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Ithaca first to try new UK North Sea regime

  • Market: Crude oil, Natural gas
  • 18/12/25

UK-listed upstream producer Ithaca Energy has begun the approval process for a development in the North Sea, the first since the government softened its approach to the region.

Ithaca has submitted a development summary and environmental statement for the Fotla field to the offshore regulator Opred. It outlines a two-well tie-back to the Britannia platform, which processes liquids from the Greater Britannia Area, including Ithaca's Alder field. Ithaca indicates that if the process is successful, drilling will begin in the first half of 2027, with first oil in the final quarter of that year.

This is the first submission of an offshore proposal since the UK government published its 'North Sea Future Plan' alongside its budget in late November. That enables "limited oil and gas production in areas that are already part of an existing field, or in areas adjacent to already licensed fields, linked via a tieback, to help ensure they remain economically viable". Developers are not permitted to explore for oil and gas at these sites, and a ban remains on new oil and gas licensing.

London's stance on North Sea development has delayed the Rosebank project, in which Ithaca holds a 20pc stake, and the company's west of Shetland Cambo project. Ithaca expects its production to average 119,000-125,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) this year.

By Ben Winkley

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17/12/25

BP appoints Woodside’s O’Neill as next CEO

BP appoints Woodside’s O’Neill as next CEO

New York, 17 December (Argus) — BP appointed Woodside Energy chief executive officer Meg O'Neill as its next chief executive effective from next April. O'Neill will replace Murray Auchincloss, who has decided to step down on 18 December after more than three decades with the London-based oil major. O'Neill transformed Woodside into the biggest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange after taking over as chief executive in 2021, according to BP. While at Woodside, she also oversaw the acquisition of BHP Petroleum International. O'Neill also spent more than two decades at ExxonMobil earlier in her career. "Her proven track record of driving transformation, growth, and disciplined capital allocation makes her the right leader for BP," said Albert Manifold, chairman of the company's board of directors. Carol Howle, executive vice president, supply, trading & shipping of BP, will serve as interim chief executive until O'Neill takes over. Auchincloss will also serve in an advisory role until December 2026 to ensure a smooth transition. BP scaled back ambitious low-carbon goals earlier this year with Auchincloss conceding that the company had been "optimistic for a fast [energy] transition but that optimism was misplaced." The company raised its 2030 target for oil and gas production as part of a "fundamental reset" of strategy that also entailed a cut in renewable energy investments. O'Neill's appointment follows a search process overseen by the board, with the help of an independent recruitment firm, as part of the company's long-term succession planning. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Trump doubles down on Venezuela oil threat

17/12/25
News
17/12/25

Trump doubles down on Venezuela oil threat

Washington, 17 December (Argus) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his threat to blockade Venezuelan oil shipments unless Caracas offers compensation for oil assets expropriated years ago. Democratic lawmakers on the same day forced the House of Representatives to schedule a vote on resolutions that would prohibit Trump from using military force against Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress. "They took all of our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back," Trump told reporters on Thursday. "They illegally took it." Trump's domestic policy adviser Stephen Miller on Wednesday said that "American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela". Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, only to partially reverse course in the 1990s by inviting US and other foreign oil companies to participate in joint ventures with state-owned PdV. Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 2007 ordered PdV to change the business terms of operations in joint ventures. Chevron and some European companies accepted these terms. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips did not, eventually winning awards in international tribunals and US courts for the expropriation of their assets in Venezuela. ConocoPhillips holds the largest claim for expropriated assets, at $12bn. That claim is about to be partially satisfied as a US court has ordered the auction of PdV-owned US refining company Citgo. It was not clear what prompted the change in the stated rationale of the US campaign of pressure against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Trump and US officials until this week described the campaign in terms of curbing the seaborne flow of drugs and putting an end to migration from Venezuela, even though Trump previously mentioned possibly pushing for regime change in Caracas. Trump in a social media post on Tuesday night declared a blockade of most Venezuelan seaborne oil shipments. "We're not gonna let anybody going through that shouldn't be going through," Trump said on Wednesday. The Maduro government denounced Trump's threat and appealed to the UN. It is not clear if Caracas can counteract the blockade. Venezuelan oil flows to Cuba already have stopped and cargoes to other destinations were grinding to a halt, following the 10 December seizure of a Cuba-bound Venezuelan oil tanker by the US Coast Guard. US House debate The House of Representatives later on Wednesday will vote on two separate resolutions to prohibit the use of US military force against Venezuela without congressional approval. Debate on the House floor Tuesday afternoon showed a division largely along partisan lines, indicating the resolutions are unlikely to pass. Republican lawmakers pushed back against the resolution, casting the US operation as an extension of the administration's domestic counter-narcotics efforts — a line the White House had advanced until Wednesday. "Congressional authorization is not required to carry out precise, limited strikes," House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast (R-FLorida) said. "My colleagues did not object when prior presidents conducted military operations in Yemen, in Libya, and Syria," Mast said. The US military operation near Venezuela "isn't about drugs — it's about regime change, and it's about oil," said congressman Gregory Meeks (D-New York), who sponsored one of the resolutions. "Trump is provoking a new war right in our backyard and threatening to destabilize an entire region", Meeks said. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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LNG supply growth outstrips carrier orderbook to 2030

17/12/25
News
17/12/25

LNG supply growth outstrips carrier orderbook to 2030

With the acceleration of scrapping of LNG carriers, the number of newbuilds is insufficient to keep pace with supply growth, writes Cerys Edwards London, 17 December (Argus) — The number of newbuild LNG carriers scheduled to deliver by 2030 will not be enough to transport the planned growth in global liquefaction capacity, particularly if the retirement of older vessels accelerates compared with recent years. But the balance in the freight market will depend heavily on the configuration of LNG trade flows over the rest of the decade. Some 234 newbuild LNG carriers are scheduled to be delivered over 2026-2030, according to data from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), with deliveries in 2026 set to be the quickest year on record. Typically, around 1½ ships are needed to transport 1mn t of new liquefaction supply to Europe, and three ships for the equivalent journey to Asia, Capital Clean Energy Carriers chief executive Jerry Kalogiratos said at the World LNG Summit in Istanbul in December. Applying this basic assumption, the 234 newbuild carriers could transport some 158mn t/yr of new liquefaction capacity were the supply to deliver solely to Europe. But the newbuilds provide scope for just 78mn t/yr of new loading demand should the vessels deliver to Asia, which Kalogiratos considers the more probable scenario, given that buyers in southeast Asia are likely to consume more LNG in the forthcoming years. "There definitely looks like there is going to be a shortage", he says. Both scenarios indicate that the present LNG carrier orderbook is not large enough to accommodate the 229mn t/yr of new export capacity scheduled to come on line by 2030, judging by the projects that have already reached a final investment decision (FID). And the LNG carrier market could tighten further if more projects reach FID. Even the roughly 80mn t/yr of additional production capacity that was sanctioned this year are "not yet covered," according to David Colson, vice president at French engineering firm GTT, which supplies nearly all of the membrane containment systems used in LNG vessel tanks. The golden age of steam coming to an end? The LNG freight market balance over the coming years will also largely depend on the number of older vessels being scrapped, which rose sharply this year. A record 14 steam turbines have been sold for scrap so far in 2025, up from eight in the whole of 2024 and an average of five over 2020-24. And the pace of scrapping is likely to accelerate over the next few years, as vessels roll off long-term charter agreements, Kalogiratos says. Steam turbine carriers are "obsolete" as their high boil-off costs and smaller cargo capacity sizes do not provide the "flexibility that the current LNG trading environment requires", he added. There are 29 operational LNG carriers that are 25 years old or older, including the 137,000m³ Puteri Nilam and same-sized Al Jasra which have in recent months idled in the strait of Malacca and Bay of Brunei, according to shiptracking data from Kpler. The oldest LNG carrier still in operation is the 128,000m³ LNG Maleo , which was built in 1989 and is controlled by Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina. As well as these vessels, there are a further 47 built in 2000-2005, including 11 idling in either Malacca or Brunei Bay. These are likely to be retired by 2030, given the average age of the vessels sold for scrap in 2025 was 26, Norwegian shipping firm Flex LNG said in its third-quarter earnings call last month. Were all 76 vessels built before 2005 scrapped by 2030, it would limit the fleet growth to a total of just 158 LNG carriers. Under the scenario outlined above this number of vessels could transport 105mn t/yr of supply to Europe and just 53mn t/yr to Asia — both far below the planned capacity buildout. The LNG carrier orderbook could still grow in the coming years however, given slots for late 2028 delivery are still available at some South Korean shipyards. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK government eyes gas market regulatory push in 2026

