Energy Watchblog: international

2013 REVIEW : Vaca Muerta shale deals

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EIYR2a6Y7q4M1fDs6JZ-SK3LSr8kjT7aQ9-kG5dhPqFHislREYfMR6DmGRYrp7pCCePNep542Wb6SNGWrZiUUxbiYCDpUHybv-PTY6lcByu_vIq_lt_RxxROKI3R_L7mEIU37jmoLPM3/s1600/vaca_muerta_basin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EIYR2a6Y7q4M1fDs6JZ-SK3LSr8kjT7aQ9-kG5dhPqFHislREYfMR6DmGRYrp7pCCePNep542Wb6SNGWrZiUUxbiYCDpUHybv-PTY6lcByu_vIq_lt_RxxROKI3R_L7mEIU37jmoLPM3/s320/vaca_muerta_basin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Partnerships with foreign players that have the know-how and funding are seen as key to unlocking the shale riches that Argentina's Vaca Muerta play holds.</span></i><br /><br /><div class="text-contenido" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;"><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After signing a deal with nationalized YPF in June, US super major Chevron has invested US$1.24bn to develop the Loma Campana subsection of Vaca Muerta. The 132-well shale oil pilot program is on schedule to be completed in March 2014. More than 1,500 wells would be drilled during a second US$16bn phase of development, with production expected to reach 50,000b/d oil and 3Mm3/d gas.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In September the local unit of Dow Chemical signed a deal with YPF develop shale gas on the El Orejano block of Vaca Muerta. The chemical company has adopted an innovative vertically integrated way to secure gas supply for its plants in Argentina.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neuquén provincial oil and gas company GyP signed a letter of intent (LOI) with German firm Wintershall in September to invest US$108mn in Vaca Muerta shale exploration. Over the next two years Wintershall-led exploration will focus on the Aguada Federal block of the Aguada del Chañar area. GyP is expected to sign an E&P deal for the same play with Brazil's Petrobras in the near future.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In December Azabache Energy and Rio Bravo Commercial Enterprises (RBE) entered into an agreement whereby RBE will pay US$5mn for a 23.76% interest in the Covunco Norte-Sur block in Argentina's Neuquén basin. Proceeds will be used for fracking on the block, according to Azabache.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the beginning of December Argentine President Cristina Fernández met with the head of China's CNOOC Li Fanrong and Carlos Bulgheroni, head of Grupo Bridas, CNOOC's Argentine JV partner. This presidential meeting could signal an impending deal after a US$1.5bn MOU between Bridas and YPF for Vaca Muerta expired earlier this year as Repsol threatened legal action against partnerships with YPF in the wake of the expropriation of its stake in the firm.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Repsol is expected to halt legal action over the expropriation if a definitive agreement is reached with Argentine authorities, which could pave the way for more partnerships with YPF.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over US$1.5bn worth of Vaca Muerta partnerships have been announced in 2013. With the entrance of new players, the development of untapped areas and signs of an end to the conflict with Repsol, this figure should continue to grow.</span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Argentina continues to cast a keen eye on progress in the US, where the rapid emergence of shale and tight oil has spawned job growth </span><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">while reducing fuel imports.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Given</span><span style="line-height: 1.6em;"> the lack of unconventional technology and </span>know-how among local firms, and their difficulty in <span style="line-height: 1.6em;">accessing competitive financing, joint ventures are key to Vaca Muerta's development.</span></span></div></div>

2013 REVIEW : Vaca Muerta shale deals

Partnerships with foreign players that have the know-how and funding are seen as key to unlocking the shale riches that Argentina's Vaca...

Big Oil sits out lobbying on Iran as Congress stands firm

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbu90f_IOaC9WRzLghYgI5ivuj007DcazP3evMVw94pjLmvWxoxFyejZPY_L9Na32h3mMLKdro2j-CvwTm8rPCSEIAWJB2vWqjEofkkq9rHWwxHwDtldVqlfXnTeCK_rAHpOAsnnD8oOT2/s1600/download+(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbu90f_IOaC9WRzLghYgI5ivuj007DcazP3evMVw94pjLmvWxoxFyejZPY_L9Na32h3mMLKdro2j-CvwTm8rPCSEIAWJB2vWqjEofkkq9rHWwxHwDtldVqlfXnTeCK_rAHpOAsnnD8oOT2/s1600/download+(1).jpeg" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;">The U.S. Capitol dome is pictured in the pre-dawn darkness in this general view taken in Washington, October 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst</span><br /><br />(Reuters) - As debate rises in Washington over the first thaw in relations between Iran and the United States in decades, powerful oil companies are opting for an unusual tactic: silence.<br />Oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips could earn huge profits if the United States loosened economic sanctions on Iran, allowing access to its oil and natural gas fields, some of the world's largest and least costly to produce.<br /><br />But through September, at least, U.S. energy companies have largely opted to stand back even as Congress considers whether to further limit new oil exports from the Islamic republic.<br /><br />It is an unusual tack for an industry known for its strong Capitol Hill presence on every issue from taxes to pollution rules to international trade.<br /><br />But this particular issue may be too hot to touch.<br /><br />"You are unlikely to flip any lawmaker, but you could offend them," said one lobbyist familiar with sanctions issues, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being seen as speaking for clients. He said his company had received no client requests this year to lobby on Iran sanctions.<br /><br />The oil and gas industry spent $105 million on lobbying in the first nine months of this year, behind only the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington watchdog group. Companies in the sector, and their employees, also donated a total of $20.5 million to candidates in last year's elections, ranking ninth overall.<br /><br />It is uncertain whether the six-month deal with Iran struck last month in Geneva will lead to comprehensive restrictions on its nuclear capabilities, which could bring a full rollback of sanctions. Under the interim deal, Iran will limit uranium enrichment in return for limited access to funds frozen by U.S. law.<br /><br />The June election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani offered a clear sign that 2013 could be the best year for relations between Washington and Tehran since Iran's 1979 revolution.<br /><br />Yet the U.S. Congress has been firm in its backing of further action against Iran. The House of Representatives voted 400-20 in July to choke funding to Iran's disputed nuclear program by slashing its oil exports further than sanctions enacted in 2010.<br /><br />The Senate also widely supports being tough on Iran, though President Barack Obama has pushed it to delay introduction of its version of the bill to give the Geneva agreement a chance.<br /><br />DEAF EARS<br /><br />For its part, Iran's oil ministry is hopeful a full deal could one day spur new investment by U.S. energy companies. Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh this month named seven Western energy companies it wants back to develop reservoirs if sanctions are lifted, including Exxon and Conoco.<br /><br />Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said that his company always looks for development opportunities, but that current U.S. laws prevent work in Iran.<br /><br />A Conoco spokesman said his company is not engaged in business discussions with Iran.<br /><br />Both companies have not lobbied Congress this year on Iran sanctions, records show. Neither has U.S.-based companies Chevron Corp or Halliburton Co.<br /><br />All four companies lobbied Congress in 2010 on the initial sanctions bill that targeted the OPEC member's oil exports.<br /><br />Conoco lobbied that year, the spokesman said, as part of a coalition called USA Engage. The coalition was concerned about the impact of sanctions on joint venture projects in foreign countries.<br /><br />"The 2013 legislation did not appear to have this impact, and no lobbying activity was required," the Conoco spokesman said.<br /><br />The other three U.S. companies declined to comment.<br /><br />Congressional aides agreed oil companies would be wasting their time if they attempted to persuade lawmakers to turn back existing sanctions or prevent enactment of new ones.<br /><br />The effort "would likely fall on deaf ears at a minimum and at worst create serious political repercussions" if oil companies were seen as undermining the resolve by the countries that reached the interim agreement with Iran, the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany, one Democratic House aide said on condition of anonymity.<br /><br />The companies that have lobbied Congress this year have largely been U.S. divisions of larger international oil companies, such as BP America, part of London-based BP Plc and Shell Oil Co, the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.<br /><br />BP lobbied Congress between April and September of this year on the House Iran bill, while Shell weighed in on "general issues related to Iran" between January and March, records show.<br /><br />"It is not unusual for BP to discuss proposed new legislation with lawmakers in order to understand its purpose and scope so that, among other things, we can remain compliant in the event it is enacted," said BP spokesman Scott Dean.<br /><br />Shell did not respond to questions.<br /><br />The American Petroleum Institute, the main oil industry trade association, lobbied on a provision in the bill that threatened U.S. shipping lanes, but not on the sanctions themselves, an oil industry expert said. The trade group declined to comment.<br /><br />(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Marilyn Thompson, Martin Howell and Lisa Shumaker)

