Big Oil’s flight draws US risk takers to Australian shale
Aubrey McClendon, the wildcatter who pioneered the US shale revolution by going where big oil companies wouldn’t, is at it again. This time in Australia.
shale
Opinion: Shale gas – whose decision is it anyway?
The past week has seen the UK Government issue a policy statement designed to speed up the planning system for shale gas development, as well as announcing the extent of the 14th Round of Onshore Oil and Gas licences for England.
Solar panels installed at schools in village at centre of fracking protests
The village of Balcombe which was at the centre of protests against fracking has moved a step towards of becoming self-sufficient through renewable energy with the installation of solar panels at two schools. More than 50 local investors have helped pay for the panels which are being put up at Balcombe Primary School and Turners Hill School following a pilot scheme which saw 69 panels installed on a cowshed at Grange Farm. The village is also aiming to install a 5MW solar farm at nearby Chiddinglye Farm, West Hoathly, which would mean enough electricity produced to supply both Balcombe and West Hoathly.
Greenpeace warns government after new fracking licences awarded
The Government has been warned it has fired the starting gun on a fight for the countryside after 1,000 more square miles of England were opened up for fracking. Licences for 27 areas in northern England and the Midlands, including near Nottingham, Sheffield, Lincoln and Preston, have been awarded to companies to explore for oil and gas as the Government pushes forward with a shale industry in the UK. A further 132 areas, including parts of the West Country and the south coast as well the North East and North West, are set to be awarded subject to further environmental assessment and conditions to protect wildlife and habitats.
UK Government to target councils which fail to determine shale applications
Fracking applications could be pushed ahead under what the government have described as a “swift process” for developing safe and suitable new sites. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Conservative government would move to fast-track applications, through a new dedicated planning process. Energy Minister Amber Rudd and Communities Secretary Greg Clark have today confirmed the plans which they say will ensure local people in England have a “strong say” over the development of shale exploration in their area.
Fracking applications could be fast-tracked by UK Government
The UK Government could fast-track applications for fracking as part of new plans to give shale gas a boost in the country. According to reports new guidance will be issued this week moving to strengthen the power of ministers to step in following decisions from local authorities. It is understood ministers have become frustrated at attempts to get the shale gas revolution off the ground.
Energy Institute urges better dialogue on fracking issue
The energy industry’s professional membership body yesterday lambasted the sector’s inability to provide clear information on fracking, the method of shale gas extraction. And, unable to tolerate the situation any longer, the Energy Institute has published its own guide to fracking, which is one of the most divisive issues surrounding the industry at present. In January, the Scottish government declared an indefinite moratorium on granting planning consent for fracking while further research was carried out.
Public support for fracking ‘falls to new low of one-in-five’
Support for controversial fracking has fallen to a new low, according to an official Government survey. Only a fifth of people (21%) back extracting shale gas for use in the UK, the lowest level of support since the quarterly public attitudes survey by the Department of Energy and Climate Change first quizzed people on the issue in December 2013. Overall 28% of people opposed fracking, with 46% expressing no opinion either way, the survey of 2,118 UK households found. But the level of opposition was higher among people who said they knew about fracking, with 54% of those who know a lot about the process opposing it, compared to 32% backing it.
Goodrich Petroleum sells off stake in Eagle Ford shale play
Goodrich Petroleum has signed an agreement to sell its reserves and leasehold in the Eagle Ford shale for $118million. The move will see the company retain 58% of its undeveloped leasehold in the play for future development and sale. The asset which is being sold produced an average of around 2,850barrels of oil equivalent per day during the first quarter of 2015.
Cuadrilla to appeal fracking rejection
Cuadrilla said it plans to appeal a decision by Lancashire County Council to refuse planning consent for two licences for temporary shale gas exploration sites. The energy firm had wanted to frack and test the flow of gas following drilling at up to four exploration wells at a proposed site between Preston and Blackpool. Prior to last month's decision planning officials at Lancashire County Council recommended its approval, subject to a number of conditions being met, but councillors chose to ignore the advice and rejected it due to adverse impacts on landscape and noise.
APPEA calls for lift on fracking ban
Australia’s oil and gas industry body APPEA has called on an inquiry into unconventional gas in the state of Victoria to support ‘sensible policies’. The move comes after a fracking moratorium was introduced in the region three years ago. The APPEA claims the state is the only in Australia to ban new investment in developing its onshore gas resources.
ConocoPhillips halts shale gas talks with CNPC for Sichuan field
ConocoPhillips ended talks with China National Petroleum Corp. on a shale gas development in the country after a two-year study. “The right commercial decision was to halt further discussions on this block,” ConocoPhillips’s China unit said in an e-mail response to questions Wednesday. The company said it made the decision “some time ago.”
