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Briefs
The Middle East’s LNG capacity will rise to 100 million tons a year by 2015 from the current 20 million tons a year according to Khalid Sultan al Kuwari, marketing executive at Qatar’s RasGas. (5/28, #8) Saudi Arabia raised its oil production by nearly 300,000 b/d in March 2009 in spite of a collective agreement by OPEC to cut crude supplies to support
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Brazil
Last week Brazil’s energy minister announced that international companies will be invited to bid for concessions in the pre-salt deep-water oil fields as early as next year. Brazil stopped selling concessions in the area soon after the size and importance of the discovery was recognized in 2007. Under a production-sharing system, the Brazilian government would own the oil but pay oil companies
Briefs week of May 25, 2009
Nigeria’s oil production has fallen to less than half its capacity as fighting escalates in the Niger River delta. The West African nation, formerly the continent’s biggest producer, now pumps about 1.6 million barrels a day, compared with capacity of 3.2 million. (5/23, #1) Mexico said that in the first four months of 2009 the value of its crude exports dropped
Briefs
Saudi Aramco produced 8.9 million b/d of crude oil on average last year, up from 8.5 million barrels a day in 2007, according to its 2008 annual report posted Wednesday. Reserves of crude and condensate remained unchanged at 259.9 billion barrels. (5/13, #9) Saudi Arabia needs to rein in fast-growing power demand-up 5.6 percent per year during 2001-2008. An economic boom fuelled by record oil revenues
Briefs May 11, 2009
Chevron Corp. said its $4.7 billion Tahiti field in the Gulf of Mexico began pumping crude yesterday, almost two years after faulty parts delayed the project. The field, located 190 miles from New Orleans in 4,100 feet of water, is expected to produce 125,000 barrels of oil a day when output peaks. (5/7, #17) The US Minerals Management Service has cut its forecast
Briefs May 4, 2009
World oil demand is forecast to fall this year by much more than previously expected, as growth stalls in China and India and fuel consumption declines in the developed world. The latest Reuters poll of 11 analysts, banks and industry groups shows oil consumption is expected to decline by an average of 1.56 million b/d in 2009 to 84.10 million b/d. (4/30, #3) Natural gas production by Gazprom fell
Briefs week of April 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia will pump about the same amount of crude in May as in April, sources report. Supply has been steady since February at just under 8 million b/d, down from 9.7 million last summer. (4/24, #3) OPEC will trim crude oil shipments by 0.6 percent in the four weeks ending May 9, the smallest drop since February, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. (4/24, #2) Iraq and Syria have agreed
Briefs week of April 20, 2009
OPEC is aiming for prices above $60 and is frustrated with Russia for not reducing exports in line with the cartel’s record cuts this year. Russia’s oil exports increased 6.3 percent in February and 2.2 percent in March, including a 10-fold increase in exports to the US. At the same time US imports from OPEC fell by 818,000 b/d. (4/18, #2) Russia’s oil output, including gas condensate,
Briefs week of April 13, 2009
Russia and Iraq have agreed to work on restoring oil contracts that they signed before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Previously, Baghdad had renegotiated and signed another Saddam-era deal, with the Chinese National Petroleum Company. (4/11, #4) Alaska’s North Slope oil output is expected to drop 5 percent in the coming fiscal year as its oilfields age, and average prices of its
Briefs week of April 6, 2009
Kuwait has boosted production capacity to 3 million b/d and is on track to reach its goal of 4 million by 2020, the head of its state oil company said on Monday. (3/31, #7) Kuwait plans to pump 450,000 barrels a day of heavy oil by 2020, cutting an earlier target agreed on with Exxon Mobil Corp., as part of a new energy strategy that will be completed this year. (4/1, #3) OPEC is more scared of the
