Friday, 28 August 2026

Petroleum Marine Services (PMS) has finished laying three subsea pipelines for the fourth phase of the Kamose offshore gas field development in Egypt, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The lines measure 8 inches in diameter and were installed with the contractor's PMS-12 barge, a vessel built for subsea pipeline laying and offshore platform installation, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. North Sinai Petroleum Company (NOSPCO) operates the project.

The pipeline work forms part of an offshore scope awarded to PMS. Next comes the installation of the Hoor, KSE-1 and Snefru production platforms, with hook-up and commissioning activities scheduled after the platforms are in place, per the same report.

PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) subsidiaries and Petronas Carigali's PC JDA have signed a 35-year production sharing contract covering Block A-18-01 in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The contract lets the partners continue petroleum exploration, development and production from the block. PTTEP JDX Thailand (JDA) Limited and PTTEP JDX Thailand, together with PC JDA, entered into the agreement with the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority (MTJA), the outlet reported.

Equity is split evenly: PTTEP and PC JDA each hold a 50% participating interest. Both agreements carry 35-year terms effective from January 1, 2026.

Alongside the production sharing contract, PTTEP, MTJA and PC JDA signed a gas sales agreement for the block with buyers PTT Public Company Limited and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Block A-18-01 sits in the southern Gulf of Thailand and covers approximately 3,494 square kilometers, producing natural gas and condensate for Thailand and Malaysia. Gas production capacity runs at roughly 300 million to 400 million standard cubic feet per day, with output supplied equally to the two countries.

The Thai share of that volume accounts for about 4% of national natural gas demand and feeds mainly power generation in southern Thailand, the outlet reported.

Fuel at the pump in Senegal now costs nearly double what drivers pay in Niger, according to Semafor Net Zero, which reported that the rise in global oil prices caused by the Iran war has hit Francophone West Africa unevenly.

Senegal, described by Semafor Net Zero as the second-largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, raised prices this month to USD 1.70 per liter. Niger's pump price has largely held at USD 0.89 per liter.

Côte d'Ivoire sits between the two. Semafor Net Zero reported two price jumps over the last three months, taking fuel to USD 1.61 per liter. The outlet noted the country accounts for more than a third of the bloc's economic weight.

The divergence tracks how each government sources refined product. Niger has been cushioned by its small domestic refining capacity, Semafor Net Zero reported. Togo took a different route, becoming one of the first African buyers of refined fuel from Nigeria's Dangote refinery in March.

The IMF had warned of "uneven exposure" across the bloc, whose eight members share a common currency and some economic policy, according to Semafor Net Zero.

BritENERGY Group is acquiring a controlling interest in 13 oil and gas wells spread across 3,000 acres in New Mexico's Permian basin, according to World Oil.

The wells and their associated production facilities represent roughly USD 50 million in capital investment, World Oil reported. BritENERGY is targeting 5 MMbbl of production from the acreage by 2032, and expects the development to generate approximately USD 200 million in profit.

Alongside the hydrocarbon assets, the company is planning a 300-MW solar development at the same site.

BritENERGY Chairman Garry Mahoney framed the move as a verdict on conditions at home. Britain has had enormous advantages in engineering and access to capital, Mahoney said, but the country is becoming so hostile to investment that it is heading to energy zero faster than net zero.

He is not alone in that assessment. Hunting CEO Jim Johnson has described the UK as uninvestable, World Oil noted.

The reallocation of capital away from British acreage extends to the largest operators. bp recently announced plans to sell its longstanding UK North Sea upstream business.