Energy industry – Apr 21

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Abundant clean energy in your backyard
Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney
New technologies and higher prices are leading to big new natural gas discoveries in the United States.
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Americans are used to hearing that their energy supplies are dwindling.

But new discoveries of huge new natural gas fields in the United States and Canada could change that, cutting foreign imports and boosting production of a relatively clean energy source as global warming concerns take center stage.

… Over the last few months, big gas discoveries have been announced in the Northeast, Louisiana, and British Columbia. Together, they could boost natural gas reserves in the United States and Canada by up to 10%.

These new fields are what experts call “unconventional” natural gas. What makes them unconventional is the geology.

Most natural gas previously came from fields buried in sandstone – a porous stone that is, like its name implies, similar to sand. These new fields are in shale, which has a consistency more like brick. It’s much harder to get the gas to flow out of shale than it is sandstone.
(18 April 2008)
Here’s hoping that someone knowledgeable will help to put this news of NG discoveries into perspective. Significant? Mostly hype? -BA

Oil Majors Must Rethink Business to Survive, Eni Says
Maher Chmaytelli and Anthony DiPaola, Bloomberg
International oil companies must improve their technological expertise to survive a trend of increasing nationalism among nations with energy resources, Eni SpA Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said.

“The balance of power between international energy companies and producing nations is changing, and not in our favor,” Scaroni said today in a Bloomberg Television interview at the International Energy Forum in Rome. “ The game is about technology. We need to be needed.”

Oil-producing countries are seeking a higher share of profit from crude as prices for the commodity have doubled in three years, touching a record $116.97 a barrel last week. Nigeria and Libya are renegotiating contracts, while Eni and its partners had to cede a bigger stake in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field to that country’s government last year.

The share of global crude reserves held by international oil companies has dropped to 6 percent from 75 percent in the 1970s, Scaroni said.
(20 April 2008)
Related:
Energy producers in driving seat at Rome talks (Reuters)

Oil majors forced to accept tough terms
Simon Webb, Reuters via Forbes
From Iraq to Ecuador, international oil companies have swallowed their pride and agreed to contract terms they would have walked away from a few years ago.

Oil prices have risen more than five-fold since 2002, emboldening OPEC and non-OPEC energy producers alike to demand a greater share of record revenues and tighten national oil company (NOC) control over the world’s biggest reserves.

U.S. crude has hit a new record at $117 a barrel.
(20 April 2008)

Shell, Exxon Face Higher Costs on Carbon Limits
Fred Pals, Bloomberg
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and the rest of the oil industry may face higher costs to exploit Canada’s tar sands, the biggest deposit outside of Saudi Arabia, because of efforts to rein in climate change.

A Canadian mandate to bury carbon dioxide emitted during the process of extracting the oil may add between $2 and $13 a barrel to production costs, according to Pembina, an Alberta-based environmental group. Mining crude from the area now costs around $60 a barrel.

The additional costs are likely to feed through to consumers, leading to higher energy bills and contributing to inflation.
(20 April 2008)