On April 10, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid a one-day official visit to Kazakhstan (President.az, April 10). This visit took place about six months after the first official visit of Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the head of state to Azerbaijan in August 2022 (The Astana Times, August 24, 2022). …
Read More »ADNOC Aims to Grow Energy Market Share in Europe
ADNOC, the national oil company of Abu Dhabi, is expanding its natural gas production capacity and increasing investments to target Europe’s gas markets. As one of the Middle East’s largest energy producers, ADNOC aims to meet the growing international demand for LNG by becoming a net-exporter of gas. The company …
Read More »GCC Countries Look to AI to Build a New Kind of Workforce
As public and private entities across the world weigh how to utilise generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, GCC countries are embracing the new tool as a way to transform their education sectors. The November 2022 release of ChatGPT by Silicon Valley-based start-up OpenAI unleashed a wave of excitement and concern …
Read More »Equinor Looks to Drones to Make North Sea Rig Inspections Easier
Equinor ASA and Norwegian airport regulator Avinor aim to make “advanced drone operations” over the North Sea common place to make it easier to inspect rigs and cut down the vast distances between the oil and gas platforms. Establishing an unmanned air traffic system will make it easier to employ …
Read More »Qatar Records 22 more LNG Cargoes in First Quarter than Q1, 2022
Qatar delivered 22 more cargoes in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) said in its April report. In March, the total number of global LNG export cargoes increased by 8% m-o-m to 551. The total number of …
Read More »ExxonMobil Withdraws from Colombia Block Deal
An ExxonMobil spokesperson has confirmed to Rigzone that the company has exercised its right to withdraw from its joint operating agreement with Patriot Energy for Block VMM37 in Colombia. “We notified the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarbons of our intent to withdraw from the E&P contract for VMM37, and to discuss …
Read More »Kazakhstan Pushes up Oil Exports Bypassing Russia
The first quarter of 2023 saw Kazakhstan ramp up oil exports bypassing Russia as the Central Asian country seeks to reduce its dependency on Moscow, data from industry sources and Refinitiv cited by Reuters showed. While Kazakh oil exports through the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus are relatively small, they …
Read More »US Boosts Support for Developing Countries’ Climate Action with $1bn Pledge
The US is strengthening support for climate action in developing countries by providing $1 billion (£810m) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This brings the total US contributions to the GCF to $2 billion (£1.6bn) since 2015. The GCF has approved over $12 billion (£9.6bn) for projects across more than …
Read More »Britain to Join Forces with EU to Build Energy Islands in North Sea
The UK is reportedly set to join forces with several EU nations to boost renewable energy production in the North Sea, as part of its ongoing efforts to repair relations following Brexit. According to a draft seen by Bloomberg, alongside eight EU nations including Germany and France, the UK will …
Read More »Norwegian Crude becomes Mainstay for EU Refiners as they Ditch Urals
The continuous shift in oil trade flows following the EU embargo on Russian exports is a huge win for the crude from Western Europe’s largest oilfield offshore Norway. Norway’s Johan Sverdrup crude is now a top choice for European refineries that used to rely on Russia’s flagship grade, Urals, before …
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