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US House panel approves river infrastructure bill
US House panel approves river infrastructure bill
Houston, 6 December (Argus) — A US House of Representatives committee has approved a bipartisan bill that authorizes improvements to navigation channels by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and maintenance and dredging of river and port infrastructure projects. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) after several months of political wrangling to integrate earlier versions of the legislation approved by the House and Senate . The bill will head to the full House next week, said committee chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri). This would be the sixth consecutive bipartisan WRDA bill since 2014 if passed by congress. WRDA is a biennial bill that authorizes the Corps to continue working on projects to improve waterways, including port updates, flood protection and supply chain management. WRDA will also "reduce cumbersome red tape", which will allow for quicker project turnarounds, Graves said. The bill authorizes processes to streamline work, he said. The bill also adjusts the primary cost-sharing mechanism for funding for lock and dam construction and major rehabilitation projects. The US Treasury Department's general fund will pay 75pc of costs, up from 65pc, with the rest coming from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is funded by a barge diesel fuel tax. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Opec+ delays unwinding of 2.2mn b/d cut again: Update
Opec+ delays unwinding of 2.2mn b/d cut again: Update
Updates throughout Dubai, 5 December (Argus) — Opec+ producers have delayed a plan to start increasing crude output by another three months to April 2025. Eight members of the group ꟷ Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman ꟷ were scheduled to begin gradually unwinding 2.2mn b/d of voluntary cuts from January over a 12-month period. They agreed today to postpone the start of the production increase until April and to return the full amount over 18 months rather than a year. The delay is designed "to support market stability", the Opec Secretariat said, adding that the unwinding of the cuts "can be paused or reversed subject to market conditions". The Opec+ group also agreed today that a 300,000 b/d production target increase for the UAE will now be phased in starting in April over an-18 month period. It was previously set to be phased in over nine months starting in January. These changes will effectively reduce the amount of additional oil being introduced to the market every month, compared to the previous plan. The return of the 2.2mn b/d of cuts should, in theory, be partially offset by those members that have pledged to compensate for exceeding their production targets this year. These compensation-related cuts were supposed to have been delivered by the end of September 2025 but this has now been extended until June 2026. Opec+ also agreed today to keep in place two other sets of cuts by an additional year to the end of 2026. These cuts — a group-wide 2mn b/d reduction to formal targets and 1.65mn b/d of voluntary cuts by nine members — had been set to remain in place until the end of 2025. And an update to the official crude production capacity levels of each member — from which quotas are calculated — was pushed back by another year to 2027. By Bachar Halabi, Nader Itayim and Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shell, Equinor to create biggest UK producer: Update
Shell, Equinor to create biggest UK producer: Update
adds details throughout London, 5 December (Argus) — Shell and Norway's state-controlled Equinor plan to combine their UK upstream businesses into a joint venture to create the UK North Sea's largest oil and gas producer. The new business will produce more than 140,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) from 2025, the companies said. Bank analysts reckon growth projects will enable production to eventually increase beyond 200,000 boe/d. It marks the latest deal in a wave of consolidation in the the UK sector of the North Sea, including Italian firm Eni's deal earlier this year to merge its UK upstream assets with those of independent producer Ithaca Energy and UK company Harbour Energy's tie-up with Germany's Wintershall Dea last year . Shell and Equinor are following a similar 50:50 ownership structure and self-financing model that BP and Italy's Eni employed in Angola when they combined their offshore assets there to create Azule Energy in 2022 . The Shell-Equinor joint venture's assets will include Equinor's stakes in the Mariner and Buzzard fields, alongside Shell's interests in Shearwater, Penguins, Gannet, Nelson, Pierce, Jackdaw, Victory, Clair and Schiehallion projects. A consequence of the deal is that Shell, having walked away from Ithaca's contentious Cambo oil project in the UK's west of Shetlands area last year, will now be exposed to Equinor's equally controversial 300mn bl Rosebank project , which is currently under judicial review . If Rosebank goes ahead, it is likely to be the largest growth driver of the new company with around 70,000 boe/d of production from 2027. Although Shell's assets will contribute a greater share of the joint venture's production to begin with, Equinor's assets have greater growth potential. Through the new entity, Shell will also benefit from Equinor UK's £6bn ($7.6bn) of tax losses. "Equinor's higher UK tax loss position and growth potential offsets the higher current production in Shell's UK portfolio, hence the 50:50 split in ownership of the new company," Barclays analysts wrote in a note. The deal does not include Equinor's assets that straddle the UK's maritime border with Norway — Utgard, Barnacle and Statfjord. Equinor will also retain ownership of its UK offshore wind portfolio, as well as other low-carbon and gas storage assets. Shell will retain ownership of its interests in Scotland's Fife NGL plant and St Fergus Gas Terminal, as well as floating wind projects under development. It will also remain the technical developer of the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Opec+ eight to delay, extend unwinding of 2.2mn b/d cut
Opec+ eight to delay, extend unwinding of 2.2mn b/d cut
Dubai, 5 December (Argus) — Some Opec+ members have agreed to push back by three months, to April, a plan to gradually return 2.2mn b/d of production to the market, delegate sources told Argus . Eight countries ꟷ Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman ꟷ were scheduled to begin unwinding the 2.2mn b/d cut over 12 months, starting from January. But three delegate sources today said the group will delay the start of this plan to April. The full amount will be returned over 18 months, according to one of the sources. This would reduce the amount of oil being introduced to the market every month. But the return of this output should, in theory, be partly offset by members who have pledged to compensate for exceeding their production targets this year. Argus calculations show that of the eight countries, only Algeria does not have any overproduction to compensate for. Iraq has the most, followed by Kazakhstan, Russia and Gabon. By Nader Itayim, Bachar Halabi and Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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