oil

US leases long-sought Alaska oil rights in Trump's final days

New York (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's administration auctioned off 11 oil leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, in a last-ditch move to expand drilling in the areas coveted by some petroleum producers before he leaves office. Major oil companies however sat out bidding for tracts in the environmentally sensitive area, and nine of the leases went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, while two went to small companies. The sale raised $14 million. The White House announced the plan to go ahead with the sale in mid-November just we...

ExxonMobil pledges emissions cut as investor campaign targets board

New York (AFP) - ExxonMobil announced Monday it will reduce its emissions over the next five years bowing to growing public pressure from activists, including the Church of England, to make changes.  The US oil giant said in a statement that by 2025 it will cut emissions from upstream activities, which includes oil drilling and extraction, by between 15 and 20 percent compared to the 2016 levels. It also will cut its flaring intensity by 35 to 45 percent as well as methane intensity by 40 to 50 percent, and aims to achieve a World Bank goal of eliminating routine flaring by 2030, the company s...

Trump administration to seek bids on Arctic oil leases

New York (AFP) - The United States on Monday invited oil companies to choose arctic drilling prospects as President Donald Trump races to enact a controversial Alaska leasing plan in his final days in office.The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it will on Tuesday officially open a 30-day period to accept nominations and comment on some 1.6 million acres (650,000 hectares) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), pushing the plan a step further in the period before the Trump administration departs in January.But US environmentalists, who have opposed drilling in ANWR for decades and g...

Trump administration to seek bids on Arctic oil leases

New York (AFP) - The Trump administration on Monday invited oil companies to choose proposed drilling territories as it pushes ahead with a controversial Alaska leasing plan in its final days in office.The Bureau of Land Management said it will Tuesday officially open a 30-day period to accept nominations and comment on some 1.6 million acres (650,000 hectares) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.The move aims to open up to development a target area long sought by petroleum interests and defended by environmentalists. Some major banks have said they won't finance projects in the refuge.Pres...

Exxon Mobil reports $680 mn 3Q loss on low oil prices

New York (AFP) - ExxonMobil reported another large quarterly loss Friday caused by a plunge in oil prices amid the pandemic downturn, that has prompted petroleum giants to slash spending and jobs.The US oil producer lost $680 million in the third quarter, a dramatic reversal from the $3.2 billion profit in the same period of 2019. It was ExxonMobil's third straight quarter of red ink, and came a day after the company announced it was cutting 1,900 US jobs amid a grim outlook due to the Covid-19 impact on demand.The loss in the latest three months was smaller than in the prior quarter when oil ...

ConocoPhillips to acquire shale oil firm Concho

New York (AFP) - US petroleum giant ConocoPhillips announced Monday it would acquire Texas-based shale oil rival Concho Resources in a transaction valued at $9.7 billion.The acquisition comes as global oil giants have struggled in recent months amid the Covid-19 pandemic that caused a slowdown in the global economy and a plunge in the price of crude."The leadership and boards of both companies believe today's transaction is an affirmation of our commitment to lead a structural change for our vital industry," ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said in a statement.Together the two companies will prod...

ExxonMobil to cut European workforce 11% with 1,600 layoffs

Washington (AFP) - US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil announced  Monday it would slash 1,600 jobs in Europe, more than 11 percent of its workforce in the region, as it struggles with the hit from the coronavirus downturn."The impact of Covid-19 on the demand for ExxonMobil's products has increased the urgency of the ongoing efficiency work," the Texas-based company,  said in a statement.The company said the job cuts would happen by the end of next year but did not any additional details saying only that "Country-specific impacts will depend on the company’s local business footprint and market con...