Latest News

The regulation is part of EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package. Credit:  Christian Lue/Unsplash

The Council of European Union (EU) has given the final approval for a regulation aimed at tracking and reducing methane emissions within the energy sector.  

This move introduces new requirements for measuring, reporting, and verifying methane emissions, with a focus on transparency and compliance on methane emitted from the imports of oil and gas and coal. The regulation, part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, mandates operators to measure emissions at the source and submit monitoring reports verified by independent bodies.   

National authorities will conduct periodic inspections to ensure adherence to these new standards.  

Operators are now required to detect and repair methane leaks, with specific timelines set for the repair or replacement of leaking components.  

The new rules also prohibit venting and flaring of methane from certain facilities by 2025 and 2027, respectively, except in cases of emergency or malfunction.  

In addition, the EU will track methane emissions from imported oil, gas, and coal, utilising global monitoring tools to enhance transparency.

Equinor, along with its partners, has decided to make a Nkr12bn ($1.13bn) investment in the North Sea Troll gas field to further increase production. The investment will be used to further develop the field infrastructure to ensure that high gas export levels from the Troll and Kollsnes value chain are maintained up to 2030.  

The second stage of the Troll Phase 3 project will involve the drilling of eight new wells from two new templates, with subsea controls extended from existing templates. The first wells from this initiative are expected to commence production by the end of 2026.  

The infrastructure enhancement is expected to fast-track production equivalent to approximately 55 billion standard cubic metres of gas. At the peak of its performance, the annual output from the new development is projected to be around seven billion cubic metres of gas. 

Brazil’s Petrobras has contracted Seatrium to construct two floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units for operations in the Santos Basin.    

The S$11bn ($8.15bn) deal is for the construction of P-84 and P-85 FPSOs, which will be deployed at the Atapu and Sépia fields, respectively. P-84 and P-85 can each produce 225,000 barrels of oil per day, and they can each process 10 million cubic metres of gas per day. The FPSOs will be built in shipyards across Brazil, China, and Singapore, with local content anticipated to be 20% for P-84 and 25% for P-85.  

Located in the eastern region of the Santos Basin, some 200km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the Atapu and Sépia fields are currently operational with two platforms, the P-70 and the FPSO Carioca, respectively. The addition of P-84 and P-85 will mark the second phase of development in these fields. 

Repsol has secured a licence from the US Treasury Department to continue and expand its oil and gas operations in Venezuela, Reuters reported, citing sources.  

The Spanish oil and gas company’s operations in Venezuela include multiple joint ventures (JVs) with PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company. Recently, the two companies decided to expand one of their joint projects to include two sizeable onshore fields. They signed an agreement to boost oil and gas production in Venezuela through their JV, Petroquiriquire, in December 2023.  

The venture operates in the Quiriquire, Mene Grande and Barúa Motatán fields, with PDVSA holding a 60% stake and Repsol owning the remaining 40%. 

The US administration is reviewing up to 50 licence requests for energy ventures in Venezuela following the reinstatement of oil sanctions on the country.  These sanctions were reintroduced after the US Government concluded that Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro had failed to conduct adequate elections. 

Equinor has made a new oil discovery at the Svalin field in production licence 169 in the Norwegian North Sea, following the drilling of the well 25/11-H-1 H. The well encountered oil in thin sandstone layers with very good reservoir quality within the Balder Formation, part of the Rogaland Group. 

The discovery is believed to be in pressure communication with the Heimdal Formation on the Svalin C structure, although the oil/water contact was not reached. 

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate said that the licensees of the Svalin field are now assessing the discovery’s profitability before committing to production. Preliminary estimates suggest recoverable resources range between zero and 0.6 million barrels of oil equivalent. 

Discovered in 1992, the Svalin field comprises two structures, Svalin C and Svalin M, and has been producing since 2014. Equinor operates the licence with a 57% stake while other partners include Petoro (30%) and Vår Energi (13%).