Intensified competition between Russian gas giant Gazprom and Russian gas independent Novatek is showcasing the advantages to producers of LNG pricing flexibility, according to Eurasia Group Global Energy and Natural Resources analyst Leslie Palti-Guzman. Natural gas analysts frequently point out that there are three different pricing regions for gas – North America, Europe and Asia.… Keep reading →
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 →
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 →
