Oct 2012

Executives from Australian coal-bed methane (CBM) player Santos have been accused of trailing a politician from New South Wales (NSW) opposed to its projects across the US

A US court has dismissed a suit filed by the state of New York seeking to block hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Delaware basin while regulatory agencies consider regulations governing the practice

China’s oilfield-service companies are poised to benefit from the coming wave of investment in the nation’s shale-gas sector over the next decade

Investment bank JPMorgan is reported to have started contacting prospective bidders for stakes on offer in the Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas project (APLNG)

Interest in Colombia’s shale gas and oil is picking up as companies prepare to submit bids for the country’s 2012 licensing round, which sees 31 blocks with unconventional potential up for auction, the head of state-run Ecopetrol said

Vast gas discoveries off Mozambique and Tanzania are set to turn an energy-deficient region into one of the world’s largest sources of liquefied natural gas – but the challenges of commercialisation are as large as the prizes

If not lifted, the injunction would have forced the company to shut its operations

Santos has stolen a march on its international rivals after signing a deal that will see it expand its shale footprint in Australia’s promising Northern Territory (NT) play

BHP Billiton plans to press ahead with an ambitious US shale-gas agenda despite low natural gas prices and crippling write downs on the carrying value of its onshore assets

Early drilling results from the Utica shale in Ohio are encouraging, a report by consultancy IHS Cera, released on 3 October, said

Pakistan will begin importing 1 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) within the next 12-18 months, the country’s energy minister, Asim Hussain announced

High levels of investment and good exploration prospects will drive the area forward

The EC will limit the consumption of biofuels due to competition with food crops and land use

Alaska’s North Slope producers have outlined plans for what would be one of the largest and most ambitious liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the world

The sale of the refinery will bring the UK supermajor closer to meeting targets

Oil companies must adapt to a changing energy industry or risk missing new business opportunities, a new report by Chatham House, a UK think tank, claims

Oil-market stability hinges on rapid production growth in a country still riven by political conflict, believes the IEA

Tokyo Gas is eyeing a stake of up to 10% in BG Group’s Queensland Curtis coal-bed methane (CBM) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Australia

The UK government has, for the first time since it imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing last year, signalled that it will support shale-gas production

PNG is emerging as a strong LNG player following big discoveries in the area

The Gastech conference heard that a gas market similar to the oil market is years away

Gazprom and partners started up the second line of their dual Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe in early-October – and edged forward with plans for third and fourth Nord Stream pipelines

In a recent outlook, the EIA forecasts higher US demand for heating fuels

After two years of robust growth, major oilfield service companies saw their North American margins shrink in the first half of 2012, according to a new study by IHS

China plans to invest $14 billion in four pilot coal-to-gas (CTG) projects in the country as it continues to look for ways to reduce its reliance on imported fuels

ExxonMobil is ramping up its campaign to prove Indonesia’s potentially vast coal-bed methane (CBM) resources can be brought into production. But the challenges to commercial- scale production are as large as the prize

The deal will increase petroleum capacity in the Singapore storage business by 37%

Alberta wants to sell oil to China. Ottawa needs to reconsider the takeover, argues Shaun Polczer, Petroleum Economist's North America editor, claiming that an inflated bid for lacklustre assets is not a sound basis for a good relationship

Australian explorer Senex Energy has made a discovery at its Skipton-1 shale-gas well in the Cooper basin

Canada’s federal government has extended the review of China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) proposed C$15.1 billion ($15.4 billion) takeover of Nexen, amid growing political criticism of the deal

Shale gas offers US manufacturers a $150-billion opportunity to diversify into the downstream sector, consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) claims

Murphy Oil’s decision to hive off its refining business is the latest and surest sign of an ongoing structural shift in the US downstream

US supermajor shuns south in favour of Kurdistan contracts

US supermajor ExxonMobil has agreed a C$3.1 billion ($3.2 billion) deal to buy Canadian independent Celtic Exploration, its largest acquisition since a $40 billion takeover of XTO Energy in 2009

Revisions to Poland’s tax regime that set up a new fiscal framework for natural gas and oil development could boost the country’s shale-gas sector

Santos has begun the first shale gas production from its Cooper basin test site in South Australia

The country has more LNG projects planned, but with talk of cheaper supplies from North America and East Africa, could this be the end of the road for Australian LNG?

A new agreement gives the UK major another crack at Russia’s upstream, ends its fraught TNK-BP partnership, and may turn Rosneft into the world’s largest oil company

Providing an alternative to traditional oil-linked pricing and cutting high cost paid for LNG is very important, says International Energy Agency's director

PetroChina has won a block in south central Hunan province as part of China's second shale-gas licensing round

US-based Forbes Shale Gas Exploration Fund is primed to invest up to $500 million as part of efforts to bring much needed cutting-edge technology to Chongqing and boost shale development

Alberta is looking to clean up its sullied oil-sands image with the creation of an independent environmental monitoring agency

While it espouses the need for foreign investment in its energy sector, Canada is proving reluctant to give up control of its domestic producers

As Hugo Chávez retains power in Venezuela, what do the next six years hold for the country’s energy sector?

After a years-long oil boom, Colombia needs to open up new frontier plays to become a major regional energy player

Brazil has plenty of oil, but it lacks the skills and equipment needed to explore and produce it

Ukraine has huge potential for production of unconventional energy sources but it must develop its regulatory framework to attract investors, a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says

Investments in tight oil and shale gas development will surge to more than $5.1 trillion over the next two decades, according to a new report by consultancy IHS Cera

US supermajor Chevron is to explore for shale gas in Lithuania after buying a 50% stake in a local company with prospective acreage

The Colombian government had high hopes that the 2012 licensing round would mark the start of its own shale rush

Marathon Oil has signed asset-sale deals worth more than $1.1 billion, which it plans to spend at its Eagle Ford shale project

Karen Elliott House’s unsettling new book on Saudi Arabia is an essential guide to the mounting problems facing the country

The tug-of-war between weak demand, economic fragility and geopolitical tension in the Middle East shaped oil prices throughout October

While industry observers are divided over the UK offshore industry’s future, activity off the UK is growing. This show of confidence from offshore operators and foreign investors is breathing new life into the mature province, argues Walter Cumming, head of Oil & Gas at Barclays

As the US and EU continue to impose additional restrictions on commerce with the Islamic Republic of Iran, companies need to increase their vigilance

New upstream developments and a transition away from crude-dependent power generation are essential if the kingdom is to maintain its oil-export strategy

For almost 40 years the US’s strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) has been the front line of defence against global oil-price shocks

Latin America does not have a well-established infrastructure of strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), with Chile the only country so far to seriously consider establishing such a facility

Stock release efforts designed to ease the oil price would need the cooperation of Europe’s International Energy Agency (IEA) members

China’s escalating dependence on oil imports has spurred the country to pursue an ambitious strategic stockpiling programme that is expected to be a feature of the global oil market throughout this decade

Western nations, battered by high oil prices, have ample crude oil in store should it be necessary

Sechin was originally forced to resign from the company, but on 22 October a deal was made that proves he still holds influence in the Russian energy industry

The Department of Interior is planning its second lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico since the 2010 Macondo blowout

China’s second shale-gas licensing round has attracted 152 bids from 83 firms but experts warn the offering will not drastically transform the nascent sector

Australian unconventional player Linc Energy is primed to sell off some of its oil-shale assets in South Australia

Gazprom is finally turning its attention to Russia’s shale potential, but as it does the gas export monopoly will focus on shale oil rather than gas

It’s called the Scoop — the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province — and it could be North America’s biggest and most productive unconventional shale play yet

Thinktank speaks out over planned fiscal framework