Nigeria’s outgoing government has failed to raise interest from major oil companies in its latest oil license auction, with industry executives fearful of contracts being revoked after the government’s new government swears in. Last Friday’s auction, where only 18 of 45 blocks offered were auctioned off, was the third of its kind since 2005.
oil and gas production
Iraqi Oil Production Could be Doubled
Oil production in Iraq could double to 4 million barrels a day if the violence ended and facilities modernized, according to a Colorado energy consulting company. The study, which claims to be the first detailed overview of Iraq’s oil reserves and production potential since the war began, used experts in Iraq to develop its field-by-field … Read More
Bush Expands Oil Drilling In Alaska And To Virginia
The U.S. Interior Department will release today its new five-year plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, as well Alaska and Virginia. The proposed drilling area includes major fishing areas and is set to be controversial. The new leasing plan “would significantly increase the nation’s domestic energy supplies while protecting … Read More
Pardon My Skepticism
On March 5, the New York Times published a front-page story called “Oil Innovations Pump New Life Into Old Wells.” Getting new oil from “played out” wells was the thrust of the piece; as the price of oil rises, it becomes worthwhile investing new money into old wells. The article also indirectly took on the … Read More
Police in Java say oil drilling is the cause of fatal mudflow
Since May 2006, a massive mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia has left at least seven people dead, swallowed several villages, displaced 15,000 residents and destroyed 20 factories, all resulting in economic stagnation in the region. On Thursday, Indonesian police investigating the mudflow have pointed to poor management of oil drilling operations as the cause … Read More
Oil-Rich Mexico Output Declines
The State oil company of Mexico, Pemex is in trouble, reports the New York Times. Its production and proven reserves are falling, and it has no money to reverse the slide. This is important for the US because Mexico is the second-largest supplier of imported oil to the United States, after Canada. If the company … Read More
Exxon Spends on New Projects
Oil giant Exxon Mobil says it will spend some of its record profits on over 20 new global projects in the next three years. The investments are expected to add one million oil-equivalent barrels a day to the company’s volumes at peak production. CEO T-Rex Tillerson said the company’s capital spending would be about US$20 … Read More
Non-OPEC Production Slows
The oil industry is finding it harder to expand upstream capacity, a new report by the Centre for Global Energy Studies has warned. “Development costs are up sharply, essential equipment and skilled labor are in short supply and host governments want a bigger share of the proceeds,” it concludes.
North Sea Output Declines Faster Than Predicted
Oil and gas production in the North Sea is now expected to be about 10 per cent lower over the next few years than previously thought, according to the annual survey from the UK Offshore Operators’ Association. The main reason is described as “poor reservoir performance”: in other words, wells not yielding as much oil … Read More
Shell Hires ANWR Drilling Advocates
Ok – so not to be outdone by Exxon that hired Bush advisor Philip Cooney, the former chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Shell has now appointed Gale Norton, a former interior secretary for the Bush administration, as a senior legal advisor. Gale Norton supports opening up the Arctic National … Read More