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Saudi Aramco now boasts the title of the world's most valuable company after reporting its first-quarter earnings. Aramco's record net income of $39.5 billion represents an 82% increase year-over-year thanks to higher crude prices and widening downstream margins. In a statement, Aramco said it plans to issue a first- quarter dividend of $18.8 billion during the second quarter. It became a publicly traded company on Riyadh's stock exchange in December 2019. The Saudi Arabian government owns 98% of the company.
Sempra Infrastructure and Poland's state-owned PGNiG oil and gas company inked a deal Monday, 16 May, that is expected to lead to a final 20-year sale and purchase agreement for the export of 3 mtpa of liquified natural gas (LNG) to Poland. The two companies have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with intent to finalize a sales and purchase contract for sourcing 2 mtpa from the Cameron LNG expansion terminal in Louisiana and 1 mtpa from the anticipated Port Arthur LNG terminal in Texas, according to news releases issued by the companies. Poland will receive the LNG at a floating regasification terminal in the Gulf of Gdansk; total yearly volume of LNG would represent approximately 4 Bcm of natural gas after regasification, Sempra said, predicting that deliveries could start in 2027 and be priced on an FOB basis (free on board, meaning the buyer assumes all transport costs). Monday's announcement comes 2 weeks after Russia shut off the gas it has been supplying to Poland and to Bulgaria after both countries refused to pay for deliveries in rubles as required by new contract terms imposed unilaterally by the Kremlin. Russia's contracts with Poland and Bulgaria are set to expire this year and both countries have said they will not renew.
Over the last hundred years, global energy demand has risen 10-fold. This massive growth has been fueled almost exclusively by coal, oil, and natural gas and fossil fuels comprise 80% of today's energy supply (Figure 1). To date, low- or zero-carbon energy from nuclear, solar, and wind remains a small but growing fraction of the global energy mix. Global carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects are being developed, but existing capacity is three orders of magnitude lower than current emissions levels. The number of projects will need to rise substantially to help offset emissions from fossil fuels used to sustain economies around the world.
The SPE Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Standing Committee held the first town hall of 2022 on 24 March. The event hosted SPE sections and chapters globally that shared their D&I activities, recruited new sections and chapters to launch D&I initiatives, and encouraged communication of D&I ideas among members. In the first town hall of 2022, a total of eight SPE sections participated--Java Indonesia, Colombia, Ghana, Balikpapan, Kuala Lumpur, Aberdeen, Warri Nigeria, and Patagonia. The D&I committee comprises four teams: external outreach, internal outreach, ATCE event, and social media. The teams plan to execute different programs: town halls, collaborative webinars, an ATCE special session, and connecting with members through social media channels.
SPE and International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) University of North Dakota student chapters built a strategic partnership to host two collaborative events in the past 3 months. Energy transition and net-zero became the main subject of the sessions. In January, the team organized an integrated virtual workshop on Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The event hosted 12 workshop presentations from 11 distinguished speakers covering theoretical and practical aspects of CCUS as part of the efforts to net-zero CO2 emissions. The virtual workshop discussed current CCUS initiatives and challenges, including subsurface geologic storage; CO₂-EOR/EGR; reservoir monitoring and risk assessment; case studies; policy and infrastructure; and non-technical considerations.