Oil & Energy

OPEC Looks Beyond Politics, Focuses On Long-Term Production

Published

4 years ago

April 4, 2022

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), met last Thursday for its regular monthly review of production policy. This time, no one seems to expect surprises, and the reason is that in the past couple of months, the cartel and its allies in OPEC led by Russia have been in remarkable sync. And they appear to have had enough of consumers’ pressure.
The Energy Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Al-Mazrouei, sounded a sober note earlier this week as he struck at Western countries for having what can only be described as a hypocritical attitude to fossil fuels.
“I think in COP 26 all the producers felt they were uninvited and unwanted but now we are again superheroes, it’s not going to work like that,” the Minister said at the Global Energy Forum organized by the Atlantic Council in Dubai.
The top Emirati energy official went on to explain the basics of the oil industry, stressing that production is tied to long-term planning, which is incompatible with calls and actions on investment cuts in order to put more money into renewable energy.
That should have been obvious to everyone familiar with the very basics of economics, but it appears to have escaped some currently in charge in Europe and the United States.
Their reasoning seems to be that oil producers have a vested interest in selling their oil while it is in demand because in 20 years, per climate change plans, demand won’t be that strong.
It is a valid line of reasoning and one that the oil producers themselves have recognised. It is this, at least in part, that has motivated the UAE and Saudi Arabia to invest in boosting their output capacity.
The UAE is aiming for 5 million bpd in total production, and the Saudis are eyeing 13 million bpd in production capacity.
This should be good news for oil-thirsty importers, but this capacity is not coming online this year while the importers, specifically the ones in Europe, are eager to reduce their dependence on Russian oil right now, by the end of the year.
The obvious substitute for Russian oil would be oil from the Middle East, but as Reuters’ John Kemp recently explained, this is easier said than done.
Although, theoretically, new markets would be good news for oil exporters, OPEC is still limiting its production, and some members are failing to pump even as much as that limited amount agreed by the OPEC+ group.
Also, as Kemp pointed out in his column, rerouting oil flows from Asia to Europe makes very little strategic sense: Europe is an oil market in decline, unlike Asia. In other words, Gulf producers don’t really have an incentive to sell more oil to Europe. Nor do they have an incentive to join the Western condemnation of Russia.
“When it comes to OPEC+ — I would take that privilege of saying I’ve been at it for 35 years, and I know how we managed to compartmentalize our political differences from what is for the common good of all of us,” Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salmantold CNBC’s Hadley Gamble this week, speaking of the Russian issue.
“That culture is seeped into OPEC+, so when we get into that OPEC meeting room, or OPEC building, everybody leaves his politics at the outside door of that building, and that culture has been with us,” bin Salman also said.
Indeed, one only needs to recall that OPEC involves both Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two Middle Eastern archenemies, and they have managed to act in concert on oil despite their differences.
OPEC, and OPEC+, appear to be stronger than ever. It is hard to believe that just two years ago, Saudi Arabia and Russia locked horns over oil policies and even engaged in a sort of an oil output blitz to make their respective points, pushing prices down sharply just before the pandemic really got going, pushing them a lot further lower. The two cooled off pretty soon and have been working in harmony ever since.
Crude oil prices slipped briefly below $100 per barrel on signals that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine had struck a constructive note.
However, soon after the news, traders apparently realized this wouldn’t automatically mean the lifting of sanctions on Russia, and prices rebounded, helped by the API’s weekly inventory report, which estimated a decline of 3 million barrels.
The villain-turned-superhero trope is one that is well known and frequently exploited in literature and film. There are plenty of examples of this trope in geopolitics as well, as well as its mirror image of the superhero-turned-villain. Yet OPEC clearly does not want to star in such a film.
OPEC has its priorities, and it is sticking to them, even in the face of growing pressure from its political partners in the West. The latter might need to be more convincing in their assurances that they are committed to this partnership, and even that may not be enough to sway the cartel into producing more oil.

By: Irina Slav
Slav reports for Oilprice.com

Oil & Energy

OML18: NNPC, Sahara Launch 2.2m-Barrel Floating Vessel

Published

5 days ago

October 13, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Sahara Group, Eroton Exploration & Production Company, and Bilton Energy Limited have jointly commissioned the nation’s first wholly owned 2.2-million-barrel capacity Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel.

