Alaska Governor Sean Parnell’s push to open up ANWR’s area 1002 to exploration – and possibly oil and gas development somewhere down the road – may prove ill-timed, coinciding with an ongoing battle over the Keystone XL Pipeline, as well as escalating production and concerns generated by the shale revolution. Existing estimates suggest that ANWR… Keep reading →
US tight oil production has already helped to shave somewhere on the order of $20-$25 per barrel from Brent crude oil prices, and continued output growth has the potential to further impact global pricing, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) Administrator Adam Sieminski. The uptick in US oil production – which rose to 6.5 million… Keep reading →
Lower medium-term crude oil prices could act as a tax cut on US consumers The North American energy world has been turned on its ear in recent years – a pressing need to build natural gas import facilities has become an export discussion, as gas and oil output significantly increased taking most industry observers by… Keep reading →
Last week I had the opportunity to attend and participate in LNG17, the largest global gas event of 2013. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a rapidly growing part of the larger natural gas industry and is especially relevant today because of the increasing global demand for transportation fuels. At the conference, it was clear to me that LNG is a priority for not only Shell, but also the entire industry because of its potential to provide real economic and environmental benefits to the transportation industry in trucks, trains and ships.
For around 50 years, LNG has been used as a source of energy for power generation in cities but new technology and increasing demand has inspired Shell to invest in LNG for transport. Resources around the world, especially in North America, are abundant but supply is growing far faster than demand. It is the industry’s responsibility to build the infrastructure and develop innovative technology to utilize this energy source to its fullest potential. Keep reading →
Oilfield services firm Halliburton anticipates that US natural gas prices, which have strengthened substantially from year-ago levels, could rise to levels that reinvigorate natural gas drilling in 2014.
“We are becoming increasingly optimistic about gas activity in 2014,” said Halliburton chief executive Dave Lesar during the company’s first-quarter 2013 earnings call on 22 April. Keep reading →
US natural gas prices have begun to strengthen as oil prices have begun to drop, but both remain far from levels that would prompt exploration and production companies to shift capital back to gas from liquids.
For the past few years, with Henry Hub natural gas trading mostly in the $2.00-$4.00 per million Btu range, higher-priced and higher-margin oil and liquids have been the target of choice for US onshore drillers. But as natural gas prices have recently edged above $4.00/MMBtu and West Texas Intermediate oil prices have dipped below $90 per barrel, some analysts are questioning at what price levels gas drilling might look appealing, and oil or liquids drilling less so. Keep reading →
Oil prices have cascaded lower in the global commodities rout and may still have further to go before finding a floor, analysts say.
Government data showing weakening gasoline demand added to the selling pressure Wednesday, as did a stronger dollar, up 1 percent against a basket of currencies. West Texas Intermediate fell 2.3 percent to $86.68 a barrel, a fresh 2013 low, and Brent, the international benchmark, hit $97.80, a 2.1 percent decline. Keep reading →
Devon Energy chief executive John Richels is confident that US President Barack Obama’s administration will approve the the Keystone XL pipeline, but he expects the gap between prices for Canadian heavy oil and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to narrow even if the pipeline never gets built.
“Keystone XL is going to be approved,” Richels told attendees of the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s Oil and Gas Investment Symposium in New York on Tuesday. “From a national point of view it makes no sense for the President not to approve that, and buy more oil from Venezuela and the Middle East.” The Keystone XL pipeline, as envisaged, would transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil from Alberta to US refineries. Keep reading →
North Sea Brent crude oil futures were lower for a fifth day on Tuesday, trading at a nine-month low below $100 a barrel.
U.S. benchmark crude, down for a fourth day, was at its lowest level so far in 2013, as the market remained under pressure from signs of weak oil demand growth. Keep reading →
Recent trends suggest that the Gulf Coast is becoming to U.S. oil production what Apple is to the technology sector: a dominant player beset by challenges to its dominance.
Meanwhile, the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Eagle Ford in Southern Texas are playing the role of Google and Samsung – upstarts shaking up the status quo in the sector. Keep reading →
