Exxon Mobil an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas said it has set a time frame for drilling of a long-delayed wildcat well in Block LB-13, offshore Liberia, for late 2016 to early 2017.  Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (COPL), a partner in the project, stated that it had received Work Program and Budget for 2016 from ExxonMobil ;...

South Africa is considering building an oil refinery that will process Iranian crude to boost its petrol supply and reduce its dependence on foreign companies, according to a government official. Plans for the new refinery were being conceived; the deputy director general for petroleum and petroleum products regulation at the energy ministry, Tseliso Maqubela (photo) said adding that he could...

Shell Petroleum Production Company, (SPDC), Nigeria’s oil major has announced that over 110,000 barrels of crude estimated to worth $5 million was lost daily to activities of oil thieves and pipelines vandalism. This was disclosed by the General Manager, External Relations, Shell Nigeria, Mr. Igo Weli (picture), during a one day seminar in Warri, Delta State. Weli revealed that aside the...

South African oil companies and Iranian officials are to meet next month in order to discuss the resumption of oil imports. Deputy Energy Minister Thembisile Majola (photo) stated that South Africa was planning on building a crude oil refinery and that Iranian crude oil would be refined there to add to the existing liquid-to-gas plant in Mossel Bay. Iran used to be South Africa's biggest oil...

Green Energy International Ltd (GEIL), operator of the Otakikpo Marginal Field offshore Nigeria, adjacent to shoreline in the Eastern part of the Niger Delta, announced it recently acquired a license for 10 MW captive power from the Nigeria’s National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as well as its being recently granted a license by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for...

Few weeks after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) annulled the crude oil delivery contract for its refineries with Ocean Marine Transport (OMT) quoting exorbitant costs and inappropriate process of engagement; it plans to retender the contract which will now be awarded on a stop-and-go basis. As a substitute measure, NNPC engaged its subsidiary, NIDAS Marine Limited to provide...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has announced that Kaduna Refinery will resume the production of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS (petrol), within the next three months. This was an improvement as NNPC stated that it had lifted the embargo earlier placed on 113 vessels, banning them from engaging in crude oil and gas loading activities in any of the terminals within Nigerian...

Morocco's oil refiner Samir has said that it made a 2.17 billion dirham ($223 million) H1 loss upset by maintenance in January and February. Reuters report Samir, controlled by Corral Petroleum Holdings, recently announced plans to halt production at its 200,000 bpd Mohammedia refinery. Morocco's tax administrations have since then seized the company's bank accounts in pursuit of a 13 billion...

Comprising a network of Caltex service stations and a refinery, as well as a sizeable supply and trading organization, Chevron South Africa recently resumed production at its Milnerton-based refinery, in Cape Town, not long after one of its most substantial and successfully planned maintenance and safety inspections, which took place from February until March. Engineering news reports. Chevron...

African downstream oil industry stakeholders met at the Westin Grand Hotel, in Cape Town, in March as part of the African Refiners Association (ARA) week to deliberate on how to strengthen investments in the refining and distribution sectors of all African countries to meet the rising energy demand of a growing continent. Engineering news reports. The recent decline in oil prices also places...