Author: Ricardo Perez

An accord was reached to establish two oil refineries in India through a joint venture between the countries, India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Suhel Ajaz Khan said in a briefing

Saudi Arabia and India agreed to deepen energy ties and pursue closer cooperation in areas like tourism and technology as the countries seek to strengthen relations at a time of turbulence for the global economy. 

An accord was reached to establish two oil refineries in India through a joint venture between the countries, India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Suhel Ajaz Khan said in a briefing, without giving more details.  

The developments come after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Jeddah on Tuesday night. India’s leader departed shortly after, rather than staying in the kingdom until Wednesday, following one of the worst attacks on civilians in India’s northern Jammu and Kashmir region in years.

India and Saudi Arabia’s leaders met as both countries look to support their economies in the face of wide-ranging US tariff policies that threaten to stunt growth. India is already facing its slowest economic expansion in four years and Saudi Arabia is forecast to come under renewed pressure from subdued oil prices.

Deeper ties would stand to bolster stability and energy security for both and follow on years of flirtation between the G-20 nations on partnerships for everything from oil to agriculture and technology. 

Saudi Crown Prince MBS had in 2019 pledged $100 billion of investments in India, but only about $10 billion of that has materialised. State-owned oil behemoth Saudi Aramco has also long sought entry into India’s refining sector with little success.

A plan to jointly build a mega complex in western India, for example, hasn’t come to fruition due to challenges over land and a proposal for a stake in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s mega refinery in Gujarat failed to fructify on valuation issues.  

It’s unclear if Aramco will be involved in the refineries mentioned by India’s envoy to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 

Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the OPEC+ producer group, was once India’s largest oil supplier but has seen its share of the market decline as imports from Russia and Iraq increase. 

Ahead of his visit, Modi had said the two sides are exploring joint projects in refineries and petrochemicals, according to comments he made to Arab News.

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Sherif Tarek, Business Standard / Apr 23 2025.

Companies can use AI to summarize lengthy regulations, such as TSCA, but need to continually verify data accuracy, panelists said at last week’s GlobalChem conference.

Chemical manufacturers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to enhance operations.  

AI usage in the chemical industry has particularly increased over the last five years, Seneca Fitch, director of the health sciences practice at scientific consulting firm ToxStrategies, said at a GlobalChem conference panel in Washington, D.C. last week.

Fitch was joined by Rebecca Morones, a senior product steward at BASF, and Sean Watford, an environmental systems and information scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to discuss how they use AI and how to train the technology to give the answers needed.

AI can be used to perform risk assessments, as well as simplify and summarize laws with hundreds of pages, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act, to help companies stay compliant.

Data management, Fitch added, is an important use of the technology, but only if manufacturers start with quality data. 

“Garbage in equals garbage out. We’ve heard that saying a lot, and so it’s very important that we are using optimal data when we are training models, so that we are making sure to get the most valid and reliable results,” Fitch said.

AI hallucinations can skew results

Morones said she uses Microsoft Copilot to summarize information, such as EPA risk evaluations. She noted, however, that while the platform provides highlighted outlined points, it does not perform an in-depth analysis of information, Morones said.

“You still have to read the documents,” Morones said. “But I feel like there’s also 200 pages it’s sifting through, which does at least help get you to kind of where you’re looking for and give you a great oversight.”

However, AI can pull incorrect data, also known as hallucinations, Morones added. Her colleagues have asked AI for the density of a safety data sheet or what a TSCA fee is, and the platform found an incorrect answer.

“So if your businesses are using this, and I do caution that, just make sure that they are aware of these hallucinations,” Morones said. “And anytime it comes to regulatory aspects, you should probably have them come to the regulatory experts. Don’t rely on what they’re seeing or what they’re doing.”

At other times, the technology may pull up references that appear legitimate but actually do not exist, Fitch said, adding that any information generated by an AI model should be independently verified by staff to ensure its validity. 

“With that lesson, it’s really important that not only are we reviewing the things that are coming out of any AI model, but also that we’re verifying them,” Fitch said. “Because something could certainly sound logical, it could certainly look real, and yet it’s not. It’s false information and that hallucination, that’s not rare.”

Leveraging prompt engineering

To obtain the necessary answers to queries, manufacturers will need to use prompt engineering to train the technology.

“I think that the most practical advice is that it is a computer and it uses logic,” Fitch said.

Morones described prompt engineering as instructing a computer to perform a simple task, such as how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “It’s not going to understand, ‘Grab two slices of bread,’” Morones said. “You have to be very specific for what you’re doing.” 

