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Friday, June 26, 2026

Oil And Gas News

25 Jun 2026

Markets: Oil Majors Reload Exploration Hoppers Across Sub-Saharan Africa

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Faced with declining production post-2030, across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Majors have started the process of reloading exploration hoppers. Targeting predominantly deep and ultra-deep waters, they have signed numerous agreements aimed at unlocking acreage and discovering the next Namibia or Guyana. But while there have been agreements for acreage that were offered as part of traditional licensing rounds – such as the award to TotalEnergies of PPLs 2000 and 2001 in Nigeria in September 2025 – there has been an increasing trend to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)…

24 Jun 2026

MODEC to Supply Mooring System for Coral Norte FLNG off Mozambique

Illustration (Credit: MODEC)

Japanese offshore services company MODEC has secured a contract to supply a SOFEC internal turret mooring system for the Coral Norte floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project offshore Mozambique, being developed by Eni and its partners.MODEC is collaborating with the Technip Energies-JGC joint venture on the project to support integration and execution of the mooring system.The Coral Norte project is being developed by Eni together with CNPC, ENH, XRG and KOGAS.The project…

24 Jun 2026

Yinson Production Names FSO for Murphy's Lac Da Vang Project off Vietnam

(Credit: Yinson Production)

Yinson Production has held a naming ceremony for the floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit PTSC Lac Da Vang ahead of the vessel's deployment to the Lac Da Vang oil project offshore Vietnam.The FSO vessel has been contracted to Murphy Cuu Long Bac Oil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corporation, to provide storage and offloading services for the Lac Da Vang field in Block 15-1/05 offshore Vietnam.The contract has a firm term of 10 years and includes an option to extend…

24 Jun 2026

Nord Stream 2 Challenges EU's Russian Gas Phase-Out in Court

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The owner of the Gazprom-controlled Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is suing the European Union in the bloc's second-highest court, seeking to annul the EU's binding phase-out of gas imports from Russia, a public document showed.The EU approved a law this year to halt all Russian gas imports by late 2027, severing ties with Europe's former top supplier in response to Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.The ban blocked the prospect of reviving the Nord Stream system - two double pipelines under the Baltic Sea…

24 Jun 2026

Oman Opens Alternative Hormuz Lanes as Shipping Recovery Continues

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Oman said it would keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping without imposing any tolls and had designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels departing the region.In coordination with the International Maritime Organization, Oman established temporary maritime corridors to help ships leave the area safely amid heightened security risks.The Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the war…

23 Jun 2026

Saipem Mobilizes for GranMorgu Oil Development off Suriname

Normand Navigator vessel (Credit: Supplied by Saipem)

Italian energy services company Saipem has launched operations for the GranMorgu offshore project in Suriname with the arrival of the multi-purpose construction vessel Normand Navigator at the Jules Sedney Harbour commercial port in Paramaribo.The vessel is berthed and ready to begin preliminary activities for the project, which is located in Block 58 around 150 km offshore and is scheduled to start production in 2028.GranMorgu is operated by TotalEnergies, which holds a 40% interest…

23 Jun 2026

ASCO Sets Up Shop in Qatar to Drive Middle East Expansion

(Credit: ASCO)

Logistics and materials management company ASCO has opened its first office in the Middle East, establishing a presence in Qatar as it looks to expand its regional operations and support growing demand for logistics and environmental services.The new office in Doha will support ASCO's clients across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as well as the wider Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions, bringing the company's services closer to customers in energy, port and marine markets.The Middle East business will be managed by Craig Revie…

23 Jun 2026

ABL Expands Asset Integrity Services in Brazil

(Credit: ABL)

Energy and marine consultancy ABL has opened a new office in Salvador, Brazil, expanding its presence in the country and strengthening its asset integrity management offering for the oil and gas, maritime and industrial sectors.The new office will support asset integrity management projects in Brazil and across the wider Americas region, while also serving as a platform to expand ABL's broader portfolio of maritime, offshore, engineering and renewable energy services.The Salvador office will be headed by Mauricio Viana…

23 Jun 2026

Petrobras Orders Four New Tankers in $427M Fleet Renewal Push

(Credit: Petrobras Transporte (Transpetro) via LinkedIn)

Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has signed a $427 million contract through its logistics subsidiary Petrobras Transporte (Transpetro) with the Rio Grande Shipyard for the construction of four medium range tankers as part of a broader program to renew and expand its shipping fleet.The four MR1-class vessels, each with a deadweight tonnage of 40,000 tonnes, will be used to transport crude oil and petroleum products along Brazil's coast, Petrobras said.The order forms part of the Mar Aberto (Open Sea) Program…

23 Jun 2026

Oil Falls as Signs of Hormuz Recovery Weigh on Market

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Oil prices fell more than 1% on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session, on signs of some progress in restoring crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz following U.S.-Iran peace talks.Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $1.09, or 1.4%, to $76.81 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 declined to $72.99 a barrel, down 87 cents, or 1.2%, as of 0607 GMT.Prices fell more than 3% on Monday after the United States granted Iran a 60-day sanctions waiver following initial peace talks…

22 Jun 2026

Qatari LNG Carriers Re-Enter Hormuz as Traffic Through Strait Slumps

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Four liquefied natural gas tankers controlled by Qatar headed into the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, despite a fall in ship traffic after Iran announced that it had again closed the waterway over the weekend, shipping data showed.The tankers - Wadi Al Sail, Mekaines, Al Sadd and Mesaimeer - entered the strait via the Iranian route for the first time since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started, shiptracking data from analytics firm Kpler showed.QatarEnergy, whose LNG exports have been heavily curbed since the war began on February 28…

19 Jun 2026

Oil Edges Higher as Uncertainty Clouds US-Iran Truce

© MDASHIQUEZAMAN / Adobe Stock

Oil prices rose on Friday as the prospect of a lasting truce between the U.S. and Iran was clouded after peace talks in Switzerland were called off and as Israel stepped up attacks on Lebanon.By 0645 GMT, Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 51 cents, or 0.64%, to $80.36 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 rose $1.28, or 1.7%, to $77.88 a barrel, with the front-month July contract expiring on Monday. Both contracts were headed for a weekly loss of about 8%.The more actively traded WTI August contract CLc2 was up 59 cents at $76.44 a barrel.Switzerland said U.S.

