Jan 2012

The volatile history of UK offshore oil and gas policy provides a number of lessons for emerging producers

State-run energy firm Enarsa rejects high price bid, turns to spot market to make up shortfall

With lingering fallout over Canada’s Kyoto rejection and rising confrontation with the oil sands’ legions of opponents, 2012 will be the country’s year of living dangerously

India’s first shale-gas auction will be delayed by at least another year

Unconventional-energy assets, such as oil sands, shale gas and liquids, must be secured to develop a balanced portfolio for India’s ONGC Videsh (OVL), says the company’s new exploration director

Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI), which wants to produce shale oil in Israel’s Valley of Elah, has submitted an updated assessment to the government that it hopes will assuage environmental concerns

Talk of conflict in the Strait of Hormuz misses the real threat to the global oil market

How, if at all, asks Kwok W Wan, would shutting the Strait of Hormuz affect European gas and Asian LNG prices?

Russia lets first LNG tanker from Norway to Asia through the new Northern Sea Route

As foreign and domestic companies make shale-gas finds in Poland, the government’s interest in the sector is mounting

China aims to triple coal-bed methane (CBM) output to 30 billion cubic metres a year (cm/y) in 2015 as part of its latest industrial plan

Two huge deals, amounting to over $5 billion, show the US shale-gas revolution is not over yet

Despite concerns about gas demand, international players are taking closer look at Australia’s Cooper-basin shale play

Canada’s largest integrated miner, Teck Cominco, has upped its oil-sands ante with the acquisition of junior partner SilverBirch Energy for C$485 million ($475 million)

Sustained high oil prices and strategic fiscal terms are creating viable upstream openings in the Arctic. Russia is leading the way

Like a struggling hockey team, the front bench of Canada’s Nexen has been shaken up with the surprise resignation of its chief executive and senior vice-president, amid claims of poor operational performance

In response to a bearish outlook for US natural gas prices, Talisman has slashed planned spending for 2012, but will still channel funds into unconventional plays

Tentative steps towards democracy may herald the end of economic sanctions and an upstream beginning for Myanmar. But Asia’s NOCs still hold the strongest hand

Could the sudden jump in energy demand from Thailand make it the surprise LNG buyer this year?

Bulgaria’s quest to boost domestic production of shale and conventional gas deposits has been given a lift by a fresh discovery, despite growing public opposition to shale-gas exploitation

Poland, the European country furthest along the road towards large-scale unconventional-GAS production, has been hit by a corruption scandal surrounding the award of shale-gas licences

China’s largest offshore producer, CNOOC Ltd, has moved onshore and unconventional, spudding its first shale-gas well

Leading UK geologists say hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is “very unlikely” to cause methane contamination of groundwater, adding that two earth tremors triggered by exploration last year were too small to cause damage

A year of survival and consolidation lies ahead, with over-capacity hanging over the oil-shipping industry

Global leaders agreed – yet again – that reaching a new climate deal is crucial to fight global warming. But will there be action to give substance to the talk?

Inpex and Total are pushing ahead with Ichthys LNG. But can the country – and the market – sustain such ambitious development plans?

The energy market has grown increasingly dismissive of Nigeria’s oil and gas unions and their seemingly empty threats to shut in the county’s energy exports

Plans to diversify Canada’s oil-export options with a pipeline to the BC coast face scrutiny from aboriginal groups and environmental protestors. Fortunately for the developers, they seem to be listening

Australian unconventional-energy specialist Dart Energy has created a European-focused subsidiary as it expands its shale interests across the continent

One of Kinder Morgan’s corporate mottos is "keep it simple". Yet its planned take-over of El Paso is proving anything but. NJ Watson reports

With demand in its largest market declining, Gazprom is making price concessions to its big European gas customers. Will its passion for oil-indexed prices be next to succumb, asks Kwok W Wan

San Leon Energy is in discussions with a number of firms over a possible partnership for a pilot project at Morocco’s largest oil-shale deposit, Tarfaya

The US’ rejection of the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline could prove a turning point in political and trade relations with Canada

North Dakota's oil patch is booming. But surging oil and gas output has strained off-take capacity to breaking point

Last week, seven officials were arrested on corruption charges

Crude oil prices fell this week on evaporating fears of supply disruption from Iran and Nigeria, although the market was supported by positive Chinese and US economic data

Keen to boost production from its substantial domestic gas reserves, including sizeable unconventional deposits, to reduce its reliance on Russian imports, Ukraine is the subject of protracted talks with Gazprom

It may be the American way, but the Bakken oil-drillers’ boom-and-bust mentality is no way to run an industry

Hurting customers and low gas demand, mean Gazprom must accept changes to its contract terms

This year should see growth in oil output, first LNG exports and growing exploration in high-potential pre-salt areas – but new-field developments are still lagging

Angola’s deep-water licences now hold 96 large oil discoveries, but exploration drilling in many blocks has ground to a halt

The kingdom is poised to play a key role in shaping this year’s oil market, but it must maintain a delicate balance between global and domestic demands

South Sudan is again locked in conflict with its former rulers in Khartoum. This time, oil is the weapon of choice for both

Crude prices fell at the end of January, as fears of supply disruptions from Iran and Nigeria faded, although positive Chinese and US economic data supported the market

Supply increased globally by 100,000 barrels a day

Serbia is keen to start exploiting its oil-shale reserves and plans to appoint an adviser to prepare a tender process to attract foreign investors to the play

The war of words between Reliance Industries and the Indian government over coal-bed methane (CBM) pricing is heating up

The US president placed unconventionals firmly at the centre of his ‘made in America’ energy policy – but will he back up his words with action?

China is primed to bring on line a new gas stream as it forges ahead with coal-to-gas technology (CTG)

IGas Energy has hit a thick seam of shale holding gas at its Ince Marches acreage in northwest England’s Bowland basin, the same region where Cuadrilla Resources made the UK’s first large shale gas discovery

As North America’s gas-storage tanks near capacity and prices stay low, the continent’s shale-gas sector is being forced to reassess. Is the boom over, or is the market forcing a much-needed correction?

TransCanada and US Republicans vow to fight on in the battle for the Keystone XL pipeline

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (Capp) is taking the first steps towards implementing best practices for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Canada’s unconventional shale-gas basins