Slow and steady wins the race, according to Chevron, a company that is actually increasing its US upstream capital budget this year. Chevron started slow in the Permian Basin and watched what other companies were doing while it honed its drilling strategy. Now that oil prices are considerably lower than they were at the beginning… Keep reading →
Continued growth of U.S. unconventional oil and gas production has made oil and gas exports attractive for industry. On February 10, 2015, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued a report highlighting the significant decrease in light crude oil imports to the U.S. Gulf Coast area, with light-sweet crude imports virtually eliminated in 2014. Since 2010,… Keep reading →
In one of the more honest assessments of current Saudi Arabian oil policy, Rice University’s Jim Krane said there are several plausible reasons behind the Saudis’ apparently sanguine approach to falling global oil prices, but only a few within the Kingdom really know. “If you’re somebody who looks at geopolitics and energy, you could come… Keep reading →
While oil prices have stabilized for the moment and associated doomsday scenarios have slowed, here’s a detailed analysis of the interplay between various commodity prices and some of the investment decisions petrochemical companies, producers and LNG businesses face. “Indeed, even international buyers of natural gas were aggressively pursuing hub based gas pricing contracts with view… Keep reading →
The “out there” in this case is the Permian Basin in West Texas where Pioneer Natural resources has over 20,000 drilling locations. With over 10,000 net producing wells currently operating, the company has a significant drilling inventory that it plans to tap over the long term, assuming oil prices remain above $80 per barrel and… Keep reading →
US oil-directed drilling rigs reached 1,443 last week, which is the highest level recorded since Baker Hughes separated its oil and gas rig counts in 1987. “One could argue that all of the increase in the oil rig count this week was because of the Permian,” James Williams, president of WTRG Economics in London, Arkansas,… Keep reading →
Former US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has joined the board of carbon capture firm Inventys. The announcement is a coup for Vancouver-based Inventys, which sees big market opportunities in the US, specifically in the enhanced oil recovery space. Operators in mature oil formations, such as Texas’ Permian Basin, often use EOR – which can… Keep reading →
The results of Chevron’s initial exploration in the Kaybob area of the Duvernay play in Alberta, Canada show liquid yield from completed wells in the 30-70% range, with initial production rates of as much as 7.5 million cubic feet of natural gas and 1,300 barrels of condensate per day. [Chevron] China National Offshore Oil Corp… Keep reading →
Europe will require considerable volumes of Russian natural gas for the foreseeable future, but EU members are increasingly unhappy with paying oil-linked prices for the fuel. In the latest attempt at loosening the old Soviet energy yolk from Central and Eastern Europe, EU regulators yesterday filed an antitrust suit against Gazprom that could total $15… Keep reading →
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has released a report that seeks to answer an important question: are there any more big, profitable shales on the order of a Bakken or an Eagle Ford to be found in the US? The primary feature of the two plays that makes them so attractive is their oil… Keep reading →
