Jan 2011

Anglo-Dutch major spuds China’s first shale-gas wells; China “the next big opportunity” for unconventional gas

Weak gas prices and strong oil market could underpin GTL development; world-leader Sasol bullish about prospects

Suncor-Total deal heralds renewed emphasis on scale; cost worries beginning to surface again

Shale-gas drilling incentives drying up; US output to fall by mid-year

Two companies are “very close” to winning some of the government’s C$2bn ($2bn) fund

Schlumberger points to reserves 300 times greater than Krishna Godavari

The supermajor is expected to pay $0.65bn

Increase in focus on developing China’s unconventional gas resources

Deal valued at $459.4m

Focus on leak from world’s largest carbon-capture plant; allegations could undermine Alberta plans for CCS

Helen Robertson watches Gasland and meets director Josh Fox. But is his film fair?

Gas prices are weak and a global glut could last for decades. But the rush to drill unconventional gas deposits around the world shows few signs yet of slowing down

Gladstone LNG deal prompts new spending spree; Santos sales deal with Kogas gives sector “credibility”

Saskatchewan province takes delegation to China; hopes rest on Oilsands Quest

New Neuquén acreage advances Total’s unconventional abitions

Cuadrilla Resources target of demanded ban

New environment minister praises “ethical oil sands”; development spending set to soar

Utica Shale’s reserves could exceed Marcellus’s; Vertical, unstimulated well has worked in play

Political backing may be too late to save Mackenzie pipeline project; gas developments on Alaska’s North Slope are also under threat

19 out of 31 wells inspected show emissions says December report

Low recovery costs, large deposits draw investment

US assisting India with regulatory framework; ONGC spuds first shale-gas well

Report boosts Sasol-Talisman GTL prospects; upfront capital costs among the barriers

Adira Energy assessing “significant” onshore shale-gas potential

Estonia's Enfit assessing oil-shale resources

Obama's White House has failed to deliver the energy-policy reform the US needs

Despite a year of difficulties, BP's latest Russian venture shows the UK supermajor is still playing at the top table

A bull run that looked set to push oil above $100/b has met resistance

GLOBAL oil production slipped by 270,000 b/d, to 85.76m b/d in December, as non-Opec supply fell because of brief weather-related and technical outages

Brent Coon is on the warpath over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Texan lawyer is resuming hostilities with an old foe, BP

The oil market is talking itself into another bout of demand destruction

A huge increase in exploration activity and a stable operating environment are essential if Indonesia is to stand a chance of arresting falling production levels, writes Damon Evans

Legislation to ensure vessels operating in Indonesian waters are domestically owned or flagged, has led to a dip in investment interest

Pemex has been granted permission to hire foreign help to boost oil output. But are the new terms attractive enough

Strong oil prices in the past decade have opened new oil and gas territories around the world, all offering unique opportunities and hurdles

While the gas glut spread across the world last year, Qatar was adding over 23m t/y of new LNG-export capacity. Now it must find new buyers for its gas

Azerbaijan has committed large gas volumes to Europe, providing the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project with, perhaps, one last chance

The Kyoto protocol expires in 2012. But there is much uncertainty about what will replace it

CCS could be included in the UN CDM, in a move that would provide much needed financing for this nascent, some say vital, technology in the fight against climate change, writes Ian Lewis

Chinese NOCs will continue their hunt for upstream assets this year. Miles Lang reviews where they've been so far

Supermajor Chevron hopes investors will stick with the firm as it invests in significant oil and gas output growth from 2014

A collapse in day rates for the world's fleet of crude carriers will be exacerbated this year as a large number of new vessels hits the market

Ship owners have taken steps towards reducing carbon emissions and pollution, but pressure is intensifying for the industry to make greater strides in the fight against climate change

The Deepwater Horizon disaster has clear ramifications for the offshore drilling industry, but there is fall out for the shipping industry, too

With pirate attacks, and their associated costs for shipping companies, escalating, the UN wants to bring a more joined-up approach to what has been, so far, an ineffective international response

Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi, Iraq's new oil minister, has settled in quickly to the hot seat, announcing within a couple of weeks of his appointment plans to launch a new oil and gas licensing round for this year – the country's fourth hydrocarbons auction since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime

Announcement of the referendum result is expected in early February, and is almost certain to result in secession

Carbon price should be C$30/t higher than in US; emissions target to be missed if Canada copies US rules; action on climate would cost 0.1% of GDP growth

Bakken output to flow through Keystone XL; Sinopec backs Northern Gateway west-coast link

While the US EPA deliberates, local authorities crack down on shale-gas drillers

$183bn spent on M&A during year; $39bn on shale-gas assets

IEA: weak gas price makes renewables uncompetitive; Tyndall Centre: shale gas will increase global emissions

Shale-gas deal may see asset sale

High costs hit shale drilling plans; gas leaks draw government threat

Labour party demands safety tests be conducted

Schlumberger commissioned to investigate Jolly Ranch, Colorado

UNCONVENTIONAL gas from Canada's Montney shale play could be converted into synthetic oil products to exploit the dramatic structural divergence of North American oil and gas prices

What should have been a milestone could end up as a headstone, marking the fundamental restructuring of North America's natural gas industry, wrought by the shale-gas revolution

The UK's central North Sea area is still producing surprises

KURDISTAN may be on the verge of a breakthrough in persuading Iraq's central government to agree to the resumption of oil exports

PETROCHINA is set to achieve its ambition of gaining a presence in European refining

Saudi Aramco will make final investment decisions (FID) on $45bn-50bn of refining and petrochemicals projects this year, as the kingdom pushes downstream development in an effort to squeeze more value from its crude

India could be the next hotspot for solar power developments, as it strives to boost green energy capacity to help overcome severe power constraints and cut pollution

Angola’s breathtaking development as an oil producer is slowing, perhaps stalling, because capacity is so far in excess of the country’s Opec production quota

A block-by-block breakdown of licence holders in Angola

Over the 15 years since Total hit oil at Girassol, 93 substantial discoveries have been made