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Gazprom Neft readies arctic oil shipments

The company said it would ship a low sulfur blend of crude oil , dubbed Novy Port, from the field bearing its name from the Yamal peninsula. "A sea tanker will deliver the oil to Europe in September and over 80,000 tons of the new Novy Port oil classification are scheduled to be delivered from the field by two tankers during the 2014 ice-free season," the company said in a statement. Changes in global weather patterns are leaving parts of the arctic region ice-free for longer periods of time. Gazprom Neft said it confirmed in 2011 that using a nuclear-powered icebreaker would facilitate transportation of oil from the port on the northern peninsula, where pipeline infrastructure is lacking. When ice is heavy, the company said it would ship oil by rail to a northern rail terminal for transportation to the regional market until an export terminal is completed in […]

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Premier Oil to Sell Down Falklands Project

LONDON— Premier Oil PLC has held discussions with companies interested in buying a stake in its Sea Lion project in the Falkland Islands, newly appointed Chief Executive Tony Durrant said Thursday. The U.K.-listed oil and gas explorer, which wants to reduce its exposure to the $5.2 billion project, aims to launch the formal sale process in the fourth quarter and to have sold the stake by the middle of next year, when it also plans to take the final investment decision on the development. "We don’t have any doubts about the project, but we currently have a 60% interest and it makes sense for us to bring in a partner," said Mr. Durrant, who stepped up from his role as finance director to CEO of Premier in late June. Premier is looking to sell a 20% to 30% stake in the project. He said there was "significant interest" in […]

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Natural Gas Production Falls Short in China

SHOUYANG, China — Jin Peisheng, a drilling rig foreman, knows the challenges of trying to extract natural gas from a coal seam under the cornfields here in north-central China. Cracks in the subterranean coal are flooded with water that needs to be pumped out before the gas will emerge. The coal seams are so cold that gels injected into the well, which are meant to help release the gas, sometimes become gummy and block the flow instead. And there is constant concern about hitting the labyrinths of active coal mines that honeycomb the area. “The big uncertainty is what’s underground — if there’s a tunnel, that’s a big danger. It would be dangerous for the miners,” Mr. Jin said. Faced with severe air pollution from coal and a rising dependence on energy imports, China has been eager to follow the United States by rapidly increasing natural gas output. Replacing […]

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China Said to Mull Subsidies for Energy-Saving Appliances

China is considering a plan to offer subsidies to encourage wider use of energy-saving home appliances, people familiar with the matter said. Shares of appliance makers rose. The State Council would need to approve the subsidies plan, which targets makers of appliances including energy-efficient air conditioners and refrigerators, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The Ministry of Finance , National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce are drafting the plan, they said. The subsidies would follow a yearlong program begun in 2012 offering financial incentives to consumers of energy-efficient appliances. China’s household electronic sales rose 8.6 percent in the first seven months of the year, lower than the 15 percent sales growth in the same period last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Companies would need to submit applications for their products […]

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Maersk to Lay Off Portion of Houston Workforce

Maersk Oil confirmed to Rigzone that it would let 54 employees go from its Houston office and relocate eight employees from Houston to its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The operational challenges of growing a non-operated exploration portfolio in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico prompted Maersk to scale back exploration in the basin, resulting to a refocusing of Maersk’s Houston office and merger of a number of activities with global functions in Copenhagen. Maersk Oil is part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. The company will retain 150 employees as part of its refocused Houston organization, Maersk spokesperson Charlotte Holst Frahm told Rigzone in a statement. “The Houston team will continue to play a key role in managing Maersk Oil’s interests in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and supporting its key project developments in deepwater, including the Chissonga field offshore Angola, and the Chevron Corp.-operated Jack discovery and Buckskin prospect in […]

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Statoil to Supply Gas to Lithuania in Five-Year Deal

Lithuanian gas supplier Litgas said Thursday it has signed a five-year deal with Norway’s Statoil AS A to deliver 540 million cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2015, a move that could put an end to Lithuania being wholly dependent on Russian gas. "This strategic contract will help to ensure the availability of an alternative natural gas import source, which will enable us and other Lithuanian companies to procure natural gas on international markets from various suppliers at any time," said Dominykas Tuckus, general manager of UAB Litgas. The Baltic nation is currently dependent on Gazprom for 100% of its gas, and Lithuanians have been paying 15% higher than the European average gas price. Concerns about price and energy security have prompted Lithuania to lease a ship—dubbed ‘Independence’—that will allow it to process liquefied natural gas from non-Russian sources and deliver it to Lithuanian customers at potentially lower […]

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Gas prices dropping, Energy Department says

The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said gasoline prices have decreased in all parts of the United States apart from the Rocky Mountains region, where the average price as of Aug. 18 was up less than one cent from the previous week. Motor club AAA reports a national average price Thursday of $3.43 per gallon, nearly four cents lower than the previous week and about 10 cents less than the price for this date in 2013. The average price is the lowest it’s been since February and the lowest price for August in four years. In a Monday report, AAA said traders have shrugged off tensions in Russia, Ukraine and Iraq. "This is largely due to the relative stability of global supply projections, attributed to the U.S. approaching its highest annual level of oil production since 1972 and Libya’s returning to previous production levels," […]

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Gulf of Mexico auction draws $100 million in bids

Acreage up for auction in Lease Sale 238 could lead to the production of between 116 million and 200 million barrels of oil and 538 billion and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas, the U.S. Interior Department said. The auction in New Orleans attracted $109 million in high bids for 81 tracts covering more than 433,000 acres off the coast of Texas. Deputy Interior Secretary Mike Connor said the bid totals are a testament to the importance of the Gulf of Mexico. "The Gulf of Mexico has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of our domestic energy portfolio, with vital energy resources that spur economic opportunities and further reduce our dependence on foreign oil," he said in a statement. Lease sales included under a five-year energy plan outlined by President Barack Obama have generated $2.3 billion in bid revenues. A consortium of energy industry leaders called […]

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Texas, N.D. oil push imports down

Bentek Energy, the analytical division of Platts, said July oil production from the Bakken area in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas increased 3.4 percent year-on-year , or more than 86,000 barrels per day. "Oil production gains from the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale formations are a major reason why U.S. imports of crude oil have dropped to levels not seen since the mid-1990s," Benteck Director of Energy Analysis Jack Weixel said in a statement Thursday. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its monthly short-term market report total U.S. crude oil production reached 8.5 million barrels per day in July, the highest monthly level since April 1987. The rise in domestic oil production in turn means lower imports of foreign crude oil . EIA said imports nearly halved from 2005 to average 33 percent of the market share […]

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Shell committed to Ukrainian shale

| License Photo Russia’s state media RIA Novosti said it’s received word Royal Dutch Shell remains committed to shale gas reserves in Ukraine despite the violence. "Shell’s interests in shale gas production in Ukraine remain the same, and we will continue to execute all kinds of operations that we can carry out safely," a spokesman told the Russian news agency on condition of anonymity. Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in early August some of the company’s operations in Europe may be influenced by ongoing crises in Ukraine. As a result, he declared force majeure , releasing the company from contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its control. Shell in early 2013 signed agreements to produce gas from the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces this week advanced on rebel-held territory in Donetsk . Heavy fighting was reported in the area this week as Ukrainian […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple