The UK can Protect itself from High Oil Prices by Investing in Renewables
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil Price | Comments (0)
National energy sectors and are still heavily dependent on the global oil market, and the global oil market is so finely balanced that any disruption ripples out to affect most of the world. This means that domestic energy prices can be heavily influenced by incidents half a world away.The best way to avoid these price spikes is to obtain a certain level of, or complete, energy independence, or use energy sources that don’t rely upon the global oil market.An analysis by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the UK government, and presented by…
george @ May 20, 2012
The Ocean Prospector will Return to Operation after 14 years on the Dock
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil Price | Comments (0)
Back in 1971 ODECO designed and built The Ocean Prospector, the first ever semisubmersible drilling rig that was self-propelled, a standard feature with today’s rigs. It operated in warm waters around the world for ODECO and later Diamond Offshore, after their merger in 1992.In 1998 the rig was towed into Galveston harbour in Texas for inspections and maintenance work when the decision was made to decommission it. It never left Galveston for the next 14 years, and although its ownership has changed several times it still remains there to…
george @ May 20, 2012
Gasoline price set to drop NIS 0.40 per liter on June 1
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Globes Israel | Comments (0)
The question remains whether the government will restore the cut in fuel excise.
george @ May 20, 2012
Swiss fund invests $20m in ILD Energy
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Globes Israel | Comments (0)
The VNG fund will hold 9.33% of ILD Energy, a partner in the Sarah and Myra exploration licenses.
george @ May 20, 2012
How to Write Democrat Autobiographies (or Naked Came the Kenyan Cherokee)
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Maybe it was just a dream, but I feel certain that I recently read an essay with the above title, authored by Barack H. Obama and Elizabeth Warren.
george @ May 20, 2012
Jews, Jewish Leftists, and the Anti-Semitic Left
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Last week, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research held an extraordinary conference in New York, in which leftist Jew actually took an honest look at leftism’s true opinion of Jews.
george @ May 20, 2012
Why Wright Matters: Obama’s on a Mission from God
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Is Mitt Romney right? Should we dismiss Jeremiah Wright as just another phony street agitator?
george @ May 20, 2012
Tax Reform That Is Simple, Transparent, Fair
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Most discussions of the personal tax code quickly deteriorate into disagreements over the relative size of tax rates or brackets. But it is the definition of taxable income — the tax base — that drives the tax train.
george @ May 20, 2012
A Glimpse of What Privatized Roads Could Look Like
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
The government refused to fix a road in Hawaii, so the citizens did it themselves…for free. Is there something to this?
george @ May 20, 2012
Shell suggests more realistic Iraq oil target
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
LONDON — Iraq may be forced to cut its ambitious oil production targets by as much as 40%, despite recently boosting output to pre-Gulf War levels, a senior Royal Dutch Shell PLC executive said.
george @ May 19, 2012
Magnolia Petroleum to ramp production at U.S. plays
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
Magnolia Petroleum Plc announced its participation in three further wells in proven onshore oil plays in Oklahoma, as part of its expansion strategy to rapidly build production.
george @ May 19, 2012
Eni announces important new discovery in Mozambique
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
ROME — Eni announces a new giant natural gas discovery in Area 4, offshore Mozambique, at the Coral 1 exploration prospect.
The results for this well, drilled in the southern part of Area 4, are of particular significance. The Coral discovery is estimated to contain between 7 and 10 tcf of gas in place, exclusively located in Area 4.
george @ May 19, 2012
BG makes fifth consecutive Tanzania gas discovery
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
BG Group announced its fifth consecutive Tanzania gas discovery with the Mzia-1 exploration well located in Block 1, offshore southern Tanzania.
george @ May 19, 2012
U.S. gas prices rebound on hopes warmer weather spurs demand
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
Natural gas futures climbed 2.2% Friday as traders shrugged off concerns about growing inventories and focused on growing demand.
george @ May 19, 2012
Thomson Reuters: May 18 Energy Commentary
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
george @ May 19, 2012
Samson Oil & Gas Operational Advisory
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
The Sprit of America #2 well has been drilled to the intermediate casing point of 9,140 feet, 70 feet deeper than the point at which the first well was abandoned, prior to penetrating the two 3D seismically defined targets.
george @ May 19, 2012
Atlas Energy Establishes $50MM Credit Facility
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Established new revolving credit facility through its group of five institutional lenders.
george @ May 19, 2012
Genoil Announces Director Resignation
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
The corporation’s directors are currently reviewing candidates to assume Mr. Heller’s roles and responsibilities.
george @ May 19, 2012
Norman F. Swanton To Step Down As Warren Resources CEO, Chairman
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Director Espy P. Price has been appointed interim CEO.
george @ May 19, 2012
Penn Virginia Completes Chief Gathering Purchase
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Chief Gathering’s assets include six natural gas gathering systems serving over 300,000 dedicated acres in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wyoming and Greene Counties, Pennsylvania and Preston County, West Virginia.
george @ May 19, 2012
Lazard Hires David Cecil AS A Managing Director, Financial Advisory
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Prior to joining Scotia Waterous in 2007, Mr. Cecil was a Managing Director in the U.S. energy investment banking group at BMO Capital Markets.
george @ May 19, 2012
Chesapeake Cuts Board Pay Following Compensation Review
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Rigzone | Comments (0)
Chesapeake said it decided to trim compensation for outside directors by 20% and eliminates the use of fractionally owned aircraft for personal travel by outside directors.
mentor36 @ May 19, 2012
Crude Slips As Macro Worries Weigh On Market
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Rigzone | Comments (0)
Oil futures slid for the sixth session in a row Friday, settling at their lowest level in nearly seven months.
mentor36 @ May 19, 2012
Travel Restrictions Eased on BP Engineer Mix
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Rigzone | Comments (0)
Judge Daniel Knowles agreed to ease travel restrictions on Kurt Mix, who was charged with destroying evidence sought in the investigation of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Bloomberg reported Friday.
mentor36 @ May 19, 2012
Colombia Oil Reserves Rose 10% In 2011; Government Says More Needed
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Rigzone | Comments (0)
Colombia’s proven oil reserves climbed 10% last year compared with 2010, but the govt says more is needed and is urging companies to spend more on exploration.
mentor36 @ May 19, 2012
Turkey Threatens Reprisals over Cyprus O&G Drilling
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Rigzone | Comments (0)
Turkey warns firms cooperating with the Greek Cypriot administration will not be allowed to participate in future energy projects in Turkey.
mentor36 @ May 19, 2012
Why Kenyan Birth Claim Was No ‘Fact Checking Error’
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Obama has been creating and shifting identities his entire adult life. If the agency brochure was a snapshot of the 1991 Obama, Dreams captured him in his 1995 pose.
george @ May 19, 2012
Romney Is Wrong on Wright
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Message to the Republican establishment: do not muzzle those of us who want to focus on Obama’s troubling history with angry Marxists, black and white, including Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers.
george @ May 19, 2012
Demographic Tipping Point: Whites Now Less than Half of US Births
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Unlike most, I don’t expect America to ever become majority non-white. Our republic won’t last that long.
george @ May 19, 2012
Obama’s Chicago Thug Way Invades Wisconsin
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
Not even 80-year-old women are safe from Obama’s bullying re-election tactics.
george @ May 19, 2012
The Vanishing Feeling of Freedom
Posted in: Corporate News | Comments (0)
The primary reason why it is so difficult to defend political liberty today is because freedom is a rational construct, and thus cannot be understood by the irrational.
george @ May 19, 2012
Range sues Texas resident after YouTube post
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
One case of activism against hydraulic fracturing has taken an unusual turn after a company involved slapped a complaining resident with a countersuit alleging defamation, a report said.
george @ May 18, 2012
Study: E15 Could Put Some Engines at Risk
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Energy Tomorrow | Comments (0)
More on the potential risk to America’s car and truck fleet posed by E15 – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol that has EPA approval: Just-released research indicates that more than 5 million existing cars and light trucks, which EPA says are OK for E15 use, could develop engine problems as a result.
Why this discrepancy? The Coordinating Research Council (CRC), a non-profit entity supported by the automotive and oil and petroleum industries, tested the durability of engines using tests that have been conducted for more than a decade to determine how well engines would hold up with a new fuel.
On the other hand, the Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA tested the catalyst system and then used the results of those tests to say the engine would be fine. It’s a bit like taking a reading test to determine whether your heart is healthy.
A key finding in the CRC study:
- Of eight different tested engine types, one had a design that was (in retrospect) inappropriate for the test cycle, two failed on E20 (20 percent ethanol) and E15, and five passed on E20 and by assumption E15 and E0 (gasoline with zero ethanol content). The two engine types that failed E15 testing successfully completed reference testing on E0.
- The majority of the failures can be linked to issues with valve seats, either related to material or wear/deformation.
There are at least 5 million known engines on the road today with the same or similar characteristics to the two engines that failed on E20 and E15. Because testing was done on only a small proportion of the light-duty engine types currently in use, the number of at-risk engines probably is higher.
API President and CEO Jack Gerard, during a conference call with reporters this week:
“EPA’s decisions in 2010 and 2011 approving E15 ethanol-gasoline blends for most American vehicles were premature and irresponsible. … Worse, as API noted in its press briefing two weeks ago, it approved the fuel even though government labs had raised red flags about the compatibility of E15 with much of the dispensing and storage infrastructure at our nation’s gas stations. … Not all vehicles in the CRC tests showed engine damage, but engine types that did are found in millions of cars and light duty trucks now on America’s roads.”
Mike Stanton, president and CEO of Global Automakers:
“We can build the cars for the fuels, but the EPA made this retroactive to 2001 and that is the problem. … Our goal is to ensure that new alternative fuels are not placed into retail until it has been proven they are safe and do not cause harm to vehicles, consumers, or the environment. The EPA should have waited until all the studies on the potential impacts of E15 on the current fleet were completed.”
Mitch Bainwol, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers:
“The study… indicates the risk for consumers is profound, with clear environmental, safety, fuel efficiency and financial implications. Cars were not built for E15. It’s that simple – and now we have material evidence that validates our concerns.”
Not surprisingly, the CRC study doesn’t sit well with some folks. A DOE blog criticized the CRC study’s methodology rather than focusing on the identified risks and concerns for consumers.
First, DOE seems to think that it has more expertise than the car designers and manufacturers who conducted the CRC tests. CRC has been doing work of this kind for more than 70 years, often with DOE’s funding. Even more interesting: Through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, DOE was an active participant in the technical oversight panel for the CRC study throughout its duration and at no point raised any concerns. Other points:
- Valvetrain-type engines that were tested were selected from among popular 2001-2009 models, not cherry-picked for failure. Indeed, five of the engines that were tested passed the E20 test. If someone was trying to pick engines that would fail testing they did a pretty poor job of it.
- The engine pass/fail determination was made after engine teardown and analysis. The use of the 10 percent cylinder leakage criterion to determine whether there may be engine distress is a well-established and accepted industry standard used in engine development and was used as a signal that teardown was required. The CRC study indicated use of E15 would damage the valves in some engines, leading to cylinder leakage, loss of compression and power.
- Nobody should be all that surprised that DOE found no discernible impact of E15 based on teardown inspections of engines used in its catalyst durability study. After all, its study was just that – an evaluation of the effects of higher levels of ethanol on a catalyst (i.e., the catalytic converter). It was never designed to specifically assess the stresses of mid-level ethanol blends on an engine. For DOE and others to draw conclusions about the effect of ethanol on an engine based on a test designed for a catalyst evaluation is not only scientifically unsound, it is just plain wrong.
See a more detailed rebuttal of DOE’s comments, here.
E15 is a perfect example of why the Renewable Fuels Standard is becoming unrealistic and unworkable. EPA made a rushed and premature decision to meet a political deadline in the fall of 2010. The CRC research shows that EPA didn’t do its homework and is willing to put the consumer’s vehicle at risk. EPA needs to base its decision on sound science, not political goals. The auto and oil industries conducted a scientifically sound and robust study, and the results from the CRC study should be concerning.
Gerard:
“The value of these vehicles along with the value of vulnerable gasoline dispensing equipment at the nation’s 157,000 gasoline service stations could run into many billions of dollars. EPA’s waivers put these investments at risk. The result could be more vehicle repairs for consumers and upward pressure on gasoline prices. … This is breakthrough research that should’ve been done by EPA. … Our data needs to be looked at.”
george @ May 18, 2012
Repsol cancels LNG cargoes to Argentina
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Spain’s Repsol has canceled its contract to supply Argentina with liquefied natural gas, a report Friday said.
george @ May 18, 2012
Chesapeake cuts director pay
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Chesapeake Energy, under growing pressure from shareholders to improve corporate governance, reduced the compensation for its outside directors by 20% and eliminated their use of its aircraft for personal travel, the company said on Friday.
george @ May 18, 2012
US natgas futures continue climb
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Front-month US natural gas futures rose to a 3-1/2-month high on Friday, as tighter supply-and-demand fundamentals and warmer extended weather forecasts continued to drive gains despite overbought technicals.
george @ May 18, 2012
Oil slips, posting third weekly loss
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Oil prices fell on Friday in tug-of-war trading, posting a 2012 low and a third straight weekly loss as debt problems in Greece and Spain kept concerns about the euro zone economy in focus.
george @ May 18, 2012
Video: A Plan for Our Energy Future
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Energy Tomorrow | Comments (0)
According to the Energy Information Administration, oil and natural gas supply more than 60 percent of the energy we currently use and will supply near that level for decades to come. The question is, how will America meet the challenge of that energy reality?
A presidential election year is an excellent opportunity for a conversation about energy policy. This week API presented a policy roadmap to the two political parties that takes into account the country’s ample oil and natural gas resources and discusses ways to use them for more jobs, a better economy and greater national security. API President and CEO Jack Gerard:
“The question facing America is not whether we will continue to need oil and natural gas in the decades to come. The question is: Where will we get it? Will we use our own vast energy resources or rely on others? … I believe we must acknowledge this energy reality and make the choices that will lead us to a greater energy future.”
See Gerard’s speech at the unveiling of API’s platform report below:
View the entire event, including a panel discussion of energy issues:
george @ May 18, 2012
Repsol-led Cuba well a duster
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Repsol said Friday its closely watched Jaguey wildcat off the coast of Cuba found no commercially viable oil.
george @ May 18, 2012
US gains 12 rigs
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
The count of rigs drilling in the US increased by 12 this week to 1986, according to the weekly tally from Houston-based service provider Baker Hughes.
george @ May 18, 2012
Compass Compression Launches Williston Basin, Bakken Shale Service Division
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
The field service expansion is in response to increased oil and gas activity in the Williston Basin and Bakken shale, but also follows numerous Compass Compression unit start-ups in the area.
george @ May 18, 2012
NGL Energy Partners Appoints Bryan K. Guderian To Board
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Guderian has worked in numerous executive positions within the Williams organization since 1996, to include his current position as Senior Vice President of Operations of WPX Energy.
george @ May 18, 2012
El Paso jumps in LNG export queue
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
US natural gas producer and pipeline operator El Paso has joined the growing ranks of companies hoping to export liquefied natural gas overseas, filing an export license for its existing Elba Island import terminal in Georgia.
george @ May 18, 2012
Accused engineer asks for eased restrictions
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
A former BP engineer charged with destroying evidence sought for a US probe of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill asked a US judge to ease travel restrictions imposed on him as a condition of bail.
george @ May 18, 2012
EnerVest’s Walker: Widespread Gas-Producer Bank-Redetermination Disasters Unlikely This Fall
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
“I don’t believe you’ll see the disaster that some people talk about,” says John Walker, president and CEO of EnerVest Ltd. & executive chairman of EV Energy Partners LP.
george @ May 18, 2012
Pemex contract soon for heavy-lift package
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Pemex is expected soon to award the contract for one of Mexico’s largest and potentially most complex heavy-lift package tenders ever.
