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Egypt, Iran, Jordan Call Off Gas Pipeline Talks

Egypt , Iraq and Jordan have called off talks regarding construction of a gas pipeline as a result of violence, instability and insecurity, reports Daily News Egypt . The goal of the proposed pipeline was to carry Iraqi fuel to Jordan and Egypt or to transform gas to its liquid form in one of the factories operating in Egypt, which would then be exported. According to the Egyptian newspaper, a study focusing on the construction of a pipeline was supposed to be completed at the end of this year. In March this year, the three countries signed two agreements regarding the pipeline. The first agreement dealt with transferring natural gas through the Arab Gas Pipeline. The second agreement required connecting of LNG project to the gas tube with a link up with the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the National Electricity Company on the one hand and […]

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Libya Says Tripoli Fuel-Tank Fire Under Control

A huge pall of smoke rises on the horizon after rockets fired by one of Libya’s militias struck and ignited a tank in the capital’s main fuel depot, in Tripoli, Libya, on Saturday, Aug. 2. European Pressphoto Agency A huge fire at Libya’s main fuel depot in the capital Tripoli is now under control, but the facility still faces real risks as militias continue to clash in the battle-torn nation, a spokesperson for the National Oil Corp., or NOC, said Wednesday The blaze was ignited near Tripoli airport Saturday when a missile strike from one of the militias fighting in Libya hit the depot, which contains 90 million liters (almost 24 million gallons) of fuel and cooking gas. "Eight fuel tanks were ablaze, but the situation is now under control and firefighters are watching closely to make sure that the fire doesn’t spread to other tanks," NOC spokesman Mohamed […]

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U.S. Nuclear Negotiator to Resume Talks With Iran

The Obama administration’s chief nuclear negotiator is meeting Thursday with Iranian officials in Geneva as negotiations resume on a deal to prevent the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons. The State Department said Undersecretary Wendy Sherman will be part of a U.S. delegation that also includes Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. Iran and six world powers failed last month to meet their target date for cutting a nuclear deal but agreed to extend the talks until November . In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ms. Sherman refused to provide a hard deadline for a deal with Iran. —Copyright 2014 Associated Press

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Shell gets new oil online in Nigeria

Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it started oil production from the first well at its deepwater Bonga North West development off the coast of Nigeria. "This is an excellent addition to our deep-water portfolio — a key growth theme for Shell’s world-wide upstream business," Andrew Brown , Shell’s director of international exploration and production, said in a statement . The entire Bonga prospect started oil and gas production in 2005 and was Nigeria’s first development in deep waters. Shell said the new start-up represents a significant step forward for the project. Oil from Bonga North West will be sent through a pipeline to a floating production, storage and offloading export facility near the Nigerian shore. At its peak, the facility is expected to process as much as 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Nigeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is the largest oil producer […]

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Venezuela Says Citgo Assets Worth More Than $10 Billion

Petroleos de Venezuela SA , the Latin American nation’s state-owned crude producer, said the U.S. oil refining and marketing assets it’s seeking to sell are worth more than $10 billion. “Their value is much, much more,” Rafael Ramirez , president of the oil producer known as PDVSA, told reporters yesterday. He said the company is receiving offers for assets of Houston-based Citgo Petroleum Corp., without providing details on the value of the bids. Citgo owns three refineries capable of handling about 749,000 barrels a day in Louisiana , Texas and Illinois . It also operates the sixth-largest U.S. retail gasoline chain through about 5,900 branded stations, according to the Arlington, Virginia-based National Association of Convenience Stores. Argus Media reported July 24 that the government has received offers in the range of $10 billion to $15 billion for the assets. “We are not a refining company, we’re an oil-producing company,” […]

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Bakken output up, profit down for Continental

Continental Resources said Wednesday production from the Bakken reserve area in the Northern Plains increased 23 percent year-on-year, though profits were down. The company said net production from the Bakken field, spread out over much of North Dakota and Montana, totaled 108,573 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the second quarter, an 11 percent increase from the first quarter and 23 percent year-on-year. Nearly 90 percent of the output came from North Dakota, where output increased 13 percent from the first quarter of the year. Continental boasted that cumulative oil production from the Bakken reserve reached the 1 billion barrel mark at some point during the first quarter. The company is the largest producer, driller and leaseholder in the Bakken field, which it says may be the largest oil field discovered in the world in more than 40 years. The company said its quarterly profit, however, was down […]

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Sand mines are latest fracking concern

The backlash against sand used in fracking operations should be a warning to countries looking to replicate North American success, an opposition group said. Energy companies in North America use a silica crystal during hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations. The practice involves water mixed with the fine particles and trace amounts of chemicals to create fissures in shale that release trapped oil and gas deposits. Companies mining the sand are growing, though there’s been a backlash against their operations. Last week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ordered a mine operator to shut down because of environmental concerns. The Price of Oil , a group critical of the oil and gas industry, said there have been corresponding health concerns with so-called frac-sand. The fine silica sand mined for fracking can cause lung damage, it said. The group said Wednesday the outcry over fracking now extends to sand, which should […]

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Colorado fracking initiatives pulled

An advocacy group in Colorado said it withdrew initiatives aimed at regulating oil and gas work in response to compromise measures from the state’s governor. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Monday he made a deal with the environmental advocacy community and those in the energy industry that would ward off initiatives that would have curtailed oil and gas drilling in the state. Instead, the governor said he created a task force that would oversee the issue in a way that would benefit residents and the state’s economy. Coloradans for Safe and Clean Energy, in coordination with Reps. Frank McNulty and Jerry Sonnenberg, both state Republicans, said Wednesday it withdrew so-called Initiative 88, which would require drilling rigs to be located 2,000 feet from homes, and Initiative 89, creating and environmental bill of rights, for ballot consideration. "Going forward the grassroots movement that has driven this campaign will remain engaged […]

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Bakken Major Contributor to EOG’s Production Growth in Q2

EOG Resources Bakken Acreage Map EOG Resources Bakken Acreage Map In its second quarter report,  EOG Resources  said the Bakken and  Eagle Ford Shale  plays were major contributors to EOG’s overall production growth. EOG’s U.S. crude oil production grew 33% year-over-year and associated natural gas liquids NGLs grew 22% year-over-year. See below for EOG’s U.S. production volumes for the quarter: Crude Oil and Condensate – 274,600 b/d NGLs – 78,500 b/d Natural Gas – 925 MMcfd The company said most of its activity was focused on its core acreage in Mountrail County during the quarter. According to company officials, well productivity improved due to continued refinements in completion designs. In EOG’s first-quarter report, the company indicated its activity in the Bakken would nearly double. So far, the company is on track to hit their target goal. Read more : EOG Resources Plans to Nearly Double Bakken Activity in 2014 […]

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Chesapeake Energy Profit Slides as Costs, Revenue Rise

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said its second-quarter earnings fell 67%, dragged down by a loss on the repurchase of debt securities related to a refinancing. The company, however, raised its midpoint of 2014 production outlook by 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and posted a bigger-than-expected increase in revenue. Chief Executive Doug Lawler said Chesapeake plans to connect 35% more wells in the second half of the year compared with the first six months. "As our pace of well connections accelerates, we expect our production growth trajectory will increase accordingly," he said. The company also completed its spinoff of its oil and natural-gas business, now known as Seventy Seven Energy Inc., on June 30. The division—which as a part of Chesapeake offered drilling, hydraulic fracturing and rig relocation, among other services—pulled in about $2.2 billion in revenue last year. In conjunction with the spinoff, Chesapeake removed $1.1 billion of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple