Energy Indicators

The Brent oil price increased this month to $74.50 on June 24, representing a monthly increase of 8.8%. The WTI price also increased, to $72.36, a monthly rise of 10%.

Oil prices have risen due to global oil demand growth combined with tightening supply markets. Demand growth is expected to continue to outstrip supply on the expectation that OPEC+ producers will be cautious in returning more output to the market from August.

Var Energi announced a “significant” oil and gas discovery from its King and Prince exploration wells within the Balder area in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The company, jointly owned by Eni and HitecVision, say preliminary estimates predict volumes of between 60 million and 135m barrels of recoverable oil equivalents. This recent discovery represents the company’s fifth significant exploration find of 2021, stating there are still “significant opportunities” within the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

EnQuest has secured a new $750m debt facility, successfully securing funds to finance the acquisition of Suncor Energy UK’s non-operated equity interest within the Golden Eagle field, as well as simplifying its existing capital structure.

In February, EnQuest announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Suncor’s entire non-operated equity interest in the North Sea oilfield for an initial consideration of $325m, adding material value, production and reserves to its existing portfolio.

Taqa has kicked off removal work for the Brae Bravo platform, commencing one of the largest decommissioning projects in the UK North Sea. The platform, part of the Brae Area, located around 274km north east of Aberdeen, has been out of use since 2018.

The wind-up work will be carried out throughout 2021 and 2022, utilising two of the world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessels, Heerema’s Thialf and Sleipnir. This marks the first time that vessels of this scale have converged in the North Sea.

Total has now been rebranded to

TotalEnergies, as the business continues to shift focus towards renewables.

Shareholders also supported Total’s proposed climate strategy, aiming to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The company is seeking to derive revenues from electricity production, reduce its reliance on oil products and cut emissions.

Maersk Drilling announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its combined drilling and production unit, Maersk Inspirer, to Havila Sirius for $373m. Announcing a strategic plan to realign its fleet to its core drilling business, Maersk stated that operating a production module was no longer part of this focus.