The UK government is drafting a new tax regime for oil and gas companies to replace a controversial windfall levy after 2030, with an aim to hit companies only when prices are unusually high.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has ordered a consortium seeking to take over the nation’s top oil asset to pay an entry fee of $1.5 billion by March 11, moving up the deadline by more than three weeks.
Tanzania aims to start a licensing round for dozens of oil and gas exploration blocks in May, the first in more than a decade for the nation with an estimated 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.
The Trump administration imposed a 25% import levy on all Mexican imports, beginning Tuesday, along with a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports excluding energy, which got a discount of 15% for a 10% tariff rate.
Vår Energi ASA has discovered oil in the Zagato exploration well near the Goliat field in the Barents Sea.
The preliminary estimated gross recoverable resources encountered in the well are between 15 million and 43 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), the company said in a news release.
The discovery comes after the Countach discoveries announced last year, and brings the total gross estimated recoverable resources potentially up to around 100 MMboe, the company said. The discoveries continue to demonstrate the potential of the Goliat Ridge, with estimated gross discovered and prospective recoverable resources increasing to above 200 MMboe, Var Energi added.
The Zagato discovery is located 5 miles (8 kilometers) northeast of the Goliat floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO), one of Vår Energi’s core areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Goliat ridge consists of a series of adjacent fault-bounded prospects next to the Goliat field, according to the release.
The three wells drilled so far on the Goliat ridge, Countach, Countach appraisal and Zagato, have successfully discovered hydrocarbons in separate fault blocks, which significantly de-risks the prospectivity in the undrilled areas, the company said. The good quality reservoirs found in the exploration wells are similar to those in the producing Goliat field, it noted.
Var Energi COO Torger Rød said, “The Zagato discovery reinforces Vår Energi’s position as a leading exploration company on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Close proximity to existing infrastructure provides opportunity for a fast track, low emission, cost-efficient development utilizing available capacity at the Goliat FPSO, adding high value barrels. With additional wells being drilled this year, we see an opportunity to unlock significant additional resources as tie-back projects to Goliat. The recent discoveries continue to strengthen Vår Energi’s ability to sustain high value production of 350-400 [thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day] in the longer-term”.
To complete the remaining potential delineation and accelerate the progress to development studies, Var Energi plans to execute a new 3D and a 4D seismic survey during the summer, accompanied by the drilling of two further exploration/appraisal wells starting around the end of the third quarter.
Vår Energi is the operator of the asset with a 65 percent stake, while Equinor owns the remaining 35 percent. The Countach appraisal and Zagato wells are part of the planned two-year drilling campaign in the Barents Sea, a collaboration effort with Equinor targeting both infill production and exploration wells.
In total, Vår Energi plans to drill around 20 exploration wells in the Barents Sea region over a four-year period. After completing work at Zagato, the rig will be used to drill infill wells at the Goliat field before returning to the Goliat Ridge later in the year.
Last month, Vår Energi ASA announced it increased its reserves and resource base to 2.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
The reported value was the sum of its proved and probable (2P) reserves and contingent resources (2C), as published in its annual statement of reserves for 2024. As of December 31, 2024, Var Energi’s total 2P reserves were estimated at 1.19 billion boe.
Trafigura Group’s head of oil trading Ben Luckock has named U.S. foreign policy towards Iran as the biggest upside risk to crude prices in an otherwise well-supplied market.
Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 2.3 million barrels during the week ending February 21, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the National Energy Dominance Council that is tasked with enhancing America’s energy security and cutting reliance on foreign entities.
Trinidad and Tobago plans to request an extension from the Trump administration for a US licence allowing Shell and National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) to develop Venezuela’s Dragon gas project, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
ADNOC has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Japanese utility Osaka Gas under which it will supply up to 800,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG over 15 years, ADNOC announced on Thursday.