A Barrel Full

The crap that politicians spout is never ending, and the case of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is no exception. The whole demeanour of the Obama administration has been about trying to look tough, rather than to find solutions or understand what really happened.
Now this idiocy has crossed the atlantic.
The EU Energy […]

Baker Hughes release its rig counts a couple of days ago.
The worldwide rig count for April 2010 was 2,676, down 203 from the 2,879 counted in March 2010 and up 621 from the 2,055 counted in April 2009.
They are down, yet when we look at the individual numbers, the USA is up, International is flat, […]

Bearing in mind the date, I was not sure whether to believe the headlines.
Barack Obama eases offshore oil drilling ban.
After all this is a man who has said a lot about climate change and the enviornment in general. However, when I read some of the commentary, I was convinced. Nobody is happy.
President Barack Obama’s plan […]

The Gulf of Mexico is considered a mature area when it comes to oil production. It has been in decline, and was almost being written off. Pemex, Mexico’s State owned oil company, has long relied on a massive but shrivelling property, Cantarell Oil Field. Yet in the space of a few weeks, we have seen […]

Wondering where all the oil we need will come from? Saudi Arabia reckons it knows.
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia is committed to maintaining 1.5 milion barrels of oil a day of spare production capacity. The kingdom, which recently underwent a big expansion of its oil output, currently has a spare capacity of 4 million barrels a […]

We don’t know yet whether it will turn out to be Russia’s worse nightmare, or just a useful diversification of Poland’s energy needs. Polish Shale Gas is certainly not short of interested parties these days though.
Canada’s Talisman is the latest.
San Leon Energy PLC is pleased to announce that its decision to enter into the Baltic […]

Whilst the world worries about peak oil, it is obvious that some companies have more to worry about than others.
Exxon, as usual is sitting pretty.
Exxon Mobil Corporation announced today that additions to its proved reserves in 2009 totaled 2.0 billion oil-equivalent barrels, replacing 133 percent of production.
And its not just the big boys, the smaller integrated companies can […]

When captains of industry get together to warn the world of potential doom, everyone listens. When said captains include the publicity seeking Richard Branson, the impact is even more pronounced. So what are we to make of The Oil Crunch?
As we reach maximum oil extraction rates, the era of cheap oil is behind us. We […]

The recovery in Rig numbers continues.
Baker Hughes Incorporated announced today that the international rig count for January 2010 was 1,047, up 23 from the 1,024 counted in December 2009, and up 3 from the 1,044 counted in January 2009.
So despite the rash of announcement last year concerning budget cuts, we are back to where we […]

My last post was on the potential of Venezuela’s heavy oil reserves. As if by magic, almost immediately we have news of a major new development. ENI and PDVSA are to form a Joint Venture to exploit a major heavy oil field.
Under the terms of the agreement, which will be finalized in the next 60 […]