In its latest monthly oil report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that the global demand for oil in June averaged 103 million barrels per day, a new record high. Among the factors driving the increase in demand, the IEA cites robust activity in the aviation sector this summer, developed countries seeing greater economic growth than expected, and rising Chinese demand, especially for petrochemical activities. Looking further ahead, the IEA says the world’s demand for oil will grow: “…by 2.2 mb/d to 102.2 mb/d in 2023, with China accounting for more than 70% of growth. With the p ..read more

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has raised its forecast for total US production of crude oil by some 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). With oil prices being relatively high, US producers like ExxonMobil, the maker of the Mobil SHC gear oil range, have been incentivised to bring more production online. The outlook also cites well-level productivity as being better than expected. The EIA now expects the total production of crude oil in the US to average 12.8 million bpd this year, which is a new record. It then expects production to reach a ne ..read more

UK-based energy giant Shell will begin exploring for new drilling opportunities off the coast of Malaysia, with the geographical survey work expected to be finished by the end of next month. The Malaysian state-owned energy company Petronas, which also makes the Arbor range of agricultural oil, agreed three contracts relating to sharing production with Shell in March last year. The deals cover exploration of three offshore blocks, the deep-water SB-2W and SB-X blocks offshore of Sabah and the shallower SK439 and SK440 blocks offshore of Sarawak. In a press release at the time, Shell said: “Ou ..read more

Skoltech, a petroleum engineering firm based in Russia, has found that the expensive surfactants used in many enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations may be counterproductive, with the company’s results indicating that brine could be just as effective. A number of EOR techniques have been developed in recent years to economically exploit non-traditional oil resources like shale reserves. In little more than a decade, these technologies helped the US Permian Basin to become the world’s most productive oilfield, overtaking the Ghawar Field in Saudi Arabia. CEO Darren Woods of ExxonMobil, the make ..read more

The state news agency of Saudi Arabia has cited the country’s energy minister as saying that its voluntary cut in the production of crude oil could be extended or even deepened later in the year if necessary. The country recently announced that it would be extending its voluntary production cut of a million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of September. This is in addition to another voluntary cut of 500,000 bpd that it announced in April and its obligatory cuts as a participant in the OPEC+ deal. This means the Kingdom is currently limited to pumping no more than 9 million bpd, well below its ..read more

A group of 40 academics, architects and other relevant professionals have submitted a letter to Aberdeen City Council urging it and Shell to reconsider a planned demolition of the Tullos campus, which served as Shell’s Aberdeen headquarters from 1973 until recently. Since moving its headquarters to the Silverfin building on Aberdeen’s Union Street, Shell’s former HQ has been empty. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) concluded that the construction, out-of-date floor plates and age of the buildings preclude them from being reused efficiently and sustainably, leading to Shell making an app ..read more

The venture capital arm of energy giant BP has made an investment of £4 million in Dynamon, a UK-based firm that supplies commercial logistics and transport companies with software solutions. Customers of BP Pulse will also gain access to data analytics and simulation tools for managing electric fleets thanks to a new commercial partnership. In addition to producing lubricants like the Castrol gear oil and grease and investing in the current energy system, BP is investing in five growth engines for the energy transition, including electric vehicle (EV) charging. Dynamon’s solutions aim to help ..read more

Despite expectations of a dip in production in the prolific Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico, gas and oil companies are continuing to announce investments to ramp up production in the region. In a recent report on its operations in the second quarter, Chevron, the maker of the Texaco grease and lubricant products, said it saw record production of 772,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent (boe/d) over the period, with this being a year-on-year increase of 11%. The report says that this motivated the company to make more investments in the region. Mike Wirth, Chevron’s CEO, pointed to ..read more

Leading lubricant brand Petro-Canada has introduced a range of fluid and grease solutions aimed specifically at electric vehicles. Petro-Canada has long been a trusted supplier of lubricant solutions like hydraulic oil, heavy-duty engine oil and transmission oil, which help their customers get the most out of their equipment. Recently, though, it has been working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop the new EVR range to support the next generation of high-performing technologies for EVs. Petro-Canada Lubricants’ global segment manager for transportation, Alex Buczek, said th ..read more

To minimise friction in transmission, precision is paramount. As a result, bearing lubrication is required to make sure rolling components remain functioning effectively. There are several reasons why bearing failure may occur, including improper mounting and overloading. However, lubrication itself can be a contributing factor if an incorrect product is selected, applied improperly or the correct level of preventative maintenance is not adhered to. Read on to explore what makes lubrication in components and bearings so crucial. Why is lubrication vital for bearings? One of the key roles of a ..read more