International [Oil & Gas News] America Achieved Energy Independence As The World's Top Oil Producer (2018-2019)

[djacobox372]

Why drill and deplete your own nonrenewable resources when your enemies are willing to sell you theirs at a reasonable price?

Bad strategy. We need to drink the middle east's milkshake not our own.

 

[Arkain2K]

Why drill and deplete your own nonrenewable resources when your enemies are willing to sell you theirs at a reasonable price?

Bad strategy. We need to drink the middle east's milkshake not our own.

Why do you think OPEC is finally forced to compete at a reasonable price right now, instead of jacking it up to $150 a barrel like in 2008, before the dawn of U.S shale revolution? Out of the goodness of their hearts perhaps?

 

[Reactionary Corporatist]

Probably obama's greatest accomplishment. I still want the US removed from the global oil infastructure, as I view it as an issue of national security, and think we should get the benefits of the risks of fracking, but I was wrong to oppose fracking. Energy is too key to pretend it was an option not to do it.

Fracking is horrifically destructive to the environment and poisons the groundwater of wherever it is practiced.

 

[Arkain2K]

Looks like American oil workers' pay is increasing nicely along with the record production:

 

[Arkain2K]

Iran’s Oil Minister Warns That OPEC Collapse Is Likely
By Arsalan Shahla and Grant Smith | May 2, 2019

Iran’s oil minister warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse as some nations seek to undermine their fellow members, an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia’s pledge to fill the supply gap created by U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports.

"Iran is a member of OPEC for its interests and any threat from member states won’t go unanswered," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after a meeting with OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday, according to the oil ministry’s Shana news agency.

His comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to cut the Islamic Republic’s oil exports to zero, backed by a promise from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to increase production to ensure the squeeze doesn’t create a supply shortage.

Those countries boosted production last year as the first round of American sanctions hit Iran, without splitting the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This year, however, Iran is under even greater pressure, with fewer options to keep its economy afloat.

Zanganeh had already censured "two neighboring states" for voicing readiness to fill the gap of Iranian barrels in the market. "I told Mr. Barkindo that OPEC is in danger by the unilateralism of some members and the organization faces the risk of collapse," he said on Thursday, stopping short of naming names.

The lost barrels, along with supply disruptions in Venezuela and elsewhere, have raised the question of whether OPEC’s biggest producers have a big enough supply buffer to keep the market in balance. Zanganeh last month accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of exaggerating their surplus oil capacity.

Discord between OPEC’s Gulf members has shaken the organization in the past year. Qatar announced its exit in December after more than five decades of membership after its neighbor Saudi Arabia targeted the nation with an economic blockade.

“Qatar’s departure broke the seal. Iran’s would be much more serious, but no longer unthinkable,” said Derek Brower, an analyst at RS Energy Group. “Iran thinks two members are conspiring with the U.S. against it -- a good enough reason for Tehran to consider it’s position.”

OPEC negotiations in December initially ran into difficulties because of disagreement between the Saudis and Iran, who are longstanding geopolitical foes, but in the end there was a deal. Yet setting aside Qatar’s departure, the group has held together for almost sixty years despite a range of political quarrels and conflicts, such as the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait the following decade.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...r-zanganeh-warns-that-opec-collapse-is-likely

 

[Caudillo]

Iran’s Oil Minister Warns That OPEC Collapse Is Likely
By Arsalan Shahla and Grant Smith | May 2, 2019

Iran’s oil minister warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse as some nations seek to undermine their fellow members, an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia’s pledge to fill the supply gap created by U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports.

"Iran is a member of OPEC for its interests and any threat from member states won’t go unanswered," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after a meeting with OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday, according to the oil ministry’s Shana news agency.

His comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to cut the Islamic Republic’s oil exports to zero, backed by a promise from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to increase production to ensure the squeeze doesn’t create a supply shortage.

Those countries boosted production last year as the first round of American sanctions hit Iran, without splitting the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This year, however, Iran is under even greater pressure, with fewer options to keep its economy afloat.

Zanganeh had already censured "two neighboring states" for voicing readiness to fill the gap of Iranian barrels in the market. "I told Mr. Barkindo that OPEC is in danger by the unilateralism of some members and the organization faces the risk of collapse," he said on Thursday, stopping short of naming names.

The lost barrels, along with supply disruptions in Venezuela and elsewhere, have raised the question of whether OPEC’s biggest producers have a big enough supply buffer to keep the market in balance. Zanganeh last month accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of exaggerating their surplus oil capacity.

Discord between OPEC’s Gulf members has shaken the organization in the past year. Qatar announced its exit in December after more than five decades of membership after its neighbor Saudi Arabia targeted the nation with an economic blockade.

“Qatar’s departure broke the seal. Iran’s would be much more serious, but no longer unthinkable,” said Derek Brower, an analyst at RS Energy Group. “Iran thinks two members are conspiring with the U.S. against it -- a good enough reason for Tehran to consider it’s position.”

OPEC negotiations in December initially ran into difficulties because of disagreement between the Saudis and Iran, who are longstanding geopolitical foes, but in the end there was a deal. Yet setting aside Qatar’s departure, the group has held together for almost sixty years despite a range of political quarrels and conflicts, such as the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait the following decade.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...r-zanganeh-warns-that-opec-collapse-is-likely

This is good. Hopefully venezuela and iran fail . Good for US and Russia

 

[NoDak]

This is good. Hopefully venezuela and iran fail . Good for US and Russia

US OIL OUTPUT HITS 12 MILLION BARREL-A-DAY MILESTONE WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

U.S. crude oil production hit 12 million barrels per day in mid-February, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest report.

EIA’s weekly petroleum report, for the week ending Feb. 15, showed crude output jump more than 1.7 million barrels per day compared to the same time in 2018 — from roughly 10.3 million barrels per day to 12 million barrels per day.

“U.S. oil and natural gas production is breaking every record in the book, which helps families and businesses and our national security across the board,” said Dan Kish, a distinguished senior fellow at the Institute for Energy research.

Indeed, drillers continue to beat analysts’ expectations. For example, EIA’s November 2018 energy forecast didn’t see oil output hitting 12 million barrels per day until mid-2019. The month before, EIA didn’t see the U.S. hitting that milestone until the fourth quarter of 2019. EIA didn’t forecast the U.S. hitting 12 million barrels per day until 2020 or later in its January 2018 estimate.

In the past decade, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling allowed oil and natural gas production to reach never-before-seen heights. The boom has propelled the U.S. to become the world’s top oil producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia.

NoDak Bakken Reserves Hold 30 to 40 Billion Barrels Of Recoverable Oil

FARGO — Continental Resources estimates that the Bakken Formation has reserves of 30 billion to 40 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or roughly four to five times more than the government’s latest estimate.

The estimate of the Bakken’s potential was disclosed during the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s Bakken 2.0 conference on Monday, Sept. 24, by Jack Stark, president of Continental Resources, a top oil producer in the state.

“It’s a big number but I think it’s a technically sound and a technically well-founded number,” Stark said. “There’s a lot of future left in the Bakken.”

North Dakota recently surpassed Venezuela in oil production, and the United States recently became the world’s largest oil producer, outranking Saudi Arabia and Russia.

North Dakota has 15,000 oil wells, and state officials estimate it has the potential for another 50,000 wells in the decades ahead.

“As North Dakotans, we just won the geology lottery,” said Gov. Doug Burgum, who spoke after Stark’s presentation. At last year’s conference, Burgum challenged the industry to reach production of 2 million barrels of oil per day, double the 1 million barrels per day level at the time.

Why The Permian Basin May Become World's Largest Oil Field

Many people will tell you that the production rate of Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oil field, which has yielded 5 million barrels of petroleum per day for decades, will never be surpassed. In fact, no other oil field has ever come close to topping the production rate of Ghawar, and up until recently I would have agreed its production would never be topped.

