Energierevolutie goed voor VS 27 feb 2012, 15:30 - IEXProfs Redactie
“De energiesector heeft de wind in de rug.” Het zijn de veranderingen in de Amerikaanse energiesector die kansen bieden voor beleggers, aldus Mark Kiesel, fondsbeheerder bij Pimco in een nieuw Global Credit Perspectives artikel. Althans, het zijn kansen voor beleggers die bereid zijn zich te verdiepen in bedrijven en industrietakken die kunnen profiteren van de grote vraag in de sector. Kiesel spreekt over ‘game-changing trends’. Hij doelt op het geluk dat Amerika voldoende, zelfs overvloedige energiebronnen bezit. Geen overbodige luxe in een tijdperk waarin de olieprijs alle oude records laat sneuvelen. De Amerikaanse overvloed in aanbod van natural gas geeft de VS met zijn binnenlandse, gedereguleerde markt, een concurrentievoordeel ten opzichte van andere landen. De fondsbeheerder van Pimco is positief over de kansen die dat biedt. De eigen eneriebronnen - in combinatie met technologische vooruitgang en een toename in kapitaalinvesteringen - zorgen voor meer werkgelegenheid, grotere beleggingen in de private sector en de groei van veilige, onshore energietoevoer in de VS. Van deze 'game-changers’ hebben zowel Amerikaanse consumenten als bedrijven profijt, daar de binnenlandse economie minder afhankelijk wordt van buitenlandse energiebronnen. Grotere speler dan Rusland In de loop der tijd zal de VS de transitie van steenkool naar het schonere gas in versneld tempo doorvoeren, dat op haar beurt weer groei in nieuwe infrastructurele beleggingen, fabrieken en andere bedrijven in heel Amerika teweeg zal brengen. Ergo: groei (en energie-veiligheid!) voor de gehele Amerikaanse economie, redeneert Kiesel. sterker nog, door de groeiende binnenlandse productie van aardgas en olie kunnen de Verenigde Staten in de komende tien jaar Rusland inhalen als grootste energieproducent ter wereld, stelt Kiesel.
Voor geïnteresseerde beleggers wijst Kiesel concreet in de richting van energiebedrijven die zich richten op ‘onshore’ schaliegas en schalie-olie. Volgens Kiesel zullen deze energiebedrijven mogelijk veel sterker groeien dan de Amerikaanse economie als geheel.
Fracking makes for sunny times in sand Material ‘is in extremely short supply’ in the marketplace
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Strong demand for sand used in hydraulic fracturing is heating up the business of providing the grainy material to energy companies. Pioneer Natural Resources PXD -3.48% plunked down nearly $300 million to buy the U.S. sand business of Carmeuse Holding S.A. in a deal announced Monday. Carmeuse Lime & Stone “When Carmeuse announced the desire to sell the sand business, we were very interested in that,” Pioneer Chief Operating Officer Tim Dove said Tuesday at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference in Orlando, Fla. “Demand has taken off and for that matter, as a result of that, the sand availability is generally very tight, and prices are going up.” Other companies in the energy sector have taken note. EOG Resources Inc. EOG -1.04% now operates a sand mine and processing plant in Texas. Halliburton Co. HAL -3.19% recently announced a $20 million investment in a sand depot in Colorado. Carmeuse Industrial Sands, which produces brown sand from a mine in Brady, Texas, supplies a critical ingredient for the process of extracting oil and gas deep underground. A mixture of sand, water and other chemicals is injected into horizontal wells to break up shale rock and free up pockets of oil and gas in what’s known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The sand mine’s proximity to Pioneer’s Permian and Barnett shale fields in Texas provided another plus in the deal. Analysts at equity-research firm Sterne Agee said Pioneer could save $65 million to $70 million a year on sand, implying a payback on its investment in four years. The acquisition is part of an overall strategy by Pioneer to make investments that reduce costs. The Pioneer deal comes just weeks after U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. SLCA +0.37% raised about $200 million in its initial public offering on Feb. 1, after operating as a private company for more than 100 years. The producer of silica used in hydraulic fracturing and solar panels was acquired in 2008 by affiliates of Golden Gate Private Equity Inc. It ranks as the second largest producer in the United States after Unimin, a unit of Belgium-based Sibelco Group. “The market [for fracking sand] is in extremely short supply right now,” U.S. Silica Chief Executive Bryan Shinn said in an interview last month. “The U.S. shale revolution is here to stay. We’re in the early innings right now.”
Steve Gelsi is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.
3Legs Sees Pilot Gas Production in Poland Within 2 Years By Jim Polson - Mar 7, 2012 8:09 PM GMT+0100
ConocoPhillips (COP) and 3Legs Resources Plc (3LEG) may begin natural-gas production from Poland’s shale formations, the largest in Europe, in two years. 3Legs, which drilled a successful horizontal well in Poland last year, hasn’t disclosed how many it will drill this year as it tries to establish the case for commercial development, Chief Executive Officer Peter Clutterbuck said today. “We drilled one good well and a well we don’t quite understand,” Clutterbuck said in an interview at CERAWeek, a conference sponsored by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. “Nobody’s cracked the code yet but we’re making huge progress.” ConocoPhillips, 3Legs’ partner in Poland, is expected to decide this year whether to take over operation of the assets. Poland holds as much as 5.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and may have as much as 187 trillion cubic feet of technically- recoverable shale gas, according to the Energy Information Administration. Shale and similarly dense geologic formations have flooded North America with gas, pushing prices to a decade-low earlier this month, because of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that allowed the rocks to be cracked. 3Legs, based in London, last year drilled a successful horizontal well in Poland’s Baltic Basin. A second yielded lower-than-expected gas flow, causing the shares to drop 23 percent in a day. 3Legs has fallen 65 percent since its initial public offering in June. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) reported two failed Polish shale wells in January.
BEIJING—China's annual output of shale gas is expected to skyrocket from near zero now to 6.5 billion cubic meters in 2015 and at least 10 times that by 2020, the government said in a development plan Friday, reducing reliance on dirtier coal and so cutting carbon emissions. The plan urges Chinese companies to work with foreign companies and research institutes with expertise in finding and exploiting unconventional natural-gas resources. That could open opportunities for foreign companies, which are eager to tap the market. China is pushing hard to shift to cleaner-burning gas from coal, which today generates around 70% of the country's electricity, but large-scale exploitation of shale-gas reserves—gas trapped in rock formations—has yet to begin. In the U.S., by contrast, shale gas has already transformed the energy sector, fattening reserves and driving down gas prices. By 2015, the report said, China is expected to have identified total exploitable gas reserves of 200 billion cubic meters and total proven reserves of 600 billion cubic meters, in addition to producing 6.5 billion cubic meters. By 2020, annual production is forecast to reach between 60 billion and 100 billion cubic meters, due to more intensive exploration in the 19 designated exploration areas, the plan said. The plan was drafted by the National Energy Administration and issued by the National Development Reform Commission. The targeted 2015 output of 6.5 billion cubic meters would boost China's overall natural-gas output by more than 6% from current levels, and by substituting for coal in power generation would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 14 million metric tons, sulfur dioxide by 115,000 tons and nitrogen oxides by 43,000 tons. China has an estimated 25.08 trillion cubic meters of potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, domestic media reported this month, citing the Ministry of Land and Resources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration last year estimated those Chinese reserves at 1,275 trillion cubic feet (36.1 trillion cubic meters), which would be the largest repository of shale gas in the world. Domestic and foreign energy majors working in China hope to replicate the huge increase in shale-gas output seen in the U.S. over the past decade. U.S. companies pioneered the technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," enabling them to extract previously inaccessible gas from rock formations. PetroChina Co. PTR +0.23% and Royal Dutch Shell RDSB +0.15% PLC said in December that they had found gas after drilling their first shale-gas evaluation well at a block in Sichuan province. Other companies, including Total SA TOT +0.33% and Chevron Corp., CVX -0.60% are also seeking shale gas in China. Norway's state-owned Statoil ASA STO +0.47% is in initial talks with Chinese company Shenhua Geological Exploration about jointly developing shale gas projects in China, industry news portal Upstream reported Friday. China Huadian Corp., one of the country's largest power companies, this month signed a framework agreement with authorities in Hunan province to tap shale deposits there. —Sarah Chen
Insight: Natural gas pain is oil's gain as frack crews head to North Dakota Reuters – 43 minutes ago
By Selam Gebrekidan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Collapsing natural gas prices have yielded an unexpected boon for North Dakota's shale oil bonanza, easing a shortage of fracking crews that had tempered the biggest U.S. oil boom in a generation. Energy companies in the Bakken shale patch have boosted activity recently thanks to an exceptionally mild winter and an influx of oil workers trained in the specialized tasks required to prepare wells for production, principally the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing. State data released this month showed energy companies in January fracked more wells than they drilled for the first time in five months, suggesting oil output could grow even faster than last year's 35 percent surge as a year-long shortage of workers and equipment finally begins to subside. As output accelerates, North Dakota should overtake Alaska as the second-largest U.S. producer within months, extending an unexpected oil rush that has already upended the global crude market, clipped U.S. oil imports, and made the state's economy the fastest-growing in the union. Six new crews trained in "well completion" -- fracking and other work that follows drilling -- have moved into North Dakota in the past two months alone, according to the state regulator and industry sources. Back in December, the state was 10 crews short of the number needed to keep up with newly drilled wells. "Three to four months ago, the operators were begging for fracking crews," said Monte Besler, who consults companies on fracking jobs in North Dakota's Bakken shale prospect. Now "companies are calling, asking if we have a well to frack." For the last three years, smaller oil companies with thin pockets were forced to wait for two to three months before they could book fracking crews and get oil out of their wells. As more and more wells were drilled, that backlog has grown. Last year, an average 12 percent of all oil wells were idled in North Dakota. Even so, output in January hit 546,000 barrels per day, doubling in the last two years and pushing the state ahead of California as the country's third-largest producer. FEWER WELLS IDLE Fracking, which unlocks trapped oil by injecting tight shale seams with a slurry of water, sand and chemicals, has drawn fierce protests in some parts of the country, but it has not generated heated opposition in North Dakota. The number of idle wells waiting to be completed in the state reached a record 908 last June, the result of a new drilling rush and heavy spring floods. Only 733 wells were idle in August as crews caught up, but the figure crept steadily higher until the start of this year. Now, the industry may be turning a corner in North Dakota, the fastest-growing oil frontier in the world. "Both rig count and hydraulic fracturing crews are limiting factors. Should they continue to rise together, production will not only increase, it will accelerate," said Lynn Helms, director of the state Industrial Commission's Oil and Gas Division. The tame winter likely played an important role in helping reduce the number of idle wells -- those that have been drilled but not yet fracked and prepped for production. That number fell by 11 in January, as oil operations that would normally be slowed by blizzards were able to carry on, experts said.
2) Residents of the northern Midwest state -- accustomed to temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 Celsius) in winter and snow piles as high as 107 inches -- this year enjoyed the fourth warmest since 1894, according to the National Weather Service. The milder conditions also helped prevent the usual exodus of warm-weather workers that occurs when blizzards set in. "Not everyone wants to work in North Dakota in the winter," Besler said. The backlog of unfinished wells has also begun to subside because the pace with which new wells are drilled has leveled off. The state hasn't added new rigs since November. The latest state data shows oil companies brought 37 new rigs to North Dakota's in 2011 but have not added more since November. The rig count held steady at 200 in January 2012, although more than 200 new wells were drilled in that period. SLUMPING NATGAS PRICE PROVIDES RELIEF North Dakota has gotten a boost from the fall-off in natural gas drilling due to the collapse in prices to 10-year lows. Energy companies such as Chesapeake and Encana have shut existing natural gas wells and cut back on new ones. Last week, the number of rigs drilling for gas in the United States sank to the lowest level in 10 years as major producers slimmed down their gas business, according to data from Houston-based oil services firm Baker Hughes. [ID:nL2E8EG9OY] The fewer gas wells drilled, the less need for skilled fracking crews in the country's shale gas outposts. Fracking in oil patches is similar to the process used in gas wells, except for the inherent power of the pumps employed. Crews inject high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to free hydrocarbons trapped in shale rock. So big service firms such as Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger are reshuffling crews from shale gas fields to oil prospects in the badlands. "We have moved or are moving about eight crews. Some of those crews are moving as we speak," Mark McCollum, Halliburton's chief financial officer, said at an industry summit in February. Halliburton declined to specify where the crews were moving. Calgary-based Calfrac moved one crew into the Bakken in late 2011, according to an SEC filing. Privately owned FTS International no longer works in the gas-rich Barnett shale but has set up operations in the Utica, an emerging prospect in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, according to a company representative.
3) The reallocations come with some efficiency losses. Halliburton had to scale back its 24-hour operations and is still trying to solve logistical problems. "You actually take the crew from one basin and they have to go stay in motels, you have to pay them per diems for a while. And then you have to double up your personnel while you're training new, locally based crew on the equipment once it is moved," McCollum said. At the same time, a shortage of key equipment such as pressure pumps is easing as companies start taking delivery of material ordered months or even years ago. It takes about 15 such pumps to frack a gas well, and many more for oil wells. The total pressure-pumping capacity in the United States at the end of 2012 will be 19 million horsepower, two-and-a-half times more than in 2009, according to Dan Pickering, analyst with Tudor Holt and Pickering in Houston. FRACKING AROUND THE NATION Easing personnel constraints suggest recruiters may be meeting with success in nationwide campaigns to attract workers with specialized knowledge of complex pumps and hazmat trucks -- and a willingness to brave harsh conditions. Even with U.S. unemployment at 8.3 percent, such skilled labor remains in short supply despite salaries from $70,000 to $120,000 a year. In North Dakota, unemployment was just 3.2 percent in January, the lowest rate in the nation. Fracking crews, much like roughnecks on drilling rigs, clock in 12-hour shifts for two straight weeks before getting a day off. They live in camps far from cities and towns. Jobs are transient -- a few weeks at a single location. Most workers divide their time between the California desert, Texas ranchlands and the freezing badlands of the Midwest state. Companies have scrambled to nab talent, with recruiters scouring far and wide. Military bases have gotten frequent visits, and some companies have hired truckers from Europe. "There's definitely a push to look all over for people who have good experience since it takes at least six months to train someone how to use a fracking pump," said David Vaucher, analyst with IHS Cambridge Energy Research.
Shell tekent schaliegascontract in China Gepubliceerd op 21 mrt 2012 om 10:51 |
Royal Dutch Shell A 17:39 € 26,90 +0,02 (+0,06%)
DEN HAAG (AFN) - Shell heeft een contract getekend met het Chinese staatsbedrijf CNPC voor de gezamenlijke zoektocht naar en ontginning van schaliegas in China. Dat maakte Shell woensdag bekend. De Chinese overheid moet nog akkoord gaan met de verbintenis, volgens Shell het eerste zogeheten 'production sharing contract' voor schaliegas in China. Het gebied waarin Shell en CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) gaan zoeken beslaat circa 3500 vierkante kilometer. Een analist van ING noemde de overeenkomst een ,,aantrekkelijke ontwikkeling voor Shell in het Verre Oosten''. De analist stelde dat een noemenswaardig productieniveau niet voor 2014 of 2015 moet worden verwacht, afhankelijk van een definitieve investeringsbeslissing in 2013 of 2014. Hij voorziet een productie die gelijkstaat aan 200.000 tot 300.000 vaten olie in 2015 of 2016.
Nieuwe Industriële Revolutie Door Jan-Willem Nijkamp op 26 mrt 2012 om 12:20 | Views: 2.666 | Categorie: Grondstoffen | Onderwerpen: energie, olie, Verenigde Staten
De Verenigde Staten staan aan de vooravond van een nieuwe industriële revolutie als gevolg van een enorme energiehausse. Zo werd het land vorig jaar voor het eerst sinds 1949 netto-exporteur van olie en gas en gaat het land de productie de komende jaren spectaculair opvoeren. Volgens een provocerend rapport van Citigroup van deze week zijn de Verenigde Staten op weg het nieuwe Midden Oosten te worden als grootste exporteur van energie ter wereld. Ontwikkelingen die de wereldeconomie danig op zijn kop zullen zetten. Toegegeven, Joe Sixpack zal hier momenteel nog weinig baat bij hebben. Maar het rapport is wederom een bevestiging van de bloei van de Amerikaanse energie-industrie. Door deze oliehausse zal de reeds ingezette herindustrialisering van de Verenigde Staten verder vaart krijgen. Zo verwacht men dat de olie- en gasproductie van 15 miljoen vaten per dag nu zullen toenemen naar 27 miljoen in 2020. En dat bij een afnemende energieconsumptie in de Verenigde Staten. Nieuwe technologieën zoals fracking, diepzeeboren en horizontal boren zijn ontstaan door de steeds verder oplopende olieprijs. Grootse exporteur Commodity-handelaren mogen graag zeggen dat een hoge prijs de beste remedie is tegen diezelfde hoge prijs. Dat blijkt ook nu het geval met olie. De Verenigde Staten zullen in 2020 Rusland en Saoedie-Arabië zijn voorbijgestreefd als 's werelds grootste energie-exporteur. Kans van de eeuw Fracking, het inspuiten van water en chemicalieën onder hoge druk om rotspartijen open te breken teneinde het gas vrij te laten heeft geleid tot en enorm nieuw aanbod van aardgas tegen en zeer lage kostprijs. De snelle toename van het aantal actieve gasbronnen in de Verenigde Staten stuiten op veel protest bij milieu-organisaties. Net als de aantoonbare gevaren van diepzeeboren. Dit sterk gepolitiseerde aspect van de nieuwste boortechnieken vormt de grootste horde voor de Verenigde Staten op weg naar olie-onafhankelijkheid. De politiek zal daar een doorslaggevende rol in gaan spelen maar dat men deze opportunity-of-the-century zal laten lopen lijkt welhaast uitgesloten. De gevolgen van deze ontwikkelingen strekken bovendien veel verder dan de energie-industrie zelf. Zo zullen deze ontwikelingen bijdragen aan extra economische groei van 2 tot 3,3% per jaar.
2) Niet alleen de werkgelegenheid in de olie- en gassector zal met 500.000 arbeidsplaatsen toenemen maar men verwacht als gevolg van de toegenomen efficiëntie een toename van 3,6 miljoen banen voor de gehele economie. In zijn recente State of the Union benadrukte president Obama nog eens de enorme boost die de nieuwste boortechnieken aan de economie kunnen geven. Ook de dubbele tekorten op de begroting en de handelsbalans kunnen als sneeuw voor de zon verdwijnen. Het gierende tekort op de handelsbalans was immers vooral het resultaat van de olieverslaafdheid van de Amerikanen. Maar door de steeds verder afnemende olie-import zal de wereld niet langer overspoeld worden met dollars. Hogere dollar Verwacht dan ook een waardestijging van ‘s werelds belangrijkste munt de komende jaren. De economische expansie als gevolg van deze olieboom zal ook dat andere tekort - op de overheidsbegroting - doen verminderen. De Twin Deficits van de Verenigde Staten waren de voornaamste oorzaak van de destabilisering van de wereldeconomie. Hieraan kan de energierevolutie een einde maken. Ook de spanningen in het Midden Oosten zouden wel eens een heel ander aanzien kunnen krijgen. De Verenigde Staten zijn niet langer een belanghebbende partij en zullen zich uit deze regio gaan terugtrekken. En ook van belang, de olieprijzen kunnen in de toekomst weer omlaag. Deze rooskleurige vooruitzichten zijn moeilijk te rijmen met de harde realiteit van een natie die nog bezig is zich te herstellen van de zware crisis van 2008: miljoenen werklozen een onzeker economisch herstel een uit de hand gelopen overheidstekort een verlies van economische concurrentiekracht angst voor verder stijgende brandstofprijzen diepe sociale verdeeldheid een rampzalige politieke patstelling Deze oliehausse is echter al enkele jaren gaande – de olie-import neemt reeds zienderogen af – en de Verenigde Staten zouden er aan het begin van het volgende decennium wel eens heel anders voor kunnen staan. En in het kielzog de rest van de wereldeconomie. Het zal de wereld zoals we die nu kennen op zijn kop zetten.
Jan-Willem Nijkamp is senior vermogensbeheerder bij Fintessa Vermogensbeheer.
Triangle Petroleum Emerges As One Of Three Bakken/Eagle Ford Growth/Value Stocks To Consider March 28, 2012 | about: TPLM, includes: USEG, VOG Triangle Petroleum (TPLM) emerged as having the second most upside from a series of four previous articles where I compared the announced 2012 capital expenditure budgets for 20 various small/ mid/large-cap stocks versus their enterprise value, which is total market cap plus long-term debt. This provides a bang-for-the-buck ratio, which will be a strong predictor of future production and revenue growth of each respective company. The higher the percentage of planned capital expenditures to total capital structure, the greater the growth potential to current valuation.
Three smallcap companies exhibited much higher ratios than the other 17 companies in the comparison; Triangle Petroleum, U.S. Energy (USEG) , and Voyager Oil & Gas (VOG). Since these three companies emerged from the screening process, I will attempt to give a more in-depth look at each of the three. It should be noted Triangle Petroleum is a smallcap/microcap company and all such companies carry higher risks than larger more well established companies. In general microcap companies can have more difficulty accessing the capital markets to raise additional capital and are often subject to a much higher beta (swings in price) than larger companies.
As of March 27, 2012, Triangle Petroleum had 43,261,133 shares outstanding and a marketcap of $309 million. The company has a very strong balance sheet reporting $93.8 million in cash and no debt in its 10-Q for the third quarter ending October 31, 2011. The company should have the cash and cashflow to fund their $131 million capital expenditure budget for 2012. The company owns 83% of RockPile, which is a pressure pumping company in North Dakota. In addition to its pressure pumping fleet, RockPile will have fully integrated purpose-built proppant loading and storage facilities, fleet maintenance and repair facilities, and employee housing facilities. Triangle Petroleum has a $24.6 million investment in RockPile. The company has contracted for 50% of RockPile's capacity to supply services at market rates and RockPile will market to outside companies the remaining 50% of its service capacity.
2) Triangle Petroleum's business is exploring for oil and natural gas. The company's main asset is 29,000 net Bakken acres in North Dakota. Over 80% of these acres are non-operated. Triangle has contracted one rig to drill on its operated acreage though the end of 2012. They project adding 8 net operated and non-operated wells over the next four quarters. The company has 54,500 net Bakken acres in Montana. Management intends to hold this acreage and let others in the industry drill around them to potentially prove the play. Triangle also has 410,000 net acres in Nova Scotia, Canada. Five test wells have confirmed the presence of natural gas. The company intends to market this position to raise additional capital to be deployed into the Williston Basin in North Dakota.
For its latest quarter ended October 31, 2011, Triangle reported losses of ($.05) per share on revenue of $3,462,471. The company sold 39,636 barrels of oil and 10,591 Mcf of natural gas. Based on the company's plans to add 8 net Bakken wells oil and gas production are expected to ramp rapidly throughout the year.
Triangle Petroleum is somewhat undervalued based on the assets the company owns. The real upside opportunity for investors exists in Triangle's growth potential. Triangle needs to prove that it can successfully complete wells in a timely manner to have the future cashflow necessary to complete the company's growth plan. The company's growth plan also depends on oil prices staying high. If Triangle can prove itself as a good operator in the Bakken and if oil prices stay high, then Triangle offers investors a significant growth opportunity.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in USEG over the next 72 hours. by HiddenValueInvestor »
vr 30 mrt 2012, 08:45 Weer nieuwkomer voor Beursplein 5 door EDWIN VAN DER SCHOOT
AMSTERDAM - De van oorsprong Nederlandse dienstverlener aan de olie- en gasindustrie Core Laboratories NV, komt thuis. Het bedrijf heeft al sinds 1995 een notering in New York, maar wil in een poging om extra kapitaal investeerders te binden, ook een notering in Amsterdam verwerven. Core Lab groeit als kool, onder andere door de schaliegasrevolutie in de VS.
Mede om historische redenen lijkt daarbij het oog op Beursplein 5 gevallen. Core Lab heeft een martkapitalisatie van $6,1 miljard, en draaide in 2011 een omzet van $908 miljoen. De nettowinst bedroeg liefst $185 miljoen. Daarmee is het bedrijf een potentiële midkapper, indien nieuwe aandeelhouders het huidige groeitempo op peil kunnen houden. Insiders bevestigen de notering, die in principe eind juni een feit moet zijn.
The Bakken Oil Field: Is Drilling And Exploration Slowing Down? April 2, 2012 | includes: EOG, NFX, OXY
The rig count in North Dakota has leveled off significantly in the past few weeks, hovering around 205 active drilling rigs. With thousands of more acres to protect and wells to drill, many are asking: "Why has the rising number of rigs stopped?" There are many schools of thought on this matter: First, older rigs are being replaced with more efficient ones which is accelerating the amount of wells being drilled but holding the rig count flat. What that means is basically older rigs, which turned wells in 45 days, are now being replaced with more efficient rigs which can drill a well in less than 30 days. And, if drilling on a multi-well pad, can simply skid or "walk" to the next location a few hundred feet away, decreasing transport time. Second, there is a large delay in fracturing services. The number of wells waiting to be fractured in North Dakota is around the 250 mark. This number, while still high, is significantly lower than 650+ plus wells waiting to be fracked during the Winter / Spring of 2011. Third, the price for crude at the wellhead in North Dakota is at an extreme discount from the West Texas Intermediate Benchmark and even further discounted from North Sea Brent crude. The price at the wellhead in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, is $75.50/bbl. WTI is approximately 30% higher and Brent 13% higher than WTI. In addition to escalating service and drilling costs in North Dakota, these factors significantly hurt the economics of drilling and production in The Bakken at this time. Having said that, many big players, which have the majority of their acreage held by production, are dialing back their rig counts. EOG (EOG), Oxy (OXY), and Newfield (NFX) have all publicly stated they plan to reduce their Bakken rig counts. It is interesting to note, however, that the biggest player, Continental Resources (CLR) has gobbled up several of the released rigs from the above mentioned E&Ps. Although these large independents are reallocating capital resources, I would not take it as a sign the Bakken is on the downswing, nor that these companies are in trouble. Newfield has a significant acreage in Utah and just signed a large supply agreement with an oil refinery (Holly Frontier Corp (HFC)). Based on the supply agreement, there is no doubt Utah is a better return for the company to develop right now. Oxy has enough assets all over the world to keep it busy. If other projects provide a better return, the smart thing to do is move resources to concentrate on them. EOG has a significant position in the Eagle Ford. The Eagle Ford in Texas provides better economics at this time due to decreasing drilling and completion costs as well as fetching a gulf coast price for its crude. What will it take for these companies to return to the Bakken full scale? One word - infrastructure. The price for crude at the Wellhead must increase in North Dakota and the cost for services must decrease to get the Bakken back on top. In order for this to happen, the supply chain needs to be smoothed in the form of crude takeaway. More pipelines or predictable rail takeaway options need to be built, which will help close the gap between North Dakota Sweet Crude, WTI, and Brent. Also, fracturing service companies will need to find a predictable and solid workforce (employee turnover is extremely high in ND for many companies) and a predictable supply of fracturing sand.
Once the infrastructure problem is reined in and crude and service prices stabilize, get ready for full scale Bakken development: rig counts north of 250, and more major oil companies moving into the State.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Auteur: Jacob Gelt Dekker maandag 2 april 2012 OBAMANOMICS IN OPMARS Herverkiezing lonkt voor Barack Obama nu de economie in de VS aantrekt als gevolg van een heuse aardgasboom, betoogt Jacob Gelt Dekker.
Het gaat de Amerikaanse president Obama veel te goed. De economie groeit sneller dan verwacht. De Republikeinen hadden gehoopt dat ze politieke munt konden slaan over de presidentiele aarzeling over de Keystone-pijpleiding. Maar als een echte democraat flip-flopte Obama en gaf zijn zegen in een fraai ‘Cushing-moment’ voor het oog van de camera, prachtig geënsceneerd met enorme stapels pijplijnbuizen op de achtergrond. Dankzij het Keystone-project konden er direct 50 duizend extra mensen aan het werk. Alsof dat niet genoeg was, kondigde het in Houston gevestigde Enterprise Products LP en Enbridge Inc. uit Calgary aan dat ze nog twee leidingen naast Keystone zullen aanleggen. De vergunningen hiervoor zijn al binnen en deze nieuwe pijpleidingen functioneren al gedeeltelijk. Vanaf juni 2012 kan er al 850 duizend met gas gevulde barrels per dag worden geproduceerd en dit kan in 24 maanden oplopen naar maar liefst 3,2 miljoen. Obama kip met gouden eieren Als gevolg van deze aardgas boom ontpopt president Obama zich als de kip met gouden eieren. Nieuwe technieken in de aargaswinning alsmede innovatief transport van aardgas hebben voor een grote doorbraak gezorgd. Bovendien kan aardgas zonder raffinagetechnieken. In de USA kost aardgas maar 2,27 dollar per British Thermal Unit (BTU), terwijl het in Europa al snel goed is voor tussen de 12 en 14 dollar. Vandaar dan ook dat de Amerikaanse aardgasindustrie er alles aan gelegen is om de boel snel vloeibaar maken om vervolgens te verschepen naar de hoogste bieder. De sterke vraag naar buizen en pijpleidingen is ook een opsteker voor de staalindustrie, aannemers en transporteurs. Zo bezien, kan Obama straks vergenoegd vaststellen dat onder hem er 1 miljoen extra banen zijn bijgekomen het komende half jaar. Als powerhouse kan de VS sowieso niet zonder aardgas, zo blijkt uit recente cijfers. Olie in de USA zorgt maar voor 1,0 procent voor elektriciteitsopwekking. Het leeuwendeel komt van kolen met 48,3 procent, gevolgd door kernenergie met 21,3 procent en aardgas met 19 procent. De resterende 10,4 procent komt voor rekening dankzij waterkracht, windmolens en zonnepanelen. De Amerikaanse betalingsbalans gaat er aanzienlijk op vooruit, naar schatting met zeker 2 triljoen dollar in de komende 36 maanden en nog meer door het doordruppeleffect. De financiële markten weerspiegelen het nieuwe optimisme dan ook royaal.