One strategy the EPA uses to reduce hallucinations through prompt engineering is to ask the model the same question multiple times, to ensure consistency in answers, Watson said. “If the question or the task might be repeated over and over again, you want to ensure that you’re getting similar performance for each iteration of the task,” Watson said. 

If companies are interested in exploring AI for regulatory purposes or efficiency, Morones said qualified employees should be involved in its development.

“You’re the one that understands better than AI is going to understand,” Morones said. “You know what you’re looking at, what you need to find.”

 By: Sara Samora, Manufacturingdive / April 21, 2025.

The sub-optimal capacity utilisation of oil refineries has started affecting the supply of critical petroleum products, including jet fuel, at important installations.

Sources at the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) told Dawn that an important defence organisation had asked the regulator to ensure that its regulated entities, particularly local refineries, honour their commitments to supply JP-8 fuel.

The sources said that none of the six oil refineries had provided their committed quantities to defence organisations in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year.

Based on the complaint, the government and Ogra have now pushed all refineries to ensure their committed supplies.

However, the refineries have responded that Ogra’s lenient view towards importing finished petroleum products like petrol and diesel by a couple of selected oil marketing companies was taking a toll on their capacity utilisation, and they were pushed to close their refining units.

Data showed that Rawalpindi-based Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) had supplied about 85pc of its committed quantities of JP-8 to defence organisations in the nine months under review. This was followed by 70pc of committed quantities by Parco and 52pc by Pakistan Refinery Limited.

The remaining three refineries — National Refinery, Byco and Enar — have supplied 25.5pc, 25pc and 44pc of their contracted supplies, respectively. All put together, the combined supplies by six refineries reached just 58pc against their contracted quantities for July-March.

Sources said the ARL had reported that it was the only refinery that supplied about 85pc of its contracted volumes during the current financial year and had promised to do more on a “best-effort basis”, given technical reasons.

The refinery, which relies entirely on indigenous crude, highlighted that depletion of reserves in northern oilfields had hampered output. It has requested the government to reallocate 5,000 barrels per day of crude oil from southern oilfields, which are currently being exported — a request ARL says it has pursued since 2022 but in vain.

Moreover, the refinery was also facing serious challenges in abrupt and frequent curtailment in local crude production due to forced gas curtailment by the SNGPL to accommodate imported LNG. Furthermore, condensate supplies from certain Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fields were often disrupted due to frequent strikes and the law and order situation.

As if that was not enough, the free influx of smuggled petroleum products in the country also posed a serious existential threat to the oil refining industry. “The local refineries, including the ARL, have been constantly complaining about falling capacity utilisation and sales, due to the unabated influx of smuggled petroleum products in the country,” it said.

The sources said that Parco had also complained to the government that its diesel stocks were touching historic levels and its storage facilities were full due to lower purchases by oil marketing companies, which had been freely allowed by the regulator to import refined products. As a result, the production of jet fuels was adversely affected.

By: Khaleeq Kiani , Dawn / April 18th, 2025

For years, BP has been tipped as a potential target of the next mega-merger deal in the oil industry.

Speculation about a blockbuster acquisition involving BP resurfaced again this year after activist hedge fund Elliott bought nearly 5% in the UK-based supermajor and demanded changes, big and fast.

BP’s shares have underperformed the stocks of the other four of the Big Oil group – Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and Chevron – ever since 2020.

Neither former BP CEO Bernard Looney, with the push toward renewables, nor his successor Murray Auchincloss, with the strategy reset to return on the path of oil and gas, have managed to erase the company’s underperformance in the past five years.

Speculation about another oil giant taking over BP is not new—such rumors have been swirling for over a decade, particularly ones suggesting that Shell could be the bidder for a merger with BP.

But this year, Elliott’s aggressive approach to the companies in which it buys significant stakes has rekindled speculation about BP becoming a target of the next mega-merger deal in the global oil industry.

Analysts aren’t ruling out anything, not even one of the U.S. supermajors – Exxon or Chevron – approaching BP for a potential deal.

At the start of this year, 6 out of 50 M&A experts surveyed by Bloomberg mentioned BP as one of Europe’s top mergers and acquisitions targets for 2025. BP collected the fourth-highest number of votes from these experts, after mining giant Anglo American, French video-game company Ubisoft Entertainment, and UK broadcaster ITV.

Elliott’s demands for changes in strategy, board reshuffles, and a swift turnaround of the stock performance have prompted analysts this year to speculate about which potential suitor could be best positioned to take over BP.

A year ago, reports emerged that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) had weighed buying BP, but talks didn’t go far, and ultimately, the state firm of the United Arab Emirates decided not to pursue a takeover of the UK supermajor.

A national oil company in the Middle East could be one possible BP suitor, considering BP’s presence in the region, especially in Iraq, where BP has just been given the go-ahead to a $25-billion contract to develop Kirkuk oil fields.

Yet, analysts tend to speculate more about a Shell-BP merger of equals or a potential Chevron approach for BP if the U.S. supermajor fails to complete the deal to buy U.S. Hess Corp.

BP also has a huge presence in the U.S. oil industry.

In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, BP looks to boost its production capacity to more than 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of the decade, the company said this week as it announced an oil discovery in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico 120 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

The discovery at the Far South prospect comes as BP announced a few weeks back a strategy reset to shift focus back to growing oil and gas production and investments after a few years of trying to be an integrated energy company with a major presence in renewables.

In a very unfortunate development for BP, any positive share performance from the strategy reset was obliterated within a month by the tariff and trade wars, which crashed the price of Brent Crude oil to the low $60s per barrel.

Lower oil prices could test BP’s ability to sustain its returns to shareholders, including dividends, especially as the supermajor flagged an increase in its net debt in the first quarter of 2025.

The pressure from Elliott on BP to boost returns and stock performance is likely to continue, as well as speculation over whether or not a split or acquisition of BP would give investors more bang for their buck.

As for who the potential buyer could be, Allen Good, director of equity research at Morningstar, told CNBC, “I wouldn’t take anything off on the table.”

By Tsvetana Paraskova,  Oilprice.com / Apr 17, 2025

Another oil refinery will soon be closing in California.

That’s in addition to a refinery already scheduled to close before the end of this year, 2025.just a few months from now.

Wednesday’s announcement now setting off alarm bells in Sacramento, throughout the state… and beyond.

“Our fuel supply is in jeopardy,” cautioned valley Congressman Vince Fong. “This is not a distant concern. This is not an academic conversation. This is happening right now!”

The news broke Wednesday morning.

Valero Energy Corporation announcing that its subsidiary, Valero Refining Company-California, had submitted notice to the California Energy Commission of its intent to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations at Valero’s Benicia refinery” by the end of April, 2026.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was at a news conference in Stanislaus County when asked about the announcement

“I can assure you, beginning last night we had all hands and we’re in the process of addressing any anxiety that may be created or any market disruption that may be created by that announcement,” reassured Newsom.

But, the “anxiety” was already in motion. Gas Buddy-dot-com’s Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan posting on X;

“It’s clear that the political environment in California has been hostile to refiners, and the state badly needs to revise its mentality or face a declining number of refineries and higher prices.”

It was a sentiment that was echoed by valley congressman Vince Fong.

“This is something that is not created by the market,” Fong asserted. “This is something that is directly caused by Gavin Newsom’s poor energy policies.”

Policies such as ABX2-1 signed into law by Governor Newsom October 14th of 2024, tightening the state’s control over the California transportation fuels market.

Policies that Fong says, he and others warned the governor about.

“Not only did I warn the governor, but the governor of Arizona and the governor of Nevada,” Fong exclaimed. Arizona and Nevada. they both warned the governor, bipartisan concern, that this was going to lead to shortages and this was going to cause refinery closures

along with higher gasoline prices, job losses and not enough energy to power or attract new businesses to the state,” Fong continued.

“What can the governor do to change that,” I asked.

Fong answered, “We got to act now. We actually have to begin to reevaluate our entire energy policy of the state, remove the obstacles, remove the mandates, the restrictions and the barriers that are holding us back and provide the incentives and investments to not only build more energy infrastructure but to expand our energy production.”

“Hopefully the governor hears you,” I replied.

“I hope so too,” Fong responded.

Patrick De Haan, the oil industry analyst we mentioned earlier in this story, put some more numbers to what the closure of Valero’s Benicia refinery will mean, posting

“WOW: Valero will be shutting down its 170kbpd (thousand barrels per day) Benicia, Ca refinery by April, 2026. Coupled with the loss of $psx’s (Philipp 66’s) 139kbpd Los Angeles refinery later this year, will drop the number of refineries in California to just 7. A 309-thousand barrel per day loss in refining capacity is huge.”

