Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mistermj who wrote (21973)	6/15/2008 9:41:50 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36917

Leanan on June 13, 2008 - 9:36am Here's a brief Khursaniyah timeline: March 2, 2008: Oilfield faces delay RIYADH: Production at Saudi Arabia's 500,000 bpd Khursaniyah oilfield may be delayed beyond the first half of this year. "The oilfield may start pumping limited quantities in May but it will not be able to meet the announced production capacity ... since the gas plant has not been completed yet," an industry source said. April 20, 2008: Saudi Aramco Says New Oil Field, Khursaniyah, Starts Production Saudi Arabia has started production at the Khursaniyah field that will eventually pump 500,000 barrels a day, the head of state-run oil company Saudi Aramco said. May 25, 2008: Saudi Khursaniyah oilfield not pumping yet - Aramco Delays in construction of a plant to process gas produced at the oilfield have prevented the start up, Khalid al-Falih, Aramco's executive vice president of operations, told Reuters. "The gas plant is a major delay. It's really a disappointment," Falih said. "All of it will be ready in a few months." Aramco could bring on most of Khursaniyah's capacity if needed, Falih said. But gas would have to be burnt off, which Aramco wanted to avoid, he added. Today: Khursaniyah will start ``very, very soon, definitely within the next month,' Khalid A. Al-Falih, who is also an executive vice president at Saudi Aramco, said in a telephone interview today. He couldn't say when full production would be reached. Sounds to me like this "startup" is the limited production they can do without the gas plant. Given the regional demand for natural gas, I don't see them flaring it, which they would have to do to produce the oil without the gas plant. (If it's true that the gas plant isn't built. "Within the next month" fits the schedule for completing the gas plant announced in March.) [-] Sparaxis on June 13, 2008 - 10:26am I spoke with the head of the Khursaniyah project last week. He said they the delay was all "above-ground factors" (I had to smile at his choice of words), and that they were being "clobbered" by problems with material supplies, particularly steel. [-] Leanan on June 13, 2008 - 10:45am Yes, it's been reported that materials have been problem throughout the Gulf (throughout the world, even). Also labor with the needed expertise. A problem we're likely to hit in any infrastructure build-out, whether it's rigs, refineries, rail, nuclear power plants, etc. theoildrum.com == Here's another what will save us... The Cavalry is Riding to the Rescue ... at a slow walk Brazil's Tupi Production at 500,000 barrels/day in 2020 Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras plans to have its giant Tupi oil field fully operational by 2015, with output of at least 500,000 barrels per day by 2020, a top company official said. Long-term production tests have begun at two Tupi wells and a third one will start in the coming months, Petrobras' exploration and production director, Guilherme Estrella, said late on Wednesday. Petrobras intends to drill eight more wells from 2010 on. Five of them will be producing wells. "Our estimate is that these 11 wells will cost around $1 billion ... The third well has an estimated cost of $100 million and the other ones of $60-$80 million," Estrella said on the sidelines of a seminar. reuters.com. Tupi is the Brazilian field that created such a stir about a year ago. Two other fields have been found since then, of as yet unknown size. But after 2020 (Tupi will be first, Petrobras has a $240 billion capital budget). Not much hope of a production spike, Alan

To: mistermj who wrote (21973)	6/15/2008 9:57:13 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 36917

Saudi Arabia’s Crude Oil Reserves Propaganda Posted by ace on June 15, 2008 - 8:45am This post originally ran 4 MAR 08, but it seems with the recent discussions about Saudi Arabia and OPEC, for example these pieces by Jad Mouawad and Fatih Birol, that the information in this post, in addition to the over 20 very important and related posts by TOD researchers linked at the bottom of this post in summary, are quite important to the recent discourse. Furthermore, on 22 JUN 08, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will "convene a meeting of representatives of producer and consumer nations and firms operating in the production, export and trading of oil to discuss the jump in prices, its causes and how to deal with it objectively". Kuwaiti oil analyst Kamel Al-Harami added that this meeting "is an opportunity for a transparent and clear dialogue between producers and consumers to collectively explore solutions to the world's energy crisis, now and in the future". Perhaps there is a chance that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members will offer some transparency about their oil reserves to the world at this important meeting in one week's time. Executive Summary Saudi Aramco has effectively used propaganda methods for at least the last fifteen years to convince many governments, corporations and individuals to believe their statements. However, Aramco’s statement that it is the world’s leading oil producer is now false as it now second after Russia since 2006. Nevertheless, Saudi Aramco’s repeated statement about remaining recoverable oil reserves being 260 billion barrels (Gb) is still generally accepted. In 2004, Saudi Aramco stated that its oil initially in place (OIIP) has been growing steadily since 1982. There is considerable doubt about the validity of this increase, given the lack of new oil discoveries and the unusual nature of its steady continuous increase. Aramco stated the OIIP was 700 Gb at year end 2003 while a more realistic estimate is 580 Gb. Aramco may have some high recovery factor fields such as Abqaiq and Shaybah, but an average recovery factor range from 30-37% is assumed for the total OIIP in Saudi Arabia’s fields. The trend of the recovery factor for Saudi Aramco indicates that there has been no effect on the recovery factor by recent technological advances in producing wells. Saudi Aramco has kept remaining recoverable crude oil reserves constant simply by artificially increasing the OIIP each year since 1982, accompanied by an unrealistically high average recovery factor of 52% since 1988. Saudi Aramco’s propaganda campaign is failing. Saudi Aramco is no longer the world’s leading crude oil producer. Saudi Aramco’s statement of 260 billion barrels of remaining recoverable reserves is almost certainly false. Instead, the remaining recoverable crude oil reserves are probably less than 100 Gb, instead of 260 Gb. It is time to call on Saudi Aramco and the other OPEC members to tell the truth about their reserves.... Are the points stated by Saudi Aramco true? According to the EIA, Russia produced more oil than Saudi Arabia in 2006 (9.25 mbd vs 9.15 mbd), in 2007 (9.44 mbd vs 8.72 mbd), and in the first 3 months of 2008 (9.35 mbd vs 9.20 mbd). Thus, Aramco’s 2008 statement (Fig 1) that it is the world’s leading oil producer is now false.... There's more… (3763 words) theoildrum.com

To: mistermj who wrote (21973)	6/23/2008 3:14:20 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36917

Next month, they wil say "Sept". Aramco sets Khursaniyah date News wires Saudi Aramco is set to bring the Khursaniyah oilfield project - capable of pumping 500,000 barrels per day - on stream in August, Amin Nasser, the senior vice president of exploration and producution at the Saudi Arabian company, said today. The Khursaniyah project involves production facilities for the onshore Abu Hadriya, Fadhili and Khursaniyah fields near Jubail Industrial City in the Eastern Province,. Last month, an Aramco official told Reuters large parts of the project were ready. Saudi Aramco had planned to bring Khursaniyah online in December last year. upstreamonline.com