Statoil and GE announce winners of shale sand challenge
Energy giants Statoil and GE have announced winners of a competition to find new ways of dealing with sand in shale gas production.
Halliburton signs $500million joint venture deal with BlackRock
Halliburton has signed a joint venture with BlackRock for $500million to help fund drilling of existing shale wells in the US. The decision is the first such move by a major oilfield services provider at a time when oil producers have been shying away from drilling new wells. Halliburton has said it expects to see an “uptick” in activity – including refracking – later this year and a meaningful recovery in 2016.
Ex-minister quits shale developer
Former Tory minister Sir Nicholas Bonsor has quit as a director of UK shale company TomCo Energy as part of a boardroom shakeup.
Oilgen makes Houston appointment
Reservoir engineering consultancy Oilgen has made a key appointment in Houston to strengthen its international offering.
Sabine Oil and Gas files for bankruptcy
Sabine Oil and Gas has filed for bankruptcy after being hit by the global decline in oil prices. The company said it is currently in discussions with lenders and debt holders regarding a potential financial restructuring plan.
UKOOG backs shale gas report
Onshore oil and gas body UKOOG (United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas) has welcomed a report from a task force on Shale Gas which has assessed the impact on local environment. It comes after Lord Chris Smith admitted his report on the local and health impacts of the industry revealed it still faces an "uphill struggle" for public acceptability. A number of recommendations have been made around practices used by companies in the UK including seismic modelling, full chemical disclosure and the use of green completions at production.
UK fracking report: Still a long way to go for public acceptability
Fracking faces an “uphill struggle” for public acceptability, Lord Chris Smith has admitted as his shale gas task force published a report on the local environment and health impacts of the industry. The task force said shale gas extraction could be safe for the local environment and people’s health in the UK if provisions were in place and regulated to prevent larger earthquakes, water contamination, gas wells leaking and methane pollution. The second interim report by the task force called for full disclosure to the public of the chemicals used in the process, to reassure people it is safe, and independent monitoring and regulation to make sure wells do not leak to prevent water contamination.
Refiner Marathon buys MarkWest for $15.8billion
The pipeline unit of refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp. plans to buy MarkWest Energy Partners LP, the second-largest U.S. processor of natural gas, for about $15.8 billion in stock and cash. The transaction represents a major expansion into pipelines and processing for Marathon, which created its pipeline unit MPLX LP in 2012, the year after it was spun out of producer Marathon Oil Corp. The refiner has more than doubled in value since then as processors reap the rewards from low crude prices brought on by the shale revolution.
Shale boom resilient as rigs gain with oil under $60
For the first time in almost seven months, America’s shale drillers put rigs in oil fields back to work, and they’re doing it at a lower price. The last time they added rigs, crude futures were trading near $70 a barrel. Now, even after a rebound, they’re under $60. And yet drilling rigs rose in almost every major U.S. oil basin in the country this week, raising the total by 12, according to field-services company Baker Hughes Inc. The sudden rebound is a testament to how resilient U.S. shale has become in the battle for global market share. Spurred by last year’s collapse in prices, shale explorers have brought down their break-even costs by $15 to $20 a barrel, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysis shows.
Shale drillers lose most precious asset – the $90 hedge
The insurance protecting shale drillers against plummeting prices has become so crucial that for one company, SandRidge Energy Inc., payments from the hedges accounted for a stunning 64 percent of first-quarter revenue. Now the safety net is going away. The insurance that producers bought before the collapse in oil -- much of which guaranteed minimum prices of $90 a barrel or more -- is expiring. As they do, investors are left to wonder how these companies will make up the $3.7 billion the hedges earned them in the first quarter after crude sunk below $60 from a peak of $107 in mid-2014.
BP’s chief economist sees US shale weathering oil surplus
Shale output in the United States will prove resilient to low oil prices likely to be prolonged by the prospect of half a million barrels per day of Iranian crude making its way back to the market, BP's chief economist said on Tuesday. Talks in Vienna between world powers trying to end sanctions on Tehran in return for limits on Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities could bring a significant increase in Iranian oil exports. BP's Spencer Dale, however, told Reuters that it would probably take time for any easing of sanctions to filter through to oil markets if an Iran deal is agreed.
Call for UK shale gas exploration
It is vital the country seizes the opportunity to “at least explore” the UK’s shale gas potential whilst maintaining the very highest safety and environmental standards, energy and climate change minister Andrea Leadsom has said.
Itochu exits US shale selling biggest energy purchase for $1
Itochu Corp. ended its $1 billion foray into U.S. shale by selling its 25 percent stake in Samson Resources Corp. back to Samson for $1. The sale reverses the Japanese trading company’s biggest purchase of an energy asset when it was made in 2011. The decision to exit was made because of the state of operations at Samson and the outlook for gas prices in North America, the Tokyo-based company said in an e-mailed response to questions.