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Rising costs threaten Mozambique LNG
As security improves, TotalEnergies has other concerns
International firms compete for Uruguayan blocks
The country’s frontier upstream continues to attract interest
Chevron gets back to work in Venezuela
But Washington’s apparent detente with Caracas is unlikely to bolster global crude supplies significantly any time soon
Permian set for growth slowdown
A range of obstacles will hobble further output increases in the Lower 48’s most productive basin heading into 2023
Mozambique upstream progress defies unrest
The east African country continues to attract investment in oil and gas projects, but concerns over security are still impeding developments in the gas-rich north
Exodus from Canada’s oil sands continues
Companies are still fleeing the carbon-heavy assets, despite the industry committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 through the Pathways Alliance
Energy costs hit European refining
Margins narrowed considerably in the third quarter but still remain elevated for the time of year, as the continent continues to adapt following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
QatarEnergy’s INOC paradox
The state-owned LNG heavyweight is adamant that it is a purely commercial enterprise, but the evidence is conflicting
EU takes aim at the TTF
The bloc’s energy crisis plans include proposals that threaten to distort the global gas market and may have unintended consequences
No investor punishment for TotalEnergies loosening the purse strings
The European major’s upping of capex forecasts is not ringing alarm bells despite wider shareholder desire for discipline
BP ExxonMobil Chevron Shell TotalEnergies
Peter Ramsay
21 August 2019
Follow @PetroleumEcon
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The majors' messy divide

Two gassy Europeans, two shale-obsessed Americans and one in between is too simplistic a division

It remains true that there are striking similarities between the five largest oil majors' strategies—focus on value over volume growth, lower production costs and high grading of portfolios through asset divestment, capital discipline and a commitment to shareholder value. But the shorthand for how to separate them may be less apposite. The received wisdom is that you can split the firms into the two firmly European majors, Shell and Total, which have bet significantly on LNG and got firmly on board with various energy transition technologies. The two US heavyweights, ExxonMobil and Chevron, have retrenched to international mega-projects and a domestic shale oil core. BP, with its British ro

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