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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dvdw© who wrote (88243)	3/22/2012 8:46:39 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218841

Alaska champions $40bn pipeline plan to export liquefied natural gas to Asia BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips and state authorities hope to reach agreement next week over a long-running lease dispute at Point Thomson, a large oil and gas field on Alaska’s North Slope. The state argues that BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron have been too slow to produce oil and gas at Point Thomson, having agreed to a development plan in 1977, and he wants to take their lease away. John Minge, BP’s president for exploration in Alaska, told reporters in the state last week that talks about the dispute were on track to be resolved by an end of March deadline. Alaska champions $40bn pipeline plan By Ed Crooks in London BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are in discussions about a $40bn project to export liquefied natural gas from Alaska to Asia, potentially opening up large but stranded reserves that currently have no route to market. According to people close to the negotiations, the three companies and state authorities hope to reach agreement next week over a long-running lease dispute at Point Thomson, a large oil and gas field on Alaska’s North Slope. A settlement would clear the way for the companies to hasten their commercial assessment of a large gas pipeline to Alaska’s southern coast, from where LNG could be shipped to China and other Asian countries. Sean Parnell, Alaska’s governor and a champion of the project, told the Financial Times he was “cautiously optimistic” that the plan would be able to move forward. The state argues that BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron have been too slow to produce oil and gas at Point Thomson, having agreed to a development plan in 1977, and he wants to take their lease away. John Minge, BP’s president for exploration in Alaska, told reporters in the state last week that talks about the dispute were on track to be resolved by an end of March deadline. Alaska’s North Slope has proven reserves of 35tn cubic feet of gas – about one-eighth of US total reserves – and undiscovered resources estimated at 236tn cu ft. Without a pipeline, however, the gas is worthless. Exxon and TransCanada, a pipeline company, have been working on a route to take the gas across Canada to the “lower 48” US states, but industry executives and government officials say the proposal was stymied by weak prices stemming from the shale gas boom. Mr Parnell said Alaska was frustrated by the slow progress of plans to develop the gas, which could earn the state an estimated $400bn. He has been urging the companies to move forward with a shorter pipeline to the south coast of Alaska, where a new LNG plant could be built for export to Asia. “The gas is there, the market is there, particularly on the Pacific Rim,” he said. “There is no reason why we should not be able to move the gas to the market.” The companies have warned that they need to assess the commercial case for the project, which would cost an estimated $40bn-$50bn and take at least 10 years to develop.

To: dvdw© who wrote (88243)	3/22/2012 9:27:59 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218841

peakoil...peaked Brazil's probable oil reserves may jump to 30 billion barrels in the near future, from 15 billion at present Message 28028618

3/22/2012 9:39:43 AM

From: elmatador

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 218841

Petrolization: N. American energy production will rise from 15.4 million barrels per day in 2011 to almost 26.6 million barrels per day by 2020, boosting gross domestic product (GDP) and creating ripple effects throughout the economy.

Is North America the Next Middle East for Energy?

Published: Wednesday, 21 Mar 2012 | 5:05 AM ET

Increased production of energy from a number of sources including deepwater drilling, natural gas exploration and Canada’s oil sands could make North America the next Middle East, according to a new report from Citigroup.

The bank estimates that total North American energy production will rise from 15.4 million barrels per day in 2011 to almost 26.6 million barrels per day by 2020, boosting gross domestic product (GDP) and creating ripple effects throughout the economy.

Citigroup analysts say the U.S. will see large gains in oil production from deepwater drilling, while Mexico will begin to reverse recent declines in output. Production of shale gas liquids will increase by 3.8 million barrels per day by 2020. The report says this new production would amount to about 7 percent of additional global production, "a higher growth rate than OPEC can sustain."

That increase in energy supply will also be accompanied with a decline in demand. U.S. consumption of oil products has fallen by 2 million barrels per day since its peak in 2005, and the Citi report says demand will fall by another 2 million barrels per day over the next decade.

“The economic consequences from this supply and demand revolution are potentially extraordinary,” Ed Morse, head of global commodities research at Citigroup Global Markets and his team of analysts wrote.

Citgroup expects the shift in energy supply and demand to increase real GDP by between 2 and 3.3 percent.

It also estimates that some 550,000 new jobs will be created directly in the oil and gas extraction sector by 2020. An additional 2.2 to 2.3 million new jobs will be created from the resulting economic stimulus effects of new production by 2020.

The U.S. became a net exporter of refined oil products in 2011, for the first time since 1949, according to the Energy Department. But it remains a net importer of crude oil, importing around 9 million barrels per day.

Alejandro Barbajosa of Argus Media, a specialist data and information provider for the energy industry, says it’s unlikely that the U.S. will ever become the next Middle East because the country will remain a net importer of crude oil for the foreseeable future. He also says infrastructure constraints will limit the country’s ability to export liquefied natural gas.

“There is no way in this world that it could become the largest energy exporter,” Barbajosa told CNBC.

“As U.S. oil demand declines because of more efficient use, the U.S. will still remain dependent on imports from Canada, and to a lesser degree, the Middle East,” Barbajosa added. “North America does not have the capacity surplus that the Middle East has. It is unlikely that it becomes the next Middle East in terms of oil and gas exports.”

In its analysis, Citigroup acknowledges infrastructure bottlenecks and legislation that blocks exports of crude oil of U.S. origin. It also points out that new environmental regulations could prevent the scenario from playing out. But the analysts point out the surge in energy production could be game-changing.

"It would not only improve incomes and create jobs, but also improve national energy security and reverse perennial current account deficits."