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Lure of Israel’s gas may dampen Turkish ire

TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and key energy power in the Middle East, a move that could produce significant geopolitical changes in a region beset by turmoil. That includes a new alliance with Turkey, which seems to be moving toward setting aside its political differences with the Jewish state, just as it is doing with Iraq’s oil-rich Kurds, in the interest of achieving its ambition to become the main energy broker in the region. Israel is now considering its options for exporting gas from its Tamar field, which began production March 30, and the larger but still undeveloped Leviathan field, which is due to come onstream in 2015. Between them these fields contain an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Israel has set aside 40 percent of its gas production for export, expected to earn […]

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Lure of Israel's gas may dampen Turkish ire

TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and key energy power in the Middle East, a move that could produce significant geopolitical changes in a region beset by turmoil. That includes a new alliance with Turkey, which seems to be moving toward setting aside its political differences with the Jewish state, just as it is doing with Iraq’s oil-rich Kurds, in the interest of achieving its ambition to become the main energy broker in the region. Israel is now considering its options for exporting gas from its Tamar field, which began production March 30, and the larger but still undeveloped Leviathan field, which is due to come onstream in 2015. Between them these fields contain an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Israel has set aside 40 percent of its gas production for export, expected to earn […]

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China Prepares to Open Its First Deep-Water Gas Project

HONG KONG—China is set to start the pumps at its first deep-water natural-gas project, an engineering feat using a Chinese-made platform designed to withstand typhoons and using hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines. The field is part of Beijing’s effort to more than double its use of gas to 10% of China’s energy mix by 2020, helping to wean the country off the dirtier coal that produces two-thirds of its electricity. The Liwan-3 gas field in the South China Sea about 200 miles southeast of Hong Kong is expected to go online by early next year and eventually to pump about 4% of the country’s gas supply. It has the potential to send more gas to China than current imports from Australia, China’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas. For all its complexity, the $6.5 billion project is located well. The field is in undisputed waters in the South […]

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State Eyes Refinery As Ticket To Shale Gas Boom

A Brazilian conglomerate unveiled a proposal Thursday to build a multibillion-dollar natural-gas refining complex in West Virginia—the biggest such development in the state as it tries to profit from the region’s drilling boom. The proposed project by Odebrecht Group, a privately held São Paolo-based engineering, construction and petrochemical company, would include a plant known as an ethane cracker, where natural gas is turned into ethylene, a chemical-industry feedstock. The complex would also include three plants to produce polyethylene, which is used to make numerous products, from plastic bags to pipes. Odebrecht said the project is subject to securing both financing and long-term contracts to obtain ethane through pipelines, as well as regulatory approvals. A company spokeswoman declined to provide further details on the project’s cost or timing. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale—massive natural-gas deposits beneath parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio—have made Appalachia one of […]

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Gazprom Says Europe Exports to Hit 5-Year High

MOSCOW—Russian state natural gas firm OAO Gazprom OGZPY +2.40% Gazprom OAO ADS U.S.: OTCBB $ 8.96 +0.21 +2.40% Nov. 14, 2013 3:58 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1.37M AFTER HOURS $ 8.84 -0.12 -1.34% Nov. 12, 2013 4:07 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 419,636 P/E Ratio 2.65 Market Cap $103.25 Billion Dividend Yield 6.24% Rev. per Employee $384,616 11/14/13 Paul McCartney Asks Vladimir P… 11/14/13 Gazprom Says Europe Exports to… 11/12/13 Russia, Vietnam Sign 17 Deals … More quote details and news » OGZPY in Your Value Your Change Short position Thursday said it was on track to deliver its highest volumes of gas to Europe this year since 2008, as demand for its pipeline gas spiked amid lower supplies of liquefied gas delivered by tanker. Gazprom profits slumped last year as sales in Europe dropped due to increased competition and lower demand. But exports to Europe were up 15.6% […]

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Gazprom Raises Concerns Over Gas Transit to Europe via Ukraine

