TotalEnergies prioritised paying down debt, cutting gearing to 13%, and lifted its dividend by 5.9%. Among the shale producers, only Diamondback has explicitly tied higher prices to higher activity. Boards that lived through the busts of 2015 and 2020 are treating this as a cash event rather than a growth signal, which is a fairly clear statement about how long they expect it to last.

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The goals outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming require a significant drop in carbon emissions by 2050 across the verticals of the global socio-economic order, by shifting completely away from oil and gas consumption.

“We ⁠must, however, confront our ambition with reality and acknowledge that our societies have embarked on a transition, but at a pace that does not yet allow for the collective achievement of carbon neutrality as pursued under the Paris Agreement. Our own ability to achieve carbon neutrality together with society depends on technical innovation, public policies and consumer choices, meaning that the pathways to our carbon neutrality ambition must be reassessed and adapted over time in line with the ‌evolution ⁠of the global energy system,” TotalEnergies said in its annual sustainability report.

While TotalEnergies’ European peers BP and Shell aim to bring down the carbon intensity in their energy products by 2050, they have also said that the pace at which society transitions away from hydrocarbons would be an important factor to achieve the deadline.

“The company is not in a position to adopt a transition plan as defined by the European reporting standards and, as a result, cannot formulate ‘Net Zero’ targets in the meaning of these standards,” TotalEnergies said.

Recently, Reuters reported that “in ⁠2025, the French oil major emitted 368 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, the bulk of which were so-called Scope 3 emissions from clients burning purchased fuels. ⁠This was down from 376 million tons in 2024 and within the company’s target to keep these emissions under 400 million tons through to 2030.”

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Shell’s huge fabrication yard in southeast Texas is a clear indication of the company’s ongoing Gulf of Mexico ambitions.

According to energy consulting company Wood Mackenzie, the firm is putting the finishing touches on Vito, its 13th major offshore project in the area, which has an estimated USD 3 billion cost.

Later this month, Vito will be towed by three tugboats to water about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans, where it will begin pumping gas and oil from eight wells. These waters are about 4,000 feet deep.

The Vito investment decision was made in 2018, and according to Paul Goodfellow, the UK oil company’s global head of deep-water operations, Shell will need to make more billion-dollar investments in the upcoming years merely to maintain current Gulf production levels.

Goodfellow mentioned that the company is quite optimistic about the long-term steady return in the Gulf, in spite of the mixed signals which are coming from the Biden administration.

He further mentioned in an interview that they will also have the opportunity to restock and replenish the portfolio as they will continue to pump in a huge amount of money, investigating and expanding the projects.

In his campaign, US President Joe Biden pledged to stop new oil drilling on federal property, including the Gulf, but as the midterm elections approach, his determination is being put to the test by sharp increases in the price of gasoline and other fuels.

However, it also seems that Biden is considering opening the gates for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The administration’s plan calls for a maximum of 10 sales in the Gulf over that time period, plus one in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The oil sector has pushed for a minimum of two yearly lease sales for the next five years in the Gulf.

Oil and gas lobbying groups blasted the plan for leaving open the potential of no new offshore lease sales, while environmental groups criticized it for backing away from Biden’s campaign promises.

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Interestingly, the same oil fields went unsold during the 2019 oil auction held by Brazil. To encourage bidders, this time Brazil slashed its exploration rights fee by 70 percent.

Notably, Petrobras was the biggest bidder with $750 million, followed by Total and British-Dutch Shell with $510 million and $180 million, respectively. Malaysia’s Petronas and Qatar Petroleum meanwhile spent $260 million each for rights to the largest block, Sepia.

Recently, Petrobras has handed a contract to offshore driller Seadrill for work in the Buzios field located offshore Brazil. The contract is expected to be worth around $264 million.

Seadrill is expected to begin work for Petrobras’ in December 2022 and the contract is expected to be for a period of 1040 days.

Seadrill’s chief executive officer, Stuart Jackson told the media, “Petrobras is a long-standing and valued customer of Seadrill and signing a third contract with them this quarter is testament to our strong partnership and commitment to the Brazilian market. Seadrill is focused on growing our fleet in strategic basins where we see high growth potential, such as Brazil, where we are now the largest international drilling contractor.”

Petrobras is mulling selling its 100 percent stake in the Catua Field, in the Campos Basin. The field is located in the waters of Espirito Santo State, around 128 kilometres offshore.

The field was discovered by Petrobras in 2003 and according to the company, the estimated stock tank original oil-in-place (STOOIP) is up to 993.82 MM oil boe.

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Oman LNG tweeted the first carbon-neutral LNG from the Middle East is using nature-based carbon credits to offset the full lifecycle of C02 emissions that are generated across the LNG value chain. The primary goal of nature-based projects is to protect, transform, or restore land and enable nature to add oxygen and absorb Co2 emissions from our atmosphere. This leads to the creation of carbon credits, where each credit represents the removal of harmful greenhouse gases.

Talking about this important milestone to the media, Oman’s LNG chairman, Talal Al Awfi said, “We are delighted to deliver the Sultanate’s first LNG carbon-neutral cargo. This forward-looking step reflects Oman LNG’s commitment to be a pioneer in decarbonisation, which complements the Sultanate’s Vision ‘Oman 2040’, on the environmental preservation front. Oman LNG will continue its journey delivering world-class business performance, safety, efficiency, and decarbonisation efforts. It’s great to achieve this milestone.”