Big Oil sits out lobbying on Iran as Congress stands firm

The U.S. Capitol dome is pictured in the pre-dawn darkness in this general view taken in Washington, October 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Erns...

Mexico Earns Upgrade, Outlook Could Support Bonds

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwLb_K26AmXNKcJtoyCbUfhUsgtn2Td-1HxmllGSuoRYLstROxefCE06vkgKtIaRrM9uAGO0YfoMb9A4yhgLE_IYgPC4NG6tc0IRg_J9hw2x54S9tYXukTjEuC0CfriQOAL7TR33Cjk_8/s1600/arrow-graph-by-flickr-user-ndeviltv-find-link-to-pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwLb_K26AmXNKcJtoyCbUfhUsgtn2Td-1HxmllGSuoRYLstROxefCE06vkgKtIaRrM9uAGO0YfoMb9A4yhgLE_IYgPC4NG6tc0IRg_J9hw2x54S9tYXukTjEuC0CfriQOAL7TR33Cjk_8/s320/arrow-graph-by-flickr-user-ndeviltv-find-link-to-pic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="background-color: white;">Mexico earned a higher debt rating from Standard & Poor's on Thursday and expectations of more upgrades to come could help support Mexican assets in the coming months even as the government borrows more.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131220&t=2&i=822923868&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE9BJ06MF00" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131220&t=2&i=822923868&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE9BJ06MF00" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Standard & Poor's raised its main credit rating for Mexico by one notch in the latest sign of growing confidence in this month's move by the government to open the state-run energy sector to private investment.<br /><br />S&P had lagged the other two main agencies, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, which both have Mexico just one notch shy of an "A" rating. Chile is the only Latin American nation that has an "A."<br /><br />Analysts, fund managers and Mexico's government think the country could earn another upgrade by at least one of the agencies as soon as early next year.<br />"We are closer today than we have ever been to an 'A' category," Alejandro Diaz de Leon, head of Mexico's debt office, told Reuters in a telephone interview.<br /><br />"There is a lot of upside in the near future if the implementation of the energy reform continues as planned."<br /><br />The approval of President Enrique Pena Nieto's energy reform bill by a divided Congress this month caps a year of major economic legislation, including bills to boost lending, lower telecommunications costs and improve tax collection.<br />But lawmakers still need to flesh out the energy overhaul with legislation that will determine whether Mexico will offer tax rates that are lucrative enough to spur an investment boom.<br /><br /><b>MEXICO BONDS</b><br />S&P's upgrade was largely expected by the market, and the country's peso only briefly pared losses amid concerns that less U.S. monetary stimulus will sap demand for emerging market assets in the coming year.<br /><br />Expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve could keep cutting back its monthly bond purchases are seen driving yields on emerging market debt higher next year. But Mexico's peso and its local-currency bonds have already suffered less than other emerging markets and optimism about Mexico could help bond yields continue to perform better than other riskier assets.<br /><br />Analysts said strong progress once Mexican lawmakers resume work in February on the energy reform's secondary legislation could spur the next ratings upgrade.<br /><br />Alonso Cervera, an economist at Credit Suisse in Mexico City, said Moody's would likely put Mexico into the "A" category next year and that bond yields would likely fall.<br /><br />"I think the curve is way too steep and we are likely to see a flattening trend in the next few months, even if the Fed continues to taper," Cervera said in an emailed response to questions.<br /><br />The yield on Mexico's benchmark 10-year peso bond has spiked more than 80 basis points higher since late October to 6.40 on Thursday, near a three-month high.<br /><br />The flurry of reforms this year has made Mexico stand out from other emerging markets, such as Brazil, which have been raising concerns among investors for more interventionist and protectionist economic policies.<br />"It is very important that an economy like ours, which is a small open economy, does what we can to improve the perception about the resilience of the economy," Diaz de Leon said.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Pena Nieto's government is milking international optimism by boosting the amount of debt it will issue next year. On Thursday, the finance ministry released its latest capital market issuance plan, which foresees increasing shorter-term debt sales in the first quarter of next year.<br />After originally promising to stick to a balanced budget this year, the government got lawmakers to support a deficit of 0.4 percent of gross domestic product this year and an even wider 1.5 percent deficit next year.<br />The government is seeking more debt to help fuel stronger growth. Mexico's economy slumped this year to around a 1.3 percent annual expansion from a 3.8 percent rate in 2012.<br /><br />Analysts in a central bank poll issued on Thursday lifted their outlook for growth next year to 3.41 percent, up 7 basis points from a poll late last month before the energy reform bill was approved.<br /><br />In the latest sign of stronger growth, a separate report on Thursday showed Mexican retail sales rose in October at the fastest pace in nine months, following two months of declines.

Mexico Earns Upgrade, Outlook Could Support Bonds

Mexico earned a higher debt rating from Standard & Poor's on Thursday and expectations of more upgrades to come could help support M...

