Statoil will assume its first shale operatorship outside the United States through a deal to up its stake in PetroFrontier’s Australian permits to as much as 80%. The Norwegian company will have to spend $160 million on exploration through 2016 under the deal. [Reuters] Opec left its 2013 global oil demand forecast unchanged in its… Keep reading →
One of the most frightening scenes from the financial crisis unfolded in the staid environs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Washington offices, where the regulators charged with monitoring derivatives trade gathered together the heads of commodity trading from recently shamed Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The CFTC was a comparatively… Keep reading →
The World Economic Forum is widely known for the glittering array of its high-profile attendees and more recently for its role in annually highlighting the response of global elites to the economic crisis that accelerated in 2008 and has played out in the euro crisis and grinding developed-economy recessions since.
Issues of national security, of globalization and of the role of business in increasingly transparent societies have been raised but have attracted less attention; this year, attendees say, that is likely to change. Keep reading →
It appears increasingly likely that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will not return to power following his latest cancer treatment in December and analysts are considering the implications of a post-Chavez regime for one of the largest crude oil producers in the world.
Venezuela holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves and is the second largest Opec oil exporter to the US. Oil revenue accounts for a bulk of the government’s income and has largely been used to fund Chavez’s wide-ranging social programs. But the country’s oil industry – which is essentially state-owned company PDVSA – has been struggling with declining production rates at mature fields, along with other problems. Keep reading →
Coal that’s being priced out of the US market by cheap natural gas is being burned instead in Europe, where it’s cheaper than natural gas with prices traditionally linked to oil.
The resulting pressure is beginning to break down those links, and the differential between natural gas prices in the US and Europe could diminish significantly before any US liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be exported. Keep reading →
Future natural gas transportation costs to New York City could be reduced with the expansion of the existing Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline from Linden, New Jersey to Manhattan, New York (see map here). On May 22, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-the main jurisdictional authority over the construction of interstate natural gas pipelines in the United States-approved an 800,000 million British thermal unit (MMBtu) per day, or 800,000 dekatherms per day, expansion of the pipeline.
This project is slated to begin service in November 2013 and represents one of the biggest transportation service expansions in the Northeast during the past two decades. The project could have the following effects on the New York City market: reduce reliance on oil-fired generators, enhance the reliability of natural gas supplies, and lower transportation costs-especially in the winter. Spectra Energy secured firm transportation agreements for this expansion with these customers: Consolidated Edison (170,000 MMBtu per day); Chesapeake Energy Marketing, Inc. (425,250 MMBtu per day); and Statoil Natural Gas LLC (204,750 MMBtu per day). Keep reading →
France’s Socialist Party (PS) newly-elected President Francois Hollande (R) reacts on stage, flanked by (from L, 1st row) socialist Arnaud Montebourg, socialist President of the Poitou-Charentes region Segolene Royal, Hollande’s campaign political advisor Jean-Michel Baylet, Hollande’s campaign manager Pierre Moscovici, Hollande’s campaign political advisor Harlem Desir, Hollande’s campaign chief of staff Faouzi Lamdaoui, Hollande’s campaign political advisor Martine Aubry and Hollande’s companion Valerie Trierweiler, at the Place de la Bastille in Paris on May 7, 2012, after the announcement of the first official results of the French presidential second round. Hollande had won with 51.62 percent of the vote to 48.38 percent for Sarkozy on May 6, 2012, becoming France’s first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995. AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE
The last 48 hours shifted the political landscape across Europe, and with it, the debate over energy policy. Keep reading →
Canada’s oil sands industry has taken a major leap toward greening their operations and their image. The 12 largest producers – accounting for 80% of oil sands production – have come together to form Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, which has committed to accelerating the pace of environmental improvement, COSIA CEO Dan Wicklum told Breaking Energy recently.
Numerous environmental oversight organizations sprung up organically over time to ensure oil companies were honoring their commitment to the environment. While these ad hoc sustainability initiatives made positive strides, the public wanted more. As a result, COSIA was formed and the chief executives of each member company signed a charter on March 1st committing them to specific activities and behavior. Keep reading →
Low natural gas prices are likely to persist in the US, which could prompt a new wave of oil and gas asset deals, and potentially industry consolidation.
Robust drilling activity, ongoing productivity gains, a backlog of wells awaiting completion, continued joint venture capital infusions, and hedging activities are all helping to sustain an oversupply of natural gas in the US, said R. Dean Foreman, chief economist, planning and commercial for independent Talisman Energy at the IHS Herold Pacesetters Energy Conference. Read more on the conference: Drilling Advances Trigger Tight Oil Renaissance. Keep reading →
Technological advancements in oil and gas drilling have rejuvenated the US and Canadian onshore oil and gas sectors, but above-ground risks may impede rapid production growth.
Widespread use of drilling techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in shales and other geologic formations have shifted the outlook for North American natural gas supply, and proved more applicable to onshore oil production, as well. Keep reading →