2) Wanhoopsaanvallen Republikeinen Ondertussen staan de krijsende Republikeinse presidentskandidaten voorlopig buitenspel. Bijna een jaar lang hebben ze hun kiezers bang proberen te maken met economische onheilspreken en de vervloekte financiële markten als gevolg van het beleid van Obama. Maar de economische feiten spreken in het voordeel van de zittende president. Vandaar dan ook dat de Republikeinse uitdagers wanhoopsaanvallen zijn begonnen door te razen over de buitenlandse politiek van Obama. Zo heeft Mitt Romney Rusland uitgeroepen tot staatsvijand één. Alsof we nog leven in de jaren zestig van James Bond toen de Koude Oorlog een hoogtepunt had bereikt. Als het aankomt op de kostbare beslommeringen van de VS in buitenlandse brandhaarden, zit het Romney al niet mee. De Amerikaanse oorlogen in Irak en Afghanistan zijn afgerond of lopen af. Met als gevolg: een besparing van 700 miljard dollar. Daarbovenop hebben zuiniger auto’s ertoe geleid dat de invoer van olieproducten met al ruim 20 procent is verlaagd: van 10 miljoen naar 7,8 miljoen barrels per dag. De uitgaven lopen dus ook daar al aanzienlijk terug. Pokerspel van pijplijnpolitiek De energiepolitiek van Obama zorgt ervoor dat het machtsevenwicht in de wereld is verschoven. Het Midden Oosten moet het doen met aanzienlijk minder olie-inkomsten uit de USA en Europa. Ook Venezuela, die met haar enorme Orinoco teerolievoorraden een sleutelrol wilde spelen, is door gebrek aan technici, raffinage en transport uitgespeeld. Rusland verkoopt nu aan Europa en hoopt op China als klant. Maar de Chinezen tappen liever uit haar eigen voorraden en uit het nabijgelegen Mongolië. Ook daar is de groei niet te stoppen van oliepijplijnen die grote voorraden olie naar de industriestreken aan de kusten kan brengen. In dit internationale pokerstel van pijplijnpolitiek in zet Iran de boel met veel bravoure op scherp. Vooral in Centraal Azië staat de pijplijnpolitiek op scherp. De pijplijn langs de Straat van Hormuz gaat rechtstreeks naar havens in Oman en die begint in mei op volle toeren te draaien. Daardoor wordt het al dan niet afsluiten van de nauwe zeestraat nauwelijks meer van enig belang. Ondertussen kan bij Israël een Holocaust syndroom opspelen ten overstaan van Iran. Met als gevolg militaire acties van Israël tegen Iraanse kerncentrales en aanverwante industrieën. Maar dat zal in de praktijk niet meer inhouden dan wat sabotage en commando-operaties zonder hulp van de grote bondgenoot de VS. Rooskleurige economische toekomst Voor West Europa gloren er juist weer grote economische kansen als gevolg van de implosie van de Islamitische wereld in Noord Afrika en het Midden Oosten. Niet alleen de wederopbouw maar ook de herinrichting van olieproducenten tot veelzijdige productiestaten zullen de nodige diepte investeringen vergen over de komende jaren. En laat Europa bijna alles kunnen aanbieden op dit gebied. Al met al ziet de economische toekomst op korte en lange duur er rooskleurig uit. Profiteerden we in de jaren tachtig van de Reagonomics, nu zouden we wel eens de wind mee kunnen hebben dankzij Obamanomics.
Putin Says Russia Needs to Rise to U.S. Shale-Gas Challenge By Ilya Arkhipov and Anna Shiryaevskaya - Apr 11, 2012 12:16 PM GMT+0200
Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin urged energy producers from the world’s biggest natural- gas exporter to “rise to the challenge” of a changing market as the U.S. increases output of shale gas. U.S. shale gas production may “seriously” restructure supply and demand in the global hydrocarbons market, Putin said today in an address to the Russian lower house of parliament. The U.S. overtook Russia as the biggest producer of gas in 2009 as it extracted fuel trapped in shale rocks. That has cut prices and led nations from China to Poland to explore for such resources, potentially cutting their reliance on Russian gas. OAO Gazprom (GAZP), Russia’s biggest gas producer, has played down the threat of U.S. competition and said the gas industry will benefit from the shale boom. The Moscow-based exporter is seeking to join a U.S. project to liquefy the fuel for shipment by tanker, Frederic Barnaud, LNG executive director at the company’s London marketing unit, said last month. The U.S. plans to be a net exporter of LNG from 2016, with initial sales of 1.1 billion cubic feet (31.1 million cubic meters) a day doubling after three years. Exports may begin in a decade, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in February.
di 17 apr 2012, 14:46 Enorme Britse voorraden schaliegas in zee
LONDEN (AFN) - Groot-Brittannië heeft enorme voorraden schaliegas in zee en kan een van de grootste producenten ervan ter wereld worden. Dat meldden Britse geologen dinsdag.
De voorraden in zee worden geschat op meer dan vijf keer zoveel als op het land. Daarmee zou Groot-Brittannië tientallen jaren van energie kunnen worden voorzien. De winning van schaliegas is nu nog erg kostbaar, maar met nieuwe Amerikaanse technologie zou het op den duur rendabel kunnen worden. Het British Geological Survey wijst ook op grote voorraden schalieolie in zee. De Britse autoriteiten gaven dinsdag hun fiat voor boringen naar schaliegas aan land. Die waren tijdelijk stilgelegd als gevolg van aardschokken die waren gemeten door het zogenoemde fracken (kraken van steen).
'VS en China profiteren van schaliegas-boom' Uitgegeven: 29 mei 2012 12:51
OSLO - De komende 20 jaar zal er steeds meer gas worden gewonnen uit nieuwe bronnen, zoals schalie- of steenkoolgas. Daar zullen veel landen, met name de Verenigde Staten en China, van profiteren.
6/04/2012 @ 10:29PM |1,071 views Meet The Oil Shale Eighty Times Bigger Than The Bakken
Everyone has heard about the Bakken shale, the huge expanse of oil-bearing rock underneath North Dakota and Montana that billionaire Harold Hamm thinks could yield 24 billion barrels of oil in the decades to come. The Bakken is a huge boon, both to the economic health of the northern Plains states, but also to the petroleum balance of the United States. From just 60,000 barrels per day five years ago, the Bakken is now giving up 500,000 bpd, with 210,000 bpd of that coming on in just the past year. Given the availability of enough rigs to drill it and crews to frack it, there’s no reason why the Bakken couldn’t be producing more than 1 million bpd by the end of the decade, a level that could be maintained for halfway through the century. But as great as the Bakken is, I learned last week about another oil shale play that dwarfs it. It’s called The Bazhenov. It’s in Western Siberia, in Russia. And while the Bakken is big, the Bazhenov — according to a report last week by Sanford Bernstein’s lead international oil analyst Oswald Clint — “covers 2.3 million square kilometers or 570 million acres, which is the size of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico combined.” This is 80 times bigger than the Bakken. Getting access to the Bazhenov appears to be a key element in both ExxonMobil and Statoil‘s big new joint ventures with Kremlin-controlled Rosneft. Exxon’s recent statement says the two companies have agreed “to jointly develop tight oil production technologies in Western Siberia.” No wonder. The geology of the Bazhenov looks just as good if not better. Its pay zone averages about 100 feet thick, and as Clint points out, the Bazhenov has lots of cracks and fractures that could make its oil flow more readily. The couple test wells that he sites flowed at an average of 400 barrels per day. That’s in line with the Bakken average. This Siberian bonanza might be news to most of us, but it’s old news to Big Oil. The conventional oil fields of Siberia have been producing millions of barrels a day for decades — oil that originated in the Bazhenov “source rock” then slowly oozed up over the millenia. From the looks of it, geologists have been looking at the Bazhenov for more than 20 years. It’s only in the last five years that the technology and expertise has been developed that will enable drillers to harvest it. Lukoil‘s president Vagit Alekperov said a year ago that his company was also experimenting with the shale.
2) Analyst Clint figures that it won’t be hard for Big Oil to export their shale-cracking techniques to Siberia. They will be challenged, however by summer weather in Siberia, which softens the ground enough to prevent drilling for much of the season. If Russia can get its act together to deploy 300 drilling rigs to the play, Clint figures Bazhenov could be producing 1 million bpd by 2020. This would, of course, have huge geopolitical implications. Russia, though it doesn’t have as many proved reserves as Saudi Arabia, had been outproducing the Saudis for years, averaging about 10 million bpd to Saudi’s 9 million bpd. This year, the Saudis are said to have surpassed Russia, leading some pundits to speculate that Russian oil supply had peaked and was set to begin spiralling down. Developing the Bazhenov could reverse that decline. Unlike the Kremlin’s much ballyhooed plan to drill for oil in ice-packed Arctic waters, the beauty of the Bazhenov is that it is onshore and it underlies an area that is already criss-crossed with pipelines serving mature, conventional fields. No need for expensive icebreakers, cold-weather drillships and subsea pipelines. If Harold Hamm is convinced the Bakken will give up 24 billion barrels, a play 80 times bigger like the Bazhenov would imply 1,920 billion barrels. That’s a preposterous figure, enough oil to satisfy all of current global demand for 64 years, or to do 5 million bpd for more than 1,000 years. Rosneft, says Clint, has already estimated 18 billion barrels on its Bazhenov acreage. Either way, it looks like they’ll still be working the Bazhenov long after Vladimir Putin has finally retired and the Peak Oil crowd realizes there’s more oil out there than we’ve ever imagined.
Anatolia Energy announces updated NI 51-101 results including 11.6 billion barrels of original oil in place and 412 million barrels of prospective recoverable oil in Turkey's Dadas Shale and provides details for investor conference call
Press Release: Anatolia Energy Corp. – 3 hours ago
Symbol Price Change AEE.V 0.155 0.02
CALGARY , June 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Anatolia Energy Corp. (the "Company" or "Anatolia") (AEE.V) is pleased to report the results of an independent, NI 51-101 compliant resource evaluation report (the "Ryder Scott Report") of the Company's unconventional shale resource that has been completed by Ryder Scott Petroleum Consultants ("Ryder Scott") and has identified a P50 gross best estimate of 11.6 billion barrels of original oil in place ("OOIP") on the Company's prospective Dadas Shale acreage in Turkey in which it holds a 50% interest. Gross Original Oil in Place (Million barrels) Low Estimate (P90) Best Estimate (P50) High Estimate (P10) Total OOIP 8,357 11,586 15,895 Ryder Scott has assigned a P50 gross best estimate of 412 million barrels (206 MMBbl net) of recoverable oil in the Company's Dadas Shale prospective acreage in the Bismil, Antep and Sinan Licences. This is a substantial increase from the Company's previous resource report, which allocated 24.9 MMBbl net from the Dadas Shale in only the Bismil Licences. (AJM Report, April 30, 2011 ) Gross (100%) Unrisked Prospective Recoverable Oil Resources (Million barrels) Licence Low Estimate (P90) Best Estimate (P50) High Estimate (P10) Antep 204 318 498 Bismil 49 75 114 Sinan 13 19 29 Total 265 412 641 Net to Anatolia (50%) 133 206 320 Unrisked prospective resources are the arithmetic sum of multiple probability distributions and resulted in ultimate recovery factors ranging between 3% and 4% of OOIP. This is in-line with the recovery factors initially experienced at other shale oil developments including the Barnett, Eagleford and Niobrara. The Ryder Scott Report includes data from the Caliktepe-2 well drilled in the Bismil Licence in January 2012 , shale core extracted from the Caliktepe-2 well and significant new and re-interpreted seismic data acquired over the past year including 206 km² of 3D seismic from the Bismil Licence and 377 km of 2D seismic acquired over the Antep Licence. "We are very pleased with the significant increase in our estimated shale oil resources. In a little over a year, the Company has developed its asset portfolio in Turkey which has resulted in a significant increase in prospective resource value. The Ryder Scott Report incorporates the updated information from all of the hard work the Anatolia and Çalık teams have collaborated on over the past year and provides further validation of the significant Dadas Shale potential on our Turkish licences. We continue to be excited with the prospectivity of the Dadas Shale and we will remain focused on further advancing the development of this resource", stated Anatolia CEO, Bob Spring
With Minago's 11.2 million tonne frac sand deposit in the pit footprint and estimates of a possible 75 million tonne within the quarry license, (see page 4 of the MD&A of 3/31//2012) its easy to see the frac sand potential at Minago. With such potential Victory should invite an established Frac Sand Producer to drill the other frac sand deposits within the quarry license and when positive they can consider a JV.
The present NI-43-101 compliant 11.2 million tonne presently has an in ground value of about $700 million. Assuming that half of the estimated 75 million tonne in the quarry license is NI-43-101 compliant, Minago's total in ground frac sand could have a value of $3 billion.
Victory might then negotiate a JV covering the entire quarry license, but stipulate that excavation of overburden over the Minago pit footprint to be paid 100% by the JV partner, with the CAPEX for the Frac Sand Plant and Facilities shared according to the agreed upon JV percentages. If such were the case, Victory would eliminate their cost oroverburden excavation, while the entire 11.2 million tonne of frac sand could be mined immediately and stored as per Victory's preliminary intention and be the by-product credit to nickel mining based on the JV percentage..
Victory Nickel Creates Victory Silica Ltd., Appoints Ken Murdock as CEO, Industry Veteran to Lead Victory Silica's Entry Into Frac Sand Business in 2012
Press Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 4 hours ago
Symbol Price Change NI.TO 0.035 0.00
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/19/12)- Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced its entry into frac sand distribution and sales with the appointment of Ken Murdock, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the frac sand and industrial mineral industries, as Chief Executive Officer of Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL"), a wholly owned subsidiary. The Company, through VSL headed up by Mr. Murdock, will establish Victory Nickel as a supplier of premium frac sand prior to commencing frac sand sales from its 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. Sulphide nickel mineralization in the proposed open pit at Minago is overlain by approximately 15 million tonnes of sandstone which must be removed prior to mining the nickel deposit; of this, approximately 11 million tonnes meets API standards for frac sand of various grades. The potential for more than 100 million tonnes of frac sand exists on properties adjacent to the Minago open pit outline. "I welcome Ken to the team. With his strong technical and marketing background and contacts within the frac sand and oil field services industries, I am confident Ken will very quickly establish Victory Nickel as an important player in the frac sand business and set the stage for full-scale frac sand production at Minago," said Rene Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and C.E.O. of Victory Nickel. Mr. Murdock has a degree in Environmental Engineering from McGill University, a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Manitoba, and over 25 years of related experience with Lafarge Cement, United Industrial Services Ltd and Canfrac Sands Ltd. Since 2011 he has managed his own firm, I.M.&M. Consulting, where he was involved in building sand plants for third parties. Victory Nickel first worked with Mr. Murdock when he was hired by Wardrop Engineering (a Tetratech Company) to prepare the frac sand portion of the Minago feasibility study that was completed in December 2009. Since this time, Mr. Murdock has worked as a consultant to Victory Nickel and is very familiar with the significant profit potential from frac sand sales at Minago. About Victory Nickel
EINDELIJK! een duidelijk signaal van Victory Nickel dat ze het frakzand-gebeuren serieus gaan nemen.
Voor zover ik weet is een investering van enige tientallen miljoenen voldoende om de verkoop van frakzand op te kunnen starten. Ik heb nu het idee dat NI het zelfstandig wil gaan proberen i.p.v. een samenwerking met een grote partij op te starten.
De vraag is uiteraard weer hoe ze aan die enkele tientallen miljoenen gaan komen. Nog meer aandelen uitgeven aan de huidige koers betekent een massale verwatering, ze hebben ale zoveel aandelen uitstaan.
Hoe denk jij dat ze het project willen gaan financieren Ppprecies? Heb jij nog steeds een aanzienlijke posistie in victory Ppprecies?
Johan, voor een goed project is altijd wel geld te vinden, evt. via een mogelijke afnemer of via hun Chinese relaties. Een mogelijke conculega is net overgenomen voor ca 200 miljoen, alles wat met frakken te maken heeft is 'hot'. Zelfs als er met laten we zeggen 100% verwatering een winstgevend bedrijf uit de grond gestampt kan worden, heb ik daar vrede mee.
Natural Gas Fracking Begets a Clean-Up Industry Published: Wednesday, 20 Jun 2012 | 9:42 AM ET By: Trevor Curwin,
The U.S. natural gas boom has kicked off a gold rush among clean tech firms trying to cash in on minimizing the industry’s environmental footprint. “There’s a real feeding frenzy,” says Dallas Kachan, founder of clean tech research firm, Kachan and Co. He says he even sees vendors of technologies that may not have targeted the energy sector “rushing to retool their products for the high visibility, high growth fracking and oil-sands markets.” According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas is poised to become nearly 50 percent of the national fuel mix by 2030, up from 23 percent in 2009. With that massive growth coming primarily from shale-gas deposits that require fracking, the cleanup opportunity is huge. Boutique research firm Lux Research says it expects the market for fracking-related water treatment will grow nine‐fold to $9 billion in 2020. The main issues are quality and quantity of wastewater from fracking. There is “flowback” water that’s left over after injection for the process, and “produced” water, the kind that may be unleashed by the rock fracturing from inside the shale deposit. Both types of water can be a “toxin‐laced brine that can be more than six times as salty as the sea,” says Lux analyst Brent Giles. This expansion will spur innovation and novel thinking about water disposal and reuse, but the field is already getting crowded, says Giles, who authored a recent report on the water treatment market. In the past, used frack water was often moved offsite and stored in underground injectable wells. But the rapid growth in the northeastern Marcellus shale-gas field — spanning parts of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — has few of those storage opportunities, meaning drillers must treat the water. “Fracking represents a significant water treatment challenge — hydrocarbons, heavy metals, microbes and salts,” says Giles. He says the fluid represents “a water treatment challenge on par with the most difficult industrial wastewaters.” According to Lux, fracking requires 25,000-140,000 barrels of water per well, and all that water needs to be cleaned and disposed of. Kachan estimates that each of the 3,000-plus wells drilled in the Marcellus field results in up to 15,000 gallons of produced water, too. Treatment costs vary widely, and the gas industry closely guards its recipes for the fracking fluid injected into the ground to fracture the well.
2) Sara Banaszak, chief economist with the America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a leading trade group, says there can be a “huge variance” from well to well, depending on how deep you drill and the quality of the shale itself, making per-well costs hard to average out. Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of OriginOil, a biofuels firm now active in frack water treatment, says wastewater handling at similar oil sites costs 11-22 cents per gallon. Water may be plentiful in the Marcellus area, but in other areas, like the Barnett shale-gas field in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region, fracking water relies on groundwater aquifers or rivers that are already claimed for other purposes, like crop irrigation and human consumption. Treatment, say experts, will be a higher priority, and more costly. With much attention focused on fracking practices, energy-market giants are taking the hint. Drilling firm Halliburton [HAL 29.40 0.01 (+0.03%)] has a “long term alliance” with WaterTectonics to use its technology to remove hydrocarbons, heavy metals and biological matter from frack water, according to Lux. Chevron [CVX 103.78 -0.28 (-0.27%)] is working with GasFrac, which uses high-pressure propane, rather than high pressure water, to fracture wells. Treating frack water versus shipping and storing it has clear upside. Chesapeake Energy [CHK 19.0482 0.3382 (+1.81%)] claims its wastewater treatment activities in the Marcellus region save the company $6 million in 2011. Contaminants “come out of solution very quickly,” Eckelberry says about his firm’s technology, which is the lab stage now but is expected "to be in the field soon.” Eckelberry says the gas industry could be a critical new revenue stream for companies like his, but Lux's Giles says they could be late to the game. “Only a few companies are really positioned to profit,” says Giles. “Nearly every start‐up we talk to is going after frack water, regardless of their technology, and many of them are going to come to grief.”
The Duvernay shale is a colossal oil and gas play Oil and Gas Investments Bulletin | June 13, 2012
In many ways the oil industry is a fashion industry, and in 2011 the exciting new model on the investment bankers’ catwalk was the Duvernay shale. Over $2 billion was spent acquiring big land packages, and the rising price per acre kept the play in the news headlines. Covering over 100,000 km2 along the edges of the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, it’s the source rock for almost all the pools of oil that have created fortunes for Alberta oilmen. Canada's second largest brokerage firm, BMO Nesbit Burns, says the highly productive wet gas window in the Duvernay is 7500 km2–that’s 30% larger than the EagleFord wet gas, or liquid rich, area. It’s huge—no, it’s colossal. It’s over-pressured, and has a high organic content—all the right signs for a great “resource play." And some recent drill holes have shown it to be very promising. The industry says it could hold 750 TRILLION cubic feet of gas with high liquid rich numbers to make it all economic. And the first OIL well in the Duvernay just came up with some intriguing numbers as well. But it’s deep, and expensive to drill. The Duvernay needs very good to great results to be economic. That means liquid rich gas with at least 60 barrels of condensate per million cubic feet of gas—if not 90. (Condensate is more like a light oil that gets better than oil pricing.) Now, in 2012, the news has gone quiet as everyone drills their first few wells. But the make-or-break economics are starting to become public. "All the wells reported to date have produced hydrocarbons," says Ray Smith, CEO of Bellatrix Explorations (BXE-TSX), the only junior to drill and report a 100% owned Duvernay well. "So I'm encouraged. And as the play develops there will be improved recovery and reductions in cost." But there just haven't been enough data produced to judge the economics on the play. The juniors want to see the data so they can gauge how much their Duvernay rights are worth. The gassy juniors in particular are very cash strapped now, and selling their Duvernay rights is a big lifeline for them. The Canadian majors involved in the play—Encana (ECA-TSX;NYSE), Talisman (TLM-TSX;NYSE) and Husky (HSE-TSX)—have had struggling stocks for the last two years (or more). But the Duvernay is big enough that it could get them back into analysts’ and investors' good books.
Victory Nickel's Ken Murdock Discusses Plans for Victory Silica's Entry Into Frac Sand Market Press Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 9 hours ago
Symbol Price Change NI.TO 0.05 0.01
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/26/12)- Further to the announcement of June 19, 2012, Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today provided additional discussion on the proposed activities of its newly-created subsidiary Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL") by VSL's CEO Ken Murdock. Victory Nickel's objective is to establish its presence in the frac sand market through VSL prior to commencing frac sand production and sales from its 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. The Minago feasibility study envisions production of up to 1.14 million tonnes per year of premium-quality frac sand from Winnipeg Formation sandstone. "The goal is to become the preferred supplier of a full suite of import and domestic frac sand products to the Canadian market," said VSL CEO Ken Murdock. "As a first step we intend to produce premium-quality Midwest frac sand in Canada by shipping raw or partially processed sand from Wisconsin to an existing facility in Alberta. We see this as an opportunity to establish Victory Nickel as a premier frac sand supplier prior to beginning production from the 100%-owned Minago nickel project in northern Manitoba. Minago is destined to be a significant source of frac sand for many years. In addition to a large nickel deposit, the Minago open pit footprint alone contains approximately 11 million tonnes of API spec frac sand of various grades." With the proliferation of shale oil and gas drilling and the adoption of horizontal drilling technology, demand for premium-quality frac sand imported from the Midwest United States has outpaced supply in northern markets. Combined with infrastructure constraints (rail capacity and a shortage of covered hopper rail cars which are necessary to ship fully-processed sand) it has become extremely difficult for frac service companies to access premium frac sand. "In the frac sand business, it is important to build strong relationships with customers by proving you can deliver quality product in the quantities they want, when and where they want it," said Mr. Murdock. "We see the opportunity to add value by not only providing the products but by also streamlining frac sand logistics to meet the needs of our customers and provide the returns for our investors." Initially, VSL intends to target opportunities in the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and North Dakota Bakken formation and the Montney in British Columbia. Additional opportunities exist in the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, and the Marcellus and Ithaca formations in the northeastern US. "To tap these opportunities, VSL brings several advantages," Mr. Murdock added. "Our first advantage is that I am bringing a seasoned operational team that is familiar with the Alberta facility and is excited to bring it back into production. Another advantage is that VSL will be the first producer of Midwestern frac sand in Canada. Ultimately, our suite of products will include both import and domestic sands. We will also add value for customers and investors through strategic relationships in transportation and distribution; this will minimize or eliminate costs for end users in the movement, transloading and storage of frac sand products. Locating our primary finishing facilities close to our markets in areas with a skilled labour force is also an advantage. Down the road, Minago is positioned to be a long-term source of cost-effective sand supply with excellent access to road, rail and power, and is positioned to be the frac sand producer closest to the developing Manitoba portion of the Bakken oil shale."
