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North Dakota’s Oil Bonanza Is Unsustainable

A decade ago, North Dakota was a wind-swept also-ran in the oil industry. Wildcatters struck oil there in the 1950s, but the rock was too dense to get most of it out, and the fields never amounted to much. The state produced about 30 million barrels of oil in 2004, enough to satisfy U.S. demand for about a day and a half. Then everything changed. In the mid-2000s, companies in Texas had figured out how to extract natural gas from dense shale rock near Fort Worth. A few enterprising oil men figured the same approach might work in North Dakota’s oil fields, and after a few false starts, they proved correct. Between 2004 and 2008, North Dakota’s oil production doubled. Then it doubled again. And again. This month, the Energy Information Administration said North Dakota produced 30 million barrels of oil in April — as much as it had […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Few limits offshore, Shell says

Oil companies have yet to reach the point that technology is limiting access to offshore reserves, a Shell official in charge of deep American waters said. Shell announced a discovery in the Rydberg area of the Norphlet play in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico last week. The company said it’s still assessing the data from the exploratory well in the area but expects it to hold about 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. John Hollowell, Shell’s vice president in charge of deep waters in the Americas, told The Daily Telegraph in London there were few limitations to how deep or how far offshore oil companies can drill. "How far you can go is really technology based," he said in an interview published Sunday. "When we can’t overcome the technical barriers, that will be the end, but we have yet to reach that stage." […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Delta sources Bakken crude for Pa. refinery

A subsidiary of said Monday it signed a five-year deal to send 65,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day to its refinery in Trainer, Pa. Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy signed the deal with midstream energy company Bridger LLC to supply about 30 percent of the crude oil refined daily at the Trainer facility. The crude oil would be sourced primarily from the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota, which the company says is cheaper than oil imported from overseas markets. "Supplying a third of the crude refined at Trainer from the Bakken further reduces the overall cost of fuel for Delta," Graeme Burnett, a senior vice president for fuel optimization for Delta and chairman of Monroe, said in a statement . Bridger is a midstream company that recently invested $200 million on railcars, which are said to exceed current safety standards for crude oil transportation. There’s not enough […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia’s Message on Jet: Conciliation and Bluster

Russia presented a combination of conciliation and bluster on Monday over its handling of the downed Malaysia Airlines jet, with President Vladimir V. Putin seemingly probing for a way out of the crisis without appearing to compromise with the West. On one hand, he offered conciliatory words in a video statement , oddly released in the middle of the night, while the separatists allied with Moscow in southeastern Ukraine released the bodies of the victims and turned over the black box flight recorders from the doomed aircraft to Malaysian officials. However, two senior military officers forcefully demanded that the United States show publicly any proof that rebels fired the fatal missile, and again suggested that the Ukrainian military shot down the Malaysia Airlines jet despite the fact that Ukraine has not used antiaircraft weapons in the fight along its eastern border. Mr. Putin seemed to respond to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil: Abundance? Not Really

It’s certainly understandable and indeed common practice in probably every sales conversation in every profession known to man that putting the best spin on the story told is a given. Most buyers/consumers would be surprised at the very least if a presenter offered up her or his best but then immediately discounted that version with other information contradicting it all and discouraging the consumers from even considering what’s being offered. We all understand there’s a game to be played. While that may be standard practice and simply part of the bargain to eventually be struck in the great majority of consumer transactions where the parties tend to be on equal footing, energy supply conversations don’t fall into that category when the discussion is between everyday consumers and industry officials or their representatives. Matters of such scope tend to be outside the range of interest for all but a few, […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Tech Talk – and things continue to get worse

It is difficult to see any positive interpretation of the changes and conflicts that are increasingly filling the headlines of the press. Fluctuating optimism over the return to credible export production from Libya, to take but one example, is no sooner reported when the news comes of increased fighting in Tripoli , including the international airport. At the same time violence is spreading towards Egypt . Without a strong central government it is likely that the conflicts in that country will continue into the foreseeable future, with continued negative impacts on the export of oil from the country. Transient attempts to maintain a cease-fire and stabilize South Sudan have apparently failed again . The fighting has shut down local oil production, while overall production from South Sudan has been cut to 165 kbd. Capital continues to leave Russia (h/t Nick) and that flight is only likely to accelerate as […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil prices ease but remain elevated

Oil prices fell further Monday as concern about Ukraine eased but still were elevated on anxiety about the Middle East. Prices rose last week on fears stemming from the escalating crisis in Ukraine and Israel’s offensive in Gaza, though analysts said the likelihood of disruption in supplies was small. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was down 32 cents to $102.81 per barrel at 0730 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That added to a 6 cent decline on Friday to $103.13. Brent crude for September delivery, a benchmark for international oils, gave up 30 cents to $106.94 on the ICE exchange in London. Washington announced new sanctions last Wednesday on Russia, including its biggest oil company, over Moscow’s support for separatist forces in Ukraine. On Thursday, a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down in Ukraine, raising concern a possible Western response might disrupt Russian […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran Seen Keeping Oil Sales Steady as Nuclear Talks Extended

Iran ’s oil exports will remain near the highest level in two years as talks with six global powers over the Persian Gulf state’s nuclear program are extended for four more months, according to six analysts in a survey. Sales of crude and condensates by Iran to six main buyers averaged 1.27 million barrels a day in the first six months of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from customs statistics and International Energy Agency estimates. Shipments will stay near that level in the second half, according to the analysts Bloomberg surveyed on July 16 and 17. “Iran’s going to want oil exports to keep edging up, and the U.S. has been willing to allow some wiggle room,” Robin Mills, an analyst at Manaar Energy Consulting & Project Management, said by phone from Dubai yesterday. “The extension is a sign they’ve made progress on nuclear talks and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Overnight attacks in Iraq kill at least 16 people

Attacks overnight in two Iraqi cities killed at least 16 people, officials said Monday as authorities struggle to stop the Sunni militants’ offensive that has left huge areas in northern and western Iraq outside of government control. In one of the attacks, mortar rounds rained down on Shiite neighborhoods in the town of Mahmoudiya on Sunday night, killing 11 civilians and wounding 31, a police official said. The mixed Shiite-Sunni town is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad. And in Baghdad’s western suburb of Abu Ghraib, a roadside bomb struck an army patrol, killing two soldiers and three volunteers who took up arms following the Sunni militant push across Iraq in recent weeks. Eighth people were wounded in that attack, said the police official. Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Besieged Iraqi oil sector buoyed by southern expansion

Iraq is on track for a strong month of oil sales, as southern fields increase output into revamped export infrastructure.The success of the southern oil sector to date has been essential, partly compensating for the loss of nearly all Iraqi production and refining capacity north of Baghdad, following a massive insurgent offensive led by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Making good on growth plans will be equally as important."Currently our output is estimated at 3.15 million… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple