voyageur said:
Since you have some oil news here, this got me looking further into this - it is a crazy business; petrodollars and economic engines, and it is a very real economic game with horrible consistences for many as has been seen.
angelburst29 said:
OPEC deal backfires: Saudis lose market share to Iran, Iraq [/b]
https://www.rt.com/business/386799-saudis-lose-market-share-iran/
Pipeline Companies Push Back Against Trump’s ‘Buy American’ Rule
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-01/pipeline-companies-push-back-against-trump-s-buy-american-rule
[...]
Interesting all this news (and much more in the world) on oil. And I profess to be at a loss as to what is going on most of the time other than shift dominance and acquisitions (purchase or by war) and then the means of shipment (trains, boats and pipelines).
Interesting also that the Saudis acquired the remaining 50% stake from Royal Dutch Shell - a question might be why would RDS sell? Especially with these predictions being made for 2017. Other than Iraq and Iran mentioned, there is also mention of Libya spinning up restarts (well known what happened in Libya - who really controls it now?), Canadian drilling growing and U.S. staying the course and expanding. Previously, the Arctic drilling program pledged requires a very high price for oil to be reached before it would even be considered (and they are studying coastal shelf lease programs) as does all that tar-sand oil in Alberta need some petrodollar growth. So what is going on? The Crown Jewel U.S. efinery can process 600,000 b/d yet they need delivered oil - from where? Northern pipelines can deliver copious amounts of oil - in the near future.
One person to know is T-Rex, an old blue-eyed sheik of the industry, among others. Having a look at one of the go-to oil sites and the articles there for just five days might reveal a few things or not - have a look at the titles (bold mine) - each title is a link that can be checked out independently:
Wold Oil - _http://www.worldoil.com/news?page=1
News ///
5/2/2017 Total brings Badamyar gas project on stream
in Myanmar
5/2/2017 Xvision software launches cloud-based technology
for offshore field development
5/2/2017 Linn Energy announces $581.5 million
sale of western Wyoming assets
5/2/2017 Total signs agreements to explore Senegal's
deepwater potential
5/2/2017 Oil falls as expected
U.S. fuel-supply gain counters crude drop
5/2/2017 BP expands
digital rocks technology
5/2/2017 Pipeline companies push back on Trump's `Buy American' rule {heavily invested in by the banks}
5/2/2017 Minister sees `
glaring' problems in South African oil stock sale
5/2/2017
BP debt rises again as Gulf oil spill payouts soak up profit
5/2/2017 UAE minister
sees `logic' in oil-cuts extension beyond June
5/2/2017 North America's busiest oil dealmaker
turns focus to production
5/2/2017 Elliott said to meet BHP shareholders
as fund urges overhaul
5/2/2017 Trump's U.S. looks past energy independence,
to global dominance
5/2/2017 Probe extends downhole conveyance tool range
5/2/2017 Emerson launches new salinity system for increased flow assurance, to maximize oil & gas production
5/2/2017 Norway announces
licensing round for mature areas on NCS
5/2/2017 Lundin Petroleum releases 2016
sustainability report
5/2/2017 Mexico stays the course
on the opening of its hydrocarbon sector
5/1/2017 At OTC 2017, Secretary Zinke signs orders implementing
new offshore energy strategy
5/1/2017 Expro showcases a range of new technology solutions at OTC 2017
5/1/2017 Baker Hughes introduces multi-stage fracturing service for deep water
5/1/2017 Weatherford,
US Synthetic launch new deepwater drilling reamer at OTC 2017
5/1/2017
OPEC may need to extend production cuts to end of next year
5/1/2017 Oil falls as U.S. drillers boost rigs,
Libya expands output
{worth noting}
Libya’s output rose to more than 700,000 bpd as the OPEC member’s biggest oil field and another deposit in its western region resumed pumping after a halt.[...] “The return of Libyan supply makes the job of OPEC more challenging,” Giovanni Staunovo, a Zurich-based commodities analyst for UBS Group AG, said by email. “However, renewed supply disruption in Libya remains possible.”
5/1/2017
Oil price optimism wears off as Texas wildcatters drill on
5/1/2017 Aramco
cuts Asia oil pricing as Saudis seen losing market share
5/1/2017
Libya oil output rebounds as Sharara, Feel fields restarted
5/1/2017 UAE's Adnoc
will cut oil sales to buyers by 10% in June
5/1/2017 Gulf Publishing Company acquires 109-year-old Oildom Publishing
4/28/2017 PSAC
raises Canadian drilling forecast by more than 2,500 wells for 2017
4/28/2017 New API safety standards developed to enhance O&G industry equipment, operations
That is five days of oil news and only a small fraction of what is going on. There are production cuts, new starts, deep-water licenses and programs, Arctic assessments by Norway, Russia (Canada says it is out) and the U.S., pipelines (and what will happen with pipelines in the Middle East and into Europe - both oil and gas?), South America, China etc.
I don't know what to say or what will happen, yet it feels like another shift is going to play out in the Middle East. Why RDS sold its stake is a further question (liquidity?). Probably paying attention to T-Rex and the other players to see what there intentions are may reveal more. Russia is another question as are the demands from Asia and where they will inevitably get their supply from. Does the reference "5/2/2017 Trump's U.S. looks past energy independence,
to global dominance" contain something that will take on further meaning?
Last reference:
Oil supermajors dig out of doldrums as cash poised to surge _http://www.worldoil.com/news/2017/4/26/oil-supermajors-dig-out-of-doldrums-as-cash-poised-to-surge
[...] [...] [...]
Very impressive list of articles there, Voyageur! I don't know that much about the oil and gas business but have noticed an up-tick in media coverage on oil and gas prices, pipelines and deals going on with different Government bodies and Corporations since Trump got sworn in. Not sure - what's going on?
I imagine, it has something to do with Trump trying to put things in motion, to keep the U.S. economy from going - bust? A few days ago, the Government was facing a shut down and they whipped a few things together, to keep it going until September. I get the impression, Obama set up some booby traps for Trump - just to watch him fall on his face? Now, Trump is trying to prop up the dollar - before everything flat lines including the Stock Market?
We used to be a Nation that had a high manufacturing base - before "the idiots-in-charge" decided to send the jobs and equipment over sea's. I guess, they figured, since the men could no longer find jobs, they would fill the ranks of the arm services - so they could ship them over sea's, too? Kind of - took care of the Military's problem "of occupying 800 bases" - over there?
The real problem is, few stop to realize, that a high percentage of our "able bodied men" have been stripped from our population, creating a imbalance ratio. We are a weaker and more vulnerable Nation, then we realize? If the Stock Market were to crash and the dollar flat lines, the first to feel the economic impact would be the woman and children. Where are the Father's and Husband's?
All this talk of gas and oil pipelines might help our Nation in the long run but we also need to reduce our military spending and involvement in other countries. And ... we need to bring a good portion of our Arm Forces back home.
Seems, the Pentagon and the DOD also have their hands in the oil and gas dealings?
US military warns against eastern Gulf leasing
http://www.argusmedia.com/news/article/?id=1452583
Washington, 2 May, 2017 -
The US Defense Department wants to prolong a drilling ban in the eastern part of the US Gulf of Mexico, an area the oil industry is lobbying President Donald Trump's administration to open for leasing.
The area is estimated to contain 3.6bn bl of technically recoverable oil and 11.5 Tcf of natural gas but is largely off-limits to drilling until 2022. Existing infrastructure like pipelines from development elsewhere in the Gulf makes the region particularly attractive to oil and gas producers,
but military officials worry that drilling and production activity could impede use of the area for training and testing.
Trump opened the possibility of drilling in the region by signing a 28 April order directing the US Interior Department to consider making the Arctic and the Atlantic available for leasing. But the order does not specifically seek leasing in the eastern Gulf, and the Pentagon created additional hurdles last week by saying it supported extending the existing leasing moratorium beyond 2022.
"The Department of Defense cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium," acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness Anthony Kurta said in a 26 April letter to representative Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).
