E&P

Mexico Likely To Keep Making the World’s Biggest Oil Hedge

First signals from President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s staff and advisors are that the new administration will not seek to backtrack on energy reforms that allow foreign firms to win E&P contracts in Mexico.

How the Historic Energy Reform Transformed Mexico’s Oil Fortunes

Five years ago, few would have predicted that Mexico would be capable of overhauling its oil and gas sector, much less through a downturn. Yet since the constitutional reform of 2013, Mexico has dramatically revivified its upstream sector.

2018 Midyear International Update: Pipeline Construction & Market Trends

Global energy trends and forecasts entering the second half of 2018 continue to support a generally bullish outlook for oil and gas production and infrastructure construction to meet growing demand and evolving patterns of interregional trade.

Premier Sanctions North Sea Gas Development, Export Pipeline

Premier Oil said it reached a final decision with its joint venture and infrastructure partners to invest in the development of the Tolmount gas field in Britain's North Sea, including construction of a minimal facilities platform exporting gas to shore via a new gas pipeline.

Innovation, Technology Reshape North Dakota’s Bakken Shale

The Bakken was strewn with casualties before the turnaround, but billionaire oil pioneer Harold Hamm and his teams at Continental Energy Resources Corp. saw opportunities to create better mousetraps in exploring and producing oil and natural gas.

Full-Scale Development of Kharasaveyskoye Gas Field to Start in 2019

Gazprom said it will begin the full-scale development of Kharasaveyskoye field in 2019, including construction of a 62-mile pipeline connecting the field's enormous gas reserves to Russia's Unified Gas Supply System.

Plains-ExxonMobil JV to Build Permian Pipeline

ExxonMobil and Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) plan to build a new pipeline that will add 1 MMbpd of takeaway capacity for Permian Basin crude oil and condensate.

Solaris Water Midstream Starts Pecos Star Operations

Solaris Water Midstream said it has commenced operations on on the first phase of its 300-mile Pecos Star water system, which is designed to serve oil and gas producers in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

Swift Energy Selects New Board Chairman

Houston-based Swift Energy Company appointed former Chesapeake Energy executive Marcus C. Rowland as chairman of the Board, a role that had been filled on an interim basis since the company emerged from its Chapter 11 restructuring on April 11. Roland, 64, who was both executive vice president and ..

Compromise Allows Big Spending on Israel’s Natural Gas Sector

Israel’s decision to adopt changes to guidelines under which U.S. developers operate in its massive Leviathan natural gas field will likely lead to the largest infrastructure project the tiny nation has ever seen. The move clears the way for Houston-based Noble Energy’s planned $5 billion natural g..

Energy Opportunities Abound in South America

E&P

This is an overview of one the world’s most important oil producing regions. South America is the fourth-largest continent (6,890,000 square miles) and is rich in natural resources that include gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, natural gas and oil. Collectively, the nations of South America produ..

2015 Worst Year For Oil Discoveries Since 1952

A report by Rystad Energy has revealed that new oil discoveries in 2015 totaled 12.1 billion barrels, which is the least amount of new oil discovered in a single year since 1952. Last year was also the fifth year in a row in which the amount of new reserves discovered was smaller than in the previo..

India May Lose Prize Iranian Gas Field To Saudi Arabia

India’s state-owned oil and gas giant ONGC risks losing a massive Persian Gulf gas field in a contracting hurdle, as it races against Saudi Arabia to extract gas reserves from two fields spanning the Iran-Saudi Arabia border. India’s flagship explorer does not have the necessary contract to exploit..

BP Faces Setback in World’s Largest Unexplored Oil Basin

As if the current oil markets weren’t tough enough for producers, companies are increasingly finding that regulators are making it harder to drill new sources of oil. For instance, BP was recently told by regulators that it will need to revise and resubmit its plan to explore for oil off of the Sout..

AP Interview: Qatar Energy Minister Wants 'Fair' Oil Price

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The oil market is slowly recovering from its steep drop over the past two years but crude is still not trading at a “fair price” to encourage necessary investment, Qatar’s energy and industry minister said Tuesday, ahead of next week’s meeting of OPEC producers. Speaking to The A..

Why The Arctic Oil Dream Is Not Over Yet

The race to discover oil and gas in virgin Arctic waters is now on, as Norway offered oil majors a lifeline on Wednesday by opening up what experts say could be home to 15 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 33 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas. Norway officials on Wednesday a..