17/12/25
News
17/12/25

UK government eyes gas market regulatory push in 2026

Momentum is growing in the UK for regulatory changes aimed at reshaping the country's gas system, writes Isabel Valverde Sala London, 17 December (Argus) — Natural gas has climbed up the UK government agenda in recent months, with regulation processes unfolding and culminating in 2026 likely to be pivotal for the future of the UK gas market. The country's department for energy security and net zero (Desnz) launched a consultation in late November aimed at reviewing the UK's security of gas supply , including proposals aimed at ensuring infrastructure capacity, preparing the system for unplanned outages and ensuring a viable commercial model for the UK gas market. This is the latest of a series of consultations held by the ministry in recent months, with a view of gathering information and views from the market before laying down any proposals for market reforms. The government had first announced its intention to address the challenges facing the country's gas system in a policy paper published in June, which minister of state for energy Michael Shanks described as "the first major publication on the gas system in many years". The document sets three core objectives for the coming years — preserving energy security in a context of declining production, ensuring continued investment in infrastructure, and managing a sustainable transition of the gas network "towards other uses in a context of declining production", the paper says. Market participants can send their comments to the latest consultation until 18 February, and Desnz intends to publish a response to the feedback in the spring of 2026. The ministry is also set to launch a call for evidence on network investment and affordability before the end of this year as part of this programme. And next year, the department plans to issue another call for evidence on transitioning the gas network, according to the market update. Separately, an ongoing parliamentary enquiry is at present gathering views from market participants on how to manage a declining gas domestic market. Overall gas consumption across the UK has fallen at an average 8pc rate over the past three years, figures from system operator National Gas show. The call for evidence closes on 7 January and could eventually lead the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee to put forward its own proposals for debate in Parliament. Small steps to move faster The update to the market was the "first step in a long-term programme" aimed at transforming the country's gas system, and it may take years until the initiative turns into policy. But other government measures — including the North Sea Future Plan — may begin influencing the market sooner. The plan, published as part of the government's 2025 budget, announced a new system of "transitional energy certificates" to encourage firms to produce gas from areas adjacent to operating fields as a means to maximise output from tapped-in resources. This would enable faster production compared with traditional licences, according to the government. And ongoing efforts by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to retrieve as much gas as possible from active wells could slow down the decline in domestic gas production. The NSTA expects UK gas production to halve by 2030, compared with 2025 levels. The authority has worked with different well operators since 2024 to identify and reactivate shut-in wells, and it will continue to do so by engaging with new companies in the forthcoming months, it said in November. After years in the making, UK energy market regulator Ofgem is also set to complete a regulatory impact assessment on the introduction of a single tariff for all entry and exit points into the country's gas grid by the first quarter of 2026, with the aim of making the UK a more attractive hub for gas transiting to Europe — particularly LNG supplies. If approved, the new tariff system could be implemented before the beginning of the 2026-27 gas year. On the demand side, the government's £15bn ($20bn) warm homes plan is poised to add to the downward trend in gas demand by supporting households in implementing energy-efficiency measures. These include the extension of the boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) until the financial year 2029-30, and further funding for home insulation and solar panel installations, among other measures. The publication of the plan has been delayed to January from an expected release in December, Desnz told Argus on 15 December. Regulatory changes affecting the power grid will also have an important impact on gas demand. UK power grid operator Neso earlier this month confirmed a major reordering of the country's electricity grid connection queue to speed up renewable energy projects and connection from demand sites. A quicker and easier access to the grid could incentivise operators of data centres, which are poised to be one of the most important drivers of electricity demand in the coming years, to connect to the electricity grid instead of building on-site gas-fired plants . But even if that was the case, a large part of that electricity could still come from gas even if renewables and storage are deployed in line with expectations. In July, energy minister Ed Miliband asked Neso in a letter to keep 40.1GW of power generation in the country's capacity market by 2029-30 to assure energy security on days of limited renewable generation, a decision that clearly favours investment in flexible gas-fired generation. The Labour government has not disclosed specific targets on new gas-fired generation capacity. The Conservative government, in charge until last year, had said that the country needed to build a minimum of 5GW of new gas-fired capacity to partly offset the 15GW gas-fired capacity closures in the coming years — a third of the total fleet of 34.5GW in operation. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Libyan oil firms bypass government to sell crude

