Encana, the Calgary-based oil giant, has increased its investments in Texas Oil Fields despite a disastrous performance in the last 12 months following the steep decline in oil prices. “The timing was woeful, of course. Encana, led by new CEO Doug Suttles, bought its Texas oil at the top of the market, just before oil prices… Keep reading →
Chevron has signed a $10 bin, 50-year agreement with the government of Ukraine to explore for and develop oil and gas in the Olesska field in the western part of the country. Chevron is expected to spend $350MM for exploration over two to three years. Ukraine has a strong interest in developing its domestic resources as a means of reducing… Keep reading →
The pace of change in the North American natural gas business has accelerated in recent months, with the US Department of Energy approval process for exports to non-free trade agreement countries failing to stop the achievement of major project milestones and new technology innovations driving market expansion. Four projects have been approved by DOE for… Keep reading →
Rural landowners and a First Nation are up in arms of the appointment of Gerry Protti, former Encana executive and founding member of Canadian oil and gas lobbying group CAPP, to the office of Alberta Energy Regulator. The regulator also has environmental responsibilities. [Calgary Herald] British Columbia Premier Christy Clark is pushing to finalize a… Keep reading →
Oil sands producers found themselves in the midst of a fresh attack from the environmental community when a new study released Monday identified levels of oil sands-related contamination that appear to have intensified since the beginning of commercial development to present day. Core samples extracted from 6 regional lakes showed the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons up to 50 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta – the hub of oil sands mining activity.
“Our research tells a consistent story of increased contaminants and ecological change that has occurred in the region since industrial development of bitumen resources began,” Joshua Kurek, a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University, Department of Biology is quoted as saying on the university’s website. Keep reading →
Established LNG project operator Chevron bought out two minority stakeholders in the Kitimat LNG export project located in British Columbia, Canada in a deal announced on Christmas Eve.
Chevron’s financial strength, LNG operational experience and marketing expertise could help the project reach important sales and purchase offtake agreements with buyers. Keep reading →
The iconic image associated with Canada’s oil sands development is that of a huge open pit mine, gargantuan dump trucks and enormous tailings ponds, but this production method is being outmoded as producers move to develop deeper bitumen deposits. Although it relies on a relatively young technology, in situ oil sands development is the wave of the future in Northern Alberta’s oil patch.
Commercial oil sands mining operations date back to the 1960’s and the technology that undergirds the process continues to evolve. Notably, some of the most interesting new technology is invisible, as companies are using horizontal drilling technology to recover oil from deposits located greater than 200 feet below ground. These deeper deposits account for 80 percent of total proven oil sands reserves and are expected to account for 80 percent of total oil sands production over the medium term, from about 50 percent mining and 50 percent in situ today. Keep reading →
Global natural gas demand is expected to steadily increase in the coming decades as developing economies continue growing and the West uses more of the fuel. Established energy trade patterns are also expected to shift eastward to emerging market demand centers as more gas is produced in the western hemisphere. Business activity at one of the world’s major engineering firms appears to be evolving in step with these emerging energy market trends.
“The best way to get $8 [natural] gas is to act like it’s going to be $3,” Dean Oskvig, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s energy business recently told Breaking Energy. Increasing US unconventional gas reserves and output, which have kept US prices below historical norms, could in spur consumption and shift supply/demand fundamentals so that prices rapidly increase. The threat remains unrealized for now, with natural gas prices still near historic lows. Keep reading →
Encana and Ferus LNG enter into joint venture to build liquefied natural gas fuel plant in Western Canada http://ow.ly/gd4cg encanacorp
For much of the past decade the answer to almost any major economic question had at least a little bit of “China” in its answer, and for energy the growth of what has become the world’s second largest economy and remains its most populous nation has been central to market growth and disruption.
Without China’s growth, oil prices would have been lower, leavening the expensive and much-debated fight over the race to renewable power in the US. With less growth in China, natural gas companies in the US might have had fewer buyers for their barely profitable (or even loss-making) fields as the technology developed to expand production in turn brought down prices. Keep reading →
