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World Shale Resource Assessments

This series of reports provides an initial assessment of world shale oil and shale gas resources. The first edition was released in 2011 and updates are released on an on-going basis. Four countries were added in 2014: Chad, Kazakhstan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and are available as supplemental chapters to the 2013 report Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources . The most current version of each country chapter is linked in the table of countries below. Archived editions are provided in links in the sidebar column to the right. Countries assessed by date Unproved technically recoverable Region Country wet shale gas (trillion cubic feet) tight oil (billion barrels) Date updated North America Canada 572.9 8.8 4/14/15 Mexico 545.2 13.1 5/17/13 U.S. 1 622.5 78.2 4/14/15 Australia Australia 2 429.3 15.6 5/17/13 South America Argentina 801.5 27.0 5/17/13 Bolivia 36.4 0.6 5/17/13 Brazil 244.9 5.3 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North Dakota panel approves plan to delay gas flaring limits

The North Dakota Industrial Commission approved Thursday an industry proposal to delay further cuts to associated gas flaring until at least October 2016. The proposal, from the North Dakota Petroleum Council, is needed due to the lack of new gas capture and pipeline infrastructure, which have been delayed for a variety of reasons, including low oil and gas prices, right-of-way disputes and pad size limitations, the council argued. Under a state mandate the commission approved in 2014, operators were required to reach a set of benchmarks to limit flaring over time, including 15% by 2016 and 10% by 2020. Producers would face production curtailment penalties if they fail to meet those flaring reduction benchmarks. But according to the industry group, operators are unable to reach the upcoming 15% benchmark and want it pushed back to at least October 2016. The three-member commission, which includes North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Can Part-Time Work Minimize the Number of Layoffs in Oil, Gas?

The latter part of 2014’s plummeting oil prices set the stage for a challenging 2015 and remaining uncertainty for 2016. Companies large and small, independent and integrated, have been affected by the downturn. It seemed like there were layoffs abound in 2015 – more than 150,000 were reported in June . No company was immune. But, despite the downturn, companies have to remain operational. Somewhere in between continual mass layoffs and companies becoming insolvent has to be a middle ground that both companies and workers will accept. Is part-time work the answer? Rigzone explores the possibility. Weighing Options When the industry peaks and exploration and production is up, companies may feel like they have plenty of employees, but once they start trimming employees during a downturn, there’s significantly less people to do the work or any new work that comes about. With the amount of layoffs already reported this […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Salt caverns to prevent oil storage shortage: VTTI

Birds fly over storage tanks on a Continental Resources oil production site near Williston, North Dakota January 23, 2015. The world’s oil storage tanks are brimming but there is plenty more space to hand in natural salt caverns and elsewhere, said the head VTTI, a leading player in the sector. The crude price collapse has hit energy companies hard, but oil storage is booming with producers and traders renting tanks and investors snapping up assets. "There is a lot of capacity but there is also a lot of demand," said Rob Nijst, chief executive officer of VTTI, which is half owned by the world’s largest oil trader Vitol. "Everyone wants more storage volumes at the moment." The high volatility in oil prices has offered trading houses such as Vitol, Trafigura, Mercuria, Royal Dutch Shell and BP many opportunities to make money through storage. "The price volatility has been a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Whatever Happened to Peak Oil?

Offshore oil platform image via shutterstock. Reproduced at Resilience.org. Whatever happened to “peak oil” – the assertion that the rate at which oil is extracted from the Earth is nearing a maximum or peak level? With falling oil and gasoline prices and a boom of new oil development in the United States and elsewhere, concern about global oil supplies have faded from public view. But have concerns about peak oil really disappeared? What key factors have changed in the oil industry, and what challenges remain? Are we entering a new era of “abundance” or are the risks of the world’s dependence on oil rising? Guests: Key Questions: Cost : What are the trends regarding costs to maintain global oil production now and in the future? Are costs of developing new oil rising or are fracking and other technologies driving production costs down? Do falling prices mean that oil is […]

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JODI Data and Giant Field Depletion

I am starting this post off with a news article because it explains why JODI has U.S. production numbers wrong for July. No, U.S. Oil Production Probably Didn’t Rise in July The Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) releases monthly oil supply-and-demand data for about 80 countries, which it gathers by directly surveying the countries. It is widely cited by analysts, especially for its figures on demand, imports and exports. The latest JODI data released Sunday showed that U.S. crude-oil production rose from 9.3 million barrels a day in June to 9.5 million barrels in July. But the EIA’s latest forecast called for July production to fall to 9.2 million barrels a day in July , continuing the trend of declining U.S. production as companies cut spending in the face of low prices. For the charts below I have used JODI data for all Non-OPEC nations except those that do […]

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U.S. crude stockpiles fall more than expected last week: EIA

Oil storage tanks are seen at sunrise with the Rocky Mountains and the Denver downtown skyline in the background October 14, 2014. U.S. crude oil stocks fell more than expected last week, while gasoline inventories increased and distillates drew down unexpectedly, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell 1.9 million barrels in the week to Sept. 18, the second straight weekly drawdown, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 533,000 barrels. The fall was smaller than the previous week’s 2.1-million barrel draw. U.S. crude imports fell 13,000 barrels per day last week with Gulf Coast imports dropping to second lowest weekly level since 1992. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures fell 462,000 barrels, EIA said. Crude futures extended gains in choppy trade after the bigger-than-expected drop, but pared gains later. "The drawdown is giving us a bit […]

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Energy Capital Said to Seek Buyers for Stake in Summit Midstream

Energy Capital Partners is seeking seeking buyers for its interest in Summit Midstream Partners LP, a deal that would include a minority stake in the pipeline operator as well as ownership of its general partner, according to people familiar with the matter. The sale would also include some oil and gas gathering and processing operations in North Dakota, Colorado and Ohio owned by an affiliate of Summit Midstream, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Energy Capital is working with Barclays Plc to find a buyer for the assets, which could fetch at least $2 billion, one person said. If offers are too low, the firm may also consider taking the assets public. Such a listing would resemble Tallgrass Energy Partners LP’s initial public offering earlier this year of affiliate Tallgrass Energy GP, the people said. A spokesman for Barclays declined to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EIA: Bakken Production Declines

Bakken Rigs and Productivity Production in the Bakken Shale play decreased over the summer according to the Energy Information Administration’ s latest Drilling Productivity Report. Related: Bakken Rig Count Falls to 70 Since April, oil production in the major shale plays has decreased sharply, with total production falling by 350,000 barrels and the EIA expects that this trend will continue and for production to decline for most of the key US shales by October. On September 14th, the EIA reported that the Bakken Shale produced 1.22 MMbpd (million barrels per day) of crude oil in August, 1.40% less than the month before but 5.10% more that a year ago. The Bakken will likely see a fall and is expected to produce 1.18 MMbpd (million barrels per day) of crude oil in October. And the bad news gets worse. Recent data from FactSet suggests that producers in the shale industry […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple