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Shell finds gas offshore Malaysia

Shell said Thursday it encountered a major deposit of natural gas while drilling in the deep waters off the coast of Malaysia. Shell said it encountered a gas column measuring 1,476 feet thick while drilling its Rosmari-1 well in deep Malaysia waters. "With further exploration planned, the finding is a positive indicator of the gas potential in an area of strategic interest for Shell,’ the company said in a statement . Shell has a controlling interest in Rosmari-1 in partnership with Malaysia’s state-owned energy company Petronas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports Malaysia has about 83 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and is No. 3 in the world in terms of exports of liquefied natural gas behind Qatar and Indonesia. Exxon Mobil Corp. in February said it started production at the Damar field off the coast of Malaysia, which has a projected capacity of 200 million […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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More production expected from top U.S. oil shale basins

Oil production from some of the top shale basins in the United States is expected to increase by 70,000 barrels per day next month, the Energy Department said. In a weekly update , the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said it expected the gains to come from the combined output from the Bakken, Niobrara, Permian and Eagle Ford shale basins. EIA said it expected the Permian basin in the southern United States to show the most growth, while a spring thaw in Northern Plains states may disrupt some activity in the Bakken region between mid-April and June. EIA said flat oil prices and rising costs meant energy companies may pull back on future spending on exploration and development in the shale basins, though increasing drilling efficiency may offset the loss. Nevertheless, EIA said annual reports from oil and natural […]

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Gulf Coast crude oil inventories reach record level

Crude oil inventories on the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) reached 207.2 million barrels (bbl) on April 11, a record high. The elevated inventory levels are the result of the continuing strong crude oil production growth, the opening of TransCanada’s Marketlink Pipeline, and a drop in crude oil inputs at USGC refineries as a result of seasonal maintenance. EIA weekly crude oil inventory data include inventories at tank farms, refineries, and in pipelines. Total working crude oil storage capacity on the USGC totaled 273.3 million bbl as of September 30, 2013 (the most recent date for which that number is available). Tank farm storage accounted for 200.5 million bbl of that capacity, and storage at refineries accounted for 72.9 million bbl. EIA does not include a pipeline capacity number in its working storage capacity estimate. While USGC crude oil inventories typically build during the beginning of the year, this year’s […]

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U.S. Energy Rigs Unchanged at 1,831, Baker Hughes Says

Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. were unchanged this week at 1,831, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs declined by seven to 1,510, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count increased by six to 316, the Houston-based field services company said. Miscellaneous rigs rose by one to five. The total count gained 52 rigs in the first quarter as producers ramped up drilling in shale formations from North Dakota to Texas, boosting domestic crude output to the highest in a quarter-century. The boom helped the nation meet 87 percent of its energy needs in 2013, the highest since 1985, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. “The prolific rise in domestic crude oil production volume has resulted in a steep fall in U.S. petroleum imports,” Bloomberg Industries analysts Vincent Piazza and Gurpal Dosanjh said in a report yesterday. “Net imports […]

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Peak Oil: Taking A Stand

We live in a society where it is impossible to live a functional lifestyle and not consume products made from petro-chemicals every single day — electronics, fabrics, painkillers, food additives, cosmetics, fabrics, cleaning supplies, building materials, the list goes on. More than ever, it is precisely because it is incredibly difficult to survive outside of our wasteful, exploitative and fossil fuel-obsessed system that we need environmentalists and other activists — yes, even if they own a cellphone and wear cheaply manufactured clothing — advocating for alternative means of production and modes of consumption. (links in original) [1] Waiting for industry officials or their paid media mouthpieces—or political leaders with votes to gather—to deliver the truthful but sobering set of facts about our future energy supply will guarantee a long wait. Too many self-serving and short-term interests to be tended to make it unlikely we’ll get the honest and full […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Pro-Russia protesters refuse to retreat in eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russia activists refused to retreat from occupied public buildings in eastern Ukraine on Friday despite an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough on Thursday night that laid out steps to disarm the protesters and ease tensions in the country. After seven hours of negotiations, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and John Kerry and Andriy Deshchytsia, his US and Ukrainian counterparts, said a statement had been agreed calling for the disbanding of armed groups, the vacation of occupied streets and buildings, and an amnesty for people detained during the unrest. In addition, Ukraine will embark on a process of constitutional reform designed to foster regional autonomy, local self-government and the protection of minority rights, a process which both Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov stressed must be “inclusive, transparent, and accountable”. But anti-Kiev protesters were determined to stand their ground on Friday, reinforcing doubts already emerging over the ability to implement the […]

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EU Warns Russia Not to Risk Its Role as Gas Supplier

The European Union warned Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday not to risk his country’s role as a secure supplier of gas to the bloc and said Brussels was willing to start three-way talks quickly with Moscow and Kiev to resolve any concerns. In a letter to Mr. Putin, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the EU’s executive, said the "contractual reliability of the Russian Federation as a supplier of gas is at stake in this matter." The EU meets around a quarter of its gas needs from Russian imports, around half of which reach the bloc through Ukraine. In 2009, some EU consumers were left without energy after pipelines between Russia and Ukraine were shut. Last week, Mr. Putin sent a letter to 18 European leaders, in which he said Russia could force Ukraine to make prepayments for its gas supplies because of […]

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Mega oil field discovered in southern Russia

A new oil field with roughly 300 million tons of oil and 90 billion cubic meters of gas has been discovered in the Astrakhan region of Russia. “The field’s reserves are unprecedented, this discovery confirms the high potential of the Astrakhan region in terms of these major discoveries,” Sergey Donskoy, Russia’s Natural Resources Minister said on Wednesday. The field, called “Velikoe” (The Great) was discovered by the AFB Oil and Gas Company, which will likely seek out larger partners to develop it. Two likely candidates are Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned and largest producer, and Lukoil, the country’s second biggest producer. "According to experts, given the lack of large land deposits, project participation will likely come from all major industry players. The most probable partners are Rosneft and Lukoil, which already have projects in neighboring regions,” Uralsib Capital analyst Aleksey Kokin told mail.ru. Kokin estimates the deposits could be worth nearly […]

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Crude-Oil Futures Mixed in Asia Ahead of Ukraine Talks

Crude-oil futures were mixed in the Asian session Thursday, with traders cautious ahead of a long Easter holiday weekend and a meeting later in the day between the West and Russia over rising tensions in Ukraine. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $104.14 a barrel at 0515 GMT, up $0.28 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.09 to $109.51 a barrel. The European Union, the U.S., Russia and Ukraine will meet in Geneva on Thursday in an effort to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine. Western diplomats on Wednesday played down hopes of a major breakthrough at the talks. "However, if the bar has been set low enough in terms of expectations, then there is some chance that the market will retreat on even very minor progress, such as an […]

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WTI Crude Rises on Escalating Ukraine Crisis; Brent Holds Steady

West Texas Intermediate rose for a second day as concern over the escalating crisis in Ukraine outweighed data showing the biggest gain in U.S. crude supplies in more than a decade. Brent was steady in London . Futures advanced as much as 0.5 percent in New York. Ukraine accused Russia of fueling terrorism in its eastern regions as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization pledged to bolster the defenses of nearby nations. Crude stockpiles increased by 10 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s the most since March 2001 and more than five times the estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. “The saber-rattling in eastern Europe is playing a part in the firmness of oil prices ,” said Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may sell contracts if West Texas climbs to $106 a barrel. “Price […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple