Posts by Pritam

New York: India has proposed fresh trilateral talks to be held in Tehran next month and is optimistic that the proposal on the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline will be accepted.

''We had initiated the trilateral talks in 2007 among the three governments and such discussions are ongoing,'' Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora told reporters at the Consulate General of India in New York.

A bilateral agreement was signed between Iran and Pakistan earlier this year on the USD 7.5 billion gas pipeline, a venture in which New Delhi has shown interest for obtaining gas.

Deora and his high-power delegation had earlier met in New York with US investors in the oil and gas sector. According to the accompanying officials, various proposals were submitted to them.

ONGC (Videsh) has spent USD 12 billion in overseas investment in the last few years and another USD 10 billion is planned in the next five years.

In Houston, the ministerial team met with the CEO of Exxon-Mobil and other oil company executives. They also attended several road-shows.

In New York, while answering questions the officials said India had entered into agreements on energy development in neighboring Myanmar.

India, which imports about two-thirds of its oil, and other consuming nations would like to have the price between USD 70 and 80 a barrel. The officials also noted that the price range was not unacceptable to producers.

The volatility in prices was among the issues discussed at the Cancun conference, where 50 nations were represented by 66 ministers at the Mexican resort.

Asked about whether India is interested in offshore drilling along the US Northeast as was announced by President Barack Obama, the officials said the country was 'receptive' about the development.

The minister’s weeklong US visit began on March 29 in Houston and is scheduled to end tomorrow in Washington.

This is an extract from http://www.mynews.in/News/India_pro…ks__N43347.html

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Worldoils Notes : Oil & Gas Training Courses

Analysts of one of UK's leading consulting firms for economic research Capital Economics expect next fall in oil prices soon.

Oil prices on world markets continue to grow on the backdrop of expectations for reviving the global economy. Presently, the price remains well below the record level achieved in 2008.

"We continue to consider that prices will fall again in 2010 on the backdrop of frustration regarding the recovery of world economy," the British analysts said. Analysts expect global economic growth at 3.7 percent in 2010 and 3.2 percent in 2011.

Given the slight recovery in world oil demand, in 2010 the oil price (North Sea Brent) will fall to $50 per barrel, analysts said. In 2011, the average oil price will remain at the same level.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in the first half of 2009 the world oil demand fell by 3.2 million barrels per day. In this current quarter, the EIA expects first growth in demand for the last five quarters.

Analysts of Capital Economics expect the average price for Brent crude oil to be $ 70 dollars per barrel.

Currently, Brent is traded within a $77 per barrel. As for trades on Oct. 26 price for the December contract for Brent fell by $1.66 to $77.26 per barrel at the London Stock Exchange.

The recent increase in oil prices was caused by a weakening of U.S. dollar. Thus, the partial restoration of the U.S. currency's positions will be a lowering factor for oil prices, the British analysts believe.

The position of the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen on international exchanges in the third consecutive day compared to the Asian currencies. Yesterday, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to yen was 92.08 yen compared to 92.19 yen the previous day. The exchange rate of the U.A dollar to the European currency was € 1.4886.

Source for the above : http://en.trend.az/capital/pengineering/1567506.html

"E&P technologies have literally redefined reserves. Oil and gas at depths recently considered unreachable can now be tapped. Smaller accumulations once thought to be uneconomic can now be produced profitably. Fields under wetlands or cities can be accessed without disruption of the surface" (U.S. Department of Energy)

Directional Drilling - also called Horizontal, Deviated, or Slant Drilling - is the process of drilling an indirect path to a reservoir that cannot be reached directly beneath the drilling site. Although the technique has been around since 1939, early applications were severely limited by low build rates and short lateral extension capabilities. Deviated drilling, also known as slant drilling, is a fairly old method in which it often took up to 2,000 feet for the well to complete the transitional curve from vertical to horizontal. With modern technology, however, experienced drillers can make a 90 degree turn in less than 100 feet!
Increasing Recovery Rates and Extending Production Life

Horizontal wells generally increase productivity to at least 2-3 times that of vertical wells. For wells which would have otherwise been considered marginal or uneconomic, horizontal drilling often enables successful reservoir development. The oil or natural gas in some types of reservoirs can be most thoroughly recovered by horizontal drilling. The following reservoir types are excellent examples of conditions that benefit from this technology:

• Thin reservoirs: In cases where hydrocarbon deposits are wider than they are thick, vertical wellbores are only able to extract oil and gas from a small area surrounding the wellbore. However, horizontal wells use lengthy lateral arms to extend into these long, flat reservoirs and drain a significantly larger area.
• Reservoirs with natural vertical fractures: Fracturing within the formation causes little "pipelines" through which the hydrocarbons can flow. Encountering the fractures at an angle perpendicular to the wellbore improves productivity.
• Locating isolated and bypassed oil and gas reservoirs: Horizontal wells can be used to search for overlooked reserves within a field. In an existing field, vertical wells are often re-entered and drilled horizontally to reach those isolated and bypassed reserves. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, "Since 1990, the vast majority of reserve additions in the United States-89 percent of oil reserve additions and 92 percent of gas reserve additions-have come from finding new reserves in old fields"(Environmental Benefits of Advanced Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Technology, 1999).
• Accessing reserves in environmentally sensitive areas: In some areas, drilling is restricted for environmental reasons or because a rig cannot be set up on the proposed pad site. This often occurs when the targeted formation is under a building, below a shallow lake, or in a protected wildlife habitat. In cases where a vertical well cannot be used, horizontal drilling can access the targeted reservoir while leaving the surface habitat undisturbed. Reduced Capital and Operating Costs
  

  In addition to draining the same amount as three or four vertical wellbores, a horizontal well costs significantly less than drilling several vertical wells in the same area. The operating costs associated with infrastructure, wellhead equipment and maintenance are also significantly reduced.

The below news is from Arab Taime from page : <link removed>

It is now close to the 31st of May 2009. It is about $53 now.

So it looks like the price is actually going to be anywhere between $55 - $65?

Looks like Iran is going to cause some disturbance until the oil price rises to that limit(at least, I guess).

Look at it - Oil has fallen nearly $10 since the OPEC agreed at another emergency meeting only last month to remove 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from the market.

OPEC feels that they should have reduced the output even more than 1.5 million barrels. What would have been the right figure?
Is there any maths to figure out what figure of output reduction will bring the oil price to say, USD 70? NO! It would probably be some strange and confused guesswork.

OPEC Is having a meeting again on Nov 29th. We shall wait and watch. The suppliers are as jittery as the consumers.

The crunch is also existing in the maritime industry.

There are numerous conferences all over the world about the shortage of manpower in the industries - oil & gas, offshore & maritime. It was thought in the near past that one of the problems for the shortage was low pay scales. But that is not rue anymore and in some companies, the pay is good. These companies have a shortage too.

Then what is wrong? Has the charm of the oil and gas careers lost its shine? Is it too tough a job for the present youngsters?
Is it just too lonely on the field - away from home and friends?