But I am becoming more convinced that the Permian Basin could eventually give Ghawar a run for its money.

That argument would have been laughable a decade ago, but there are three pieces of data that suggest the argument isn’t as preposterous as I once believed it was...

...Permian Basin oil production slowly crept back up to one million BPD in 2010, and then hydraulic fracturing sent production soaring. By the end of 2018, production had reached 3.8 million BPD, vaulting the Permian into second place among the world’s leading oil fields. In under a decade — and after already producing oil for a hundred years — Permian Basin production has increased by 3 million BPD:

Rystad: U.S. Shale Can Add A Saudi Arabia And (Easily) Pay Investors

U.S. shale oil companies are on track to add production equivalent to Saudi Arabia’s output by 2030, without needing the external financing the industry’s boom has relied on so far, according Rystad Energy AS.

“They are going to be very profitable, they are going to be able to return surprisingly good cash amounts to investors and still grow one Saudi Arabia,” said Per Magnus Nysveen, senior partner at the Oslo-based consultant.

“The financing party is over,” he said. But drillers “have enough cash from the producing wells to finance quite a lot of capex, so they don’t need this financing any more.”

Companies have been cash-flow neutral this year, and will be “very positive” in 2020, Nysveen said in an interview in London. Drillers learned to squeeze costs during the market downturn in the middle of this decade, slashing the oil-price needed to produce a barrel by half to about $40.

 

[Arkain2K]

This is good. Hopefully venezuela and iran fail . Good for US and Russia

Man, I wish it would be "good for U.S and Canada", but them crazy Canucks are busy fucking themselves over when it comes to energy exports.

 

[NoDak]

Man, I wish it would be "good for U.S and Canada", but them crazy Canucks are busy fucking themselves over when it comes to energy exports.

Alberta would make a good 51st state.

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

Why drill and deplete your own nonrenewable resources when your enemies are willing to sell you theirs at a reasonable price?

Bad strategy. We need to drink the middle east's milkshake not our own.

Why do you think OPEC is finally forced to compete at a reasonable price right now, instead of jacking it up to $150 a barrel like in 2008, before the dawn of U.S shale revolution? Out of the goodness of their hearts perhaps?

Also, in a large enough timeline, oil will be obsolete. You need to make money now while you can.
Imagine how angry Venezuelans will be when they finally start drilling again 50 years from now and everybody moved to electric.

 

[Arkain2K]

The U.S. Accounted For 98% Of Global Oil Production Growth In 2018
Robert Rapier | Jun 23, 2019

Pump jacks extract crude oil from oil wells in Midland, Texas, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018.
Recent reports indicate that the Permian Basin underlying Midland may now be the world's most productive oil-producing region ​

Earlier this month BP released its Statistical Review of World Energy 2019. The Review provides a comprehensive picture of supply and demand for major energy sources on a country-level basis. Each year, I do a series of articles covering the Review's findings.

In the first article of the series, I discussed the trends in global carbon dioxide emissions. Today, I want to cover the production and consumption of petroleum.

Two years ago, in response to numerous articles suggesting that the world was on the cusp of peak oil demand, I argued that Peak Oil Demand Is Millions Of Barrels Away. This marks the second Review since I made that argument, and the latest Review shows that global oil demand has grown by 3.1 million barrels per day (BPD) since that article published.

A New Consumption Record

For 2018, the Review reported that the world set a new oil consumption record of 99.8 million BPD, which is the ninth straight year global oil demand has increased. Oil demand in 2018 grew by 1.5%, ahead of the decade-long average of 1.2%. On the other hand, 2018 demand growth of 1.4 million BPD marked the third consecutive year oil demand growth has fallen.

The United States remains the world's top oil consumer, averaging 20.5 million BPD in 2018. China was second at 13.5 million BPD, although this would be far below the U.S. in per capita consumption. India was third at 5.2 million BPD. Both China and India have averaged oil consumption growth of at least 5% per year over the past decade.

Asia Pacific has been the world's fastest growing oil market over the past decade with 2.7% average annual growth. Africa and the Middle East aren't far behind that pace, although neither region experienced oil production growth in 2018.

U.S. Remains the Oil Production Champion

The Review also reported a new global oil production record in 2018 of 94.7 million BPD,1 an increase of 2.22 million BPD over the previous year.

The U.S. extended its lead as the world's top oil producer to a record 15.3 million BPD.2 In addition, the U.S. led all countries in increasing production over the previous year, with a gain of 2.18 million BPD (equal to 98% of the total of global additions).

Looking at a longer period, in 2008 global oil prices first exceeded $100/bbl. Since then, global oil production has increased by 11.6 million BPD. Over the same time span, U.S. oil production increased by 8.5 million BPD -- equal to 73.2% of the global increase in production. It's easy to imagine that without the U.S. shale oil boom, oil prices would have never dropped back below $100/bbl.

Saudi Arabia was the second-leading producer at 12.3 million BPD, while Russia came in third at 11.4 million BPD. Canada added the second-most production in the world, with a 410,000 BPD gain over 2017. This was just ahead of Saudi Arabia's 395,000 BPD increase.

These gains helped offset declines from Venezuela (-582,000 BPD), Iran (-308,000 BPD), Mexico (-156,000 BPD), Angola (-143,000 BPD), and Norway (-119,000 BPD).

This year, for the first time, the Review reported the contribution to overall oil production by natural gas liquids (NGLs). U.S. NGL production is by far the highest of any country at 4.3 million BPD (a byproduct of the shale gas boom). That's more than the entire Middle East, and accounts for 37.6% of total global NGL production.

When NGLs are subtracted from overall oil production, U.S. production declines to 11.0 million BPD. This places the U.S. just behind Russia (11.2 million BPD) and just ahead of Saudi Arabia (10.5 million BPD).

The Review reports that global proved oil reserves increased by 0.1% to 1.73 trillion barrels. However, within this number Venezuela continues to report proved reserves of just over 300 billion barrels, which is primarily extra heavy crude in the Orinoco Belt. While there is indeed a huge resource of oil in that region, I am skeptical that there are 300 billion barrels that can be profitably extracted at current oil prices. In other words, I doubt that Venezuela's proved reserves are still 300 billion barrels.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapie...l-oil-production-growth-in-2018/#2e23a6a75125

 

[Arkain2K]

US Oil Production Hits New All Time High
by Andreas Exarheas | Tuesday, June 25, 2019

U.S. crude oil production reached a new all time high of 12.2 million barrels per day (MMbpd) in May.

That’s according to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) latest monthly statistical report, which revealed that Texas crude oil output exceeded 5 MMbpd last month for the first time.

“These milestones were achieved despite less drilling activity, which is testament to productivity but also pipeline infrastructure expansions that helped enable drilled but uncompleted wells to come to market,” the API report stated.

Last month also saw record U.S. petroleum exports at 8.1 MMbpd and a U.S. crude oil inventory increase of 10.5 percent over May 2018, the report revealed.

In its second quarter industry outlook report, released on the same day as the latest monthly statistical report, the API said the United States is poised for a continuation of record oil production. This report also highlighted that while U.S. crude oil export capacity has been “sufficient”, some capacity estimates suggest “some urgency to plan forward”.

“The historic milestones in U.S. oil production this quarter underscore the necessity of pipeline infrastructure to continued U.S. energy leadership,” API Chief Economist Dean Foreman said in an organization statement.

“With the surge expected to continue, our focus must now shift toward ensuring the necessary infrastructure and logistics are in place to support growth in providing energy to consumers, as well as exports,” he added.

