Nov 2012

The company will raise its interest in the first liquefaction train from 10% to 50%

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is set to increase its stake in BG Group’s Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, in Australia, in a deal worth $1.93 billion

Shale-gas production in the UK could account for just 2% of the country’s natural gas demand by 2030, experts said, claiming environmental opposition could hinder development

Saudi Arabia earlier this year reclaimed its position as the world’s top oil producer from Russia. Not content with this, state producer Saudi Aramco is pushing to become the world’s largest vertically integrated energy company

Higher domestic gas prices and tougher negotiations between producers and buyers on supply terms is the new reality for the Australian state of Queensland, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM)

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) is seeking foreign investors to help develop its nascent coal-bed methane (CBM) sector, as well as a gas export industry that could rival neighbouring Queensland

Mexico is pressing ahead with plans to increase the use of natural gas in its power sector

French major Total is poised to enter Australia’s shale-gas sector after striking a deal worth up to $190 million with Central Petroleum

Apache is moving to increase drilling and production in the Permian and Anadarko basins after posting record third-quarter operating results

The shift in North America’s oil supply is starting to catch up with Canada’s oil-sands sector

As the US gets back to business after a hard-fought presidential election campaign, the market may well turn bearish

Libya’s oil production has reached 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d), confirming the country’s output recovery just over a year after civil war shut in its output

The Polish company could resume operations this month, after leaving due to conflict

China is to introduce financial incentives for shale-gas developers in a bid to encourage investment in the nation’s unconventional sector

Major oil players saw lower oil and gas prices, coupled with lower production, eat into their third-quarter profits

The US’ top oil-producing states - Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alaska and North Dakota – remained firmly Republican in 6 November’s presidential election, yet they stand to benefit from Barack Obama’s second term

Shale gas has a necessary role to play as a transition fuel in cutting carbon emissions

The Russian consortium developing the Junin-6 Orinoco belt heavy-oil project in Venezuela is set for a shake-up after Surgutneftegaz’s board voted on 6 November to exit the project

Major oil players saw lower oil and gas prices, coupled with lower production, eat into third-quarter profits

With the election over, Obama faces what may be the toughest economic decision he will ever make. And the effects of that choice will be played out in the oil markets

Reforms have finally passed allowing changes to the energy sector

Increased output and soaring demand is driving change

A little more than six months after the Argentine government nationalised a majority stake in YPF from Spain’s Repsol, it is clear the companies are headed in different directions: Repsol is on the road to recovery while YPF is struggling to follow through on its ambitious strategy

US unconventional production will continue to soar, according to the International Energy Agency

The US will overtake leading producers within the next five years, says WEO

US supermajor ExxonMobil is stepping up its shale hunt in Colombia through a farm-in deal with Latin America-focussed junior explorer Sintana Energy

Canadian company CBM Asia and US supermajor ExxonMobil are negotiating a possible joint venture that would tap unconventional plays in Indonesia

Faced with a dwindling number of outlets for oil exports in the US and Asia, Canada is hedging bets and looking to its eastern provinces to take up rising domestic production of tight oil and oil sands

Canada must target Asian markets for its oil-sands crude to ensure its economic and sovereign security, former Suncor chief executive Rick George said at the Oil & Money conference in London

Canada is counting on liquefied natural gas (LNG) to offset a sharp decline in exports, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultancy

The project's cost is 30% more than the country's initial estimate

China, the world’s largest energy consumer, wants to cut its fuel import bill and reduce its carbon footprint – and sees new efficiency measures as the way to do it

UK supermajor BP has entered a guilty plea and agreed to pay a fine of $4.5 billion

The delays come as Canada considers new rules for state-controlled entities in the broader economy, including the energy sector

Despite high hopes for an oil boom, the country has found dry well instead of reserves

Midstream operators are looking to capitalise on a lack of takeaway capacity from the Bakken, announcing new investments in gathering systems and pipelines across the play

Canadian firm East West Petroleum (EWP) is eyeing unconventional oil and gas development in India’s Assam region

UK-based Cuadrilla Resources has won its first shale-gas licence in Poland

Europe must find a clear and common approach to developing shale gas to maintain its energy security and to lower carbon emissions, Austrian producer OMV said

European lawmakers remain bitterly divided over shale oil and gas development, but they have rejected calls to impose an EU-wide moratorium on exploration

Investments said to be at risk as judges rule BPMigas is unconstitutional

The country is struggling to attract investment despite being Southeast Asia's largest oil producer

Uncertainty remains as state launches world's second-largest emissions trading scheme

The Austrian company will target higher-risk exploration areas to boost production

The US is set to put a large swath of federal land up for bidding in California’s oil-rich Monterey shale in the latest test of the industry’s interest in the play, which is thought to have the potential to be the largest in the country

A US natural gas producer is poised to sue the Canadian government over a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the province of Quebec

Global upstream spending has risen by 10% this year to a record $550 billion, driven higher by soaring investment in US tight-oil projects, Wood Mackenzie, the energy consultancy, has said in a new report

Activity in the Permian basin looks set to speed up, following a record year for land buying in New Mexico

Shale-gas development in Poland could boost the country’s energy security, but it will have little effect on the country’s natural gas prices this decade, Fitch Ratings has said

Statoil aims to increase its global production to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) by 2020 by ramping up its unconventional exploration and its North Sea operations

BOEM raised $157.8 million from the sale of drilling leases in the western Gulf of Mexico

Sonatrach plans to add 10 million tonnes a year (t/y) of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity at its Skikda plant next year