The California Policy Center says California refineries process just over 1.6 million barrels worth of oil per day.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, California is projected to consume about 1.85 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Two weeks ago we reported that Chevron plans to layoff or relocate about 600 employees from its headquarters in San Ramon out-of-state to Houston, Texas,

and Philipps 66 announced last year it’s Los Angeles refinery will be closing this year in just a few months.

According to representative Fong and several other sources, at one time in the late seventies, somewhere between 40 to 50 refineries were operating in the state of California.

Depending upon who you talk to, that number is now down to about 7 full refineries and 5 smaller, privately owned refineries.

So what do you think?

Is it time for state lawmakers to change policies to bring more oil refineries back to California?

We would really like to know your views on this.

By Monty Torres / Thu, April 17th 2025

 CB&I and a consortium including Shell International Exploration and Production, Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Shell plc, GenH2 and the University of Houston today announced the completion of a first-of-its-kind, affordable, large-scale liquid hydrogen (LH₂) storage tank concept at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, that will enable international import and export applications.

“Our collaboration with this world-class project team will help provide a path to low-cost, large-scale liquid hydrogen storage,” said Mark Butts, President & CEO of CB&I. “We are proud to leverage our six decades of experience with cryogenic insulation and storage to advance innovative solutions for the energy transition market.”

The project, which began in 2021 and is supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), developed a novel non-vacuum tank design concept for large-scale (up to 100,000 cubic meters) storage of LH₂ that is anticipated to provide a substantial cost advantage over conventional vacuum insulated tanks. This concept is being demonstrated through the construction, startup and testing of a small-scale LH₂ demonstration tank at NASA MSFC.

“At Shell, we believe in the power of collaboration to advance technology and scale up innovative solutions,” said Theo Bodewes, General Manager, Hydrogen Technology. “With the invaluable support from the DOE, this project demonstrates how experts from industry, academia, and government can solve complex technology challenges. This novel liquid hydrogen technology promises to be more competitive, reducing costs and accelerating large-scale storage commercialization.”

The demonstration tank will significantly increase the MSFC hydrogen test facility’s LH₂ storage capacity and be used to characterize the behavior of materials under cryogenic conditions, mimicking normal fill and empty cycles and testing non-vacuum insulation materials. In addition to an estimated six-month test period included in the project scope, a Space Act Agreement among the partner organizations provides for MSFC’s use of the tank over a five-year period, during which CB&I and Shell will continue to test new insulation technologies under non-vacuum conditions.

“We take pride in participating in this industry collaboration to advance commercial liquid hydrogen storage applications,” said James Fesmire, GenH2 Chief Architect. “This initiative has allowed us to develop testing capabilities for thermal insulation systems and produce essential data for unlocking the global potential of liquid hydrogen.”

“This project is an example of a novel design brought to fruition by a partnership of academia, government agencies, and the energy companies,” said Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President of Energy and Innovation at the University of Houston. “The ability to store liquid hydrogen at scale using a non-vacuum design is a pivotal advancement and opens the door to a more flexible, affordable global hydrogen trade infrastructure. Innovative solutions such as this will be key to advancing our energy economy.”

“This first-of-its-kind concept is a great example of unleashing American energy innovation – a key priority for the Department of Energy. Through collaborative expertise from industry, academic, and government agencies, this work can contribute to America’s leadership in growing global markets for hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels and offer greater opportunities for American energy operators to store, deploy, and export liquid hydrogen,” said Dr. Sunita Satyapal, director of DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

CB&I built the first LH₂ sphere for NASA and NASA contractors in the 1960s, with a capacity of 170 cubic meters, and has expanded that threshold over the last sixty years by almost 30-fold to 5,000 cubic meters with a tank completed in 2022 at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis program. CB&I has completed over 130 LH₂ storage vessels since the 1960s.

The company and NASA have had a partnership of more than 60 years, with CB&I contributing to many NASA projects, including several supporting the Apollo and Gemini space missions.

By: Fuel Cells Works / April 16, 2025.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 2.4 million barrels for the week ending April 11. Analysts expected a loss of 1.680 million for the week. The API estimated a 1.057 million barrel drop in the prior week.

So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed more than 24 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 0.3 million barrels again to 397 million barrels in the week ending April 11. Inventory levels in the SPR are hundreds of millions shy of the levels in inventory prior to the SPR withdrawal that took place under the Biden Administration.  

At 1:43 pm ET, Brent crude was trading down another $0.32 (-0.49%) on the day, leaving the international benchmark at $64.56. While down on the day, it is a $3 rebound from the lows following the announcement of the Liberation Day tariffs.