17/12/25
News
17/12/25

Libyan oil firms bypass government to sell crude

London, 17 December (Argus) — Libyan upstream operators have used a special contractual clause to sell some crude directly to international oil firms in recent months, bypassing the central government to directly access oil revenues, sources told Argus . Mellitah Oil & Gas, Akakus Oil, Zueitina Oil and Agoco sold crude worth more than $380mn between March and October, under this "proxy-payment" scheme, to Italy's Eni, Spain's Repsol, Austria's OMV and Libya's Arkenu Oil respectively, according to sources. The mechanism is legal under a clause in production-sharing contracts dating back to the time of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, which allows operators to sell crude directly to cover special funding needs, sources said. But sources and analysts say the mechanism is opaque, lacks checks and balances and could be exploited for personal gain. It also diverts oil revenues away from the central bank, the custodian of Libya's oil wealth. "The proxy payments occur outside the framework of the ministry of finance and the central bank [and] are not recorded as official revenues or expenditures," said an official at the ministry of finance. "It is being used as an unlawful tool for controlling oil revenues." NOC, Eni, Repsol and Arkenu have been contacted for comment. OMV declined to comment. State-owned NOC, which has stakes in the upstream operators, normally sells its equity crude production to international buyers with proceeds flowing to a ministry of finance account at the central bank in Tripoli. International oil firms with stakes in the operators, including Eni, Repsol and OMV, are allocated equity crude and pay royalties and taxes to the Libyan state. The crude being sold under the proxy payment mechanism is from Libya's equity production, and is separate from the equity crude allocated to international oil firms. The operators are usually reliant on the state to fund their operations. But Libya's political division, with rival governments in the east and west, has for years prevented a unified state budget, leaving operators with irregular and insufficient funding from the central government in Tripoli. "The mechanism was never supposed to be used in this way," said a source with knowledge of the matter. "You can't confirm where this money is being spent." "It's been heavily exploited now in the absence of a budget," said another source at a private Libyan oil firm. Libya's fragmented political framework has allowed powerful groups varying levels of control over the economy, including in the upstream sector. Enter Arkenu The most high-profile example of this is services firm Arkenu Oil, which the UN has said is controlled by Saddam Haftar, a son of east-Libya militia leader Khalifa Haftar. Arkenu has a contract with NOC subsidiary Agoco , operator of the Sarir and Mesla oil fields, to boost output in return for payments in crude. Industry figures and analysts question the capacity of Arkenu to carry out such work and have said the company may be part of an illicit revenue generating scheme. Arkenu has received crude valued at $200mn under the proxy payment mechanism, a source said. Libya's Tripoli-based government ordered a review of contracts related to Arkenu earlier this year, although analysts question the sincerity of the move. Sources and analysts say the use of proxy payments mechanism could spiral and further drain state revenues. Libya produces about 1.4mn b/d of crude and makes most of its income from oil exports, which were worth $28.7bn in 2024, according to Opec's latest Annual Statistic Bulletin. The heads of NOC, the central bank, audit bureau and the attorney general met in late November to discuss, among other issues, the proxy payment mechanism "and its implications for the state's general budget." By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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