According to experts, the current energy landscape of the world is extremely challenging and it is imperative that the energy companies need to put in serious effort and adopt the most efficient practices to remain reliable and agile suppliers to customers while striving towards a more sustainable future.

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The official gazette also stated that the local unit of the energy company, Royal Dutch Shell is to import LNG from various other countries into the Brazilian market. The company is expected to import LNG via sea and then sell the product to the thermal power plant operators, gas distributors and consumers in the natural gas market that is unregulated.

The federal legislative body of Brazil – Chamber of Securities and the lower house of the National Congress recently passed a natural gas law aimed to open the country’s pipeline to market players to increase the competition in the sector.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) offered technical advice to the government of Brazil on the gas reform and had stated the change is “expected to enhance the physical flexibility of the gas system, enable gas to be delivered more quickly and facilitate the integration of higher share of intermittent renewable into the Brazilian energy system. In the longer term, an open, competitive gas market can more easily adapt to a multi-gas system that includes and deploys low-carbon gases.”

Under the National Petroleum Agency, Shell was awarded a 100 percent interest in block C-M-757 last December in Brazil’s Campos Basin. Along with Shell, Brazilian steelmaker, Gerdau SA also received authorisation to import LNG into the country.

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In a statement, Shell said, “This decision is in line with the Shell group’s strategy for its upstream business to become more focused, and to increase its resilience and competitiveness. Shell Malaysia remains committed to supporting the operator in delivering safe and smooth operations until completion of a sale to a credible buyer.”

Recently, Shell also said that its total greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 16 percent in 2020 as oil and gas sales dropped sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shell said that one of the major causes of this larger than expected reduction in 2020 was lower demand for energy, especially for oil and gas.

Last year, it was reported that Shell is in talks for the sale of its Norwegian natural gas supplier Gasnor. The energy major is seeking to dispose of its assets as part of its divestment plan.

For the sale, Shell approached several infrastructure funds and private equity firms. The company’s decision to sell its assets comes at a time when it is exploring ways to achieve low-carbon energy, like its industry peers. It was reported that several divestments in countries such as Argentina, Canada and the UK helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions last year.

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For the sale, Shell has approached several infrastructure funds and private equity firms. The company’s decision to sell its assets comes at a time when it is exploring ways to achieve low-carbon energy, like its industry peers. It is reported that several divestments in countries such as Argentina, Canada and the UK helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions last year. 

Gasnor is a natural gas company with liquefied natural gas production. Also, sale of natural gas is a core part of its business. The company delivers liquefied natural gas to industrial and marine customers in Norway, media reports said. In 2012, Shell had agreed to take control of Gasnor business, with a deal of paying $74 million for shares. 

In July, Shell announced its deal with Avitas to enhance drone-monitoring services at its unconventional assets in the Permian Basin. In fact, Shell is one of the few companies to have swiftly adopted drone technology in the oil and gas industry. The drone is expected to play a vital role in reducing emissions at Shell’s North American operations to less than 0.2 percent of its produced natural gas volumes by 2025.

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The deal for Royal Dutch Shell to acquire the stake in the project is expected to cost around $9 billion.

Shell and Nayara – which is part-owned by Russian oil major Rosneft – signed a memorandum of understanding in early June, the media reported.

The project involves the development of a 1.8 million tonnes a year full steam ethylene cracker and linked downstream units. It will be built at Vadinar in western Gujarat, India and would cost between $8 to $9 billion. Reportedly, the whole project would be completed during a period of five years.

According to Nayara’s proposal to the environment ministry, the project will also have an aromatic complex and capacity to produce 10.75 million tonnes of a variety of petrochemicals.

Last month, Shell revealed that it will write off assets worth up to $22 billion as the coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted its business.

According to Shell, the collapse in oil demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will drag on global oil prices down for at least three more years.

As a result, it will wipe out billions from the value of its fossil fuel reserves and casting doubt on whether new discoveries will be developed.

Shell further revealed that it expects  a 40 percent drop in sales in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier to about 4 million barrels per day (bpd), although that is more than its earlier prediction of a drop to 3.5 million bpd.

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According to Shell, the collapse in oil demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will drag on global oil prices down for at least three more years.

As a result, it will wipe out billions from the value of its fossil fuel reserves and casting doubt on whether new discoveries will be developed.

Shell further revealed that it expects  a 40 percent drop in sales in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier to about 4 million barrels per day (bpd), although that is more than its earlier prediction of a drop to 3.5 million bpd.

Shell, which has a market value of $126.5 billion, has also cut its oil price forecasts and would probably need to take a post-tax impairment charge of between $15 to $22 billion on its global oil and gas assets spanning Australia, Brazil and North America.

Recently, Shell agreed to buy renewable gas, known as biomethane, from Denmark’s Nature Energy.

Earlier in April, Shell laid out the oil and gas sector’s most extensive strategy yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.

Jonathan McCloy, head of gas at Shell Energy Europe told the media, “Biomethane has an important role to play in the energy transition. This purchase is an important part of our work to provide a range of lower-carbon energy choices for our customers across Europe.”

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