Peak Oil News

A possibly lucrative oil supply has been discovered in the dead sea, according to The Genco Group. Company officials believe the discovery could supply from 4 to 6 million barrels of oil. The oil was discovered at a depth of 2000 meters, and is estimated to have a potential value of $300,000,000. Originally exploration of the region's oil supplies were put on hold as it was not thought to be of economic value. Higher global oil prices have encouraged a more innovative approach to oil exploration, making this new discovery an encouraging reality. Studies are still being conducted to determine the actual feasability of oil drilling in the area. » Source: Jerusalem Post Oil has been ...

A former government adviser has warned it is "only a matter of time" before BP or Shell faces a bid from a Russian state-owned group such as Gazprom which could threaten western oil supplies. Professor Peter Odell, an energy economist, says ExxonMobil is also vulnerable to a Chinese takeover as the large UK and American stock-listed oil groups lose their influence in global markets. » Source: Guardian Unlimited "A Chinese bid for Exxon and or Chevron and or a Russian bid for Shell and or BP, backed by funds provided by the wealthy member countries of Opec seem likely to be only a matter of time. "With the 'majors' gone there will be concern in the main OECD countries for ...

Oil importing countries faced an unassailable challenge with the "historic high" price of oil. In 1864, a barrel of Pennsylvanian oil traded for 8.06 in dollars of the day ($97.79 of 2004) and in 1980, a barrel of Arabian light (posted at Ras Tanura) sold for 35.69 in dollars of the day ($82.15 of 2004). The world has not yet faced a "fourth oil shock" mainly because the price went up gradually to over $70 a barrel over a full three-year period, unlike in 1979-80. There is a "fear" premium of $7 to $15 due to the destabilisation of the Gulf region. The world energy growth started to increase significantly from 1995. Especially since 2002, the real trend of growth rate of world oil demand is well above 2.25 per cent a year. For some countries, notably China, Iran and Brazil, the growth rate is at least 4 per cent ...

There are three choices for the market in crude oil after its recent steep falls. It can stay roughly around where it is now, $62. It can fall back down through the technical and software barriers that support it to new year lows or it can go higher once more. Perhaps very high. It all depends who, or what, you believe. If you believe the Dow Jones then there can only be one answer. That the market is robust, economic growth is on the move and the demand for goods and services is going to continue to suck up more and more crude oil. Equities are hot; the media is telling us corporations are strong. » Source: Resource Investor Then again maybe we should ask 32 year old trader Brian Hunter. He was the chief guy trading energy at hedge ...

Events move quickly these days. Two months ago oil was north of $78 a barrel and, nationwide, gasoline was above to well above $3. The Middle East was threatening a conflagration and another exciting hurricane season was in the offing. Even the concept of peak oil was starting to get some scattered but serious attention in the media. Now here we are at the end of September. The price of crude is down nearly 25 percent. Gasoline is down 75 cents a gallon. The press is full of stories of a great new oil find in the Gulf that could show the way to a cornucopia of oil. The Dow is pushing an all-time high, and financial analysts are predicting lower inflation and solid growth in the year ahead. Finally, those who don't want to believe in peak oil are loudly proclaiming, "I told you so." » Source: ...

Alaska Oil giant BP PLC restarted the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field - shut down since August when a leak was found - and expects production to reach 150,000 barrels a day by the weekend, a BP spokesman said Tuesday. The eastern side of the country's largest oil field ceased production Aug. 10, a few days after a leak was discovered in a corroded transit line. Initially, the company expected to shut down the west side of the field as well, but kept that side in operation after determining it could be operated safely. The west side is producing about 200,000 barrels a day. » Source: International Herald Tribune Production in the northern part of the field adds about 50,000 barrels a day. The entire field normally produces about 450,000 barrels of petroleum products. BP plans ...

Oil supplies from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) fell 400,000 barrels a day on the month to 30.2 million bpd in September, according to preliminary figures from tanker tracker Petrologistics. Saudi Arabia and Iran led the fall in output. Petrologistics head Conrad Gerber said the kingdom produced 9.05 million bpd in September compared with 9.27 million bpd in August. » Source: Bahrain Tribute Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Nuaimi said in June that Opec’s biggest producer had reined in output to 9.1 million b/d in April from 9.5 million bpd on lower demand. “Saudi Arabia could be producing more, but some of it could be going into storage,” Gerber said. Iran’s output, which peaked in July at 4.2 million bpd when the Islamic Republic sold oil from floating storage, is at 3.9 million bpd in September, Gerber said. Iran supplied 4.0 million bpd ...

The much-touted potential for Canada's oil sands to offset projected declines in North American oil production remains highly questionable because of constraints on natural gas production and environmental problems, a group of Swedish industry experts concludes in a new report. To meet its ambitious targets, the industry would likely require the construction of a nuclear power plant near Fort McMurray in Alberta in order to replace natural gas in the energy-intensive production process, the scientists argue. » Source: Globe and Mail Writing in the influential European journal Energy Policy last month, the analysts for the Uppsala Hydrocarbon Depletion Study Group warned that the world should not count on Canada's massive oil sands deposits to meet future demand growth. "While the theoretical future oil supply from the oil sands is huge, the potential ability for the Canadian oil sands industry to meet expectations ...

U.S. Energy Department study concludes crude production will peak, requiring other energy forms Last September, a Chronicle editorial warned that global oil production would peak in this decade or the next, and then inexorably decline. Given that likelihood, the United States would have to embark on a crash program to develop alternative energy sources or endure crippling increases in the price of energy. Last week, a study performed for the U.S. Department of Energy concurred with the editorial's conclusions. » Source: chron.com The study, led by Robert Hirsch, warned that the world should be spending $1 trillion per year developing alternative energy sources — including tar sands, oil shale and gas liquefaction — to avoid having its economy crippled by oil shortages and the resulting chaos. The study recommends a 20-year lead time, so it might already be too late to prevent a crunch. The report said the timing was uncertain. Hirsch ...

It would be tough to find a roughneck anywhere in the world who would describe working on a drill rig as easy, but Bob Gamble, who toils on the deck of Precision Drilling's rig number 521, comes closest. It is a state-of-the-art rig that bored its first hole just weeks before, an "iron roughneck" that has taken a lot of the backbreaking labour out of a job that has traditionally been recognized as tougher than anything outside a hardrock underground mine. » Source: canada.com If you venture to northeastern B.C., you will find dozens of similar rigs probing the landscape like mosquitoes seeking blood, guided by young workers such as Gamble who trade their labour for paycheques that can reach $100,000 a year. The machines and the workers are the physical manifestations of the biggest natural gas exploration boom in B.C.'s history, part ...