OPEC Cut Not Needed in 2014

<div class="entry_wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: akzidenz-grotesk-std-bloom; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px 1.25em 1.25em; position: relative;"><div class="entry_content" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2d2b2c; margin-left: 54px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 20px; position: static;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sEeTzoRsE3GH4lyvO5NhK7t6UMsEG-BDEsw6ClYYV7H1KeCi5-rBajpvysFlMUbyW9e6fB_gOGRhFqfqgkvATVttKn1UyXxqfpD78WX0fqHRUU4hyYtwWAfISXOnos3F1glIMsgsCoY9/s1600/1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sEeTzoRsE3GH4lyvO5NhK7t6UMsEG-BDEsw6ClYYV7H1KeCi5-rBajpvysFlMUbyW9e6fB_gOGRhFqfqgkvATVttKn1UyXxqfpD78WX0fqHRUU4hyYtwWAfISXOnos3F1glIMsgsCoY9/s320/1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">Ministers from <a density="full" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/saudi-arabia/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Saudi Arabia</a>, Kuwait and <a density="full" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/iraq/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Iraq</a> said OPEC needn’t cut production next year to make room for additional supplies from Iran, <a density="full" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/libya/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Libya</a> and U.S. shale oil.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">“I am optimistic the market will stay balanced and stable next year,” Saudi Oil Minister <a density="sparse" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/ali-al--naimi/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Ali Al-Naimi</a> said today in a speech at a meeting of Arab oil exporters in Doha, Qatar. “Shale oil is not posing any threat to Saudi Arabia and OPEC,” he told reporters.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">Commerzbank AG said in a Dec. 10 report that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would need to cut output should Iranian and Libyan production return to the market. OPEC, content with current oil price levels, agreed at a Dec. 4 meeting to keep the group’s crude output ceiling unchanged at least until June.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">Iran is seeking to raise oil output to 4 million barrels a day, the country’s oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said at the OPEC meeting, after a Nov. 24 agreement over its nuclear program opened the door to an easing of sanctions.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;"><a density="sparse" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/iran/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Iran</a> and world powers last month struck an initial accord that broke a decade-long diplomatic stalemate, setting limits on the country’s nuclear program in exchange for about $7 billion in relief from sanctions over six months.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">U.S. shale oil is poised to increase the country’s crude production to 9.6 million barrels a day in 2016, a level it last reached in 1970, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dec. 16.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">“OPEC can meet demand for years to come, so don’t make shale oil a scarecrow for OPEC and other producers,” Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mustafa Al-Shemali told reporters today.</div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 1.875em; letter-spacing: -0.03em; margin: 29px 0px;">Use Force</h2><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">Libya is prepared to use force to reopen oil export ports that have been closed by rebel groups for the past five months, Oil Minister Abdulbari Al-Arusi said today. The shutdown has reduced Libyan output to 250,000 barrels a day from 1.4 million barrels a day in March.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">“Supplies are in balance with demand so in reality there are no fears” over a surplus in the market, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said to reporters today.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;">West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to a two-month high yesterday after a report showed the <a density="full" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/u.s.-economy/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">U.S. economy</a> expanded in the third quarter at a faster rate than previously estimated. WTI for February delivery rose 28 cents to $99.32 a barrel on the <a density="sparse" href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/new-york/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">New York</a> Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement for a contract closest to expiration since Oct. 18.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.3125em; margin-bottom: 28px;"><br /></div></div></div>

OPEC Cut Not Needed in 2014

Ministers from Saudi Arabia , Kuwait and Iraq said OPEC needn’t cut production next year to make room for additional supplies from Iran, ...

GeoPark makes 5th oil discovery in Colombia's Llanos 34 block

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jlegv3B8U2PYADHrPH3nGeBEcj9I-t8n7yTmo-3DvAWW38kRw3mLhR81qBgHfiLeGpqGzekWmWZyynZOwURGCOuho3vW57VcntopQOxXfe97rO4R4xlYaJcBZfn24q6aXRzEsXnesr0P/s1600/141119_83107740c77348b390b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jlegv3B8U2PYADHrPH3nGeBEcj9I-t8n7yTmo-3DvAWW38kRw3mLhR81qBgHfiLeGpqGzekWmWZyynZOwURGCOuho3vW57VcntopQOxXfe97rO4R4xlYaJcBZfn24q6aXRzEsXnesr0P/s320/141119_83107740c77348b390b2.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Oil & Gas - <a href="http://web6.bnamericas.com/country-profile/colombia" style="color: #58595b; text-decoration: none;">Colombia</a><span itemprop="image"></span></span><span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: small; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span><br /><header class="clearfix" style="position: relative;"><span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: small; line-height: 1.6em;">Latin America-focused </span><span style="font-size: small;">GeoPark<span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 1.6em;"> (AIM: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue';">GPK</span><span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 1.6em;">) made its fifth oil discovery at the </span>Llanos 34<span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 1.6em;"> block in Colombia's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue';">Llanos</span><span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 1.6em;"> basin, a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue';">GeoPark</span><span style="color: #414042; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 1.6em;"> press release said.</span></span></header><div class="content" itemprop="articleBody"><div style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,'Helvetica Neue'; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0.5em;"><span style="font-size: small;">The firm discovered oil in the Tigana Sur 1 exploration well. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3,692m and produced 15.3 degree API oil, with a 0.2% water cut, at a 1,597b/d rate using a submersible pump.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,'Helvetica Neue'; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0.5em;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Further production history will be required to determine stabilized flow rates and the extent of the reservoir," GeoPark said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,'Helvetica Neue'; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0.5em;"><span style="font-size: small;">GeoPark has a 45% operating interest in Llanos 34. The firm also has assets in Chile, Brazil and Argentina.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,'Helvetica Neue'; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0.5em;"></div></div>

GeoPark makes 5th oil discovery in Colombia's Llanos 34 block

Oil & Gas - Colombia Latin America-focused GeoPark (AIM: GPK ) made its fifth oil discovery at the Llanos 34 block in Colombia...

Historic energy reform to strengthen Mexico's credit profile - Moody's

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CeI59PU-Lp9M2cVOcWxlFXi-lBv04glUXlzMsQtruX0eQJ6b5NZeo-sz8CWR_phNX38oloXPtHgcoKbAdYbUi1n_FL3vI9xQlqvpOZhI2xS_puoMvYqI7YGdzNKdZtqt5CkrsbLLctrN/s1600/big-data2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CeI59PU-Lp9M2cVOcWxlFXi-lBv04glUXlzMsQtruX0eQJ6b5NZeo-sz8CWR_phNX38oloXPtHgcoKbAdYbUi1n_FL3vI9xQlqvpOZhI2xS_puoMvYqI7YGdzNKdZtqt5CkrsbLLctrN/s320/big-data2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The congressional approval last week of a historic energy reform will strengthen Mexico's sovereign credit profile and could also help to boost its potential GDP growth rate, ratings agency Moody's said in a report.<br /><br /><br /><br />Moody's  said that it expects the comprehensive reform of the energy sector to  have a significant effect on state-owned oil company Pemex  and the oil industry, "attracting investment and enhancing Mexico's  growth prospects over the next three to five years, all credit positives  for the sovereign."<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>RISKS</strong><br /><br /><br />Although  prospects appear encouraging, implementation risks will pose major  challenges to the energy reform, said Moody's. In addition, attempts to  mobilize public opinion by the left-of-center PRD party and other groups  opposed to the reform and a call for a constitutional referendum pose  further risks, the agency added.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>REWARDS</strong><br /><br /><br />The  extent to which the energy reform is successful will depend on how  effective it is in promoting increased private investment and oil  production, Moody's noted. "If the reform proves effective in this  respect, we expect it to lift Mexico's potential growth to 3%-4% from  its current 2%-3%, although the effect will become evident during  2016-19, the second half of President Enrique Peña Nieto's  administration."<br /><br /><br /><br />The reform of the energy sector was  the last component of the government's ambitious reform agenda. This  reform, together with other structural reforms that congress has already  passed including labor, telecommunications, fiscal, financial and  education reforms, should strengthen Mexico's sovereign credit profile,  said Moody's.

Historic energy reform to strengthen Mexico's credit profile - Moody's

The congressional approval last week of a historic energy reform will strengthen Mexico's sovereign credit profile and could also help t...

North America to Drown in Oil as Mexico Ends Monopoly

The flood of North American crude oil is set to become a deluge as Mexico dismantles a 75-year-old barrier to foreign investment in its oil fields.<br /><div id="lead_graphic"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0joW2RJFSyWduhLMGXEAisqMBNAxZ1PDVu9snPFlG4WczT4YPdcVAn0Ps5lyfK4eOqysJAF-TS-gUaXV4a_TXLBdTlzLo0ZUqULjsFPhzGqyI7AExw7P5K52ApB-0tfXYZywHLeUimL0/s1600/iRvYObLYbSOI.jpg" /></div><br /><div class="photo_caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The  Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) La Muralla IV deep sea crude oil platform  in the waters off Veracruz, Mexico, on Aug. 30, 2013. Photographer:  Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg</span></div><div class="photo_caption"><br /></div></div><div class="page current" id="_page1"><div class=""><div id="authorial"><span class="byline"><span class="byline-text">Joe Carroll and Bradley - BB</span></span><br /><span class="byline"><span class="byline-text"><br /></span></span></div></div>Plagued by almost a decade of slumping output that has  degraded Mexico’s take from a $100-a-barrel oil market, President  Enrique Pena Nieto is seeking an end to the state monopoly over one of  the biggest crude resources in the Western Hemisphere. The doubling in  Mexican oil output that Citigroup Inc. said may result from inviting  international explorers to drill would be equivalent to adding another  Nigeria to world supply, or about 2.5 million barrels a day.<br /><br />That boom would augment a supply surge from U.S. and Canadian wells that <span class="ticker_wrap"><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Corporation"><span itemprop="name">Exxon Mobil Corp.</span></span> (<a class="ticker" data-symbol="XOM:US" href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=XOM:US">XOM:US</a>)</span> predicts will vault North American production ahead of every OPEC  member except Saudi Arabia within two years. With U.S. refineries  already choking on more oil than they can process, producers from Exxon  to ConocoPhillips are clamoring for repeal of the export restrictions  that have outlawed most overseas sales of American crude for four  decades. <br /><div class="related_item tracked" data-action-type="Feature Template" data-actions="click" data-category="Inline Related Links" data-label="Position: 1"><br /></div>“This is going to be a huge opportunity for any kind of player”  in the energy sector, said Pablo Medina, a Latin American upstream  analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Houston. “All the companies are going  to have to turn their heads and start analyzing Mexico.” <br /><h2>Unprecedented Output </h2>An  influx of Mexican oil would contribute to a glut that is expected to  lower the price of Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the  world’s crude that has averaged $108.62 a barrel this year, to as low as  $88 a barrel in 2017, based on estimates from analysts in a Bloomberg  survey. Five of the seven analysts who provided 2017 forecasts said  prices would be lower than this year.<br /><br />The revolution in shale  drilling that boosted U.S. oil output to a 25-year high this month will  allow North America to join the ranks of the world’s crude-exporting  continents by 2040, Exxon said in its annual global energy forecast on  Dec. 12. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region will be the sole crude  import markets by that date, the Irving, Texas-based energy producer  said. <br /><div class="related_item tracked" data-action-type="Feature Template" data-actions="click" data-category="Inline Related Links" data-label="Position: 0"><br /></div>Exxon’s forecast, compiled annually by a team of company  economists, scientists and engineers, didn’t take into account any  changes in Mexico, William Colton, the company’s vice president of  strategic planning, said during a presentation at the Center for  Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Dec. 12.<br /><br />Opening  Mexico’s oilfields to foreign investment would be “a win-win if ever  there was one,” said Colton, who described the move as “very good for  the people of Mexico and people everywhere in the world who use energy.”  <br /><h2>$15 Billion Boost </h2>The bill ending the state monopoly was approved by the Mexican  Congress Dec. 12. Before becoming law, the proposal must be ratified by  state assemblies, most of which are controlled by proponents of the  reform. Oil companies will be offered production-sharing contracts, or  licenses where they get ownership of the pumped oil and authority to  book crude reserves for accounting purposes. The contracts will be  overseen by government regulators.<br /><br />Though some foreign companies  already operate in Mexico under service contracts with Petroleos  Mexicanos, or Pemex, the reform could increase foreign investment by as  much as $15 billion annually and boost potential economic growth by half  a percentage point, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a Nov. 28 report. <br /><h2>Potential Delays </h2>A  doubling in production as suggested by Citigroup’s Ed Morse would put  Mexican output at 5 million barrels a day, an unprecedented level for  Pemex, the state oil company created during nationalization in 1938.<br />  <br />U.S. crude production will expand to 9.5 million barrels a day  in 2016, the highest since the nation’s peak in 1970, the U.S. Energy  Information Administration said today. That contrasts with last year’s  EIA forecast that production would reach 7.5 million in 2019 before  gradually declining to 6.1 million in 2040. U.S. output reached an  all-time high 9.6 million in 1970.<br /><br />A doubling of Mexico’s output  maybe be slower to realize than the most bullish predictions as  companies confront barriers in accessing capital and human resources  needed for development, Riccardo Bertocco, a partner at Bain & Co.  in Dallas.<br /><br /><div class="">An increase of 1 million barrels a day in  output is the most realistic upper limit of what Mexico could achieve by  2025 based on the cost for new infrastructure, competition for new  fields and opportunities all over the U.S., Bertocco said in a telephone  interview Dec. 12. </div><div class="related_item tracked" data-action-type="Feature Template" data-actions="click" data-category="Inline Related Links" data-label="Position: 0"><br /></div><div class="">“The opportunities are there, but they are still far from being materialized,” he said.<br /><br /><h2 class="">Regulator Inexperience </h2>Drilling in Mexico will be  held back by a lack of infrastructure, such as pipelines, in some of the  potential shale developments. The government will need to decide on  details for development such as tax rates, royalty structures and  standards for booking reserves, Kurt Hallead, an analyst at RBC Capital  Markets, wrote in a Dec. 12 note to clients.<br /><br />It will take time to  organize and conduct bidding rounds for licenses, and additional  exploration, such as seismic tests, will need to be done, Hallead said.<br /><br />“We are not expecting any significant impact from the reform to be felt in the next two years,” he wrote.<br /><br />Foreign  oil companies will face a backlash from Mexicans opposed to sharing the  nation’s oil wealth, said Ricardo Monreal Avila of Movimiento Ciudadano  Party, who sees the reform as violating Mexico’s constitution. <br /><h2>Local Opposition </h2>“We  are going to see serious problems in the operations of these reforms.  Indigenous communities and places chosen by foreign companies for  extraction will not allow them on their property. There are going to be  serious operational problems.”<br /><br />Brent crude futures, the benchmark  for more than half the world’s oil, rose as much as 1.8 percent to  $110.80 a barrel in London today, the biggest intraday gain in two  weeks, after Libyan rebels refused to relinquish control over oil ports  to the central government. Libya, home to Africa’s largest proven  reserves, has seen output tumble to the lowest since 2011 amid civil  strife.<br /><br />The first assets that will attract foreign investment  will be mature oil fields drilled decades ago and reservoirs that need  injections of steam or carbon dioxide to coax more crude out of the  ground, Medina said. Deep-water prospects, shale and other technically  challenging endeavors will follow later, he said.<br /><br />The level of  investor interest will be partly determined by which assets Pemex  chooses to keep and which it will put up for auction, Medina said. <br /><h2>Chicontepec Price </h2>The  Chicontepec field northeast of Mexico City may be among the richest  prizes Pemex surrenders after its problems overcoming low pressure and  disconnected crude deposits that have limited output, Medina said.  Production that has averaged about 60,000 barrels a day may be increased  to more than 100,000 by an international producer experienced in  handling such fields, he said. <br />Chicontepec is just one of the  over-budget, long-delayed projects for which Pemex will be eager to find  partners, said Jose Antonio Prado, a former general counsel of Mexico’s  energy ministry and Pemex official.<br /><br />“The Mexican state will be  able to incorporate private participants in projects that are already in  force as well as new opportunities,” said Prado, now a partner at the  law firm Holland & Knight LLP in Mexico City. <br /><h2>Deep Water </h2>The  reforms are especially important to open up exploration in Mexico’s  deep-water fields, where additional capital, as well as better  technology and expertise are needed, Carlos Solé, a Houston-based  partner at Baker Botts LLP, said in a telephone interview. Pemex  estimated the country’s deep-water Gulf of Mexico prospects may hold the  equivalent of 26.6 billion barrels of crude.<br /><br />Onshore, the  potential is even greater with more than 60 billion untapped barrels,  according to a Pemex presentation last month.<br /><br />Some of the  potential shale production sits across the border from Texas’s prolific  Eagle Ford formation. The most resource-rich area studied so far is  around the city of Tampico, a coastal city about 300 miles (480  kilometers) south of the bottom tip of the Texas border.<br /><br />“I can’t  tell you the amount of banks and investment funds coming from the U.S.  and Europe that have been talking to us and are trying to have an  expectation of what’s going to happen with the energy reform,” Prado  said. “All those guys are going to be in Mexico next year in various  forms trying to seek new opportunities.” </div></div>

North America to Drown in Oil as Mexico Ends Monopoly

The flood of North American crude oil is set to become a deluge as Mexico dismantles a 75-year-old barrier to foreign investment in its oil ...

Mexico: Energy reform clears final hurdle of state approval

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico’s sweeping energy reform cleared its final  legal hurdle Monday when San Luis Potosi became the 17th state  legislature to give rapid-fire approval to constitutional changes that  will allow foreign investment into what has been a 75-year-old state  monopoly.<br /><div class="p402_premium">The ambitious energy bill, opening up Mexico’s promising but poorly performing oil and gas industry, was <a href="http://lat.ms/1hX34Y7">approved solidly</a> in both houses of <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/u.s.-congress-ORGOV0000131.topic" id="ORGOV0000131" title="U.S. Congress">Congress</a> last week, amid bitter opposition by leftist parties.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCWn4bN_A0fW3tGwa3ZTUlsJWCBwgj0WGLY-Cw7ZgKUF5e4WOS76hdAC3pNnOcglLyU9NLoyEpRdoVTUqwWTDe3liWRS0tWOYOn25FM4SMxkethetJsxW5L59zRCp-mfHioOlbqnF2tEB/s1600/la-fg-wn-mexico-energy-reform-hurdle-approval--001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCWn4bN_A0fW3tGwa3ZTUlsJWCBwgj0WGLY-Cw7ZgKUF5e4WOS76hdAC3pNnOcglLyU9NLoyEpRdoVTUqwWTDe3liWRS0tWOYOn25FM4SMxkethetJsxW5L59zRCp-mfHioOlbqnF2tEB/s1600/la-fg-wn-mexico-energy-reform-hurdle-approval--001.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Centenario exploration oil rig operated by Mexican company Grupo R  and working for Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex, in the Gulf of  Mexico. State and federal bodies have quickly lined up behind  constitutional changes that will allow foreign investment into what has  been a 75-year-old state monopoly.                                                 <span class="credit">(<span class="photographer">Omar Torres / AFP/Getty Images</span>)</span></span><br /><br />Because measures in the bill require changing the constitution, a  majority of states also had to give their OK. That happened over the  weekend and early Monday, when 17 of 31 states voted in favor of the  bill, even as leftist demonstrators protested and surrounded some state  legislatures in hopes of discouraging approval.<br /><br />But passage was never really  in doubt because most state governments are controlled by the  Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of President Enrique Peña Nieto,  for whom overhauling state oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has  been a major goal of his year-old administration. Along with the PRI,  the conservative National Action Party also lent crucial support.<br /><br />The bill now returns to the Senate for official recognition of the  states’ votes and then will be signed into law by Peña Nieto -- all  formalities.<br /><br />Peña Nieto, on an official visit to Turkey on Monday, praised the  “responsibility and commitment” exhibited by the states. “This shows  that Mexico has solid democratic institutions, capable of carrying forth  major national transformations,” he said via Twitter.<br /><br />The new law will call for “production-sharing” agreements that allow  private firms to take a cut of the crude they find under licensing  agreements and contracts. It also opens up the highly inefficient state  electricity sector and is designed to make Pemex a competitive and more  productive company.<br />Proponents argue that Mexico needs outside expertise to be able to  exploit the hard-to-reach deep-water oil reserves and shale rock  deposits of gas. Otherwise, with production declining and shallow-water  wells drying, Mexico could become a net importer of oil by 2020, experts  say.<br />But opponents, including the left and a large percentage of ordinary  Mexicans, maintain that allowing foreign companies to drill and take  away oil amounts to a sell-out of precious natural resources. A better  plan would be to fight rampant corruption and waste in Pemex, they  argue.</div>

Mexico: Energy reform clears final hurdle of state approval

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico’s sweeping energy reform cleared its final legal hurdle Monday when San Luis Potosi became the 17th state legislatur...

Pressure on the configuration of oil and gas markets

<div id="article-body" style="border-top-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="left" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJveD9C_5mLS5IR0w0IGK7iWayMUrH6oXZOxKa6wt6HOwZhRliiYeg8hdGIyVi-jx0v9AMs8ezrFy1ylkvZT74joDuSWg7oBj-_gQiXTuB2jpyMYmcVx-hGjzo3-MrbAvNMfJciYgVpvO8/s1600/0a4af9a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJveD9C_5mLS5IR0w0IGK7iWayMUrH6oXZOxKa6wt6HOwZhRliiYeg8hdGIyVi-jx0v9AMs8ezrFy1ylkvZT74joDuSWg7oBj-_gQiXTuB2jpyMYmcVx-hGjzo3-MrbAvNMfJciYgVpvO8/s400/0a4af9a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(the two chief negotiators, Jamshid Amouzegar for OPEC and Lord Strathalmond for the oil companies, shaking hands after signing the Tehran Agreement in February 1971. Courtesy BP Archive)</i><br /><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></i></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="underline" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pressure on the configuration of oil and gas markets</b></span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the first questions raised by the shale “revolution” will be about the impact of rising shale oil (and gas) production on markets and prices. Let’s concentrate on oil. In a normal market, prices should fall and the only issue for an economist would be to calculate how fast and by how much. But the oil market is not exactly ‘normal’: It features a producer cartel with a long history of trying to manage prices and production. In oil markets, the question of the consequences of higher (shale) oil supplies seamlessly translates into the question of how OPEC is likely to react.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are good reasons to presume that OPEC members are willing and capable to react with production cuts to rising non-OPEC supplies.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Production cuts, in turn, lead to spare capacity. The build-up of spare capacity in OPEC countries required to neutralize the additional supplies (including biofuels and oil sand production) is substantial indeed: Taking our conservative production profile as a guide, spare capacity to accommodate the new supplies will have to exceed 6 million barrels per day (Mb/d) within this decade - the highest since the late 1980s, as shown on the right hand chart below;</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="center" src="http://m.c.lnkd.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/4/005/02c/37a/1fbec1c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 1em; max-width: 606px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;" /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This will be no easy task for OPEC. The cohesion of the organisation is the key uncertainty, especially in the current decade. It will be a world in which Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia account for a third of global production. Of the three, only OPEC member Saudi Arabia is likely to incur the cost of maintaining large amounts of spare production capacity. And Saudi Arabia is situated between Iraq, an OPEC member with steadily rising output but without a quota agreement, and Iran, for which no one can predict how long the current sanctions will limit production.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On the other hand, we are unlikely to witness the return of the very low oil prices last seen in the 1990 or 1980s (assuming OPEC stays put). Tight oil production is not only relatively expensive; with its high well density, it is also eminently scalable (different from the conventional supplies in Alaska or the North Sea added in the 1980s). Supplies will react if prices fall substantially.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the first instance, the advent of shale oil (and gas) is likely to put pressure on prices by stressing the configuration of markets as we know them. In the case of oil, OPEC is the lynch pin of these markets. In the case of gas, it is the oil indexation of gas prices.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><div class="module-box" id="author-header" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.247059) 0px 1px 2px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.247059) 0px 1px 2px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 17.77777862548828px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="articles-header-bar" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Christof Rühl" class="member-photo" height="80" src="http://m.c.lnkd.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrink_80_80/p/5/000/26f/17d/071a24f.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: -10px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="80" /><br /><div class="author-info" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 10px 120px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="author-name" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Christof Rühl</h2><h3 class="author-headline" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chief Economist at BP</h3></div></div></div>