By James Marson MOSCOW–Ukraine is taking gas from its underground storages, which could have a “negative effect” on gas transit to Europe, a senior executive from Russian state gas firm OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) said Thursday. Ukraine said this week that it stopped taking gas from Gazprom at the start of November as it had sufficient supplies until the end of the year. “That means domestic production and underground storages are used to provide for the needs of the domestic market,” said Pavel Oderov, head of Gazprom’s International Business Department. He said gas reserves in storage are needed to ensure gas transit to Europe. Russia accounts for one-quarter of Europe’s gas needs, the bulk of which flows via Ukraine. Supplies to Europe were disrupted in 2006 and 2009 amid price and contract disputes between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine owes $1.3 billion for gas deliveries, and Gazprom is considering granting an […]

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EIA Sees 2014 US Natgas Output Up From 2013 Record High

More EIA Sees 2014 US Natgas Output Up From 2013 Record High NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday raised its estimate for domestic natural gas production in 2014, expecting output next year to be up more than 1 percent from 2013’s estimated record-high levels. In its November Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA said it expected marketed natural gas production in 2014 to rise by 0.74 billion cubic feet per day from 2013 to 71.03 bcf per day. That would be up 0.6 bcfd, or 0.9 percent, from its October outlook of 70.43 bcf daily. If the forecast is realized, it would be the fourth straight year of record production. The agency noted that output over the last few months has hit record high levels even as prices declined. Growth has mostly been driven by rising production from the Marcellus shale play in […]

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Wyoming formally adopts baseline water testing requirement

Wyoming’s state government formally adopted a requirement on Nov. 12 for oil and gas producers to test nearby water bodies before and after drilling their wells, effective Mar. 1, 2014. Landowners must give their consent for operators to sample the permitted or adjudicated water sources, the state’s Oil & Gas Conservation Commission said. These sources include domestic, stock, industrial, irrigation, municipal, or other permitted uses of water, it indicated. Gov. Matt Mead (R), who has made baseline water testing part of his energy strategy, thanked everyone who submitted comments, and specifically cited the Environmental Defense Fund and Petroleum Association of Wyoming for their constructive input. “This is another example of Wyoming leading the nation in striking the right balance between producing needed energy and protecting our natural resources,” Mead said. “We’re going to see how this rule is going to be implemented now. We know that since we have […]

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Alaska mulls hydraulic fracturing rules

JUNEAU, Alaska, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Alaska state laws could be revised so companies can protect their trade secrets for hydraulic fracturing fluid, Cathy Foerster, a state drilling regulator said. Foerster, chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said the state could revise its rules on hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking, in early 2014. “We’ve made some changes in what we proposed earlier, the most significant being that we will allow hydraulic fracturing contractors to protect the proprietary formulas of their frac fluids as trade secrets,” she said in an interview with energy information provider Platts, published Tuesday. Foerster said advocacy groups would have to pursue chemical formulas by issuing a challenge in the state’s courts. Fracking is a controversial drilling practice used to produce oil and natural gas from shale. Some of the chemicals used in the process are considered toxic. Energy companies say they […]

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North Dakota natural gas wasted, lawsuit says

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 13 (UPI) — An attorney for landowners in North Dakota said a lawsuit against energy companies in the state could force them to stop wasting gas tied to oil production. Britton Monts of Austin, Texas, said the suit against companies that burn off some of the natural gas associated with oil production because there isn’t enough pipeline infrastructure to accommodate gas deliveries might force them to review their options. “There’s so much waste going on,” Monts said in a Dallas Morning News report. North Dakota landowners who lease their land to energy companies are seeking royalties they would receive if the gas wasn’t burned off. They sued 10 U.S. and international oil companies. Two of the companies, XTO Energy and Marathon Oil, have headquarters in Texas. XTO Energy spokeswoman Suann Lundsberg told the newspaper the company was “reviewing the specific allegations.” A 12-page report published in […]

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