Oil: when there are more, there are still

[moinsdewatt]

The Alaskan oil tanker.
No doubt enough to continue producing 500 b / d for the next two decades.

New Tech Could Unlock An Alaskan Oil Boom

By Irina Slav - Feb 03, 2020

Alaska is considered by many to be an oil region in decline, with natural depletion and oil prices combining to pressure the growth of the oil industry in one of America's longest-producing regions.

In fact, crude oil production in Alaska could double from less than 500,000 bpd in 2019 to over 900,000 bpd by 2041 - as long as the price of oil is right, the Energy Information Administration said in its 2020 Annual Energy Outlook.

Alaskan oil is far from dead, though this misconception is rife.
.........

Read https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/N ... -Boom.html

[moinsdewatt]

Nigeria: Minister of Petroleum Announces Discovery of One Billion Barrels in the Northeast

Ecofin Agency 13 Feb 2020

Nigerian Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva said on Wednesday that one of the state-owned oil companies discovered an oil deposit of around one billion barrels in the northeast of the country. A statement made at a press conference as part of the recently concluded International Petroleum Summit of Nigeria (NIPS) in Abuja.

"According to the first information we have received, assessments show that the discovery in the Northeast is close to one billion barrels. The engineers are still hard at work and we are beginning to understand the geological structure of the region, ”he said.

For the moment, neither the name of the block nor that of the drilled structure has been disclosed. The leaders are probably awaiting the completion of studies to confirm the discovery before communicating on this issue.

As a reminder, over the past two years, the public oil and gas company (NNPC) has undertaken research into hydrocarbons in several basins in the east of the country such as Gongola, Anambra and Benue. In February 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the public oil company (NNPC) to intensify exploration activities in these areas, before multiplying the regions of exploitation of black gold in the country. These are mainly concentrated in the south of the country.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/exploratio ... e-nord-est

[moinsdewatt]

Oil and gas volumes discovered in the first 6 months of the year are the lowest of the century

Ecofin Agency July 3, 2020

The first six months of the year are the least prolific since the beginning of the century in terms of discoveries for the hydrocarbon industry. A situation that originated in the appearance of the coronavirus which led to a record reduction in overall investments in the upstream.

At the end of the first half of 2020, the world oil industry recorded discoveries of conventional oil having reached 4,9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), reports a study by the analyst firm Rystad Energy. This is the lowest level of discoveries in a first semester since the start of the 21st century. Compared to the same period in 2019, resource volumes decreased by 42% and the number of discoveries decreased by 31%.

Average monthly volumes discovered to date are estimated at 810 million boe, down 34% from the same period last year.

In addition, 2020 is well on its way to showing the predominance of gas discoveries since last year, with 55% of all discoveries in the first half. “Last year, we saw the largest volumes of gas resources discovered since the last recession. Given the large number of high-impact exploration wells planned for this year, 2020 should follow the same path, "explains Taiyab Zain Shariff, upstream analyst at Rystad Energy.

Russia, South America and the Middle East represent around 73% of the total resources discovered so far in 2020. Africa and Australia have fallen behind with less than 1% of the total resources discovered. It is also interesting to note that almost 70% of the resources were discovered at sea, the cabinet said.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/exploratio ... -du-siecle

In January and February alone, the world consumed 6 billion barrels at the rate of 100 million b / d.
This is greater than the 4.9 billion barrels discovered over the entire first half.

[moinsdewatt]

The three biggest oil discoveries in 2020 are Russian

Ecofin Agency 17 Feb 2021

Despite a difficult context for the global oil industry, Rosneft has stepped up the pace of its development work in 2020. And the public company fully intends to take advantage of the gigantic discoveries that have resulted from it to conquer new market shares.

On Tuesday, Igor Sechin, the boss of the state-owned oil company, Rosneft, was received at the Kremlin by Vladimir Putin for a hearing on the strategic Vostok Oil project that will propel the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route . During the interview, Sechin announced that last year, Vostok Oil was home to the world's three largest oil discoveries.

Together, the three discoveries have an average resource potential valued at 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie. That's almost double the biggest discovery made by a foreign company in 2020.

The Vostok Oil project is considered strategic, as it will not only be the engine of development in the north of the country, but it will serve to fill the market gap linked to the shift to cleaner energy, according to the Kremlin. Indeed, Moscow is convinced that the wave of divestments in fossil fuels will create unmet demand over the next few years and hopes to take advantage of it.

"By developing these new areas, we will seek to meet any deficit that may appear in the market," Sechin said. Negotiations have already taken place with China and India on this matter.

Vostok Oil is expected to enter production from 2024 with 25 million tonnes to be extracted the same year. In 2027, production will reach 50 million tonnes and in 2030, up to 115 million.

Despite the pandemic and the global economic slowdown, Rosneft increased its oil production by 0,2% in 2020, to reach 256,2 million tonnes. No less than 2 new wells have been put into production and the company's accounts show a net profit of 600 billion euros.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/exploratio ... ont-russes

[izentrop]

Will the other world powers let poutine easily plunder the Arctic?

A Russian Energy Ministry strategy paper acknowledges that Russia is unlikely to ever regain its 2019 oil production level. In other words, Russian oil has passed its peak. The recovery in production promises to be slow and partial, before falling again somewhere between 2029 and 2035. https://energieetenvironnement.com/2021 ... r-en-2019/

[GuyGadeboisTheBack]

Will the other world powers let poutine easily plunder the Arctic?

When are we going to stop Total in its rotten projects?

A giant Total project in Africa poses "enormous risks" to the environment and the climate, denounce NGOs

https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marc ... ng-1399770

[ENERC]

When are we going to stop Total in its rotten projects?

Total: maybe in 2100 - and it's not sure
Policies: never (question of taxes)
Only the consumer can in fact do this by using a car that is neither diesel nor gasoline and greatly reducing the use of plastics.

If we prevent new deposits, the oil tankers' ultimate solution is to make gasoline and diesel with coal (the Germans did it during World War II). I don't know which is the worst solution between drilling in the arctic and oil made with Polish coal.
Not terrible in both cases.

[moinsdewatt]

ENI has announced that it has made a new light oil discovery in Block 15/06 in Angola's deep offshore.

April 07, 2021

The Cuica-1 NFW well, which was drilled on the Cuica exploration prospect located inside the Cabaça Development Area, resulted in an oil find estimated to be between 200 million and 250 million barrels of oil in place, Eni revealed.

Cuica-1 NFW was drilled as a deviated well by the Libongos drillship in a water depth of 1,640 feet, and reached a total vertical depth of 13,451 feet, encountering a 262-foot total column of reservoir of light oil in sandstones of Miocene age with good petrophysical properties, Eni noted. The company added that the discovery well is going to be sidetracked “updip” to be placed in an “optimal position” as a producer well.

Eni said the result of “intensive” data collection indicates an expected production capacity of around 10,000 barrels of oil per day. The well-head location, intentionally placed close to East Hub's subsea network, will allow a fast-track tie-in of the well and relevant production, Eni stated. The company expects that production will start within six months after the discovery.

“The discovery confirms the exploration potential of the block and Eni's strong commitment to further unlock the value of the area through effective proprietary technologies and its capability to quickly turn resources into production,” Eni said in a statement posted on its website.

“Angola plays a key role in the strategy for organic growth of Eni, which has been present in the country since 1980,” Eni added in the statement.

Cuica is the second significant oil discovery inside the existing Cabaça Development Area, Eni highlighted. Block 15/06 is operated by Eni with a 36.8421 percent interest, Sonangol P&P, which also has a 36.8421 percent stake, and SSI Fifteen Limited, which holds the remaining 26.3158 interest.

https://www.rigzone.com/news/eni_makes_ ... 8-article/

[moinsdewatt]

Oil demand drops in the face of the Covid rebound, but expected increase over the year

AFP published on May 12, 2021

Global oil demand fell in April due to a rebound in the epidemic, particularly in India, proof that the recovery "remains fragile", notes the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday.

The decline in consumption in India and Thailand has thus erased "recent more positive trends in Europe and the United States", according to the monthly report of the IEA. Global demand fell by 130.000 barrels per day compared to March, reaching 94 million barrels per day (mbd), a level lower than that observed at the end of 2020.

However, the IEA maintains "roughly" its expectations in terms of recovery for the second half of the year, "given that the vaccination campaigns continue to expand and that the pandemic is largely under control".

The Agency slightly reduced its annual growth forecast, to 5,4 million b / d in 2021, due to this still difficult start to the year. But demand should return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, she estimates, at 99,6 mbd in the 4th quarter, very close to the 100,6 mbd of the last quarter of 2019.

Supply, on the other hand, is unlikely to rise as sharply, as OPEC + producers (including Russia, among others) have decided to reopen the floodgates only gradually.

If the organization continues on this path, the gap between demand and production could reach 2,5 million barrels per day by the end of the year, underlines the IEA. And even if an agreement is reached allowing the easing of sanctions against Iran, this gap would still be 1,7 mbd.

OPEC + leaders are due to meet on June 1 to assess their level of production for the coming months. "They have the flexibility to scale up relatively quickly, to fill any gaps that may emerge," underlines the IEA.

https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... nee-210512

[izentrop]

Countries that have passed peak oil

At the end of June, oil had to go above $ 80 a barrel. Usually, when everyone agrees, the opposite happens. Oil is teasing. Global demand is 98 million barrels per day (mb / d), 2 million from the record set in 2019.

After a vacation, the barrel comes back all tanned. We will see that next month. For Brent in London, it posted an index of $ 73,03 ($ 75,13 at the end of June) and the WTI in New York at $ 68,74 against ($ 73,56 at the end of June).

OPEC
Cartel members, plus Russia, believe producers don't need to add more barrels than already planned.

The objective is to rise slowly, to the pre-pandemic level by May 2022, while keeping a price high enough to bring in petrodollars.

US President Joe Biden has called on OPEC to increase oil extraction in order to lower gasoline prices. He was obviously not listened to. It should also be noted that Biden pleads for a drop in consumption for climatic reasons. Asking to increase production and at the same time decrease it, isn't that an oxymoron?

At the strategic level, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's petroleum minister, sheds some light: "I don't like the market, speculators or the media to take us for granted; that's why I keep so much rabbits under my taqiyya. If you are less predictable, you have more control. "

https://www.2000watts.org/index.php/ene ... -2021.html