Nigeria restores 275,000 bpd production at TotalEnergies JV

MRC -- Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC Ltd said it had restored 275,000 bpd of oil production at its joint venture unit with Total Energies after negotiating an end to industrial action by workers, sai Hydrocarbonprocessing.

NNPC said in a statement that an agreement to suspend the action had been signed between TotalEnergies, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, which represent senior and junior workers in the industry.

"The unions have agreed to suspend ongoing industrial action leading to immediate restoration of 275,000 barrels of oil per day production," NNPC said. NNPC did not disclose the nature of the dispute or the workers' demands, which had not been previously announced.

Nigeria's oil production stood at 1.49 million barrels per day in October, according to data from the petroleum regulator, still below the 2023 budget target of 1.69 million bpd. Although production has been improving this year in Africa's biggest oil producer, crude theft, illegal refining and lack of investment in the sector have hobbled output, which has remained below its OPEC quota of 1.74 million bpd.

That has led to fears that NNPC may struggle to supply crude to the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery, which has missed several targets to start production. NNPC Ltd will supply the Dangote refinery with up to six cargoes of crude oil in December to be used in test runs, industry sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

We remind, Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd. reached a significant milestone with the signing of the Pulau Muara Besar Phase 2 Development Project Implementation Agreement with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam (PA) and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). Concurrently, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

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MRC -- Russian fuel producers have been told by the government to prepare for the scrapping of all remaining restrictions on the export of diesel and gasoline, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Russia, the world's top seaborne exporter of diesel, introduced a ban on fuel exports on Sept. 21 to tackle high domestic prices and shortages.

The government eased restrictions on Oct. 6, allowing the export of diesel by pipeline, but kept measures on gasoline exports in place. Overseas supplies of gasoline by trucks and railways are also prohibited. Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov on Wednesday said that Russia was considering lifting the export ban on some grades of gasoline.

"They told the producers that exports will be opened up from next week," said a Russian oil company source who spoke on condition of anonymity owing to the sensitivity of such decisions. Another industry source said the ban would be lifted next week.

"They promised to lift the exports ban next week. In regards to this promise, we have formed an export schedule and a plan for refining," said the source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. The Russian energy ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Diesel is Russia's biggest oil product export, at about 35 million metric tons last year. Almost three quarters of that was transported via pipeline. Russia also exported 4.8 million tons of gasoline in 2022. Another company source said that a gasoline glut had emerged because of the restrictions.

"It's a low season now; we can't sell so much on the domestic market," he said. Officials have said the ban would be lifted once the domestic market stabilizes. Analysts had expected the restrictions to be scrapped after completion of the recent grain harvesting season.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Sunday said that Russia would continue an additional voluntary supply cut of 300,000 barrels per day from its crude oil and petroleum product exports until the end of December, as previously announced.

We remind, Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd. reached a significant milestone with the signing of the Pulau Muara Besar Phase 2 Development Project Implementation Agreement with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam (PA) and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). Concurrently, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

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MRC -- Occidental Petroleum beat analysts' third-quarter profit estimates on strong U.S. oil production, but its results were well below a year ago due to lower energy prices and weaker chemical and pipeline results, said the company.

The oil and gas company reported a $1.18 a share profit compared to average Wall Street analyst forecasts for an 84 cent a share profit, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings fell by more than half to $1.13 billion compared to the same quarter last year.

U.S. oil producers are reporting weaker third-quarter profits on a drop in oil and gas prices from a year ago. But earnings are up compared to the second quarter on an improvement in prices.

Occidental sold its oil for an average $80.70 per barrel in the third quarter, down from $83.64 per barrel from a year earlier, but up 10% from the second quarter.

It bought back $342 million of Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKa.N) preferred shares, bringing redemptions this year to 15% of the initial $10 billion investment by Warren Buffett's firm that was used by Occidental to fund its acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019.

We remind, Occidental and ADNOC announced that they will evaluate investment opportunities in Direct Air Capture (DAC) facilities and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration hubs in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a pathway toward the development of carbon management platforms to accelerate the net-zero goals of both companies.

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MRC -- Japan and South Korea will establish a joint supply network for carbon-neutral fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, the Nikkei business daily reported, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will announce the framework on Nov. 17 in the United States, where they are expected to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, the paper said.

Japan and South Korea, both highly dependent on energy imports, plan to work together to negotiate prices and volumes, Nikkei said, and state-backed financial institutions would help companies to raise funds for hydrogen and ammonia projects outside Japan and South Korea.

No comment was immediately available from Japan's trade ministry. Japan's Kishida visited the Middle East in July to promote cooperation in green and renewable energy, including hydrogen and ammonia supplies, which Japan wants to play a greater role in its energy mix to cut fossil fuel use.

We remind, Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd. reached a significant milestone with the signing of the Pulau Muara Besar Phase 2 Development Project Implementation Agreement with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam (PA) and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). Concurrently, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

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MRC -- South African petrochemical company Sasol said that Sipho Nkosi had stepped down as non-executive director and chairman of the board, effective Nov. 10, said Reuters.

The resignation comes as "he was concerned that some of his business interests may be perceived to place him in conflict with the interests of Sasol," the company said in a statement.

Stephen Westwell, a non-executive and lead independent director, was appointed pro tem chairman of the board from Nov 11, the statement said.

We remind, Sasol said that its chemical sales fell in fiscal 2023 due to lower prices, and that it expects continued pricing and demand volatility in fiscal 2024. The South African energy and chemicals group said chemicals sales revenue fell to USD8.99 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, from USD10.55 billion in fiscal 2022, on lower prices offsetting slightly higher sales volumes.

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