Short on details, Gov. Bill Walker’s July 18 update on the state’s Alaska LNG plans to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce was long on vision, beginning with a reminder that moving forward with Alaska liquefied natural gas was one of the driving forces in his decision to run for governor in 2014. Gett…
Gov. Bill Walker has appointed Hollis French to the public seat on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Hollis, a former state senator from Anchorage, worked in the oil and gas industry before earning his law degree.
In making the appointment the governor said, ‘AOGCC plays an integral…
Sen. Mike Dunleavy may not sit on a resources or energy committee but the member of Senate Finance and the Education Committee chair remains focused on resource issues enough that he often finds himself with a seat on a joint panel of resources committees. He stays the entire eight hours, asks ques…
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said July 18 that he has named John Hendrix, formerly with Apache Alaska, as his chief oil and gas advisor, a newly created cabinet-level position.
‘As Alaska navigates this new reality of low oil prices and production, the industry itself is grappling with ways to innovate…
An oil and gas consultant to the state Legislature said it’s not uncommon for major liquefied natural gas project sponsors to realign their ownerships, as Gov. Bill Walker now proposes with the Alaska LNG Project, but that the state of Alaska faces a big credibility gap in attempting to take over th…
The three leases in the former Arctic Fortitude unit expired in late June.
The expiration of the leases – ADL 389177, ADL 389178 and ADL 389179 – is retroactive to May 2012, when the state officially terminated the North Slope unit following four years of legal disputes from the state and operator A…
The odds keep piling up against British Columbia’s dreams of ever becoming a global LNG player, with the Royal Dutch Shell-operated project delaying a final decision on the venture because of turmoil in energy markets.
That was accompanied by a clear warning from a retired industry executive that t…
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has set a hearing for Sept. 27 on proposed updates to its regulations.
Proposed regulation changes are available on the commission’s website at www.aogcc.alaska.gov.
Questions about the proposed action must be received at least 10 days before the end o…
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued a draft environmental impact statement for a possible 2017 Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale.
This is another step in a BOEM decision process on whether to hold a sale in federal waters in Cook Inlet.
A possible Cook Inlet sale is part of th…
In mid-July, tech industry experts, policy leaders and pan-Arctic executives and residents met for two days in Barrow, Alaska, to discuss the critical need for high-speed broadband across the circumpolar Arctic, and how to best prepare for the opportunities and challenges the new technology will bri…
Way back in 2002, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources added nearly 60,000 acres to the Colville River unit to incorporate four nearby prospects: Nanuq, Fiord, Oberon and Titania. While operator ConocoPhillips eventually developed Nanuq and Fiord as satellite fields, the company dropped the Ob…
Chugach Electric Association said July 18 that Lee Thibert has been named chief executive officer of the association, replacing Brad Evans who retired as CEO in mid-July after serving 8 years in that role.
Thibert has been with Chugach Electric since 1987 and has held a variety of senior management…
The Alberta government has done a full about-turn from its original threat to hike oil and gas royalties by introducing two new royalty programs to stimulate spending on early-stage developments and squeeze more revenue out of underutilized existing operations.
Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd said…
Kiska Metals Corp. July 18 reported that an exploration team and equipment has been mobilized to begin drilling at Copper Joe, a copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry project located in the Alaska Range about 110 miles northwest of Anchorage. First Quantum Minerals has an option to earn up to an 80 percen…
On July 13, a fountain of molten gold cascades into awaiting molds at the Fort Knox Mine, which is among the largest and lowest-cost gold operations owned by Kinross Gold Corp.
