EIA: Initial production rates in U.S. shale oil formations continue to rise

lweb.es/f828

iconOEF REVIEW:Tight oil production in the United States increased from 2007 through April 2015, based on estimates in Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report, and accounted for more than half of total U.S. oil production in 2015. Tight oil growth has been driven by increasing initial production rates from tight wells in regions analyzed in the report. As drilling techniques and technology improve, producers are able to extract more oil during the initial months of production from new wells.

Details

Oil rockets from 12-year low on renewed talk of OPEC cut

lweb.es/f826

iconOEF REVIEW:The United Arab Emirates’ energy minister has said that OPEC was willing to cooperate on an output cut. Many traders were skeptical noting that Venezuela and Russia had tried in vain to stir Saudi Arabia and other major producers into agreeing to cuts, but after a price slump that has taken crude prices to more than 12-year lows, many of these traders were inclined to believe that a rebound was due sooner or later. “We expect declining U.S. oil production, in particular, to drive the oil price back up to $50 per barrel by the end of the year,” Frankfurt-based Commerzbank said in a note.

Details

Venezuela expanding military influence over oil and mining

lweb.es/f824

iconOEF REVIEW:Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro moved to increase the military’s involvement in the country’s oil and mining industries with the creation of a new state company that will report to the Defense Ministry. The military company, “Camimpeg”, was authorized to participate in a range of oil services and mining activities including the maintenance of wells and drilling rigs, transport and the commercialization of chemicals.

Details

Venezuela should disband, replace PDVSA, former official recommends

lweb.es/f817

iconOEF REVIEW:While Venezuela’s new legislative majority faces many immediate concerns with the Nicolas Maduro regime following a Dec. 6 election, it also should begin to disband and replace Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), a former board member of the national oil company said. “I believe PDVSA is impossible to upgrade,” said Gustavo Coronel, a petroleum geologist and consultant on energy geopolitics and public policy who was a member of the Venezuelan Congress before then-President Hugo Chavez dissolved it. “It should be replaced by another model of oil industry management in Venezuela.”

Details

OPEC oil market report: Negative effects of oil price drop has outweighed benefits

lweb.es/f814

iconOEF REVIEW:The February 2016 OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report indicates the following, on page 17, with regard to “Recent Interactions Between the Oil Market and the Global Economy”: It seems that the overall negative effect from the sharp decline in oil prices since mid-2014 has outweighed benefits in the short-term and there seems to be a ‘contagious’ effect taking place across many aspects of the global economy…more

Details

Russia’s Sechin Floats Idea of Oil Output Cuts

lweb.es/f812

iconOEF REVIEW:The head of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft on Wednesday floated the idea of a coordinated output cut by major oil-producing countries to prop up sagging prices but fell short of saying whether Moscow would contribute to such a plan. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin, in a speech at the International Petroleum Week conference in London, attributed oversupply in the market to overproduction by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. He suggested major oil producers each cut production by 1 million barrels per day.

Details

Hydropower Outlook 2016: Exploring the Water-Energy Nexus and Energy Storage

lweb.es/f810

iconOEF REVIEW:According to latest figures from the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the 1,036 GW of hydropower capacity generated over 16 percent of global electricity production in 2014. Looking to the year ahead, IHA identified several trends driving hydropower build-out. Prominent on the list is hydropower’s ability to function as a grid management asset: delivering base- and peak-load energy, frequency response and black-start capabilities. These solutions are recognized as critical to facilitate a successful transition to renewable energy. A second trend fostering steady investment is modernization, uprating, and conversion of existing plants in efforts to secure more efficient and sustainable operations. A third driver motivating fresh momentum for hydropower stems from ancillary hydropower functions that can assist nations in adapting to climate change: providing freshwater for irrigation, drought management and flood protection solutions.

Details

Texas toughness in oil patch shows why U.S. still strong at $30 a barrel

lweb.es/f808

iconOEF REVIEW:A handful of shale patches in the state, which would be the world’s sixth-largest oil producer if it were a country, are profitable with crude below $30 a barrel, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence. In the Eagle Ford’s DeWitt County, which produced more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day in November, the average well can be profitable with U.S. benchmark crude at $22.52 a barrel, $4 below the lowest level this year. Drive 200 miles southwest to Dimmit County, and drillers need $58 oil. The wide range of break-evens illustrates one reason why shale production from exploration and production companies has been more resilient than expected, filling storage tanks in the U.S. to levels not seen in 85 years.

Details

High inventories help push crude oil prices to lowest levels in 13 years

lweb.es/f806

iconOEF REVIEW:Several factors have played a part in pushing U.S. crude oil prices below $30 per barrel, including high inventory levels of crude oil, uncertainty about global economic growth, volatility in equity and non-energy commodity markets, and the potential for additional crude oil supply to enter the market. Crude oil and petroleum product inventories, both domestically and internationally, have been growing since mid-2014 and are above five-year averages for this date.

Details

Facts and figures show the impact of low oil prices

lweb.es/f804

iconOEF REVIEW:The impact of sharply lower oil prices is being felt around the globe. Oil-dependent countries are trying to mend busted budgets. Oil companies are cutting production and workers. While consumers in some countries enjoy lower gas prices, elsewhere consumers are paying higher food prices due to declines in the local currency. This article gives some facts and figures from the USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Europe/Russia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Details

Mainland Europe shale gas: What now?

lweb.es/f802

iconOEF REVIEW:The shale gas boom has proved to be a game changer for the United States economy, bringing about an era of cheap natural gas that has helped to make the country’s industry more competitive. Europe has also been seen as a future shale gas region in recent years, but a Wood Mackenzie survey of global shale gas drilling activity highlights only three European countries – Poland, Ukraine and the UK – as having any shale gas wells scheduled for 2016.

Details