So all the shills have left is trying to start arguments to waste bread.
Oil Giants Drill Deep as Profits Trump Climate Concerns
By Ron Bousso and Nerijus Adomaitis Reuters July 3, 2023
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) – Oil and gas companies have intensified the hunt for new deposits in a long-term bet on demand, as they reinvest some of the record profits from the fossil fuel price surge driven by the Ukraine war, according to data and industry executives.
The exploration revival – on the part of European majors in particular – reflects a renewed commitment to oil and gas after Shell and BP slowed down plans to shift away from their legacy business and invest in renewables as part of the energy transition.
It responds to pressure from a majority of investors to maximize their oil and gas profits rather than invest in lower margin renewable energy businesses.
It also defies protests from a minority of activist investors who want oil companies to be more closely aligned with global efforts to mitigate climate change.
The renewed appetite for oil and gas reserves and production is an especially big turnaround for BP, which got rid of most staff from its exploration unit three years ago.
Exploration is a long-term, high-risk business. Big-ticket offshore projects typically take five years to develop from discovery and at least another 10 years to return the initial investment.
But as a source of profit, it has proved more reliable for the energy majors than the very different business model of producing renewable energy.
Upstream oil and gas have historically had returns of around 15%-to-20%, while most renewables projects have delivered up to 8%.
An oil LCOc1 and gas price rally driven by energy producer Russia’s invasion of Ukraine translated into record profits for the energy majors.
That has increased confidence in the most costly, high-risk offshore exploration that can also deliver the highest rewards.
“Offshore is experiencing a renaissance,” oilfield services company SLB Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch said on June 21.
Leading industry data providers and consultancies endorse the view.
The number of offshore drilling vessels used to explore and produce oil and gas recovered in May to pre-pandemic levels, rising by 45% from October 2020 lows, an analysis of data from oil services firm Baker Hughes showed.
Wood Mackenzie analysts predict a continued increase in activity, forecasting offshore exploration and drilling activity to grow by 20% by 2025.
Already, the rise in drilling has helped to drive daily rates for leasing drilling rigs to the highest levels since a 2014 downturn when commodity markets crashed.
“Higher oil prices, the focus on energy security and deep water’s emissions advantages have supported deep water development and, to some extent, boosted exploration,” Wood Mackenzie analyst Leslie Cook said.
The potential size of offshore deposits can ensure economies of scale, meaning less energy is used to extract each barrel, limiting emissions.
The International Energy Agency forecasts global upstream oil and gas investments are set to increase by around 11% to $528 billion in 2023, the highest level since 2015.
Barclays expects the number of offshore projects to get approval this year will reach a 10-year high.
Wood Mackenzie meanwhile predicts the commitment of up to $185 billion to develop 27 billion barrels of oil reserves, with international oil companies focused on the higher-cost, higher-return deepwater developments.
It also anticipated the so-called Golden Triangle – U.S. Gulf of Mexico, South America and West Africa – as well as part of the Mediterranean will account for 75% of global floating rig demand through 2027.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/oil-giants-drill-deep-as-profits-trump-climate-concerns/
Japan Says Russian Warships Spotted Near Taiwan, Okinawa Islands
Reuters July 1, 2023
TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) – Japan’s defense ministry said late on Friday it had spotted two Russian Navy ships in the waters near Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa islands in the previous four days, following a similar announcement this week from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Tuesday it had spotted two Russian frigates off its eastern coast and send aircraft and ships to keep watch.
Japan’s government said last month that repeated Russian military activity near Japanese territory, including joint drills with Chinese forces, posed “serious concern” for Japan’s national security.
Read Also: Japan Hopes To Shore Up Philippines’ Defense Amid Taiwan Conflict Fears
Japan and Taiwan have joined the United States and its allies in imposing wide-ranging sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine last year.
The Japanese ministry said two Steregushchy-class frigates were first spotted 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni, in Okinawa prefecture near Taiwan, on Tuesday morning.
The vessels sailed back and forth through the waters between Yonaguni and Taiwan, moved eastward and were last spotted on Friday in the waters between Miyako and Okinawa islands, it said, adding Japan dispatched two vessels to monitor the Russian ships.
Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday that a detachment of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet had entered the southern parts of the Philippine Sea to perform tasks as part of a long-range sea passage.
https://gcaptain.com/japan-says-russian-warships-spotted-near-taiwan-okinawa-islands/
>>19120419 (me)
In Pivot Back to Oil, Shell Eliminates Position of Head of Renewables
Published Jul 3, 2023 10:29 PM by The Maritime Executive
In another sign that Big Oil is pivoting firmly back to hydrocarbons, Shell has eliminated the position of its head of renewables, offshore wind veteran Thomas Brostrom.
Brostrom had a turbocharged career in renewables before joining Shell. He went to work for Danish offshore wind leader Orsted in 2009, and by 2012 he was in charge of Orsted's project development pipeline in the UK, the largest offshore wind market in the world. In 2015 he became president of Orsted's North America division. Under his leadership, Orsted progressed half a dozen projects on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, including the first commercial offshore wind farm built in North America, the five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm.
Shell poached Brostrom away from Orsted in 2020-21. At the time, the British-Dutch oil major was under the leadership of then-CEO Ben Van Beurden, and Brostrom's hiring was widely seen as a sign of Van Beurden's public commitment to investing in renewable power and cutting emissions.
However, times have changed, and Shell - like other oil majors - is pivoting back to its traditional focus. Shell had its most profitable year ever last year, raking in $40 billion on the back of high oil and gas prices - but top earnings were not enough to keep Van Beurden on the field. He was sidelined in January, and he has been replaced by former Shell director of upstream Wael Sawan. In contrast to Van Beurden's long-term aspirations for green electrical power, Sawan has stressed a "ruthless" focus on near-term profitability and a firm commitment to upstream oil and gas.
The playing field for renewables has also changed since Brostrom joined Shell, particularly for the offshore wind sector. Costs for materials and equipment have increased with inflation, threatening the profitability of many offshore wind developments, including some that had previously looked like near-guaranteed profit earners.
Shell's massive SouthCoast Wind project is one of these financially-challenged developments. According to Shell and its JV partners, EDP and Engie, the capex and financing costs for offshore wind development have risen so much this year that it needs to terminate its offtake agreement (PPA) - even if it has to pay an exit-clause penalty. The partners cited "material and unforeseen supply chain and financing cost increases affecting the whole offshore wind industry.”
https://maritime-executive.com/article/in-pivot-back-to-oil-shell-eliminates-position-of-head-of-renewables