Jockeying seems to have resumed in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over reserves estimates, reviving questions about what these numbers mean—and what they do not.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE), formerly known as the Minerals Management Service, issued new guidelines and measures in the form of Notice to Lessees 2010-G05 on Sept. 15 for decommissioning idle wells and structures on active leases on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The US natural gas market is in good shape, with production at levels not seen in more than 35 years, moderate prices, and storage about 90% full with about 3 weeks left in the usual injection period, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff analysts told the commission on Oct. 21.
With energy and climate legislation unlikely to pass during the 111th Congress, US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry W. Waxman (D-Calif.) urged the US Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 19 to work constructively with lawmakers on developing a bill that lawmakers in the 112th would approve.
Other US Senate and House campaigns may have received more attention for their energy policy implications. But the contest in Connecticut to replace retiring US Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D) could have more impact than some 2010 election watchers suspect.
BP PLC Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley, in a major speech before the Confederation of British Industry, admitted that the firm's "very existence" had been threatened as a terrible accident grew into a corporate crisis.
The UK group formed to improve the offshore producing industry's spill prevention and response has selected a concept for a modular well-capping device adapted to harsh weather.
The US Geological Survey has sharply reduced its estimate of conventional, undiscovered oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on Alaska's Central North Slope since the previous assessment in 2002.
Member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are thriving on oil export revenue but, in many cases, eroding their export capacities by subsidizing domestic consumption, warns the Centre for Global Energy Studies, London.
The US Department of State said it will closely monitor recent energy agreements between Venezuela and Iran to ensure that they do not violate international sanctions.
Russia's state-owned East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline received two boosts last week: oil discoveries in Eastern Siberia and a pirate attack on a tanker off Kenya's coast.
World offshore crude oil production started in the 1940s and has grown from a modest 1 million b/d in the 1960s to nearly 24 million b/d in 2009, representing one third of present world crude oil output.
As the petroleum industry examines the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, one positive takeaway is the success with which remote sensing technologies were deployed to map the extent of the oil spill and track its movements in the Gulf of Mexico.
The initial excitement over exploration off the Falkland Islands has cooled considerably following BHP Billiton's recent decision not to enter the second phase of the southern 2002 licenses with erstwhile partner Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd (FOGL).
Coalbed methane production from the Cherokee basin in southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma appears to be dropping from peaks in 2008 in Kansas and 2006 in Oklahoma.
Automation in Salym field of western Siberia has reduced operator travel and hazard exposure, reduced interruption in electric submersible pump operations, and provided more stable operations and faster restarts.
To achieve a good electrical submersible pump run life, one needs first to understand the key factors that affect the system's run life and then effectively manage those factors.
Simulation with Aspen Technology Inc.'s HYSYS indicates the formation of hydrate crystals in a de-ethanizer tower is likely due to the presence of water. This phenomenon happens at the top of tower where the temperature is 5° C. and pressure is 15 bara.
BP Oil International Ltd. in January 2009 published an assay of Azeri crude oil that is loaded for export at the Mediterranean Sea crude oil terminal at Ceyhan, Turkey.
Natural gas pipeline operators in 2009 saw their profits drop to lows not seen since 2006, falling nearly 9% despite the lesser 4.27% drop in revenues.