Oil industry groups say the eastern Gulf is critical to develop and the fastest way to boost production. "The eastern Gulf is the region that makes the most sense because it is close to existing infrastructure," American Petroleum Institute upstream director Erik Milito said yesterday.
The offshore industry has experience working alongside the military, Milito said. The US Congress enacted the existing moratorium in 2006, prohibiting leasing within 125 miles of Florida and giving the Defense Department power to limit leasing in the area for military reasons.
Democratic lawmakers support extending the leasing moratorium. US senator Ben Nelson (D-Florida) introduced a bill earlier this year that would prolong the moratorium until 2027. And Florida's tourism and fishing industries have fought nearby drilling because of concerns about the effects of an oil spill and increased industrialization of the coasts.
US interior secretary Ryan Zinke expects it will take two years to replace or revise an existing five-year offshore leasing plan. Zinke says the agency will take into consideration the views of nearby communities and other stakeholders before opening new areas for leasing.
The Defense Department did not respond for comment.
According to Statistics Canada report, Canada's annual merchandise trade deficit with other nations reached a record $26 billion in 2016 driven by a decline in energy product imports and exports.
Declining Energy Trade Drives Canada’s Record Deficit in 2016
https://sputniknews.com/world/201705041053279775-energy-canada-deficit/
Canada's annual merchandise trade deficit with other nations reached a record $26 billion in 2016 driven by a decline in energy product imports and exports, Statistics Canada said in a report on Thursday.
"The value of Canada's annual exports decreased 0.7 percent to $521.3 billion in 2016 while imports edged down 0.1 percent to $547.3 billion," the report stated. "Consequently, Canada's annual merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $23.0 billion in 2015 to a record $26.0 billion in 2016."
The decline in exports was led by falling energy products: crude oil and crude bitumen exports fell 14.2 percent to $48.2 billion while annual volumes of both increased 2.7 percent. Total exports excluding energy products increased 1.9 percent.
Energy products also led a decline in imports, which fell 10.8 percent to $27.5 billion, the lowest value since 2004. The report noted that the import loss reflected a 15.8 percent decline in energy product prices.
The US Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill on Thursday that will fund the government through September, which is the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year.
US Senate Passes $1.1Trln Omnibus Spending Bill to Fund Gov't Through September
https://sputniknews.com/us/201705041053290009-us-senate-passes-spending-bill-government/
The final vote was 79 to 18. The bill passed now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a short-term funding to prevent a government shutdown on April 28.
Without a deal, the current funding for US government agencies and departments would have run out at midnight last Friday.
The US Air Force sought a full $1.35 billion to continue research and development efforts for the B-21, formerly known as the Long Range Strike Bomber. But to no avail: the US Congress’ omnibus spending bill, worth almost $1.2 trillion, slashed funding for the B-21 program down to $1.33 billion, while creating new measures intended to prevent program costs from spiraling out of control.
Congress Slashes $20M From Pentagon’s Secret B-21 Project
https://sputniknews.com/military/201705051053293261-congress-slashes-20m-pentagon-b21/
This may ring a bell with those who have followed the living “scandal and tragedy” that is the F-35 program; the cost growth of the USS Gerald Ford, whose final price amounts to two times North Korea’s annual military budget; and the ultra-macho King Stallion helicopter program, which costs more per unit than an F-35A.
The extra measures include labelling the B-21 program a “congressional special interest item,” which gives lawmakers greater authority over appropriating funds for the bomber’s development. Further, the Defense Department inspector general has been tasked with conducting a review of the program.
The US has refused to disclose the total contract value for the B-21, conveniently placing it under “the all-menacing specter of security,” FoxTrot Alpha reported. “I don’t want to give our enemies information by which they can figure out” the materials and size of the plane,” said Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, defending the program’s secrecy.
“If we don’t know what it costs, there’s nothing stopping it from becoming an expensive mess,” the FoxTrot Alpha report noted.
The Pentagon estimates that the per-unit cost will tally about $550 million, according to Defense News.