The vessel, named Cawthorne, is designed to drive sustained oil production, enhance crude export reliability, and bolster Nigeria’s energy security and sustainability.

A statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications at Sahara Group Ltd, Bethel Obioma, stated that the vessel is Nigeria’s first Crude Oil Terminal to be commissioned in 50 years.

Christened Cawthorne, the Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) Terminal is designed to enhance crude evacuation from Nigeria’s OML 18 and nearby assets, the statement added.

This achievement, according to Udobong Ntia, EVP Upstream, NNPC, who represented the NNPC GCEO, Bashir Ojulari, at the commissioning, “is another bold achievement from the partnership between NNPC and its JV Partners that would guarantee seamless operations and bolster the strategic targets set by the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, towards ensuring optimised upstream production in Nigeria.”

Located at offshore Bonny, the double-hull FSO vessel with a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels, represents a bold step forward in strengthening Nigeria’s crude export infrastructure and operational resilience.

NNPC Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Seyi Omotola, said the vessel represents a “renewed hope” for Nigeria’s upstream sector, adding that it also reaffirms the growing capacity of the nation to make its energy sector globally competitive.

The Chief Executive of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe,who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Development and Production, at the commission, Enorense Amadasu, said: “This is a commendable achievement that aligns with the vision of the NUPRC towards accelerating production in the nation, reliably, seamlessly and sustainably.”

Amadasu added that the Cawthorne FSO will enhance Nigeria’s export reliability and contribute to a more stable global energy supply chain. “This is a critical step toward unlocking the full potential of OML 18 and other strategic assets in the region.”

Managing Director, Niger Delta Exploration and Production Offshore Limited (NEOL), Ibiyemi Asaolu, said “This milestone showcases what is possible when innovation, collaboration, and execution excellence align. With FSO Cawthorne, we are not only securing production continuity from OML 18 but also contributing to Nigeria’s long-term energy infrastructure and revenue stability.”

On his part, the Head, Commercial and Planning, Asharami Energy (a Sahara Group Upstream Company), Dr. Tosin Etomi, said “The Cawthorne FSO stands as a symbol of innovation meeting necessity. It is not just a vessel, it’s an assurance of continuity, reliability, and value creation for our partners, our nation, and our people”.

“This collaboration with the NNPC, NUPRC and other stakeholders embodies the drive to turn complex energy challenges into sustainable solutions that power progress across Africa.”

Etomi said the ultramodern vessel is fitted with digital capabilities that make it a vessel “built for the future, driving operational flexibility, reduction in carbon exposure from barge movements, and enhancing overall evacuation safety. It’s an investment in the resilience of the upstream sector and our environment.”

“The commissioning of FSO Cawthorne reaffirms Sahara Group’s and indeed OML 18 Partners’ commitment to powering progress responsibly through partnerships, innovation, and infrastructure that strengthen Africa’s energy independence”, he stated.

Oil & Energy

Space-Based Solar Power Finally Ready to Shine?

Published

5 days ago

October 13, 2025

The Tide

Scientists have dreamed of putting solar panels in outer space since the late 1960s, and have known that space-based solar power was technologically feasible since the 1970s. But the true race for space-based solar has only just begun, driven by the intensifying need to produce more electricity to meet rapidly growing energy demand. As more of the world becomes electrified, big data and AI become omnipresent, and decarbonization deadlines draw closer, innovative energy solutions are needed more than ever. As a result, space-based solar power is finally ready for its day in the sun.

This nascent technology employs enormous satellites to collect high-intensity sunlight and beam it down to Earth, either through microwaves or lasers. A receptor on Earth receives that energy and converts it into electricity to be fed into the grid. This energy would be dispatchable, as satellites would have gargantuan range and could flexibly beam energy to where the demand is greatest.

The production potential of space-based solar power is enormous. Because the panels are situated beyond clouds and the atmosphere, and are not impacted by the rotation of the earth, they receive high levels of unadulterated sunlight 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, these systems are capable of producing a potentially game-changing amount of clean energy.

According to calculations by researchers from King’s College London, space-based solar power could reduce Europe’s need for land-based renewable energy by as much as 80 percent, and reduce battery-based energy storage needs by more than two-thirds. The kicker? It would reduce the cost of Europe’s energy system by as much as 15 percent. The researchers found that the associated savings in terms “energy generation, storage and network infrastructure costs” would save an estimated 35.9 billion euros (41.7 U.S. Dollars) per year.