WTI was also trading down on the day, by $0.28 (-0.46%) at $61.25—also a $3 per barrel increase over last week’s level.  

Gasoline inventories fell in the week ending April 11, by 3 million barrels, after rising by 207,000 barrels in the week prior. As of last week, gasoline inventories are now at the same level as the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.

Distillate inventories fell this week as well, by 3.2 million barrels in the latest week. In the week prior, distillate inventories fell by 1.844 million barrels. Distillate inventories were already about 9% below the five-year average as of the week ending April 4, the latest EIA data shows.

Cushing inventories—the benchmark crude stored and traded at the key delivery point for U.S. futures contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma—rose by 349,000 barrels, the API data showed, after last week’s 636,000 barrel hike.

By Julianne Geiger, Oilprice.com / Apr 15, 2025

Oil giant BP has been thrust into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate — but energy analysts question whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion.

Britain’s beleaguered energy giant, which holds its annual general meeting on Thursday, has recently sought to resolve something of an identity crisis by launching a fundamental reset.

Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas. CEO Murray Auchincloss has said that the pivot is starting to attract “significant interest” in the firm’s non-core assets.

BP’s green strategy U-turn follows a protracted period of underperformance relative to its industry peers, with its depressed share price reigniting speculation of a prospective tie-up with domestic rival Shell. U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron have also been touted as possible suitors for the £54.75 billion ($71.61 billion) oil major.

Shell declined to comment on the speculation. Spokespersons for BP, Exxon and Chevron did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.

“Certainly, BP is a potential takeover target — no doubt about that,” Maurizio Carulli, energy and materials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC by video call.

“I would conceptualize the question of ‘will Shell bid for BP’ in the more general consolidation that it is happening in the resources sector, both oil but also mining — particularly in the past year a lot of companies thought that to buy was better than to build,” he added.

In the energy sector, for example, Exxon Mobil completed its $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources in May last year, while Chevron still seeks to acquire Hess for $53 billion. The latter agreement remains shrouded in legal uncertainty, however, with an arbitration hearing scheduled for next month.

In the mining space, market speculation kicked into overdrive at the start of the year following reports of a potential tie-up between industry giants Rio Tinto and Glencore. Both companies declined to comment at the time.

Quilter Cheviot’s Carulli named Chevron as a potential suitor for BP, particularly if the U.S. energy giant’s pursuit of Hess falls through.

Speculation about a potential merger between Shell and BP, meanwhile, is far from new. Carulli said that while the rumors have some merit, a prospective deal would likely trigger antitrust concerns.

Perhaps more importantly, Carulli added that a move to acquire BP would conflict with Shell’s steadfast commitment to capital discipline under CEO Wael Sawan.

‘An existential crisis’

“Never say never, right? I think even Exxon-Chevron in the depth of the pandemic held talks so I think that would have been even wilder to say,” Allen Good, director of equity research at Morningstar, told CNBC by telephone.

“I wouldn’t take anything off on the table. You know, oil and gas is facing an existential crisis. Now, views differ on how soon that crisis will come to head. I think we’re still decades away,” Good said.

For Shell, Morningstar’s Good said that any pursuit of BP would likely be an attempt to merge the two British peers, as opposed to an outright acquisition — although he said he doesn’t expect such a prospect to materialize in the near term.

Asked about the likelihood of Chevron seeking to purchase BP if a deal to acquire Hess collapses, Morningstar’s Good said he couldn’t rule it out.

“BP certainly doesn’t have the growth prospects that Hess does, but you could get a situation where, again, like I said with Shell, you’d have Chevron acquiring BP, stripping out a lot of costs, certainly the headquarters would no longer be in London … but it doesn’t address the growth concerns ex-Permian for Chevron. So, in that case, I would be a little skeptical,” Good said.

“The issues these companies are facing are to please shareholders, and the two ways to do that really are to reduce costs and return cash to shareholders. So if you can continue to lean into that model somehow, then that’s the probably the way to do it,” he added.

What next for BP?

Michele Della Vigna, head of EMEA natural resources research at Goldman Sachs, described BP’s recent strategic reset as “very wise” and “thoughtful,” but acknowledged that it may not have gone far enough for an activist investor.

U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has reportedly built a near 5% stake to become one of BP’s largest shareholders. Activist investor Follow This, meanwhile, recently pushed for investors to vote against Helge Lund’s reappointment as chair at BP’s upcoming shareholder meeting in protest over the firm’s recent strategy U-turn. BP has since said that Lund will step down, likely in 2026, kickstarting a succession process.

