Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas has granted Eni SPA and Oman Oil Co. SAOC (OOC), the Sultanate’s energy investment arm, exploration rights for Block 52, a 90,000-sq-km area in 10-2,000 m of water offshore Oman.

Ningbo Fortune Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (NFPC) and Zhangjiagang Yangzi River Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (YRPC), both subsidiaries of Oriental Energy Co. Ltd., each have commissioned 600,000-tonne/year on-purpose propylene units at their respective plants in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, and Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, in China.

TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. ASA is set to launch its West Lindsey 3D multiclient seismic survey covering a minimum of 190 sq miles predominantly in Reeves County, Tex., southwest of the West Kermit 3D project launched earlier this year.

Cedric W. Burgher has been appointed chief financial officer of Occidental Petroleum Corp., Houston. He succeeds Chris Stavros, who is retiring.

Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. (LNGL), Perth, has decided to abandon the Fisherman’s Landing project at the Port of Gladstone in Queensland. The proposed development was to have been a midscale, 3.5 million-tonne/year LNG plant—the fourth in the Gladstone area.

More than 50 members of the US House of Representatives asked US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer to consider North American energy independence as he begins talks with representatives from Canada and Mexico about modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Oil prices rose slightly on May 29 in thin trading volumes because of the Memorial Day holiday in the US as well as UK and China holidays. Both benchmark crude oil prices in New York and London dropped on May 30 as typical trading resumed. Oil continued falling in early May 31 trading.

Latin America’s wind power market is changing with new players emerging, according to recent analysis.

In its 2017 Latin America Wind Power Outlook, renewables consultancy Make said an unstable political and economic situation in Brazil, traditionally the largest Latin American wind market, has opened space for other countries to gain ground.

Indeed, Make expects a steep dropoff in new Brazilian wind power commissioning beginning in 2019, although the country connected over 2.5 GW in 2016, and over 2.4 GW each year for the previous three years. But a lack of demand for power, a drop in new wind power purchase agreements (PPAs) in 2016 and a cancelled auction in December are predicted to lead directly to market decline, with new installations expected to fall by more than 50 per cent.  

In contrast, Mexico’s wind market appears to be on the rise. The nation awarded more than 1.4 GW of wind power capacity in 2016, at prices as low as $32/MWh. The nation is conducting long-term power auctions to support its 35 per cent clean energy target.

And Chile and Argentina awarded PPAs to almost 3.5 GW of wind power capacity in 2016. Argentina’s 20 per cent renewables target led to the first two rounds of its RenovAr scheme in 2016, with contracts for 1142 MW awarded in round one and 1282 MW in round two. Chile added a record 498 MW of wind capacity in 2016 and plans a 2 GWh auction for December.

And smaller markets in the region are moving toward more wind, Make said, with both Colombia and Peru considering adjusting their market rules to allow wind power to compete effectively.  

Husky Energy Inc. expects to start oil production from its West White Rose project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in 2022 with a gross peak production rate of 75,000 b/d in 2025.