18 Jun 2026

Venture Global, EnBW Ink New LNG Supply Deals

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U.S. liquefied natural gas producer (LNG) Venture Global and German utility EnBW have signed new binding agreements for the supply of approximately 0.82 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG over a period of about five years beginning in 2026.The LNG will be supplied from Venture Global's portfolio and adds to the companies' existing long-term sales and purchase agreements covering 2 mtpa over 20 years.The new agreements strengthen Venture Global's position as a supplier of LNG to Germany and Europe…

18 Jun 2026

Post-War Gulf Faces Push for Alternative Export Routes

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Middle East oil producers face a reckoning. The Iran war exposed the dangers of relying on a single chokepoint for vital oil and gas exports, leaving Gulf governments with a clear strategic imperative: diversify – at all costs.An Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had long been viewed as a “Doomsday” event that would never happen. Experts assumed it would require a massive military effort and that Tehran would be reluctant to choke off its own exports.Those assumptions were proven painfully wrong.

18 Jun 2026

Oil Drops to 3-Month Low as US-Iran Deal Signals Supply Return

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Oil prices fell by more than $2 per barrel on Thursday after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement that would end the Iran war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and waive U.S. sanctions on Tehran's oil, boosting the oil supply outlook.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $2.14, or 2.69%, at $77.41 a barrel as of 0616 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 fell $2.36, or 3.07%, to $74.43 a barrel.Brent sank to its lowest since March 2, which was the first day of trading after the U.S.

17 Jun 2026

IEA Expects Gradual Hormuz Recovery, Oversupplied Market in 2027

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The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.The U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. lifting its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output…

17 Jun 2026

Iranian Oil Tankers Resume Shipments After US-Iran Deal

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

At least three tankers carrying Iranian oil have sailed through the U.S. naval blockade this week, with a fourth, an empty vessel, heading towards the Gulf of Oman, after the U.S. and Iran agreed a framework deal to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed.The shipments indicate a gradual resumption of Iranian oil exports that are expected to add to global supplies although demand from China, its biggest buyer, has been lacklustre due to poor domestic margins.Very Large Crude Carriers Hero II and Diona…

16 Jun 2026

ABL Group to Rebrand as Aqualis

Hege Norheim, CEO of Aqualis (Credit: Aqualis)

Oslo-listed consultancy company ABL Group plans to change its name to Aqualis, seeking to eliminate confusion created by the use of ABL as both the name of the listed parent company and one of its operating businesses.The group provides marine, energy, engineering and technical consulting services to the renewables, maritime and oil and gas industries through a portfolio of specialist brands.Under the new structure, Aqualis will serve as the parent company, while the group's four operating brands will continue to operate independently.

16 Jun 2026

Gulf Marine Services Restarts Ops of Evacuated Gulf Vessels

Illustration (Credit: Gulf Marine Services)

Gulf Marine Services (GMS) has retuned to service all four of its self-propelled, self-elevating support vessels that were temporarily evacuated from one Gulf country due to the prevailing geopolitical situation.The UAE-headquartered offshore support vessel operator said the fourth and final vessel has successfully resumed operations, restoring the affected fleet to full contracted utilization under its existing contracts.GMS maintained its adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 in the range of $105 million to $115 million…

16 Jun 2026

Bourbon Secures Subsea Services Contract on Ghana's Jubilee Field

Bourbon Evolution (Credit: Bourbon)

Offshore services provider Bourbon has secured a multi-month subsea services contract for operations on the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, deploying the multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) Bourbon Evolution 802 for a campaign covering inspection, maintenance and repair activities.The contract includes the use of the Bourbon Evolution 802, equipped with two work-class heavy-duty remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), to perform inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services on subsea wellheads…

16 Jun 2026

UK Expands Russia Sanctions with Focus on Shadow Fleet

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Britain imposed fresh sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, targeting Yandex Bank, a network linked to Russian military intelligence and dozens of vessels accused of shipping Russian oil and gas to third countries as part of Moscow’s "shadow fleet."The package, covering 70 new designations, also covered insurer Rosgosstrakh, Evofinance Mosnarbank and Wildberries Bank, and are part of British efforts to step up pressure on the financial and logistics networks it says are helping the Kremlin in its war in Ukraine."These sanctions target the vessels, the money and the actors propping up Russia’s war ec

15 Jun 2026

Japan’s Shipping Industry Awaits Clarifications on Hormuz Reopening

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Japanese shippers welcomed on Monday the U.S.-Iran peace agreement which will reopen the Strait of Hormuz but are awaiting more details of the deal and clearance of mines before allowing their ships to pass the chokepoint.According to the association, 38 Japanese-linked vessels remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28 has largely stopped shipping through the strait, the transit route for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply…

15 Jun 2026

Oil Slumps as US-Iran Reach Initial Peace Deal to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

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Oil prices slipped to a three-month low on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran's deputy foreign minister said they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $3.65, or 4.2%, to $83.68 a barrel by 0630 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was at $80.75, down $4.13, or 4.9%. Both contracts fell to their lowest levels since March 10 on Monday after tumbling more than 3% on Friday.The U.S.