去年11月,包括Exxon Mobil Corp、Chevron Corp.、 Statoil ASA、 BG Group Plc 和 BP Plc等的大型石油公司将投资12亿加元(9.34亿美元)开发Newfoundland 和 Labrador地区的沿海区块。今年由于废除了几十年航运限制的规定,更多的船只可进入该区块寻找油气田,因此,11月政府将增加新的13个区块进行拍卖。
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A change to an obscure shipping law is helping draw major oil companies to an area offCanada’s east coast that may rival the North Sea for its production potential.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA, BG Group Plc and BP Plc are among the companies that committed to spend C$1.2 billion ($934 million) in auctions last November by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador for seven parcels off the coast. Now the government is adding 13 new parcels in an auction set for this November, as the removal of a decades-old shipping restriction opened the area to more vessels seeking oil and natural gas.
In the past, the sole domestic seismic ship used to locate potential oil deposits was operated by a Canadian company, Geophysical Services Inc., or GSI. That’s because the nation’s maritime law gave domestic businesses the ability to block the use of foreign-owned vessels. That barrier was removed in 2012, and since then a small squadron of ships has been collecting offshore data on more than 82,000 km2 (32,000 mi2) in partnership with the regional government. That data, available to companies in the next auction, more than doubles the area for exploration. Last year, five ships were collecting data off the province’s coast.
“What we are seeing here is similar to North Sea Norway in terms of its potential,” said Ed Martin, the former CEO of Nalcor Energy, the province’s oil company, who spearheaded efforts to open new offshore areas and cited Norway as a model.
The exploration blocks awarded last year may hold as much as 12 Bbbl of oil, several times bigger than the province’s biggest field Hibernia, according to Nalcor. The 13 new parcels to be auctioned are in the Eastern Newfoundland and Jeanne d’Arc areas. The province is expected to offer as much as 2% more area annually thereafter.
Norway, pumping about nine times more offshore crude than Newfoundland and Labrador, has drilled eight times as many exploratory wells off its coast, according to Nalcor data. Oil has helped make the Nordic country Europe’s second richest per capita behind Luxembourg, according to World Bank data.
That promise is spurring Canada’s energy hopes even after prices cratered. Crude’s drop from more than $100/bbl in 2014 to below $30 earlier this year hit the provincial economy hard. Offshore royalties account for just 9% of revenue in the Newfoundland Labrador 2016-2017 budget, down from 37% two years ago.
Crude rout
While results from the first auction show promise, the price of oil remains low at around $45 and drillers have trimmed their budgets.
“It’s not an ideal macro situation for Newfoundland expansion,” said Mark Oberstoetter, lead analyst for upstream research at Wood Mackenzie in Calgary. “We are seeing exploration spending activity cut around the world.”
BP and Chevron declined to comment on their interest in the area. Statoil, Exxon and BG’s owner Royal Dutch Shell Plc didn’t immediately respond to e-mails or phone calls seeking comment.
Similar to the U.S. Jones Act, that old shipping law, known as the Coasting Trade Act, was written to protect Canadian-flagged vessels from foreign competitors in domestic waters. Included in its remit were seismic vessels, even though only one was registered in Canada before 2011, according to PennEnergy Research, which tracks ships. That vessel belonged to GSI.
Foreign vessels
Under the law, companies that wanted to use a foreign vessel for testing would have to apply for a license. Canadian-based firms could object, often blocking approval. That occurred six times between 2000 and 2006, with GSI the blocking company, according to Wes Foote, Newfoundland’s assistant deputy minister for petroleum development.
In 2011, Nalcor partnered with Asker, Norway-based TGS Nopec Geophysical Co ASA and Oslo-based Petroleum Geo-Services ASA to invest in a multi-client 2D seismic survey of the province’s waters. The plan was hindered by the Coasting Trade Act, spurring the government to change the law’s wording on seismic vessels.
Not everyone is happy with the changes. Paul Einarsson, GSI’s chairman, said amending the act wasn’t fair because it targeted “our ship only.”
More 2D seismic data was collected in 2014 than any year since the early 1980s, according to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.
Offshore waters
Just 5% of Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore waters are currently licensed to companies. The province’s total offshore area is bigger than Norway’s section of the North Sea, according to Nalcor.
Energy producers now operate three platforms: Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose. Combined, they had output of about 70 MMbbl last year, almost half what was produced when output peaked in 2007, provincial data show. The 150,000 bpd, Exxon-led Hebron project is scheduled to start production next year.
“What we see really is almost like a renaissance in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Robert Cadigan, chief executive officer of the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Industries Association, a trade association.
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Saipem has been awarded new contracts and extensions to existing contracts in the onshore drilling segment in the Middle East and South America. The awards have an overall value of $430 million.