george @ May 18, 2012
Turkey warns it will not deal with Cyprus bidders
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Upstream | Comments (0)
Decades-long dispute over island enflamed by recent large gas find
george @ May 18, 2012
Halliburton gets $95 million Gazprom Neft contract in Iraq
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
AMMAN — U.S.-based energy services giant Halliburton Co has won a $95 million contract from Russian state oil producer OAO Gazprom Neft to test and complete 11 wells at the untapped Badra oil field in eastern Iraq, the firm said in a statement Thursday.
george @ May 18, 2012
Cairn joins Marathon in Cyprus exploration bid
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
LONDON — Cairn Energy PLC said Thursday it has teamed up with Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp. to jointly bid for oil and gas exploration rights in Cyprus, where huge offshore discoveries of natural gas have reignited international tensions over the divided island.
george @ May 18, 2012
Repsol seeks class-action suit against Argentina in NY court
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
MADRID – Spanish oil firm Repsol YPF SA said it had filed a lawsuit against Argentina in a court in New York after the country nationalized the company's local unit.
george @ May 18, 2012
Antech completes final phase of coiled tubing drilling program in Kansas Niobrara
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
EXETER, England – AnTech Ltd, a directional drilling and design engineering services company serving the upstream oil and gas industries, announced that it has successfully completed the drilling of the final two wells of a five-well coiled tubing drilling (CTD) campaign in shallow reserves of the Kansas Niobrara Formation in the United States.
george @ May 18, 2012
DOI to offer 38 million acres in June GOM lease sale
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
NEW ORLEANS— Today the Obama Administration provided final details for the Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale announced by President Obama in January 2012, as part of his administration’s ongoing focus on expanding safe and responsible production of our domestic energy sources. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau today announced the Final Notice of Sale for a June 20, 2012 lease sale that will make available all unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including 7,276 blocks on about 38.6 million acres.
george @ May 18, 2012
Brazil Navy confirms investigation of oil slick off Espirito Santo
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
RIO DE JANEIRO — The Brazilian Navy confirmed Thursday that an oil slick has been spotted off the coast of Espirito Santo state, with a team still on site trying to determine the source of the oil, a spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.
george @ May 18, 2012
Statoil transfers Vilje operatorship to Marathon
Posted in: O&G Industry News, World Oil | Comments (0)
STAVANGER — Statoil announced that it has transfered operatorship of the Vilje South development to Marathon , as the biggest operator in the area. This transfer of operatorship includes will allow for a rig, planned to be used for the Vilje South development, to be available for other Statoil drilling jobs.
george @ May 18, 2012
Thomson Reuters: May 17 Energy Commentary
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
george @ May 18, 2012
Enbridge To Spend $600MM To Expand U.S., Canadian Pipelines
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
The current scope of the U.S. projects includes expansion of the Alberta Clipper pipeline (Line 67) between the border and Superior, Wisconsin from 450,000 barrels per day to 570,000 bpd; and expansion of the Southern Access pipeline (Line 61) between Superior and Flanagan, Illinois from 400,000 bpd to 560,000 bpd.
george @ May 18, 2012
Kodiak Closes Private Senior Notes Offering
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Kodiak intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay all of the outstanding debt under Kodiak’s first lien credit agreement, to fund capital expenditures for drilling, development and infrastructure, principally in the Bakken play located in North Dakota.
george @ May 18, 2012
DUO 2012: Newfield Spotlights Utah’s Oil Resource Plays
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Newfield provides a closer look at its Uinta Basin oil plans.
george @ May 18, 2012
DUO 2012: PDC Bullish On Liquid Shale Plays
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
With new activity in the Niobrara and Utica shales, the independent hopes to make its portfolio more liquid in nature.
george @ May 18, 2012
DUO 2012: Whiting Finds Big Success In Unconventional Plays
Posted in: O&G Industry News, Oil & Gas Investor | Comments (0)
Whiting has successfully developed numerous unconventional assets, including properties targeting the Three-Forks, Niobrara and Wolfcamp plays.
george @ May 18, 2012
