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'Big oil' getting smaller as production keeps falling

T* Top seven western majors all seeing liquids output fall * Supermajors’ share of global market dropping every year * BP reports fastest decline of 30% from 2009-13 * Production becoming more evenly split between oil and gas The biggest western oil companies are continuing to see their oil output decline , despite record investment in recent years spurred by sustained crude prices in excess of $100/barrel, according to data released by the companies. Furthermore, with total world oil output continuing to rise every year, the western majors are seeing their share of the global market fall even faster, with new volumes coming largely from their rivals in places like Russia and a host of smaller companies at the heart of the shale oil boom in the US. Analysis continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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‘Big oil’ getting smaller as production keeps falling

T* Top seven western majors all seeing liquids output fall * Supermajors’ share of global market dropping every year * BP reports fastest decline of 30% from 2009-13 * Production becoming more evenly split between oil and gas The biggest western oil companies are continuing to see their oil output decline , despite record investment in recent years spurred by sustained crude prices in excess of $100/barrel, according to data released by the companies. Furthermore, with total world oil output continuing to rise every year, the western majors are seeing their share of the global market fall even faster, with new volumes coming largely from their rivals in places like Russia and a host of smaller companies at the heart of the shale oil boom in the US. Analysis continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Firms Seen Cutting Exploration Spending

Global oil firms are about to cut exploration spending, pulling back from frontier areas and jeopardizing their future reserves, industry insiders say. OSLO, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Global oil firms, hit by one of the worst years for discovery in two decades, are about to cut exploration spending, pulling back from frontier areas and jeopardising their future reserves, industry insiders say. Notable exploration failures in high-profile places such as Africa’s west coast, from Angola all the way up to Sierra Leone, have pushed down valuations for exploration-focused firms and are now forcing oil majors to change tack. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to find new oil and gas, and in particular new oil," says Tim Dodson, the exploration chief of Statoil, the world’s top conventional explorer last year. "The discoveries tend to be somewhat smaller, more complex, more remote, so it is very difficult to see […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil-Shipping Routes Lengthen

A tectonic shift under way in the global oil trade is increasing the average distance traveled by a typical barrel of oil. This is likely to push shipping rates higher and benefit shipping companies as well as shipbuilders. The U.S. energy boom is largely responsible for the shift, as sharply higher domestic production of oil and gas is moving the country off its perch as the world’s largest oil importer even as Asian appetites for hydrocarbons continue to rise—a good thing for traditional U.S. suppliers, including Latin America and West Africa, who are finding ready customers (much) farther away. For consumers, longer voyages mean increased fuel costs and freight rates, as the availability of shipping vessels diminishes in line with the increased time tankers are booked to cover extended distances. A team of analysts from DNB […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New Fighting Threatens South Sudan Oil

South Sudan rebels Tuesday attacked the capital of the state that is home to the country’s only functioning oil fields, further fraying a tattered cease-fire and threatening to choke off a trickle of crude exports from the beleaguered nation. The attack on Malakal, the capital of South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, ended a lull in fighting that had lasted nearly a month. It also came as rebels and government representatives failed to restart peace talks aimed at ending the nearly three-month-old conflict. The two sides remain far apart on important issues, such as the release of prisoners and Uganda’s military support for the South Sudanese government. Early Tuesday, heavily armed rebel fighters loyal to South Sudan’s former vice president, Riek Machar, attacked with machine guns and heavy artillery in a surprise assault, government military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said. The ambush forced government troops to retreat northward, toward […]

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Diplomats express scepticism over progress of Iran nuclear deal

World powers start talks with Iran on a final agreement on their nuclear dispute on Tuesday. If successful, the negotiations could put to rest a decade of hostility between the West and the Islamic Republic, and head off the danger of a new war in the Middle East ©Reuters Iran’s ambassador to Austria Hassan Tajik arrives at the nuclear talks in Vienna Western diplomats are increasingly sceptical that a comprehensive agreement with Iran over the country’s nuclear programme will be found in time for a key July deadline. Senior diplomatic sources from two of the western delegations meeting Iran’s representatives in Vienna for nuclear talks on Tuesday said they saw little – if any – chance of early success in the talks. Under the terms of the landmark November […]

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Iran Nuclear Talks Resume Amid Deep Caution

The U.S. and Iran voiced caution over the prospect of a deal permanently curbing Tehran’s nuclear program on the eve of international talks. The diplomacy in Vienna, slated to last six months, follows an interim agreement in November between Tehran and global powers that froze parts of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. The new round of diplomacy aims to end what the West views as Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has outlined a negotiating position that calls for Tehran to drastically roll back its nuclear infrastructure to ensure it is solely for peaceful purposes. U.S. officials say this likely would have to include the dismantling or mothballing of thousands of centrifuge machines, which are used to produce nuclear fuel, and the shuttering or conversion of nuclear sites. Senior Iranian officials say they won’t accept any major curtailment of the program. […]

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U.S. sees Iran nuclear talks difficult, success uncertain

The United States said on Monday that talks between Iran and six world powers on a long-term deal for Tehran to limit its nuclear program and see international sanctions lifted will be long and complicated with no guarantee of success. The remarks came from a senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity on the eve of the first round of high-level negotiations since an interim deal struck on November 24 under which Tehran curbed some nuclear activities for limited sanctions relief. "These next days this week are the beginning of what will be a complicated, difficult and lengthy process," the administration official told reporters in the Austrian capital. "When the stakes are this high and the devil is truly in the details, one has to take the time to ensure the confidence of the international community in the result," the official said. "That can’t […]

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Car bombings kill at least 33 people in Iraq

Officials say a wave of car bombs in Baghdad and areas to the south has killed at least 33 people. Police say all Tuesday’s attacks were explosives-laden cars parked in or near commercial areas and bus stations. In Baghdad, four such bombings killed at least 17 people and wounded 49 others. They added that four car bombs went off simultaneously in different areas in the southern city of Hillah, killing at least 11 people and wounding 35 others. Hillah is about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad. Outside Hillah in the town of Musayyib, a parked car bomb explosion killed five civilians and wounded 13. Medical officials confirmed the figures. All spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. In a rare televised […]

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Bomb attacks kill at least 24 in Iraq capital

At least 24 people were killed in bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital late on Monday, including blasts near two Shi’ite Muslim mosques and at a busy bus station, police and medics said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Shi’ites are often targeted by Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining ground in Iraq over the past year and overran several towns in recent weeks. In Monday’s deadliest attack, a minibus packed with explosives blew up at a bus station in the mainly Shi’ite district of Ur in northern Baghdad, killing at least 11 people, police and medical sources said. "The parked minibus inside the garage raised suspicions and when drivers started shouting for its driver, it exploded," said bus driver Farah Abbas. "Many people were thrown back by the blast and vehicles caught fire". A further nine people were killed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple