The main production facility is a new drilling and production platform, which leverages the adjacent existing facilities for development. CNOOC added that 25 development wells are planned to be commissioned, including 18 production wells and seven gas injection wells.
Trio CEO Robin Ross said, “Novacor has always prioritized operational excellence and fiscal responsibility as their low lift costs are a testament to this commitment and will provide us with a significant advantage in the current market. While we are mindful of global economic trends and their potential influence on commodity prices, our fundamental strength moving forward will be in our ability to produce oil economically”.
“With the entry into operation of the Ravenna terminal, we are adding another fundamentally important element to the process of securing the country’s energy supply, which began in the aftermath of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and has been made possible by the joint efforts of institutions and companies at both [the] national and local level,” Snam CEO Stefano Venier said. “We are not only keeping on schedule, we are also showing that this can go hand in hand with environmental protection and monitoring”.
Brazil will offer 172 oil blocks that span areas on land to deep-water regions in northeastern and southern Brazil under concession contracts. A total of 47 are at the Foz do Amazonas, where Petrobras is appealing to drill its first well after having its exploration campaign blocked in 2023. Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry says that basin could contain oil fields similar to those discovered in Suriname and Guyana, where Exxon Mobil Corp. found billions of barrels.
A BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on April 11 showed that BMI expected the front month Brent crude price to average $76 per barrel in 2025 and $75 per barrel in 2026. A BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on March 3 showed that BMI expected the Brent price to average $76 per barrel this year, $75 per barrel next year, and $75 per barrel across 2027, 2028, and 2029.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has backed Labour’s commitment to net zero while the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggested last month that the sector was growing at a higher pace than other areas of the UK economy.
While both countries appear aligned on their strategic goals, several challenges persist. Chief among them is the unresolved dispute over the Iraq–Türkiye Pipeline (ITP), which has halted Iraqi oil exports to Türkiye for over two years due to diplomatic and financial disagreements. The ongoing dispute between Baghdad and the KRG over revenue sharing and control of oil resources adds further complexity. International oil and gas companies operating in the KRG region also withhold cooperation until outstanding fiscal and contractual issues are addressed.
On Monday morning, oil prices were recovering and traded up by about 1.5% following the weekend U.S. announcement that some electronics, including smartphones, would be exempted from the tariffs on China. Brent Crude prices traded at about $65 per barrel, while the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was at just above $62 a barrel.
Last week, eight OPEC+ countries announced they would phase-out voluntary oil output cuts by ramping up output by 411,000 barrels per day in May–equivalent to three monthly increments. In other words, the Saudis are signaling they might be willing to give up their long-time role as OPEC’s swing producer in an attempt to take a tougher stance against countries that continue to violate the output pact, most notably Kazakhstan, the UAE and Iraq.
“While I do expect gas prices to continue trending lower, any abrupt change in the current tariff situation could eventually bring the decline to a halt. For now, the good news is that gas prices typically reach their yearly peak around April 10, so we may have already witnessed ‘peak pain’ at the pump for 2025. As refiners near the end of seasonal maintenance and supply begins to rise — and with the changeover to summer gasoline nearly complete — it’s increasingly likely that gas prices have already hit their high for the year,” De Haan continued.