In Saudi Arabia, Saipem has been awarded an extension of three years to drilling activities being carried out by ten 2000 HP drilling rigs. This enables Saipem to consolidate its presence in the strategic area of the Middle East, in which it currently has 30 onshore rigs and three offshore rigs.
In South America, in addition to various extensions ranging in duration from two to 24 months for medium and high power rigs in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile, Saipem has also been awarded a new contract for operations in Argentina, which will be carried out by an hydraulic rig over a period of 18 months. This new award will enable Saipem to return to one of the largest onshore drilling markets in South America, whose positive growth prospects have seen it attract the interest of major international oil companies. Saipem’s presence in Argentina will also enable it to further diversify geographically in the area.
今年11月TransCanada公司Keystone输油管道在美国南达科他州发生漏油事故,关闭近两周。目前虽然已恢复,但运力下降。与此同时,加拿大新油砂项目相继投产。产量增加而运力不足导致加拿大原油库存不断上升,而Enbridge等管道公司开始实施运输配额,导致油价大幅下跌。 12月11日,加拿大重油基准价格Western Canadian Select(WCS)下跌至每桶35.59美元,创3个月以来最低,与美国西得克萨斯轻质原油(WTI)价差达到22.75美元,为2014年7月以来最大。仅仅4个月以前,WCS与WTI价差只有10.05美元。
Technip已经获得中地中海BahrEssalam气田二期开发价值5亿美元的主要合同。由MellitahOil & Gas B.V利比亚分公司运营的该气田开发将会与Sabratha平台连接。MellitahOil & Gas B.V利比亚分公司为利比亚国家石油公司与埃尼北非公司的合资企业。该合同翻修一海上石油平台,包括整个设计、详细工程施工设计、项目管理、采购、安装、测试等。预计从2017年下半年~2018年下半年开始海上安装。(Worldoil,5月31日消息)
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Iraq has now overtaken Saudi Arabia in crude oil exports to India, shipping some 960,700 barrels per day (bpd) to India in April, against Saudi Arabia’s 787,700 bpd in exports to the Asian nation, turning the tables on the Saudis and placing Iraq at the top of the chain of OPEC members grappling for market share in this growing economy.
Iraq’s oil exports to India rose by 41 percent in April and by 79 percent compared to a year ago. At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s exports to India were down 14 percent in April over the same time last year.
Overall, Iraq accounted for 22 percent of India’s crude oil imports in April, while last year it accounted for 15 percent. Saudi Arabia’s India crude oil market share dropped to 18 percent, down from 25 percent last year.
India has seen a new surge in crude oil imports overall. Since March, Indian crude imports are up 6% on the month, and up 9.9 percent in the first four months of this year. For the first four months of 2015, imports fell 0.6 percent from a year ago largely due to outages at refineries.
Demand for crude oil in India has risen this year due to a lack maintenance processes at Indian refineries, which have been postponed and would normally have taken refineries offline for a spell.
Analysts are not surprised by this latest market share change: "Iraqi oil is much more beneficial than Saudi because they are better priced. There is a significance difference in prices,"said A. K. Sharma, head of finance at Indian Oil Corp, as reported by Reuters.
But Iran is also zeroing in on Indian market share, with a fair amount of success and could challenge both Iraq and Saudi Arabia here. The country accounted for about 9 percent of overall purchases in April compared to about 7.2 percent a year ago.
Over the first four months of 2016, Iranian oil accounted for about 7.4 percent of Indian imports from about 4 percent a year ago, becoming fifth-largest oil supplier to India compared with the eighth position a year ago.
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NPD分别授予Tullow norge AS 以及Total E&P Norge AS公司两个挪威海上油井的钻井开采权。
Tullow获得位于776许可区块16/5-6油井开采权,使用Borgland Dolphin半潜式钻机进行钻井活动。该公司在许可区块有40%的开发权,Concedo ASA, Wintershall Norge AS以及 Petoro AS分别拥有20%的开采权。
Total E&P Norge AS获得位于040/043区块30/4-3S油井开采权,使用Maersk Intrepid钻机。Total E&P拥有许可区块51%的开采权。Petro拥有30%的开采权,Statoil Petroleum AS拥有剩余19%。
来自/RigZone 5月18日消息 编译/张弘引石油圈原创www.oilsns.com
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The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Tullow Oil Norge AS and Total E&P Norge AS drilling permits for two separate wells offshore Norway.
Tullow received permission for wellbore 16/5-6, located in production license 776, which will be drilled using the Borgland Dolphin (mid-water semisub). Tullow Oil Norge AS is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 40 percent. Other licensees comprise Concedo ASA, Wintershall Norge AS and Petoro AS with 20 percent interests each.
Total E&P Norge AS’ drilling permit relates to well 30/4-3 S, which is located in production license 040/043. The well will be drilled using the Maersk Intrepid (492’ ILC). Total E&P is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 51 percent. Petoro holds a 30 percent interest and Statoil Petroleum AS owns the remaining 19 percent.