Many Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants Being Built Near Shale Plays

Natural gas-fired power generation increased 19% in 2015, because of low natural gas prices, increased gas-fired generation capacity, and coal power plant retirements. EIA’s May 2016 Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that this year, natural gas-fired generation will exceed coal generation in the U..

Norway Offers New Offshore Drilling Licenses in Barents Sea

TROMSOE, Norway (AP) — Norway awarded on Wednesday 10 new licenses for offshore oil and gas exploration in the Barents Sea, including three in previously untouched waters near the Russian border. The Oil Ministry said it is the first time new acreage has been opened for drilling in Norwegian waters..

Natural Gas Production Sets Record

Even in the face of low prices, U.S. natural gas production hit its highest level ever. Average daily output in the U.S. set a record in February of 73.3 Bcf, up about 2% from the previous month, Platts Bentek said. The Energy Information Administration reported March 24 that producers had begun sto..

European Leak Detection Market Expected to Grow

Increased pipeline infrastructural investments coupled with high exploration and production activities in the oil and gas sector and high consumer demand for energy will propel growth in the European oil and gas pipeline leak detection market, according to a report issued by Research and Markets. T..

Recent U.S. Oil Imports Generally Heavier than Domestic Production

Oil / E&P

In 2015, more than 70% of the crude oil produced in the Lower 48 states was light oil with an API gravity above 35 degrees. At the same time, 90% of imported crude oil was heavier, with a gravity below 35 degrees API. To accommodate increasing U.S. production of light crude oil, refineries have adju..

Fracking Wells Provide Two-Thirds of US Natural Gas Production

For decades, hydraulic fracturing had been referred to as an unconventional completion technique, but over the past 10 years it has become the technique by which most natural gas is produced in the United States. Based on the most recent data from states, EIA estimates that natural gas production fr..

Hurdles Exist Using CO2 to Boost Oil Output in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Significant barriers exist in using carbon dioxide to enhance oil recovery in North Dakota but the “long-term prize” could be billions of extra barrels of oil, a consultant told lawmakers Wednesday. Curtis Smith, a geologist with Houston-based IHS Inc., told the North Dakota L..

Wood Mackenzie: Global Oil Supply Shortfall of 4.5 Million b/d by 2035 if Exploration Results Don't Improve

Oil / E&P

A new study by Wood Mackenzie warns the global oil market could face a supply shortfall of 4.5 million b/d by 2035, if exploration success doesn’t improve. Wood Mackenzie says discoveries in recent years have been disappointing, with the volume of liquids discovered per annum more than halving over ..

Canada Expects Lower Natural Gas Exports to US, Higher LNG Exports Elsewhere

In its recent publication, Canada’s Energy Future (CEF), Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) projects that both Canada’s natural gas production and its domestic natural gas consumption will increase through the next decade. Exports of natural gas by pipeline to the United States are expected to con..

ExxonMobil Begins Production at Point Thomson Project

ExxonMobil has started production at its Point Thomson project, the first company-operated project on Alaska’s North Slope. Central pad facilities are designed to initially produce about 5,000 bpd of condensate and 100 MMscf/d of recycled gas. The recycled gas is re-injected for future recovery. At..

Expected Fall in Lower 48 Oil Production Partially Offset by Rising Gulf Output

Oil / E&P

In response to continued low oil prices, onshore crude oil production in the Lower 48 states is expected to decline from an average of 7.41 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2015 to 6.46 million b/d in 2016 and to 5.76 million b/d in 2017. Increased production from the federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is..

ExxonMobil Starts Production at Julia Oil Field in Gulf of Mexico

IRVING, TX – Oil production started under budget and ahead of schedule at the Julia oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, ExxonMobil said Tuesday. The first production well is now online and a second well will start production in the coming weeks.  The Julia development is located 265 miles southw..

Subsea 7 Awarded Contract Off Egypt

Subsea 7 S.A. is working under a contract from BP, and partner DEA (Deutsche Erdoel AG), to development of the Giza, Fayoum and Raven subsea fields offshore Alexandria, Egypt. This is the second phase of the West Nile Delta project, where the field development will be at depths of up to 800 meters. ..

BP Sets Up Shale Gas Operation in China

UK-listed BP and China’s CNPC aren’t exactly strangers, already jointly developing Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield, but BP’s new shale gas deal with CNPC is the British company’s first foray into China – and it’s a major strategic move that gauges which way the winds are blowing in today’s energy sector. L..