Still no sign of Gulf permits for oil companies

March 22, 2011 11:36 am by Sheila McNulty

Ken Salazar, the US interior secretary, and Michael Bromwich, director of the US oceans regulator, held a press conference amid great fanfare on Monday to unveil that they had approved a plan by Shell for deepwater oil and gas exploration.

The approval was trumpeted as the first plan approved since the Macondo disaster last April, and one that provided a template for the industry to follow to get their own plans approved.

But the approval does not mean Shell can drill. Its plan calls for drilling three exploratory wells in about 3,000 feet of water, 130 miles offshore Louisiana. To actually drill, Shell must still get permits for each well. And, despite the fanfare, nobody has received a permit to drill a new deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico since BP’s accident.

Continue reading: “Still no sign of Gulf permits for oil companies”

Tags: BP oil spill, Deepwater drilling, Macondo, Shell
Posted in Oil, Politics | Permalink

Coping with the drop in oil supplies

March 10, 2011 5:01 pm by Sheila McNulty

It is not surprising that tensions in North Africa and the Middle East have dominated the discussion at this year’s CERAweek annual oil and gas conference. The general view is that, as of now, the world can easily cope with the drop in supply. Dan Yergin, chairman of CERA, the consultancy hosting the conference, told FT Energy Source: “This is a manageable disruption.’’

But many fear the situation will get worse before it gets better. And there is widespread uncertainty about how the situation will evolve.

Continue reading: “Coping with the drop in oil supplies”

Tags: CERA
Posted in Gas, Oil | Permalink

Kuwait Energy chief calls sweeping change ‘positive’

March 8, 2011 11:27 pm by Sheila McNulty

Sara Akbar, chief executive of Kuwait Energy, an independent oil and gas company focused on the region, brought to the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ annual energy conference in Houston what she called a “view from the street” on the North Africa/Middle East tensions.
Akbar said that although the region was made up of disparate countries, they had enough similarities that one spark had set off change throughout. Even in Kuwait – which she noted had a very stable political system – there were calls for change.

Continue reading: “Kuwait Energy chief calls sweeping change ‘positive’”

Tags: Kuwait, Kuwait Energy, Libya, US intervention
Posted in Politics, Uncategorised | Permalink

The future of Dynegy

March 4, 2011 3:52 pm by Sheila McNulty

Wonder what has been going on over at Dynegy since the company announced last week that its second effort to sell itself had collapsed and the US power producer’s top management was leaving?

My guess is that a lot of soul-searching has shareholders wishing they had accepted at least one of the buyout proposals they had been offered over the past few months. The company’s share price has been trending down since that second deal unravelled. And now Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, has cut its ratings on Dynegy. Here is what analyst Swami Venkataraman had to say:

Continue reading: “The future of Dynegy”

Tags: Dynegy
Posted in Oil | Permalink

First drilling permit in Gulf since BP spill

February 28, 2011 11:41 pm by Sheila McNulty

US regulators have issued the first deepwater drilling permit since BP’s accident last April. But does it mean the end of the slowdown to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico? The oil industry still thinks not.

Oil companies note that the permit which was issued was for a project by Noble Energy that was active before the accident and, therefore, did not need to meet the full suite of new regulatory requirements.

Continue reading: “First drilling permit in Gulf since BP spill”

Posted in Oil, Politics | Permalink

Pressure is on smaller companies in Gulf of Mexico

February 17, 2011 12:30 pm by Sheila McNulty

When Hercules Offshore agreed to buy Seahawk Drilling’s 20 jackup rigs, the obvious question was whether it planned to use them in the Gulf of Mexico. After all, Seahawk is only focused on the Gulf, and it is pricey to move rigs.

But Hercules chief executive John T. Rynd says he got a good deal on the rigs. Seahawk agreed late Friday to sell substantially all its assets to Hercules in a cash and stock deal. The deal includes $25m in cash and 22.3m Hercules shares, which, based on the February 10 closing price of $3.62 per share, put the value of the transaction at $105m.

The asset sale is to be done through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in which Seahawk will seek expedited hearings to obtain court approval. The companies expect to the close the transaction – subject to the various approval required – in the second quarter of 2011.

Continue reading: “Pressure is on smaller companies in Gulf of Mexico”

Tags: Deepwater drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Hercules Offshore, Seahawk Drilling
Posted in Corporate news, Oil | Permalink

Big challenges to electric vehicle rollouts

February 17, 2011 11:29 am by Sheila McNulty

Bad news for those out there with high hopes of moving quickly to convert the world to electric vehicles.

A new report by Accenture, the consultancy, says that the large-scale rollout of plug-in electric vehicles will be hindered unless investors stimulate demand, lower the cost of public charging infrastructure and manage the impact on the grid. Those are three pretty big challenges.

The report is based on analysis of electric vehicles trials around the world – from Japan to The Netherlands to the UK.

Continue reading: “Big challenges to electric vehicle rollouts”

Tags: Accenture, Electric vehicles
Posted in Emissions, Power, Renewables | Permalink

Industry to press for deepwater drilling in Gulf of Mexico

February 11, 2011 12:45 pm by Sheila McNulty

When Michael Bromwich, head of permitting for the Gulf of Mexico (pictured), comes to Texas oil country on Friday, the message the industry hopes to deliver is that deepwater drilling will continue – with or without the US.

Last year Chevron, a lead investor in the Gulf, said it acquired acreage in nine major deepwater areas. This year it will drill in deepwater off China, Australia, West Africa, the UK, Brazil, and, if permitted, the Gulf. Bobby Ryan, Chevron’s vice president for Global Exploration, explains:

Deepwater is a major component of our exploration program. The only place we are not drilling is the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading: “Industry to press for deepwater drilling in Gulf of Mexico”

Tags: Chevron, Deepwater drilling, Michael Bromwich
Posted in Corporate news, Gas, Oil, Politics | Permalink

Ensco/Pride deal gets messy

February 11, 2011 10:00 am by Sheila McNulty

The Ensco deal to buy Pride International looks like it is going to get a bit messy. A class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of shareholders in Pride International to stop what it alleges is an unfairly priced merger with Ensco, the UK-based drilling services company.

The lawsuit also alleges Pride’s directors breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders by agreeing to a low share price and a restrictive merger contract that would preclude considering other offers. From the filing:

Even if the Pride Board receives an intervening bid that appears to be superior to Ensco’s offer, they are precluded from even entering into an alternate agreement. This provision prevents the Pride board from exercising their fiduciary duties and precludes an investigation into competing proposals.

Continue reading: “Ensco/Pride deal gets messy”

Posted in Corporate news, Gas, Oil | Permalink

EOG refuses to dilute its crown jewels

February 8, 2011 3:34 pm by Sheila McNulty

As US independents invite foreign and major oil and gas companies to invest in their shale assets to fund development, EOG Resources is refusing to follow the trend.

The Houston-based independent is transitioning from producing mostly natural gas to the more expensive business of producing mostly oil, but Mark Papa, EOG’s chairman and chief executive (pictured), told the FT he is not seeking partners for its shale oil assets: