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India's Oil and Gas Jewel Needs Polish

Bloomberg News India’s government calls Oil & Natural Gas Corp. one of its "nine jewels," sparkling state-owned assets with brilliant potential. New Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to sell part of these family jewels before he does anything to help realize that potential. The government, which owns more than two-thirds of ONGC, may float 5% of the shares sometime after October, according to officials this week. Last week’s Indian budget has aggressive targets for revenue, including for selling stakes in state firms that, in theory, investors would love to get a hold of. India’s largest energy producer by output is such a company, boasting low costs and low debt. Yet this crown jewel needs polish due to the country’s oil and gas subsidy programs, which saddles ONGC with huge costs. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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India’s Oil and Gas Jewel Needs Polish

Bloomberg News India’s government calls Oil & Natural Gas Corp. one of its "nine jewels," sparkling state-owned assets with brilliant potential. New Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to sell part of these family jewels before he does anything to help realize that potential. The government, which owns more than two-thirds of ONGC, may float 5% of the shares sometime after October, according to officials this week. Last week’s Indian budget has aggressive targets for revenue, including for selling stakes in state firms that, in theory, investors would love to get a hold of. India’s largest energy producer by output is such a company, boasting low costs and low debt. Yet this crown jewel needs polish due to the country’s oil and gas subsidy programs, which saddles ONGC with huge costs. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Obama Moves Closer to Seismic Testing for Oil in Atlantic

The Obama administration took a step toward allowing oil and gas drilling off seven Atlantic Coast states for the first time in decades, establishing guidelines for seismic testing that would gauge offshore reserves. The decision today doesn’t authorize the tests, done by ships towing guns that blast high intensity sound waves into the water. The Interior Department will consider applications for testing in light of safety standards to mitigate risks to ocean life, the head of the agency’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. Environmental groups criticized the action, saying tests would pose serious risks to species including sea turtles and the right whale and could lead to drilling in a region that has been off-limits to oil exploration since the early 1980s. “Not only is seismic exploration a gateway drug to offshore drilling, it is a major assault on our ocean itself, with far-reaching impacts on marine mammals […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. gets low energy-efficiency marks

The United States ranked 13th, ten spots behind the entire European Union, in terms of energy efficiency, a Washington policy center reported. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked the United States 13th out of 16 major economies it reviewed on energy efficiency indices. The European Union as a whole ranked No. 3, with Germany taking the top spot. "The United States, long considered an innovative and competitive world leader, has allowed other nations to surpass it," the report said. The 16 economies rated by ACEEE make up 81 percent of the global gross domestic product and more than 70 percent of the global electricity consumption. Countries were ranked on 31 different metrics. Out of 100 possible points, Germany led with 65 points based in part on efficiency in its industrial sector. It was a three-way tie between France, Italy and the European Union as a whole for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EDF signs U.S. LNG sales and purchase deal

French energy company EDF agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from an export facility being developed in Texas, Cheniere Energy announced. Cheniere’s subsidiary, Corpus Christi Liquefaction, said it entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the French energy company. EDF under the terms of the agreement agreed to purchase 380,000 tons of liquefied natural gas from the second phase, or train, of the LNG export facility under development in Corpus Christi. Another 770,000 tons of LNG would come from Train 3 once it’s developed. The export terminal in Corpus Christi would have three trains with a net production capacity of 13.6 million tons of LNG per year. "EDF is the first foundation customer on Train 3 of our Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project being developed in Texas," Chairman Charif Souki said in a statement Thursday. The terms of the EDF agreement extend for 20 years and deliveries are expected […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Did the US Commerce condensate export rulings mean nothing?

Two US Commerce Department rulings giving a pair of Eagle Ford players legal backing to export processed condensate have been viewed as a dramatic loosening of America’s 40-year ban on crude exports, or at least a sign that long-awaited export policy changes were near. But what if these private letter rulings really only impact the companies that received them and nothing more? Is it possible that the much ballyhooed Commerce decisions permitting Enterprise Product Partners and Pioneer Natural Resources to export processed lease condensate will mean relatively nothing in the overall export debate? According the lawyer for Enterprise, the effect of these decisions has been vastly overstated. The rulings impact a very specific type of condensate, processed through very specific facilities, and really nothing more. And the idea that these rulings could open the door to the export of hundreds of thousands of barrels of very lightly processed crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Schlumberger sees 'strong' upstream activity in second-half 2014: CEO

Oil services provider Schlumberger sees a "strong" outlook for upstream activity in the second half of 2014, with its international businesses expanding in all geographic markets and North America offering growth opportunities, particularly in onshore shale plays, its CEO said Friday. As the global economy continues to recover, the global oil market is relatively tight, although solid demand has been offset in part by pockets of supply uncertainty due to political events in parts of the world, Paal Kibsgaard said during a second-quarter earnings call. But in general, Brent crude that is holding above $100/barrel should encourage investment in oil-directed activity as US production continues to grow, Kibsgaard said. In 2014, "we continue to expect well-related E&P investment levels to grow north of 6%, driven by more development than production-focused activities," he said. Meanwhile, "exploration spending will be largely flattish in 2014 driven by lower seismic spending as international […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Schlumberger sees ‘strong’ upstream activity in second-half 2014: CEO

Oil services provider Schlumberger sees a "strong" outlook for upstream activity in the second half of 2014, with its international businesses expanding in all geographic markets and North America offering growth opportunities, particularly in onshore shale plays, its CEO said Friday. As the global economy continues to recover, the global oil market is relatively tight, although solid demand has been offset in part by pockets of supply uncertainty due to political events in parts of the world, Paal Kibsgaard said during a second-quarter earnings call. But in general, Brent crude that is holding above $100/barrel should encourage investment in oil-directed activity as US production continues to grow, Kibsgaard said. In 2014, "we continue to expect well-related E&P investment levels to grow north of 6%, driven by more development than production-focused activities," he said. Meanwhile, "exploration spending will be largely flattish in 2014 driven by lower seismic spending as international […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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California reopens two injection wells; nine remain shut

California regulators Friday authorized the reopening of two injection wells, out of 11 ordered temporarily shut two weeks ago on fears of potential pollution to underground water sources. Earlier this month, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources issued orders to seven oil production companies to immediately shut 11 wastewater disposal wells to avoid potential harm to aquifers in Kern County. There are more than 1,500 such wells in California. In a statement Friday, DOGGR said "since the initial orders were issued, two of the 11 wells have been authorized to resume operations following division review." The agency did not identify the wells that had been ordered shut in, or those that were authorized to reopen. Article continues below… Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points in major U.S. markets. Gas Daily keeps you […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count decreases to 1,871

The US drilling rig count dropped 4 units to settle at 1,871 rigs working during the week ended July 18, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. All four of those units were land rigs, which relinquished 5 overall to 1,796. Offshore rigs edged up a unit to 57. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unmoved from last week at 18. Gas rigs rose 4 units to 315, cutting into a 9-unit fall in oil rigs to 1,554. Rigs considered unclassified edged up a unit to 2. Horizontal drilling rigs jumped 23 units to 1,288 while directional drilling rigs relinquished 5 units to 217. Canada’s rig count leaped 66 units to 381, a 57-unit gain from this week a year ago. A vast majority of those rigs targeted oil, which jumped 48 units to 226. Gas rigs increased 18 units to 155. Major states, basins North Dakota and Louisiana each gained […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple