Russian Oil Production up 5%; Seaborne Exports up 9.5%
Russia's oil production rose almost 5% in the first half of June compared with May, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the output statistics.Average daily oil production, including condensate, was 1.46 million tonnes in the first 13 days of June, 68,000 tonnes more than May levels, the news agency reported.Russian oil companies, led by Rosneft ROSN.MM, were expected to re-open wells in June which they had shut due to Western sanctions as the companies bank on a pick-up in seasonal demand and sustained Asian buying, Reuters sources said previously.
CNPC Finds Reserves From Pre-salt Field at Tarim
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said it has found oil and gas reserves from a pre-salt area, where the resources are trapped under a layer of salt, for the first time in the country.Daily oil production from the area, located at Tarim oilfield in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, is estimated to be 133.46 cubic meters and daily gas output to reach 48,700 cubic meters.The pre-salt oil is found from a 8,882-metre well, the deepest onshore well in Asia, CNPC said in a statement on Monday.CNPC expects total oil reserves at the pre-salt oilfield in the Tarim Basin region to reach 310 million tonnes and gas reserve to reach 3.3 trillion cubic meters.(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Tom
Lukoil: No Need to Cut Output in 2019
Russia's Lukoil sees no need to cut crude output in 2019, CEO Vagit Alekperov said on Monday, as global producers discuss the situation in oil markets.Russia is part of a group of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing nations that teamed up two years ago in an effort to rebalance the market. The group first decided to cut output but changed course in June as prices spiked on fears of a shortage.On Monday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC and its allies agreed that technical analysis showed a need to cut oil supply next year by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from October levels.Vagit Alekperov…
Rosneft Nearly Triples Net Profit
Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft almost tripled third-quarter net profit to 142 billion roubles ($2.15 billion), citing higher crude output and prices, despite taking a heavy hit on downstream operations.The company took a 133 billion rouble ($2 billion) impairment in refining and distribution, with domestic fuel prices lagging behind surging crude oil prices. Russian oil companies have also been forced by the authorities to cap politically sensitive retail fuel prices.Despite the big profit jump from the same period last year, Ronseft fell just short of analyst expectations.
U.S. Crude Rises as One-fifth of Oil Production Lost Ahead of hurricane
U.S. crude prices were modestly higher on Tuesday as nearly one-fifth of daily oil production was lost from offshore Gulf of Mexico wells due to Hurricane Michael.Oil producers including Anadarko Petroleum Corp, BHP Billiton, BP and Chevron Corp have evacuated personnel from 13 platforms as the storm made its way through the central Gulf on the way to landfall Wednesday on the Florida Panhandle.Companies turned off about 324,200 barrels of oil and 284 million cubic feet of natural gas by midday on Monday. An update on shut-ins Tuesday is likely to…
Brazil Becomes Core Ares for Equinor
With daily oil production of over 90 000 barrels per day from current fields and with expected investments of more than 15 billion USD until 2030, Brazil has become a core area for Equinor.A press release said that Brazil stands out globally as one of the most promising offshore oil and gas basins with a significant remaining resource base. In addition, the country has a huge potential within renewable energy.Brazil is a great fit with Equinor’s strategy, using the strengths from the experience on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Currently Equinor has activity across the value chain…
New Water Booster Pumps for Polvo FPSO
As part of the life extension project for the Polvo Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, operator BW Offshore has contracted Norwegian based liquid handling and pump specialist PG Flow Solutions to supply new water booster pumps.PG Flow Solutions said its scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, assembly of pump skid and commissioning of two produced water booster pumps in super duplex materials, with 150kW electrical motors, variable frequency drives and pressurized seal system.“After a couple of challenging years for the Brazilian offshore industry, we are slowly seeing small signs of recovery,” said says Steve Paulsen, CEO of PG Flow Solutions.
Brazil Daily Oil Output to Double by 2026
Brazil's daily oil production should rise 3.8 percent this year over last and double by 2026, the director of a research arm of the government said on Tuesday. Output should pick up to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017 from 2.6 million bpd last year and surge to 5.2 million bpd by 2026, Jose Mauro Coelho, head of the Energy Research Company (EPE), said at an event in Rio de Janeiro. "You have fields going into production, new equipment, but growth now and in the short term is slow," he said, adding that the ramp-up should accelerate from 2022, as more fields begin producing.
North Dakota Oil Production Slips about 1% in June
North Dakota's daily oil production slipped about 1 percent in June amidst tepid crude prices , according to state data released on Friday. The state pumped 1.03 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in June, down from 1.04 million bpd in May, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, which reports on a two-month lag. Natural gas production dipped slightly to 1.85 million cubic feet per day. The state's oil well count hit 13,915 during the month, an all-time high. North Dakota's drilling rig count, a closely watched barometer of the state's oil industry's health, has been steadily rising. On Friday the count stood at 57, about 4 percent higher than in June.
Oil Jumps on Chance of Another U.S. Draw, Norway Strike Supports
Oil prices were up as much as 2 percent on Wednesday, reacting to the possibility of another surprise weekly drop in U.S. inventories amid an industry strike in Norway that threatened to cut North Sea crude output. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, reported a 7.5 million barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories for the week ended Sept. 16, versus a 3.4 million-barrel drop forecast by oil market analysts polled by Reuters. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will issue official inventory data for last week at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
North Dakota Daily Oil Production Drops 2% in June
North Dakota's daily oil production fell 2 percent in June, the victim of low crude prices weighing on the energy industry. Daily output fell to 1.03 million barrels of oil per day, according to the state's Department of Mineral Resources, which reports on a two-month lag. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Canada Economy to Rebound After Energy Slump
Canada's economy should rebound "over the course of the year" from the impact of a wildfire in its energy heartland, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Saturday on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Chengdu, China. The fire in the province of Alberta is estimated to have cut daily oil production by more than 1 million barrels and the Bank of Canada estimates it will shave 1.25 percentage points off economic growth in the second quarter. "We were approximately right in our expectations in our budget," he said of Canada's fiscal plan introduced in March, which promised growth spurred by government spending.
North Dakota Oil Output Posts Surprising Jump
North Dakota's daily oil production rose slightly in October, a surprising increase amidst plunging crude prices that shows the state's energy industry may be more resilient than previously thought to pressure from OPEC and other global forces. The state produced 1,168,950 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in October, compared with 1,162,159 bpd in September, said the Department of Mineral Resources, which reports on a two-month lag. Natural gas output rose 3 percent to 1,654,594 million cubic feet per day. The number of producing wells hit an all-time high in October of 13,173.
Petrobras Production up in July
Petrobras' average oil and natural gas production rose 1.8% in July compared to the previous month and reached 2.796 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). The Company produced 2.746 million boed in June. Production is up 3.6% on July 2014 (2.699 million boed). On July 8, Petrobras set a new daily oil production record in the pre-salt layer: 865,000 barrels per day (bpd). This production does not include natural gas extraction. Monthly production was 798,000 bpd, 6.9% higher than the existing record for June. Petrobras' total oil and natural gas production in Brazil was 2.611 million boed, 2.3% up on the previous month (2.553 million boed).
North Dakota Oil Output Jumps in May
North Dakota's daily oil production rose 3 percent in May, state regulators said on Friday, hinting that the state's Bakken shale formation may be more resilient to sliding crude prices than expected. The state's well count hit a record high in the month with producers deciding to hydraulically fracture more freshly drilled wells, bucking a trend to mothball them. Drilling permit applications also spiked. "I was surprised by the increase in output for May," said Lynn Helms, head of the state's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). The data signaled that Whiting Petroleum Corp…
BP Suspends West Azeri Platform for Planned Maintenance
British oil major BP has suspended operations at West Azeri, one of its platforms in the Caspian Sea, for planned maintenance, Tamam Bayatly, a spokeswoman for BP Azerbaijan, told Reuters on Thursday. Operations are suspended for 22 days, she added. "This is a routine, planned programme and is part of normal operations," Bayatly said, adding exports would continue according to the schedule. She said the work would maintain the ability of the platform to produce in a safe, reliable and environmentally sound way. Oil output from the main Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields operated by BP…
US Oil Output is Falling! Or maybe not ...
The immediate outlook for U.S. oil production has rarely been more important for the financial world, with traders scrutinizing every scrap of data for signs of a sustained pull-back in output. It has also rarely been harder to predict. Until late last year, a handful of energy analytics firms had honed the art of real-time oil production forecasts to a near science, running reams of information through complex models that account for everything from a well's production curve to weather patterns. With the price slump, however, these firms are struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of change.
Brent Crude Turns Lower on Fears of Oversupply
Brent crude oil prices slipped towards $55 in the last hour of trading after an announcement from Saudi Arabia that its daily oil production neared record highs outweighed a weakened dollar. After rising as high as $56.17 in the day's trading, Brent crude oil futures were down 20 cents at $55.12 at 1:35 EDT (1835 GMT). U.S. WTI crude rebounded to trade 8 cents up at $46.65 after falling as low as $45.38. Saudi Arabia has stood firm on its decision to maintain production levels, saying it would consider cutting output only if producers outside OPEC also did so.
Drillsearch Reports Robust Performance
Drillsearch delivered a strong operating performance in the December quarter against a backdrop of challenging conditions that affected the oil and gas sector globally. Production of 0.79 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in the December 2014 quarter was 6% higher than the September quarter. Average daily oil production from the Western Flank Oil Fairway was 11,565 barrels (bbls) (Drillsearch’s 60% share 6,939bbls). With continuing strong output from the Western Flank and new wells planned to come online in the second half of FY2015, we are on schedule to deliver our production guidance of 3.0 to 3.4 mmboe.
Dalrymple's Budget Weighs on Oil Price Rebound
North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple proposed a two-year state budget on Wednesday that forecasts rebounding oil prices and a 23 percent jump in oil taxes, a tacit bet the state's energy boom will continue unabated. Oil prices have dropped more than 30 percent since June amidst global oversupply and demand concerns. Last week OPEC opted not to cut its oil production, a step seen by many as designed to squeeze North Dakota and other oil-producing regions of the United States. Despite OPEC's decision, Dalrymple expects oil extraction and gross production taxes of $8.32 billion for the 2015 through 2017 biennium…