Pressure on the configuration of oil and gas markets

(the two chief negotiators, Jamshid Amouzegar for OPEC and Lord Strathalmond for the oil companies, shaking hands after signing the Tehran A...

Chevron: Rosebank Oil Project Is Uneconomic

<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUprlaFQrV4H6E3HKgZkxNvEiwB_G9mp7NOyj_WyFpyb-gWO7aGIVA5_X8a40GA0pg_Nb0pueQYx9rQbj2b-LZOXDa3aiG3sS4Ky2RcGV4a4kZ0fTGaoYb_WRDYPZcQ-LFefmAYczNjtns/s1600/Chevron_Rosebank_Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUprlaFQrV4H6E3HKgZkxNvEiwB_G9mp7NOyj_WyFpyb-gWO7aGIVA5_X8a40GA0pg_Nb0pueQYx9rQbj2b-LZOXDa3aiG3sS4Ky2RcGV4a4kZ0fTGaoYb_WRDYPZcQ-LFefmAYczNjtns/s320/Chevron_Rosebank_Map.jpg" width="320" /></a>Chevron Corp., the world’s second- largest non-state energy company by market value, said its Rosebank oil discovery off the coast of Scotland would be unprofitable to bring into production at this time.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Chevron plans to continue evaluating the 240 MMbbl field along with partners OMV AG and Dong Energy A/S for ways to improve the project’s potential returns, the San Ramon, California-based company said in an e-mailed statement Nov. 22. A final decision on whether to proceed will be made next year, according to the statement.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Rosebank’s unprofitability is a blow to UK and Norwegian efforts to halt the slide in North Sea oil output as fields first drilled in the 1970s and 1980s near the end of their productive lifespans. Dropping North Sea supplies are expected to drive a 15% decline in European crude and gas liquids production by 2018, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its annual world outlook on Nov. 7.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Rosebank “does not currently offer an economic value proposition that justifies proceeding with an investment of this magnitude,” Chevron said in the statement.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Chevron and its partners hired South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in April to construct a US $1.9 billion platform that could offload crude directly to tankers, Hyundai said in a Nov. 15 slide presentation. The vessel would have capacity to draw 100,000 bbl of oil and 190 MMscd/d of gas from the seafloor.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Chevron hasn’t disclosed any cost estimates for the total development. Rosebank is located 130 km (80 miles) northwest of the Shetland Islands and 1,130 m (3,700 ft) beneath the sea surface.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Chevron discovered Rosebank in 2004 and owns a 40% stake. OMV owns 50% and Dong holds a 10% interest.<br />ExxonMobil Corp. is the largest oil company by market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></div>

Chevron: Rosebank Oil Project Is Uneconomic

Chevron Corp., the world’s second- largest non-state energy company by market value, said its Rosebank oil discovery off the coast of Scotla...

Global Spare Oil Capacity Drops

<div id="ArticleToolBar" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 4px 0px;"><div id="Article_Byline" style="color: #666666; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 3px;">By Velda Addison, Hart Energy</div><div class="date" style="color: #747474; float: right; font-size: 12px; line-height: 11px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; width: 160px;">September 25, 2013</div><div class="clear" style="clear: both;"></div></div><div id="ArticleContent" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-top: 15px; width: 550px;"><div class="articleBody" style="padding-bottom: 40px;"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM8CHi4Vh5xIUWJ5I9y8SMjyRoLMfbFsf8V797WY0wa7pxT9fK1_cUfukPEzqC7veLpRsUvGA96FwfStPEkqqOVMFX_eBGEUEqlytknoy33T9vLjKvhUWBVZFyzcRKq7R-zSBWvcr5k16/s1600/MENA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM8CHi4Vh5xIUWJ5I9y8SMjyRoLMfbFsf8V797WY0wa7pxT9fK1_cUfukPEzqC7veLpRsUvGA96FwfStPEkqqOVMFX_eBGEUEqlytknoy33T9vLjKvhUWBVZFyzcRKq7R-zSBWvcr5k16/s1600/MENA.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.epmag.com/Images/2013/09/MENA.jpg?w110" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i style="color: #333333;">Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa continues to impact oil production, but the North American tight oil supply is helping the situation.</i></a></div>Geopolitical disruptions and lower than anticipated output from Libya, Iraq, and Nigeria are contributing to an overall thinning of global spare oil capacity.<br /><br />“We are at level of spare capacity that is pretty thin and doesn’t leave a lot of little wiggle room for any unexpected supply shortages,” Aaron Brady, senior director forIHS, said during the company’s energy forum. OPEC spare capacity – defined as spare capacity held by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait – has dropped from just less than 5 MMb/d in January 2011 to between 2 MMb/d and 2.5 MMb/d in August 2013. “That’s the lower level of what the oil market is comfortable with.”<br /><br />Information presented during the IHS Forum session on global crude oil and refined products markets showed that OPEC Gulf producers are producing at near record highs to make up for the shortfalls elsewhere. Combined, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE produced about just more than 15.5 MMb/d in July 2013, up from about 14.5 MMb/d in January 2013. Production from the rest of OPEC dropped to about 15 MMb/d from just less than 16 MMb/d during the same time period.<br /><br />Geopolitical-driven supply disruptions are mostly to blame for the production declines, according to IHS. Libyan production has collapsed in the last few months, and uncertainty remains about when production will return to the impressive levels reached following the fall of the Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi regime. In addition, IHS is pessimistic about Iraqi production growth. The firm was expecting 200,000 b/d to 300,000 b/d of annual growth from Iraq over the next few years, but IHS now anticipates output to drop next year, which in turn will impact the region’s spare capacity.<br /><br />Assuming lower supplies from Iraq and Libya, IHS foresees a spare capacity of 3.5 MMb/d in 2015, about 1 MMb/d less than its previous forecast.<br /><br />“The clear message is that political stability in the Middle East and North Africa is worsening. We’re starting to think that maybe the market will carry more of a fear premium in the oil price than it otherwise would have without the situation in Syria, without the situation in Egypt, etc.,” Brady said. However, “That’s being counterbalanced by the North American supply surge.  … That is a crucial balancing factor in the market.”<br /><br />Tight oil production growth in North America has helped to fill gaps worldwide thanks to use of the same hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques that led to plentiful shale gas supplies.<br /><br />“Canadian oil sands are part of it, but clearly the tight oil revolution in both the US and Canada is the big story. Imagine how the oil market might look today if we had not had the MMb/d year-over-year growth that we are seeing out of the US,” Brady said. “If we had not had the extra supply, given all of the outages that we are seeing right now in the OPEC countries and the non-OPEC countries that we’ve seen over the past year and a half, I think it’s safe to say that oil prices would be a lot higher than they are right now.”<br /><br />The potential impact would be even greater if tight oil plays worldwide were developed, leading to significant supplies.<br /><br />“There is a tremendous amount of tight oil potential around the world, but it’s going to take time to develop,” said Jim Burkhard, vice president, IHS.<br /><br />IHS’s recently released Global Tight Oil Study identified potential sources of tight oil. These include Europe, 27 play areas; North Asia, 26; South Asia, 20; Australasia, 17; the Middle East, 16; Africa, 15; South America, 14; and CIS, 13. The study revealed that the potential technically recoverable resources of these 148 plays could be nearly 300 Bbbl.<br /><br />“While it is too early to assess the proportion of this that could be commercially recovered, the potential is significant compared to the commercially recoverable resources of tight oil (43 Bbbl) estimated in North America by previous IHS studies,” IHS said in the release.<br /><br />The US has proven to be the dominant source of global oil production growth.<br /><br />“US tight oil is already playing a major role in tempering the upward price pressure,” Burkhard said. “We have been consistently increasing our outlook for tight oil production, so there is lots of growth still ahead of us.”<br /><br />And that is good news for the energy market, considering the turmoil in parts of the Middle East and North Africa may last longer.<br /><br />The Arab Spring brought not only the process of regime changes but also the collapsing of states, as central governments and institutions crumbled, creating a vacuum filled with decentralization and subnational groups working on very different basis, said Raad Alkadiri, senior director, petroleum risk sector, IHS. Clashing ideologies persist, and disagreements are crossing borders, with no mediator or central authority to help impose a consensus.<br /><br />“The structural instability has started to have a contagion effect. It’s beginning to impact countries that are not necessarily going through regime changes but are starting to fill the impact of that regime change,” Alkadiri said. “The Arab Spring in some ways has turned into the Arab Hangover. … The Middle East is starting to look in many places more like Nigeria and Afghanistan than it is looking like Poland or Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”<br /><br />And the instability could spread to areas where oil and gas plays – frontier and traditional – are present, he said. This includes the Levant basin, the site of a number of significant number offshore gas discoveries since 1999.<br /><br />“This is a crisis that is not going to go away easily,” Alkadiri said. However, “not all parts of the Middle East are the same. … In the gulf states, there has been a cohesion that has been maintained.”<br /><br /><i>Contact the author, Velda Addison, at <a href="mailto:vaddison@hartenergy.com" style="color: #007ac2; text-decoration: none;">vaddison@hartenergy.com</a>.</i></div></div>

Global Spare Oil Capacity Drops

By Velda Addison, Hart Energy September 25, 2013 Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa continues to impact oil production, but the Nor...

Companies Line Up For Myanmar Blocks

<div id="ArticleToolBar" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 4px 0px;"><div id="Article_Byline" style="float: left; margin-left: 3px; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">By Ravi Prasad, Special to Hart Energy</span><span style="color: #747474;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 11px; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></div><div id="Article_Byline" style="float: left; margin-left: 3px; text-align: right;"><i style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">More than 100 companies are seeking offshore and onshore blocks.</i></div></div><div id="ArticleContent" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-top: 15px; width: 550px;"><div class="articleBody" style="padding-bottom: 40px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_Lre0fsvQorchwXTKGuSQtd_XHeOaPQSvxULnKU9QRjXXgKi5erlKgLTf9OYFWpqMCtYxCIv-cJxNwRkbAx-9ySWbvST4JMQfwZi1F_4ek8YPrG-20FXInhWEy0Dg5DG1Wbp4HLD0VIn/s1600/DIA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_Lre0fsvQorchwXTKGuSQtd_XHeOaPQSvxULnKU9QRjXXgKi5erlKgLTf9OYFWpqMCtYxCIv-cJxNwRkbAx-9ySWbvST4JMQfwZi1F_4ek8YPrG-20FXInhWEy0Dg5DG1Wbp4HLD0VIn/s1600/DIA.jpeg" /></a></div>After the easing of political and economic sanctions by the west, global oil and gas companies are rushing to tap the largely untouched vast hydrocarbon reserves in Myanmar.<br />More than 100 companies are lined up to get contracts for exploration and development of 48 blocks offered in the offshore and onshore bidding rounds. The country's energy ministry said it has selected 61 companies as prequalified bidders to participate in the tender for 30 offshore blocks (19 deepwater and 11 shallow) and 59 companies for 18 onshore blocks.<br />The short-listed companies for the offshore blocks include Shell, ConocoPhillips,ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Statoil, Eni, Repsol, Anadarko Petroleum, Husky Energy,Hess, Murphy Oil, Premier Oil, Woodside Energy, Santos, and Delek Energy. Asia's national oil companies, including China National Petroleum Corp., Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp., Thailand's PTTEP, and Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., also are in the race.<br />International firms that are prequalified for onshore blocks include Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, Mitsui Oil Exploration, Woodside Energy, Eni International, Petronas,ONGC Videsh, Brunei National Petroleum, PetroVietnam, Oil India Ltd., Prize Petroleum, and Nido Petroleum.<br />The energy ministry will now allow the short-listed companies to look at more detailed seismic information about the blocks. The companies would subsequently be allowed to submit bids for up to three blocks, drawn from the list of shallow-water blocks and/or the deepwater acreage.<br />The shallow and deepwater blocks are located in the Rakhine, Moattama, and Tanintharyi basins, off Bay of Bengal. The onshore concessions are in the central, south, and southeast part of Myanmar.<br />An energy ministry official said the Myanmar government would award the onshore blocks by December 2013 and offshore blocks by February  or March 2014.<br /><b>Red carpet rolls out</b><br />Myanmar, which was isolated from the global economy for about 50 years till 2011 due to military rule,  has rolled out the red carpet to companies by offering the concessions with revised terms and conditions for exploration and development of oil and gas blocks.<br />The democratically-elected government, headed by President Thein Sein, revised the rules for submission of bids before launching the bidding round for onshore blocks in January and offshore blocks in April 2013. According to the tender document, bidders can apply for operatorship for up to three blocks. While the companies are required to join a local firm to operate onshore and shallow-water blocks, they are free to operate the deep waters without local partnerships. The bidders submit proposals on a block-by-block basis. The proposal with the best terms and conditions will be selected.<br />State-run Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE) has a right to acquire 15% to 25% of undivided interest in onshore and offshore concessions after commercial hydrocarbon discovery.<br />The energy ministry is also fine-tuning the existing norms of the production-sharing contract (PSC) to facilitate greater foreign investment. Khin Khin Aye, the ministry’s director, said a proposal to increase the tax holiday from three years to five years and reduce the income tax rate from 25% to about 20% is being considered.<br />The existing PSC norms state the exploration period for a concession is three years with a two-year extension option. After discovery, the production period is 20 years for each commercial discovery.  A 12.5% royalty fee and a 25% tax on contractor’s net profit are levied but with a three-year tax holiday from the start of production. Twenty percent of crude oil and 25% of natural gas are reserved from the contractor’s share for domestic supply and will be paid at 90% of fair market value. The disputes of PSC are to be settled per the UNCITRAL arbitration rules.<br />The main objective of these moves is to attract foreign investment for the exploration and development oil and gas blocks. The energy ministry leased acreage in the last few years but exploration and development had limited success in the absence of investment from global companies. Almost all the global companies avoided Myanmar’s oil and gas sector after the imposition of economic sanctions by western countries. So far, small- and medium-sized upstream companies with limited financial resources are involved in the country.<br />The absence of large-scale private investments and presence of increasing local demand for oil have made the hydrocarbons-rich Myanmar a net importer of crude oil. Crude oil and condensate production mainly comes from two fields, Man and Yetagun, which jointly produce about 21,000 b/d.<br /><b>Vast hydrocarbon resources</b><br />The Yadana and Yetagun gas fields, discovered in the 1990s, are jointly producing 1,200 MMscf/d of natural gas. Of that amount, about 1000 MMscf/d is exported to neighboring Thailand. <br />Yadana’s M-5 and M-6 blocks, operated by Total E&P, are estimated to have gas reserves of 5.7 Tcf. Petronas Caligali Myanmar operates the Yetagun project in M12, M13, and M14 blocks, which produces gas and about 12,000 b/d of crude oil. This block has estimated gas reserves of about 3.16 Tcf.<br />Daewoo International Corp. announced the discovery of the Shwe field in 2004, off the coast of Sittwe, with estimated gas reserves of about 5 Tcf. The Shwe project started producing gas in July 2013, and most of the gas will be exported via pipeline to China.<br />Thailand's PTTEP discovered gas reserves in blocks M-7 and M-9. These include the Zawtika, Gawthika, Shweypyihtay, Kokona, and Zatila, with estimated reserves of between 5 Tcf and 8 Tcf.  The country’s gas production averaged about 1,232 MMcf/d in 2011.<br />The current level of oil and gas production in Myanmar is insignificant considering the large size of the potential hydrocarbon reserves in the country. Myanmar has abundant natural gas resources especially offshore. It holds estimated gas reserves of between 60 Tcf and 72 Tcf and crude oil of 540 MMbbl. The energy ministry says the size of the hydrocarbon reserves is likely to increase as a large part of the country’s sedimentary basins is still unexplored.<br />Burma has 17 sedimentary basins. Of these, three onshore (Central Myanmar, Pyay Embayment, and the Ayeyarwady) and three offshore (Rakhine, Mottama, and Tanintharyi) have been explored. Chindwin and Rakhine coastal basins are explored to some extent, while Hukaung, Shwebo-Monywa, and Bago Yoma basins are less explored. Five basins – Hsipaw-Lashio, Namyau, Kalaw, Sittaung Valley, and Mawlamyine/Mepale – are yet to be explored.</div></div>

Companies Line Up For Myanmar Blocks

By Ravi Prasad, Special to Hart Energy More than 100 companies are seeking offshore and onshore blocks. After the easing of political and ...

A new Africa?

<div class="entry" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQDiYj4vrJsOr8m3TxpYes4xdMKvqIpOFECGtdS9VAyOe8zvvvrKDLhIMCvOIwnb0JzF9PWFbR1EVWBxE8yTNA4LWySi8ZI6ycc1bZJBTWkrwpZRnvmCaRX7G2vCjiwU0A1myeytXFUCq/s1600/iStock_000016177667_ExtraSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQDiYj4vrJsOr8m3TxpYes4xdMKvqIpOFECGtdS9VAyOe8zvvvrKDLhIMCvOIwnb0JzF9PWFbR1EVWBxE8yTNA4LWySi8ZI6ycc1bZJBTWkrwpZRnvmCaRX7G2vCjiwU0A1myeytXFUCq/s320/iStock_000016177667_ExtraSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 class="top-margin" style="color: #003366; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">Recent advances in technology and data capabilities is "well" known. From one estimate, a single well can produce a terabyte of data per day.  There is also the large amounts of archived data from decades of drilling activity sitting dormant for decades as "useless" information.  What is also "well" known is that incredible amounts of data is yet to be collected, formatted and accessed by new technology.  Can this movement of technology, engineering, and data analysis change the status of a continent?  </span></h2><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">-----</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.59375px;"><a href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/di-blog/" target="_blank">DRILLINGINFO BLOG</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">Below is a partial of the blog post at <a href="http://www.drillinginfo.com/" target="_blank">Drillinginfo</a> which touches on this topic.  Have a look at the below and read the <a href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/africa-oil-and-gas-mozambique-president-oil/" target="_blank">full article</a>  by <span style="line-height: 21px;">Andrew Hayman</span> on Drillinginfo's  <a href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. </div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;"><br /></div><h2 style="color: #3a6189; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/africa-oil-and-gas-mozambique-president-oil/" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.2s ease, border 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease; color: #ec7100; outline: 0px; transition: background-color 0.2s ease, border 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease;">Africa Oil and Gas: Mozambique’s President Leads the Charge for Exploration and Development</a></h2><div class="entry" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a class="cboxElement" href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/iStock_000016177667_ExtraSmall.jpg" rel="lightbox[8626]" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.2s ease, border 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease; color: #ff6600; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: background-color 0.2s ease, border 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease;" title="Africa Oil and Gas: Mozambique’s President Leads the Charge for Exploration and Development"><img alt="Africa Oil and Gas: Mozambique’s President Leads the Charge for Oil Development" class="alignright size-full wp-image-8936" height="282" src="http://info.drillinginfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/iStock_000016177667_ExtraSmall.jpg" style="border: none; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px;" width="425" /></a>East Africa oil and gas has become a focus of attention for African new ventures for most international oil companies (IOCs), from Houston to Beijing.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;">Decades of indifference about East Africa were predicated on the notion that East Africa was, at best, modestly gas prone.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;">But the huge, high-quality gas finds in exceptional reservoirs in the offshore Rovuma Basin in Mozambique have brought IOCs to East Africa as never before. Multi-billion dollar post-appraisal deals have been done (Eni-CNPC, Videocon-ONGC-OIL); and are being negotiated (Anadarko, with many suitors).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><strong>With continuing geopolitical difficulties in North Africa and in Nigeria, where better place in Africa to explore?</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>Read the <a href="http://info.drillinginfo.com/africa-oil-and-gas-mozambique-president-oil/" target="_blank">full article</a> here </div><div class="ts-fab-wrapper" id="ts-fab-below" style="clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><div class="ts-fab-tabs" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="ts-fab-tab" id="ts-fab-bio-below" style="border: 2px solid rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; min-height: 80px; overflow: hidden; padding: 12px;"><div class="ts-fab-text" style="line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; padding: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><span id="pty_trigger"></span></div></div></div>

A new Africa?

Recent advances in technology and data capabilities is "well" known. From one estimate, a single well can produce a terabyte of da...