Quarter one was eventful with terrifying events impacting oil and gas industry in ways not experienced before. Oil prices wars amidst the COVID-19 that send countries to lockdown thus turning the market upside down as the demand market saturated. Yet the worse was still to come when in April, things got really bad and negative numbers were registered, something not seen before by the industry. So what went down in the month of April and how would the industry professionals brace for another eventful month in May? First lets look at what happen in April across the oil and gas industry.
PetroQuest provides the major shakers of the industry in April while the industry remains hopeful amidst fears of another quarter without possible recovery of oil prices.
29th April 2020: Outrage as Halliburton Slashes UK Jobs Bypassing Government Furlough Scheme. Energy People reported that Halliburton intends to make 162 job cuts in the UK in response to the oil downturn caused by the Covid-19 crisis. Disgruntled employees contacted Energy People today after learning that they will not be offered the government’s furlough scheme that would have guaranteed 80% of their wages for up to three months. The company previously furloughed 100 staff beginning April 1st for 60 days. Employees were asked to volunteer for the scheme.
29th April 2020: EnQuest to Slash Hundreds of UK Jobs. Following a six weeklong consultation with its employees, EnQuest has taken what the company believes to be a decisive decision of slashing 530 UK based jobs. This is inline to the cost cutting measures for the company survival during this difficult economic time.
28th April 2020: Uganda underlines intention to become major player. The African Energy Chamber reported that Tullow and the Ugandan authorities regulating the industry came to an agreement ending a long-standing tax dispute that prevent Tullow farming out its Lake Albert licenses to Total. The overall consideration paid by Total to Tullow will be $575 million, with an initial payment of $500 million at closing and $75 million when the partners take the Final Investment Decision to launch the project.
Petroleum Africa report that under the terms of the deal, Total will acquire all of Tullow’s existing 33.3334% stake in each of the Lake Albert project licenses EA1, EA1A, EA2 and EA3A and the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) System. The transaction is subject to the approval of Tullow’s shareholders, to customary regulatory and government approvals and to CNOOC’s right to exercise pre-emption on 50% of the transaction. This is a boost to the Ugandan oil & gas industry in particular and the East African as well as the world of oil & gas during this period of meltdown.
28th April 2020: Equatorial Guinea to grant extensions to oil companies. H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima shares Equatorial Guinea’s plans in working through the current state of global oil markets in a webinar hosted by Africa Oil & Power in partnership with the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org) on 27 April 2020; Equatorial Guinea will launch new petroleum regulations to support its hydrocarbons industry with emphasis on improving local content; The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons is pushing forward with its Year of investment initiative and plans to make project announcements in Q4 2020
21st April 2020: 7000 New Energy Jobs As Oil and Gas Workers Urged to Register. oilandgaspeople.com has rebrand to be known as energypeople.com. Since going live a week earlier over 7,000 jobs have already been listed by some of the World’s leading energy companies. A crush in oil and gas industry means lost of jobs hence industry professionals will seek alternative job opportunities in the alternative energy sector that has seen significant growth since the start of the year. Visit energypeople.com to browse thousands of jobs already posted on the site.
17th April 2020: Gov’t Assessing Environmental Impact Of Hoima “Oil Spill”. Uganda oil & gas journal reported that the Ugandan authority regulating oil & gas and drilling related activities has suspended geothermal drilling activities in the Albertine Graben following a spillage thought to contain components of crude oil. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals says it has taken the decision to halt drilling activities until a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is conducted in accordance with the new National Environment Act No.5 of 2019 to which the Ministry commits to resolve any conflict borne out of this incident.
16th April 2020: Uganda Extends Second Oil Licensing Round “Over Coronavirus.” In an article retrieved from Uganda Oil & Gas Journal, Uganda has again extended the deadline for submitting bids for the second licensing round for oil exploration to September 30, 2020. The Ministry of Energy’s Second Licensing Manager Frank attributed the extension to business disruption from the Covi-19 pandemic. “Due to COVID-19, we have again extended the date for submission of applications in the prequalification stage to September 30th 2020. Uganda announced the second round of licensing in May last year in which it sought to auction six blocks in the Albertine Graben, including;
- Avivi (covers an area of 1,026sq.km in Obongi, Adjumani, Amuru and part of Arua district. Omuka (measuring 750sq.km. in Nebbi, Nwoya and Buliisa districts)
- Kasuruban (1,285sq. km area, covering part of Buliisa, Hoima and Masindi districts)
- Turaco (635sq.km in Ntoroko district)
- Ngaji (1230sq.km in Kanungu, Rukungiri and Rubirizi districts)
11th April 2020: The Reality Of The End Of Oil. Experts reporting for oilprice.com has given their takes on the events of 2020 and that the Oil Age that has powered the world for well over a century is experiencing a complete opposite of its peak years from 2004 through2014. There have been two general schools of thought about how it will ultimately end. There were those who believed that oil production would peak and begin to decline in the face of high global demand. This is essentially the peak oil argument, which many laymen mistakenly understand as “The world is running out of oil.” Read more about this analysis at oilprice.com
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