While gold pours such as this one are a regular occurrence at this roughly 1,100-ounce-per-day operation, somewhere in thi…
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. July 18 said it has partnered with an undisclosed major Alberta oil sands producer to recover rare earth elements and other technology metals from Alberta oil sands operations. ‘This high profile project truly shows the versatility of SuperLig across a diverse range of feed-st…
GCI and Teck Red Dog Operations July 14 said they have reached an agreement that will bring high-speed broadband internet service to the Red Dog Mine and the community of Noatak in Northwest Alaska. GCI is already Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, and this partnership is part of its broad…
Goldcorp Inc. July 20 said it has completed the acquisition of Kaminak Gold Corp. in an all-shares deal valued at roughly C$401 million when you consider the value of the Goldcorp shares on the day of the closing. As a result of the purchase, Goldcorp now has full ownership of the Coffee Gold projec…
Victoria Gold Corp. July 20 posted another round of results from the spring 2016 Olive-Shamrock exploration program, this time from the Shamrock zone. Highlights from drilling at Shamrock include: 31 meters of 1.3 grams per metric ton gold from a depth of 28.9 meters in hole DG16-707C; 28.2 meters o…
Colorado Resources Ltd. July 18 posted results from eight holes drilled at the Inel zone on the KSP property under option with Seabridge Gold Inc. Highlights from the drilling include: INDDH16-001 cut 11 meters averaging 6.12 grams per metric ton gold, 45.74 g/t silver and 2.18 percent zinc; INDDH16…
TMAC Resources Inc. and Resource Capital Fund VI L.P. July 19 reported the closing of an C$80 million financing that involved issuing 3,975,000 TMAC shares and 1,325,000 Resource Capital shares at C$15.10 per common share. TMAC received roughly C$60 million of the gross proceeds and about C$20 milli…
Skeena Resources Ltd. July 18 said it raised C$3.93 million during the second tranche of an over-subscribed, non-brokered private placement. Through the first two tranches of the financing, Skeena has raised gross proceeds of C$7.73 million and the final tranche is expected to close soon. Funds rais…
Imperial Metals Corp. July 15 said its three mines in British Columbia produced 39.76 million pounds of copper and 27,689 ounces of gold during the second quarter of 2016. The Red Chris Mine in northern British Columbia was the biggest contributor, producing 26.74 million lb. copper and 18,213 oz. g…
Klondike Gold Corp. July 18 reported the sale of seven mineral properties in southeastern British Columbia – Red Point, Clubine, Ron Gold, Panda Irishman, Cruz-Midway, Thea, and Quartz Mountain – to Rise Resources Inc. As an initial payment, Klondike received C$50,000 in cash: 1.5 million Rise share…
Natural gas production dipped 4.5 per cent to 2.59 billion cubic meters on back of drop in output from private firm operated fields like KG-D6 of RIL.
ONGC/OIL would raise a gross bill based on the prevailing international oil price but their actual realisation was less than that after accounting for the subsidy discount.
India’s oil minister has spent the last week in the US courting the world’s biggest energy companies for investment, touting the country’s expanding economy and future resource needs.
For , it has been an easy sell. “India is on a high growth trajectory,” he told the FT in Houston, where he was on an investor roadshow.
“But not only are we seeking partnerships with these foreign companies, they want to come to India,” Mr Pradhan adds.
India’s fast-expanding economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent this year and it is forecast to overtake Japan as the world’s third-largest oil consumer, behind the US and China.
Its demand growth — key for companies looking to invest — will this year outstrip China’s for the first time since Beijing embarked on more than a decade of resource-devouring expansion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s industrialisation programme has piqued the interest of international energy companies which are keen to invest in refineries, petrol stations and even exploration and production, says Mr Pradhan, despite the oil price languishing below $50 a barrel.
India’s 1.3bn population still lags behind other emerging market powerhouses in oil consumption per capita, giving it room for rapid growth.
There are only 25 cars for every 1000 people, data from energy consultancy FGE shows, compared with 110 in China. Plastic consumption is only 12kg per capita a year, compared to more than 10 times that amount in Europe.
“India is coming from a very low base,” says Cuneyt Kazokoglu at FGE. “It is getting richer and it has a growing middle class which is spending more on things such as cars to airline tickets — this is pushing up oil demand.”
There are, however, doubts among analysts that India will follow the same growth and energy demand trajectory as China, with a less heavy-handed state guiding the economy.
Two-thirds of the population live in rural areas and some question whether the country is truly on the cusp of a car buying binge that has driven consumption in major developing countries.
Car purchases have increased by 12 per cent since 2011, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers data shows, but that is dwarfed by the growth of two-wheelers such as scooters which are far less thirsty and cheaper to run.
Sales of scooters, mopeds and motorbikes have jumped by 40 per cent in the past five years and comprise four out of every five vehicle purchases. The most popular brand of scooter sells for less than £600 (Rs50,000) compared with more than £4,300 for the most frequently bought car.
