Australian oil and gas producer Oil Search will hold meetings with its partners to discuss how they can keep multibillion-dollar gas field expansion plans alive in Papua New Guinea after the nation's new prime minister terminated negotiations for an interconnected project.

Oil Search is involved in a $20 billion plan to double PNG's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) including constructing and feeding three additional liquefaction units at the P'nyang and Papua LNG fields.

SINGAPORE — Oil prices extended declines on Monday, dragged down by worries about lower demand in the world’s largest oil importer China following the coronavirus breakout.

Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell for a fourth week in a row last week after airlines canceled flights to China. Supply chains across the world’s second largest economy have also been disrupted.

Brent crude was at $55.83 a barrel by 0047 GMT, down 79 cents, or 1.4%, after losing nearly 12% in January, the steepest monthly decline since November 2018.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 50 cents to $51.06 a barrel, after earlier hitting a session low of $50.42. The front-month WTI price fell 15.6% in January, the biggest monthly drop since May.

China’s factory activity stalled in January as export orders fell while analysts expect a big plunge in February’s data as the virus outbreak hit demand in the country, even as the central bank...

I�ve never seen a more insufferable & pathetic group of Senators than those in the GOP. They�ve chosen to strap themselves to a corrupt con man they KNOW is guilty. They�re all cowards. None of them belong in the Senate. They should go home and grow a backbone!

Sunday Aborisade, Abuja

The Senate on Thursday agreed to probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over the $396m expended on turnaround maintenance of refineries in the country between 2013 and 2015.

The red chamber also mandated the committees on Petroleum Downstream, Upstream and Gas to carry out a holistic investigation into the expenditure incurred by the Federal Government within the period under consideration.

(Bloomberg) — U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo suggested his country may help Belarus satisfy its demand for crude as the former Soviet nation scrambles to find alternative energy supplies after Russia reduced oil shipments this year.

“The U.S. wants to help Belarus build its sovereign country,” Pompeo told reporters on Saturday after his meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko in the capital, Minsk. U.S. energy producers stand ready to deliver all the oil Belarus needs at competitive prices, he added. “All you need is to call.”

Russia, which used to cover virtually all the demands of hydrocarbon-poor Belarus for oil and gas, halted crude exports in January amid a spat between the countries’ leaders over political integration and energy prices. While Belarus was able to secure one-time shipments from a company owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, the country also purchased its first-ever batch of Norwegian oil via Lithuania. Belarus...

A former petrol pump designer has scooped an oil and gas industry apprentice of the year award at the age of 33.

The accolade is from international skills body Opito and has gone to Gavin Brown, who is in his second year of offshore training in instrumentation and control maintenance with North Sea operator Taqa.

He saw off around 1,500 rivals to win a place on the UK industry’s Oil and Gas Technical Apprentice Programme. Mr Brown said he saw a long-term future for himself in the sector and described his award as “a great honour”.

He added: “Going to an office and sitting behind a computer wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted, and I found the oil and gas industry appealing.

“Initially I thought I might be too old for an apprenticeship, but then saw others my age – and even older – successfully pave the way.”

Judges included Kevin Nicolson, of Opito, Claire Lawrie, of Ithaca Energy, and Jim Ritchie, of Skills Development Scotland.

Opito...