Countries across the globe like to talk a big game about developing their domestic shale oil and gas resources and sometimes utter lofty expectations of energy independence. Progress, however, has been very slow. The following map by the World Resources Institute (WRI) illustrates locations of the 20 countries with the largest shale gas and tight… Keep reading →
The issue of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) too often becomes a political dispute, which threatens to obscure a far more important matter for the energy industry as a whole: That fracking is a feat of engineering genius, an example of the working complexity of so many pumps, valves, meters, gears, gauges and systems; it… Keep reading →
Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Vice Chairman of global consulting firm IHS spoke at the 2014 EIA Conference in Washington D.C. on Monday. EIA, the U.S. Energy Information Association is the statistics arm of the federal Department of Energy and the conference featured leading figures from industry, academia and government. Yergin stated emphatically… Keep reading →
New America got 5 leading energy observers to share their views on EPA’s existing power plant rule – Andrew Revkin, writer of the New York Times’ Dot Earth Blog; Sharon Burke, Senior Advisor, New America’s International Security Program; Russell Gold, Senior Energy Reporter at the Wall Street Journal; Steve LeVine, Washington Correspondent, Quartz; Dan Sarewitz, Professor of Science and… Keep reading →
The outlook for U.S. energy from shale and other tight-rock formations just keeps improving. Two new assessments underscore this. First, a panel hosted this week by CSIS revisited the National Petroleum Council (NPC) report on U.S. unconventional natural gas issued in 2011 and concluded that new discoveries and technologies paint an even brighter picture than NPC did… Keep reading →
A recent report by consultancy IHS Cera takes aim at common arguments against development of Canadian oil sands, but acknowledges the need for continued – and improved – environmental monitoring and regulation. Groups opposed to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline frequently feature the following claims on their websites: that the pipeline will not enhance… Keep reading →
Improved drilling productivity in shale and other unconventional formations has been a major driver of the US shale gas and tight oil revolutions, and will be critical to the development of the country’s energy future. The US Energy Information Administration has developed a new information resource, a monthly Drilling Productivity Report, to shed more light on… Keep reading →
Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman of IHS Cera, has published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. The piece drives home a central point: oil production and pricing can adapt relatively quickly to changing circumstances, provided that governments refrain from stepping in to influence them. “A… Keep reading →
The tight oil being developed in North America is certainly not the lowest-cost oil in the world. But of the opportunities available to major oil companies, relatively low cost is just one of many advantages it offers over other sources of production. “The shale revolution has changed the competitive landscape, because every investment decision we… Keep reading →
The tight oil revolution in the Lower 48 United States has upended previous assumptions about the trajectory of the country’s oil production trends, with some forecasts now suggesting that the US could temporarily overtake Saudi Arabia in total production volume. There is no shortage of skeptics about these optimistic forecasts, but US tight oil will… Keep reading →
