• Siemens Energy boss defends wind unit purchase - after coming under heavy fire from angry and out-of-pocket investors following a dire performance of its wind division, the CEO said the 2022 deal was done on “sound information”. The problems, he claimed, emerged from newer turbines that came after the acquisition. The division isn’t for sale, he added.

🛢️ BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

For the next time someone tells you renewable intermittency will soon be solved by batteries:

👋 BEFORE YOU GO 

Any feedback, requests, terrible jokes? Please click the poll above or just ping a reply to this email and let rip.

We read every word. 

Thanks for reading. Have a day out there. 🛢️🛢️