“If current predictions by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and others prove correct, the U.S. will likely push up against the lower bound of existing crude oil export capacity by the end of this year, which creates urgency around building new infrastructure to ensure we don’t miss out on this rare opportunity,” Foreman continued.

https://www.rigzone.com/news/us_oil_production_hits_new_all_time_high-25-jun-2019-159151-article/

 

[ElKarlo]

Did you see the muerte vaca region in Argentina is now set to be able to produce e both oil and gas? Shale and fracking tech ftw

 

[Arkain2K]

As @Arkain2K noted, the economic and soft power that comes with being a net energy exporter should actually bolster our ability to protect free trade since we can counter other nations attempts to impact the market through oil supply. More importantly, it should strengthen our empire by reducing our reliance on foreign oil thus give us more autonomy to act in our best interests.

The sort of news headlines on oil these days was utterly unfathomable when we had no choice but paying in excess of $100 for each barrel of oil from the OPEC cartel between 2011 and 2013, and every minor reduction (even artificial ones) in their output capacity means instant punch in the guts at the pump for everyone else around the world.

Then comes the U.S shale revolution, and now we have this:

Global spare oil capacity in U.S. hands after Saudi outage
September 14, 2019

​

An attack on Saudi oil facilities on Saturday is believed to have disrupted half the country’s production capacity, making the United States the only real holder of the global supply cushion via its ability to raise own output or to soften sanctions against other major oil producers.

Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on the extent of damage on its oil production but industry sources have said some 5-6 million barrels per day (bpd) or 5-6% of global supply have been affected.

Saudi Arabia, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ de-facto leader and largest producer, has been long seen as the custodian of the world’s spare oil capacity.

Spare capacity is the extra oil a producing country can bring onstream and sustain at short notice, providing global markets with a cushion in the event of natural disaster, conflict or any other cause of an unplanned supply outage.

Industry sources have said Saudi Arabia will be able to restore supply within days. A prolonged supply outage will have a major bullish impact on oil prices, which in turn will spur further gains in U.S. shale production.

The United States has briefly overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world largest crude exporter this year, only a few years after removing a ban on oil exports because of large needs at home as the world’s largest oil consumer.

Analysts have repeatedly underestimated U.S. output growth gains with the country now producing around 15% of global supply.

Besides the United States, the only countries which have significant spare capacity are Iran and Venezuela.

Both are subject to U.S. sanctions and have seen their exports reduced to a trickle over the past year as U.S. President Donald Trump has tightened sanctions.

Iran has seen its exports falling by over 2 million bpd since the sanctions have been imposed and Venezuela have seen its exports plummeting too.

While analysts expect Venezuelan production to more or less stabilize at current levels of around 700,000-800,000 bpd for the rest of the year, Iranian oil production is forecast to fall further.

Energy Aspects has said it expects OPEC spare capacity to fall to below 1 million bpd in the fourth quarter from two million bpd in the second quarter of 2019.

WILDCARDS

OPEC member Libya is in the middle of a civil war, which threatens its ability to continue pumping oil. Another big Libyan disruption would add to the shocks and highlight the spare capacity problem.

Nigerian exports have also suffered big from disruptions.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil production is expected to rise to new records.

However, large U.S. crude output gains and slowing global demand because of a weaker global economy have contributed to a rise in oil stocks worldwide.

The International Energy Agency, which coordinates energy policies of industrialized nations, said on Saturday the markets were still well supplies despite the Saudi disruptions.

“We are massively oversupplied,” said Christyan Malek, head of oil and gas research for Europe, Middle East and Africa at J.P. Morgan, adding it would take five months of a 5 million-bpd outage to take global crude supply levels back to a 40-year normal average.

“Having said that, this attack introduces a new, irreversible risk premium into the market,” he added.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-in-us-hands-after-saudi-outage-idUSKBN1VZ0ND

 

[Arkain2K]

The US shale revolution has reshaped the energy landscape at home and abroad, according to latest IEA policy review
9/13/2019​

The International Energy Agency released its latest in-depth review of US energy policies on Friday, welcoming US leadership on innovation and highlighting the far-reaching impact of the country’s shale revolution.

The shale boom has transformed the United States into the world’s top oil and gas producer and a leading exporter for the fuels. As a result, the US approach to energy policy making has shifted from a mind-set of scarcity to one seeking to maximize the benefits of energy abundance, according to the report. US government policy reflects a strategy to boost energy production, benefit from greater energy exports, be a global leader in energy technologies and keep consumer energy bills in check.

A central plank of the strategy is to reduce regulatory hurdles to expanding US energy production and increasing the competitiveness of the US energy industry. While emissions are expected to continue to decline over the coming decade, the IEA report encourages a strengthening of this trend. Nuclear plant retirements, as well as less stringent emissions regulations, risk offsetting gains from the move towards natural gas and renewables for electricity generation.

“Since the last in-depth review five years ago, the United States has reshaped energy markets both domestically and around the world,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, as he presented the report alongside Rick Perry, the US Secretary of Energy, in Washington on Friday. “In this context, the IEA commends the lifting of the US ban on crude oil exports as well as efforts to streamline regulatory approvals for LNG exports, which have helped bolster global energy security by diversifying supply options for importers.”

The IEA report notes that future production growth and exports will depend on the complementary buildout of oil and gas pipelines. Though the government has made efforts to streamline federal licensing for energy infrastructure, there remain cases of midstream infrastructure struggling to keep pace with shale production growth. Timely siting of gas pipelines will also help efforts to reduce gas-flaring rates from oil production.

The abundance of low-cost natural gas has resulted in gas-fired generation overtaking coal-fired generation in the power sector. At the same time, falling costs and policy support for renewable power have motivated a surge in wind and solar generation capacity. Consequently, coal and nuclear plants – which have long underpinned US electricity markets – are facing closures. The IEA recommends policy and regulatory responses to ensure a smooth transition in the electricity sector that fully leverages the growth in variable renewables while also ensuring the overall power system remains reliable and resilient.

The IEA report notes the continued priority the United States places on energy security and the protection of its energy infrastructure. It applauds steps taken by the government to update its security frameworks, including by introducing processes to address new trends such as cyberthreats.

Moreover, as the shale revolution tips the United States into becoming a net oil exporter, continued careful consideration is required when examining proposals to modernize and sell down the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“The United States is a cornerstone of global energy security and will play a critical role in any future IEA collective responses,” said Dr Birol.

“Research efforts supported by the Department of Energy and its National Labs will continue to bear fruit for global energy transitions, including in areas of carbon capture, utilization and storage, advanced nuclear technologies and system integration of renewables,” said Dr Birol.

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2019/...-abroad-according-to-latest-iea-policy-review

 

[PEB]

Scary amounts. The world would be screwed without it. Hope there is plenty to go around...

Prices have risen too high by me. Close to 3 a gallon

Close to 3 dollars a gallon in many areas it is already well over 3 dollars a gallon. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE SAID WE NEED TO REDUCE OUR NEED FOR OIL. Yes in all capitals but they will continue to sell us drill baby drill by a population of people who trade in oil stocks and tell us the US is the largest producer of oil oh and if the national average for the price of oil goes above 3.50 to nearly 4 dollars a gallon Trumps reelection chances become far worse.

 

[ElKarlo]

Well one thing not mentioned, Saudi Arabia and the Aramco IPO. This will definitely ding it's price. Which even if they were planning on offering 100 Billion, could cost ten billion if not more of lost money due to terrorism concerns.

 

[JDragon]

Well one thing not mentioned, Saudi Arabia and the Aramco IPO. This will definitely ding it's price. Which even if they were planning on offering 100 Billion, could cost ten billion if not more of lost money due to terrorism concerns.

I would actually doubt the IPO is gonna happen now.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

So what oil shares am I buying? A guy here told me he had on a company in east Texas and another in Dakota.

 

[Ophydian]

I don’t understand how a single drone attack on a single refinery has shutdown half of their production??