Hurricane Francine sets sights on Louisiana coast

: Crude oil, Natural gas
24/09/11

Hurricane Francine, which has already shut in almost a quarter of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output, is set to strengthen before making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday evening.

Francine was about 195 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, according to an 8am ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. The hurricane is expected to become a category 2 storm, with winds between 96-110mph, and will bring 5-10 foot storm surge to coastal areas from Vermillion Bay to Port Fourchon, Louisiana. After landfall, the center is expected to move northward across Mississippi on Thursday and Thursday night bringing heavy rains.

Ports along the hurricane's path announced traffic restrictions in advance, with some setting out plans to close until it passes, including the port of New Orleans.

About 412,070 b/d of offshore oil output was off line by midday on Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), as offshore operators including Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil evacuated workers and curbed operations as a precaution. About 494mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 26pc of the region's output, was also off line.

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production.

By Stephen Cunningham

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25/06/20

Norway’s Johan Castberg oil field reaches full capacity

London, 20 June (Argus) — Norwegian firm Equinor's Johan Castberg oil field in the Barents Sea has reached its full production capacity of 220,000 b/d, less than three months after coming on stream, the company said today. The field reached the milestone on 17 June, with only 17 of the planned 30 production wells completed. Equinor plans to drill six more wells to maintain plateau levels and expects the field to remain on stream for at least 30 years. Castberg holds estimated recoverable reserves of 450mn–650mn bl. Equinor aims to boost this by a further 250mn–550mn bl, partly by developing the nearby Isflak discovery. A final investment decision on Isflak is expected by year-end and start-up is targeted for 2028. The company also plans to drill one or two exploration wells near Castberg every year. The field came on stream on 31 March this year. Castberg's crude is medium sweet with gravity of 32.7°API and 0.17pc sulphur content, and is rich in middle distillates. The grade was assessed at a $5/bl premium to North Sea Dated on a cif Rotterdam basis in June, before the escalation of Israel-Iran hostilities — around $3/bl above US light sweet WTI on the same basis. Castberg's July loading programme comprises 10 cargoes of 700,000 bl each, equivalent to 226,000 b/d. By Lina Bulyk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump sets 2-week deadline for attack on Iran: Update

25/06/20

Trump sets 2-week deadline for attack on Iran: Update

Updates oil price move in paragraph 2, adds EU ministers' meeting with Iran in final paragraph Singapore, 20 June (Argus) — US president Donald Trump will decide whether to join Israel's offensive against Iran within two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, potentially lessening the prospect of immediate military action. Oil futures fell following the comments, with August Ice Brent futures dropping by as much as 3.5pc to a low of $76.10/bl in London trading today. US markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said, in a message read out by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump has repeatedly hinted in recent days that the US may join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran . "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said on 18 June. Trump has also previously set two-week deadlines for other major decisions that have subsequently lapsed without action being taken, most recently in late May, when he gave Russian president Vladimir Putin two weeks to show he was serious about ending the war in Ukraine. Foreign ministers from the E3 group of France, Germany and the UK will today meet with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi in Geneva, Switzerland. Araqchi had been leading the Iranian delegation to the US-Iran nuclear talks, which were scheduled for a sixth round before being cancelled after Israel's initial air and missile strikes on Iran. By Kevin Foster and Ben Winkley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump sets two-week deadline for US attack on Iran

25/06/20

Trump sets two-week deadline for US attack on Iran

Singapore, 20 June (Argus) — US president Donald Trump will decide whether to join Israel's offensive against Iran within two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, potentially lessening the prospect of immediate military action. Oil futures fell following the comments, with August Brent futures dropping by as much as 2.7pc to a low of $76.72/bl in Asian trading. US markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said, in a message read out by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump has repeatedly hinted in recent days that the US may join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran . "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said on 18 June. Trump has also previously set two-week deadlines for other major decisions that have subsequently lapsed without action being taken, most recently in late May, when he gave Russian president Vladimir Putin two weeks to show he was serious about ending the war in Ukraine. By Kevin Foster Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

SEE gas operators propose changes to Route 1 product

25/06/19

SEE gas operators propose changes to Route 1 product

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Eni to spin off Italian refining assets, unions say

25/06/19

Eni to spin off Italian refining assets, unions say

Milan, 19 June (Argus) — Italy's Eni is planning to spin off a group of domestic downstream assets, including its traditional oil refineries, into a new company as part of its "satellite" strategy to attract capital and investment, according to trade unions. Following a meeting with Eni representatives on 17 June, trade union Filctem-Cgil said the company has begun the legal process to establish the new entity, which will be called Eni Industrial Evolution (EIE) from 1 July. "The operation includes the refineries of Taranto, Livorno, Sannazzaro, Milazzo [50pc], the research centre, 16 fuel depots and Costiero Gas [the Livorno LPG facility]," said Filctem-Cgil national secretary Antonio Pepe. Pepe said the new company will not include the biorefineries in Venice and Gela, nor the Eni Slurry Technology (EST) unit, which enables fuel production from oil waste and heavy crudes. "We don't understand why the biorefineries have been excluded," he said, adding that EIE will initially operate for Eni and later for other companies. Trade union Femca Cisl, which also met with Eni managers this week, said EIE will absorb the assets of Eni's Refining Evolution & Transition business. It will manage traditional refining, primary logistics and the planned conversion of the Livorno and part of the Sannazzaro sites into biorefineries, it said. "Eni has guaranteed a gradual transition without any unexpected stops in production, confirming the strategic importance of traditional refining to the group," said Femca Cisl national secretary Sebastiano Tripoli. Tripoli also welcomed Eni's announcement of a €50mn investment at the Sannazzaro refinery to upgrade the capacity of its fluid catalytic cracking unit. Eni declined to comment. In recent years, the company has spun off several businesses, including its retail and renewables unit Plenitude and biofuels division Enilive. It has also carved out its Norwegian and Angolan upstream assets into Var Energi and Azule Energy, respectively, and could sell a minority stake in its carbon capture and storage business. By Stephen Jewkes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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