Nevertheless consumption is on the rise and has been propelled by lower oil prices, although New Delhi has cut fuel subsidies. India spent $60bn less on crude oil imports last year than 2014, even as it bought more foreign barrels. Demand for 2016 is expected to reach almost 4.3m barrels a day, up 300,000 b/d from the prior year, according to the IEA. By 2040 it is seen at 10m b/d.
“Lower oil prices have acted as a giant subsidy for the domestic market,” says Saad Rahim, chief economist at Swiss oil trader Trafigura. “There has been a huge boost for consumer countries.”
India’s emergence as the centre of oil demand growth is bolstered by a drive to raise manufacturing’s share of the economy to 25 per cent from 18 in 2014.
At the same time, China is shifting towards a more services-led economy that is less energy intensive after a period of rapid industrialisation. Just like China a decade ago, India is now trying to secure its future demand for crude oil and refined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Mr Pradhan says India is seeking stronger relationships with global oil exporters, such as , , Venezuela and Nigeria, and producer companies to guarantee crude supplies.
India is offering both national oil companies and energy majors greater access to its domestic market, while also pushing to develop its own oilfields. Saudi Aramco, Shell and Total are among companies looking to start or expand petrol station networks, says Mr Pradhan.
Other companies are also looking at India’s refineries, which processed a record 5m b/d of crude earlier this year. Russia’s Rosneft and independent oil traders have been eyeing stakes in Essar Oil, which supplies 12 per cent of India’s petroleum products.
“Access to the Indian market is an attraction,” says Prashant Ruia, chief executive of Essar Group. “From our refineries to retail outlets.”
Seth Kleinman, oil analyst at Citigroup says India will need to work hard to meet its ambitious targets, but the country is still a bright spot for the oil industry.
“It’s the best looking emerging market out there.”
In 2015-16, the profit of state oil producers ONGC and Oil India Ltd fell 10% and 7% respectively while the combined profit of three state refiners and fuel retailers.
Under order from Saudi Arabia, L&T Hydrocarbon will develop the second phase of the Hasbah offshore gas field.
In 2015-16, the profit of state oil producers ONGC and Oil India Ltd fell 10% and 7% respectively while the combined profit of three state refiners and fuel retailers.
Major oil firms across the world are better able to deal with the cyclical nature of the oil markets because they are integrated, he said.
“Your company will get access to Vedanta’s tier-one metal and mining assets, which are well-invested, low cost and have a long life,” Agarwal told shareholders.
The interest rate is lower than 4.625 per cent OVL had paid on a $2.23 billion 10-year bond issue in July 2014 to finance its Mozambique gas field acquisition.
The worst may be over for the North American oil market, predicted, as the US oil support service group reported its fourth consecutive quarter of losses as it continues to .
“We believe the North America market has turned,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “We expect to see a modest uptick in rig count during the second half of the year.”
Revenues for the group in the June quarter fell by 38 per cent to $2.1bn compared with the prior year period, and swung into a net loss of $3.2bn, compared with net income of $54m a year earlier.
The bulk of the losses stemmed from the $3.5bn in termination fee that it had to pay to after their proposed following opposition from US and European antitrust regulators.
Excluding this charge, the net loss was 14 cents a share — better than the 19 cents a share loss that investors were expecting.
North America, which before the oil price slump had accounted for more than half of Halliburton’s revenues, had been hard hit by the sharp pull back in fracking work as shale oil companies struggled to stay in business.
The region fell into an operating loss of $124m during the period as revenues tumbled by more than 43 per cent to $1.5bn.
However, Halliburton pointed to the recent stabilisation in oil prices as good news.
After falling 78% from the November 2014 peak, the US rig count reached a landing point during the second quarter, as we predicted during our last earnings call. Since reaching the bottom, the rig count has improved by 26 over the last several weeks, reflecting operator confidence in stabilising commodity prices.
Halliburton shares, up nearly a third so far this year, rose 0.8 per cent in pre-market trading.
The rating agency said that the resulting additional payments will lower the headroom under OIL’s ‘BBB-‘ standalone credit assessment. OIL’s ratings are equalised to that of its majority owner, India (BBB-/Stable).
