$2.7B Cut of West Africa Contracts Bound for Saipem

A multibillion-dollar set of contracts tied to the expansion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility in Nigeria generated a considerable amount of pageviews on Rigzone this week. Keep reading to find out more about this and other recent industry developments linked to downstream oil and gas that were popular with readers.

Saipem Snags Nigeria LNG Train 7 Project Contracts

One of the week’s top downstream-related articles on Rigzone was this staff-written piece detailing progress on the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project. Saipem – in a joint venture (JV) with Daewoo and Chiyoda – has won more than $4 billion in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts from Nigeria LNG Ltd., primarily owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., Shell, Total and Eni. The article points out Saipem, which holds a 60-percent share in the EPC JV, stands to receive approximately $2.7 billion from the contracts.

Saudi Oil Rush Threatens to Disrupt US Oil Sector

Just as the glut of crude oil in storage in the U.S. finally appears to be edging downward, a fleet of tankers laden with Saudi crude oil is slated to reach the U.S. Gulf and West coasts in May and June, this article from Bloomberg reports. Citing ship tracking data, the news agency states the more than 30 ships – mostly supertankers – hold more than 50 million barrels of Saudi crude. One source interviewed for the article pointed out that, based on the timing of deliveries, the shipments could return U.S. oil stockpiles back to builds.

Repeat of Sub-Zero Oil Plunge Unlikely

Thanks to factors such as oil production curbs, receding U.S. oil inventories and increasing Chinese oil consumption, Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the expiration of the June West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures contract likely will not cause prices to go negative before expiring. A considerably more bearish set of factors caused the expiring May contract to fall below zero last month, making history. The news agency also observed that optimism has increased considerably across the oil market since last month’s history WTI contract expiry.

Oil Demand Rising as More Get Behind the Wheel

Underscoring the sentiment the preceding item conveys, this staff-written article points out that oil market conditions are improving as fuel demand increases with greater economic activity. One of the keen oil market-watchers Rigzone interviewed for this article, however, pointed out the need to keep the progress in perspective: May global oil demand is estimated to be roughly 21 million barrels per day below pre-COVID-19 levels. Another source observed that recent data showed a week-on-week drop in U.S. refinery utilization, countering the improving oil market outlook.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.