“I think there are three major optionalities in BP’s portfolio that any activist investor would love to see monetized. The first one is not all in BP’s hands, it’s the monetization of the Rosneft stake,” Della Vigna told CNBC over a video call.

BP announced it was abandoning its 19.75% shareholding in Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft shortly after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. It had marked a costly and abrupt end to more than three decades of activity in the country.

A second optionality for BP, Della Vigna said, is the firm’s marketing and convenience business.

“I mean, within BP, a company that trades on three times EBITDA, there’s a division that can trade at 10 times EBITDA, right? Amazing. You can make the same point for a lot of the other Big Oils,” Della Vigna said.

EBITDA is a standard metric that refers to a firm’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

“The third option is BP is a U.S.- centered energy company — and it’s clear, right? BP is the most U.S.- exposed of all the majors, more than Exxon and Chevron,” Della Vigna said, noting that 40% of BP’s cash flow comes from the U.S.

“So, being listed in the U.K., when the U.K. gets you the biggest discount of any other region in Big Oil, doesn’t feel right. I think some form of relocation or transatlantic merger may be worth considering,” he added.

By: Sam Meredith, cnbc / Apr 15 2025.

ASCO extends its partnership with Repsol Norge, securing a three-year contract for logistics and base services at Tananger and Farsund, Norway

ASCO has been awarded a contract with Repsol Norge AS, ensuring the continuation of logistics and base services at critical points in Norway’s oil and gas supply chain. 

The agreement, which locks in three years, covers work at the Tananger and Farsund bases.

ASCO is set to continue its comprehensive management of warehouse operations, cargo handling, helicopter coordination and customs processes, crucial elements for Norway’s energy sector operations.

For professionals in Norway’s energy sector’s supply chains, this contract represents job security and infrastructure stability, reinforcing the logistics framework for one of Norway’s key energy firms.

Since 2011, the collaboration between Repsol and ASCO has been a keystone in Norway’s energy operations.

For ASCO, being chosen again is a clear sign that their supply chain expertise is delivering on what Repsol needs.

Øyvind Salte, Commercial Director at ASCO Norge AS, says the company is ready to build further on that foundation: “We are grateful to Repsol for continuing to trust ASCO with its base and logistics services.

“This contract reinforces our strong partnership and allows us to further develop as a company while remaining a preferred and proud supplier to Repsol. It also strengthens our existing operations in Norway, providing a solid foundation for continued collaboration.

“We remain committed to simplifying, streamlining and digitising logistics delivery to enhance efficiency and service quality.”

ASCO’s responsibilities under this contract extend beyond basic warehousing.

The firm also manages cargo logistics, waste handling, transport and customs, as well as offering personnel support for logistics coordination and helicopter operations.

This is vital for the demanding offshore supply environment of the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Strategic logistics for energy’s most vital region

This development is critical for maintaining a reliable supply chain infrastructure within one of the most influential energy-producing regions worldwide.

Norway supplies approximately 3% of the world’s natural gas and 2.3% of oil and effective logistics are critical in maintaining this efficiency.

Since the Russian gas crisis, European energy security has leaned heavily on Norwegian supplies and that trust has required flawless logistics.

The offshore infrastructure here is mature — platforms, pipelines and processing plants are already in place, which means any support work has to be precise and efficient to match production timelines.

ASCO’s operations at Tananger and Farsund are integral to this supply chain, managing the seamless transfer of materials, equipment and personnel that drive offshore exploration and production activities forward.

Digital tools, lean processes and long-term alignment

By continually advancing towards digital logistics solutions, ASCO aligns with broader industry trends focusing on cost reduction and environmental sustainability. 

In high-value sectors like oil and gas, those gains don’t just save money — they improve safety, reliability and responsiveness.

That alignment is part of what makes this new deal with Repsol work.

For the Spanish energy firm, operating efficiently in Norway is not just about productivity — it’s also a matter of staying competitive in a region with some of the highest standards and expectations in the world.

Norway itself is also investing in long-term energy resilience. Its sovereign wealth fund, the largest globally, draws heavily from oil and gas revenues and exploration on the Norwegian Continental Shelf continues.

Even with production expected to decline after 2025, new technologies and frontier projects in places like the Barents Sea are helping offset the fall.

By Jasmin Jessen, Energy Digital  / April 14, 2025.