The higher energy density of space-based solar means that energy systems would need far fewer costly resources. Such a system “requires orders of magnitude fewer critical minerals to provide the same continuous power as a terrestrial solution with large-scale energy storage,” reads a recent article from the World Economic Forum. “This offers a more sustainable path, alleviating the strain on resources that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified as a key challenge,” the report continues.

Critically, these systems would also require far, far less land than Earthbound solar farms. Not only would we be outsourcing solar panels to outer space, the receptors that receive the solar energy here on Earth would be relatively small and mostly transparent, meaning that they would be well-suited to mixed-use spaces. This would alleviate intensifying issues of land scarcity faced by utility-scale renewable energies.

As the considerable benefits of space-based solar gain more attention, investment in their development has ramped up considerably. Labs in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Europe, and other locations around the globe are all accelerating their research programs to advance space-based solar power, and high-profile private investors are now joining the trend as well. Big tech bigwig Baiju Bhatt, a co-founder of Robin Hood, launched the space solar startup called Aetherflux last year.

But space-based solar power still faces some key hurdles before it can be scaled for commercial use. The most significant of these, according to the World Economic Forum, is the way that private finance is structured around early-stage startups and not long-term infrastructure projects. While space-based solar power will be a big money saver in the long term, it will not provide quick or necessarily predictable returns on investment.

For this reason, startups are looking to government contracts to get space-based solar power off the ground. “We think that the military customer is large enough — and for lack of better word, difficult enough — of a customer that if we can serve, we can build a constellation and we can be at scale, Christian Garcia, managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, one of Aetherflux’s backers, told CNBC. “And at that point, we will have dropped the cost of the technology such that we can expand into other customers.”

By: Haley Zaremba

Oil & Energy

Aide, Others Laud Gov. Diri Over ‘Light Up Bayelsa’ Project

Published

5 days ago

October 13, 2025

The Tide

Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri has again been commended for his visionary leadership and unrelenting initiatives and effort in providing stable power supply in the state.

The Technical Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, to the governor, Hon.Wisdom Ikuli, made the commendation while conducting Newsmen on a tour of the ongoing installation of the new Gas firedTurbine project procured by the Governor Diri-led administration.

Describing the ongoing project tagged: ‘Light Up Bayelsa’ as a lofty socioeconomic initiative, Ikuli noted that the project, upon its completion, would be a boost to the economic potentials of the state as well as upscale the living conditions of citizens and residents of the state.

“God’s willing by December 2025 as promised by the governor, Bayelsa would begin to enjoy 24-hour uninterrupted power supply. It will herald the industrialisation agenda of His Excellency, Governor Douye Diri.

“You all know that in January this year, this place was a bush and swampy. But between January and now, you can see the tremendous progress made. The power project Governor Diri promised before the end of this year is gradually becoming a reality.

“This project would trigger a multiplier effect on the economy of our State. It will attract investors, and revive dormant businesses across the state. Every businessman wants to locate where there is power. People will relocate from neighbouring states to Bayelsa. The hospitality sector will boom, and we must continue to thank the miracle governor for keeping to his word,” he said.

The governor’s Aide restated that while power would not be free, the cost would be affordable compared to what residents currently spend on diesel, fuel, and solar energy, noting that the gas that would be used for power generation would be bought by the Bayelsa electricity Company Ltd (BECL).

“What we will pay for power is insignificant compared to how much we spend daily on fuel or solar panels. Light is life, and Governor Douye Diri has come to give us light, and a new life. Governor Diri is the ‘Light’ of Bayelsa State and the entire Ijaw nation”, the governor’s aide said.

Also speaking, the Director of Operations, BECL, Engr. Steve Bubagha, said the project, which is about 85 percent completion would soon be set for inauguration, disclosing that six of the eight newly procured gas turbines had already arrived the state, with the remaining two en route Yenagoa, the state capital, in the coming days.

“Virtually every nook and cranny of Yenagoa will benefit from this project. We’re at an advanced stage, about 85% done with the electrical reticulation and 33kV network. Once the installation and pre-commissioning processes are completed, power distribution will begin immediately. Government plans to introduce metering systems to ensure transparency and efficiency in billing.

“If the governor has gone this far to make sure this project is installed in Yenagoa, it means he will also ensure that meters are available. It is even with meters that people can truly enjoy the facility,” he said.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa