LNG

Woodside Energy, the liquefied natural gas plants operator in Western Australia, reported a second-quarter increase in LNG sales revenues from the Pluto, Northwest Shelf and Wheatstone operations even at lower prices.

NewMed Energy, the Israeli company with stakes in the East Mediterranean gas fields like Leviathan offshore Israel and the Aphrodite field offshore Cyprus and with LNG export ambitions, reported solid earnings and steady exports to regional markets amid advances in several projects.

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (EGAS), the government-run energy company with stakes in Egypt’s two LNG export plants and other gas field assets, has established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia to help attract more investment.

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum said that the Saudi unit had been set up by EGAS with initial capital of 2 million Saudi riyals ($533,000).

The Egyptians said in their statement that EGAS would own 80 percent of the venture called “Modern Gas Saudi Arabia” and explained that it would be part of the Egypt’s strategy for offshore expansion in the East Mediterranean in cooperation with other Arab nations such as the United Arab Emirates.

EGAS has various stakes, direct and indirect, in Egypt’s expansive oil and gas assets and the two LNG export plants, Damietta and Idku, located east of the port city of Alexandria.

ADNOC-BP deal

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and UK major BP said in Mid-February 2024 that they planned to form a joint venture in Egypt that would initially focus on natural gas and incorporate Egyptian concession stakes held by BP.

That joint venture is expected to be formed in the second half of 2024 and will be 51 percent owned by BP and 49 percent by ADNOC.

The BP-ADNOC Egyptian joint venture was originally planned to be the second phase of cooperation between the two companies in the East Med gas and LNG province after the planned acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed Energy.

Negotiations on the proposed NewMed agreement for BP and ADNOC started in March 2023, though have now been officially suspended.

As part of the agreement for Egyptian expansion and energy investment by ADNOC, BP will contribute its interests in three development concessions, as well as exploration agreements in Egypt to the new joint venture.

ADNOC will make a proportionate cash contribution which can be used for future growth opportunities.

Gas fields

This is the first major natural gas deal for BP under new Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss.

Both companies said that this new joint venture partnership would enhance Egyptian energy security and the economic potential of the region’s most populous Arab country.

The natural gas concession to be included in the Egyptian joint venture include BP’s 10 percent in the Shorouk block containing Egypt’s huge Zohr gas field.

BP’s 100-percent owned North Damietta interests are also included along with BP’s 50-percent stake in the North El Burg concession with the undeveloped Satis field.

Three other exploration concession included are North El Tabya, Bellatrix-Seti East and the North El Fayrouz block.

Hess Corp., the New York-based oil and gas company being acquired by Chevron Corp. in a transaction agreed in October and valued at $53 billion, is trying to re-assure Chevron that one of its main assets in Guyana was safe from any pre-emption purchase offer from the other shareholders in the block.

The Arabian Gulf state of Qatar said it was going ahead with a third huge expansion project for liquefied natural gas called the North Field West (NFW) project to take overall output to 142 million tonnes per annum by the end of the decade.

Chevron Corp., the US major oil and gas company with LNG operations in Australia and Africa, has received a vote of confidence from US investor Warren Buffett whose Berkshire Hathaway has taken its stake to almost 7 percent.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in San Ramon, California-based Chevron by over 15.84 million shares.

This transaction has brought Berkshire Hathaway's total share count in Chevron to 126.09M shares, representing about 5.96 percent of Buffett’s investment portfolio and 6.81 percent of Chevron's outstanding shares.

Lower price

According to Berkshire Hathaway data, the Chevron shares were acquired at an average price of $149.16 each and were valued at $18.80 billion.

Buffett is a celebrity figure among America’s small retail investors and is known to his fans as “The Oracle of Omaha”.

Buffett’s other main energy investment is in Houston, Texas-based Occidental Petroleum which forms 4.19 percent of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. The Buffett firm also has a huge 50 percent represented by shares in Apple Inc.

Chevron’s shares have recently risen to $154.63 per share, backed by positive earnings and the company’s acquisition agreement signed in October 2023 with US oil and gas company Hess Corp.

The value of the Buffett stake has already risen and at current prices on February 19, 2024, is now worth just short of $20Bln at $19.49Bln.

Chevron recently reported annual net profits of $21.41Bln, down from $35.60Bln in the previous year, though apart from 2022 the Chevron performance was the strongest since 2013.

LNG projects advance

Chevron listed among its highlights as achieving first natural gas production from the Gorgon Stage 2 development in Western Australia where its operates both the Gorgon LNG and Wheatstone LNG export plants.

Chevron also reached a final investment decision with partners to construct a third gathering pipeline that is expected to increase natural gas production capacity at the Leviathan gas field and a future LNG hub in the East Mediterranean offshore Israel.

The company additionally expanded the Bayou Bend carbon-capture and sequestration project on the US Gulf Coast through an acquisition of nearly 100,000 acres.

However, Chevron assets in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico also helped to underpin the earnings.

Chevron posted an increase in its Permian production by 10 percent in 2023 with US quarterly output coming to 1.16 million barrels per day compared with 895,000 barrels per day, helped by the 2023 acquisition of US independent oil and gas company PDC Energy.

Chevron is also paying $53Bln for New York-based Hess, giving it access to major oil discoveries in the South American nation of Guyana as well as more US shale assets in the Bakken Shale Basin of North Dakota.

Chevron Corp., the energy major and liquefied natural gas operator in Western Australia and Angola, and with a small LNG fleet said that the President of Chevron Shipping Company, Mark Ross, was retiring from the company in May “after 33 years of distinguished service”.

The San Ramon, California-based company said that Ross would be succeeded by Barbara Pickering, currently Vice President of Operations at the shipping unit.

Chevron Shipping employs around 2,000 people worldwide and operates a modern fleet of 30 ships and also charters third-party vessels  to transport LNG, crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, refined petroleum products and chemicals around the world.

The company said that Ross had led Chevron Shipping since 2015 and prior to that, he served as Vice President of Operations of the company for four years.

He joined Chevron in 1990 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in Chevron’s Midstream, Upstream and Downstream organizations.

ABS director

He is also a Director of the American Bureau of Shipping and the UK P&I Club and is a past Chairman of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) and the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

His successor Barbara Pickering received a bachelor’s degree in Maritime Studies from Liverpool University in the United Kingdom and joined Chevron in 1991 as a ship charterer in London.

She has held positions of increasing responsibility with Chevron in the UK, Australia and the United States. She also currently serves as a Vice Chairman of OCIMF.

“Under Mark’s leadership, Chevron Shipping has delivered exceptional safety and environmental performance and has greatly expanded its marine capabilities,” said Colin Parfitt, President of Chevron Midstream.

“We thank Mark for his many contributions and wish him well in the future,” added Parfitt.

Ross said that it had been an honor and privilege to have worked for Chevron Shipping and to have served as President for the past nine years.

“I take immense pride in what we have accomplished in transforming Chevron Shipping into a world-class marine organization,” Ross explained.

“Words cannot properly express how I feel about our organization and the deep appreciation I have for the people who run it - onboard our ships, at our terminals and ashore. I have known Barbara for 30 years and I am thrilled she will now lead our company,” Ross stated.

Angola, a liquefied natural gas exporter in the Atlantic Basin for more than 10 years, said it was leaving the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries because membership of the crude oil cartel was not serving its interests.

Chevron Corp., the operator of liquefied natural gas projects in Western Australia and Africa, said it expected a capital expenditure range of $15.5 billion to $16.5 billion and an affiliate spending budget of around $3Bln for 2024.

The Government of Cyprus said it was in alignment with US major Chevron Corp. on the imminent development of the Aphrodite natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean, the new regional natural gas and LNG hub despite security concerns over the ongoing conflict.