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2012 Results Reaffirms Full Year 2012 Guidance Press Release: U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. – Tue, May 8, 2012 8:00 AM EDT
Symbol Price Change SLCA 10.71 0.07
FREDERICK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA - News) today announced net income of $19.1 million, or $0.37 per basic and diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared with net income of $3.5 million, or $0.07 per share for the same period in 2011. President and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Shinn commented, “We are very pleased with our first quarter performance, delivering record revenues and earnings for the Company. Customers continue to highly value our premium Ottawa white sand, our multi-plant-multi-basin logistics capabilities, and supply chain responsiveness. We believe we are well positioned for continued success and reaffirm our guidance for the full year 2012.”
The Company reported first quarter 2012 revenues of $102.6 million, an increase of $38.2 million, or 59% from $64.4 million in 2011 driven by continued growth in demand for our Ottawa White frac sand. Overall sales volume increased 19% during the first quarter of 2012 to 1.7 million tons, as compared to 1.5 million tons in the first quarter of 2011. First quarter 2012 sales volume within our Oil & Gas Proppants segment increased by 57%, to 679 thousand tons, compared to 434 thousand tons in 2011, while sales volumes for our Industrial and Specialty Products segment grew year over year by 29 thousand tons, or 3%, to 1,064 thousand tons, compared to 1,035 thousand tons in the prior year. SG&A expense was $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, as compared to $5.3 million for 2011. The increase was driven by increased staffing to support our Oil & Gas Proppants segment and to support the transformation and administrative requirements of a public company. Adjusted EBITDA increased 121%, or $20.3 million, to $37.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, as compared to $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, driven by accelerated volume increases in our Oil & Gas Proppants segment, as well as increased pricing in both segments. Adjusted EBITDA margin percentage increased for the three months ended March 31, 2012 to 36%, compared to 26% during the three months ended March 31, 2011. Capital Update As of March 31, 2012, we had $84.6 million of cash on hand and $24.0 million available under our credit facilities. Our total outstanding debt at March 31, 2012 was $261.2 million.
Outlook and Guidance The Company reaffirms full year 2012 guidance with revenues of approximately $395 million to $420 million and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $142 million to $150 million. The Company has raised the range for full year 2012 capital spend to between $100 million to $115 million. Spending is expected to be primarily directed towards the construction of a resin-coated sand plant in Rochelle, IL and a new Greenfield raw sand plant in Sparta, WI, with $15 million allocated for maintenance.
Uit bovenstaand verhaal van US Silica kan ik met een natte hand ongeveer berekenen dat Victory (NI) met 1 miljoen ton frakzand een omzet zou kunnen behalen van ca 150 miljoen.
De bruto winstmarge schat ik op ca 50 tot 70%.
De netto winst kan ik niet uitrekenen, maar zal toch algauw enkele tientallen miljoenen bedragen.
Christopher Helman, Forbes Staff I'm based in Houston, Texas, energy capital of the world.
6/22/2012 @ 12:29PM |17,220 views The Arithmetic Of Shale Gas
There are a few societal costs to the development of shale gas, such as the potential contamination of groundwater, complications in treating and recycling water used in fracking. Then there’s air pollution from leaking methane (a potent greenhouse gas) and from the diesel-powered rigs and trucks involved in drilling. If you live too close to a drilling rig you’ll find it’s noisy too. But all things considered, the benefits of shale gas appear to far outweigh any costs. Many utilities are finding that burning natural gas to generate electricity is cheaper (and cleaner) than coal. Cheaper supplies of fuel and feedstocks benefit U.S. industry, especially manufacturers and chemicals makers which after years of looking for cheap gas abroad have been reinvesting in the U.S. Homeowners benefit from cheaper heating and cooling and electricity. Drilling for gas has created hundreds of thousands of jobs during this economic malaise and it’s generated billions of dollars of lease payments and royalties to landowners. A group of Yale economics graduates, many of them energy industry executives, led by Yale Professor Emeritus Paul W. MacAvoy, were curious about whether they could quantify the economic benefit that shale gas has on America. So they recently set out to do a cost-benefit analysis, valuing and balancing the pros against the cons. They’ve released their findings in a paper called “The Arithmetic of Shale Gas.” I’ve parsed all the complicated academic equations so you don’t have to. Their conclusion: the benefits of continued shale gas development are enormous and dramatically outweigh even worst-case scenario costs of pollution and clean-up. Some specifics. Consider that back in 2008, before the shale boom really took off, the nominal price of natural gas (that is, the price at the Henry Hub in Louisiana) averaged $7.97 per mcf. In 2011, the price averaged $3.95 per mcf. Multiply that price drop of $4.02 per mcf by the 25.6 trillion cubic feet the country consumed in 2008 and you find that thanks to the shale boom, America is paying $103 billion a year less for natural gas. (With gas prices falling even further since 2011, in 2012 the benefit will be even greater.) Had drillers not cracked the code on shale gas, the United States would instead have been forced to do what the experts expected five years ago: import massive quantities of gas, in the form of LNG from countries like Qatar, Australia, even Russia. Import-dependent nations like Japan and Korea pay upwards of $14 per mcf for LNG — more than triple U.S. prices. If the U.S. had to supplement domestic supplies with imports, the extra costs could have easily added $50 billion a year to the national natgas bill. As the report’s authors write: “It is startling to acknowledge that consumer benefits from the technology of shale gas drilling and new gas production can be expected to exceed $100 billion per year, year in and year out, as long as present production rates are maintained.”
2) But it’s not enough to just look at the benefits. What about the costs?
The authors collected as many reports as they could find describing “accidents, misuse of technology and poor well design and installation.” A 2011 report for the Secretary of Energy counted 19 times that water from fracking operations spilled out of thousands of wells drilled. None of these instances included groundwater contamination. The Oklahoma Corporations Commission, which regulates the 100,000 oil and gas wells that have been hydraulically fractured in Oklahoma had zero documented instances of groundwater contamination. The EPA has reported two instances of groundwater contamination from fracking in Wyoming, though the agency has been roundly criticized for its methods. Despite any evidence showing that drilling and fracking cause spills or pollution with any frequency, the authors decided to calculate the costs for a scenario that assumes 100 spills a year out of 10,000 new wells drilled each year. They figure that if 5,000 gallons of polluted frack water were to spill into a field, the cost to scrape up a hypothetical 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and dispose of it at an offsite landfill would be on the order of $2.5 million. Furthermore, if a potable water well were polluted by fracking, the cost to haul in a potable water supply and drill a new water well would be about $5,000. Given 100 incidents in a year, the clean-up costs associated with fracking accidents would be roughly $250 million.
3) Comparing this $250 million a year in damages against the $100 billion in savings, and “economic benefits, as estimated in as limited methodology as is reasonable, exceed costs to the community by 400-to-1.”
(The study authors don’t attempt to quantify the costs of gas leaking into the atmosphere and don’t factor in any legal costs incurred in settling with landowners whose water is polluted. I would have hypothesized a worse worst-case scenario that would tack on an additional $2.5 million per incident in legal settlements and/or fines, to bring the total to $500 million a year. In that case, the benefits outweigh the costs by only 200-to-1.)
The study group also looked at the potential benefit to consumers of replacing oil consumption with gas — most likely via cars that run on compressed gas or LNG. It takes roughly 6,000 cubic feet of gas to get the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil. The authors assume an average natgas price of $5 per mcf (nearly double today’s price) and an average oil price of $100 per barrel (about $20 more than today). Thus, you need $30 worth of natgas to replace $100 of oil, a savings of $70 per barrel. Replacing just 1 million barrels per day of oil demand with natural gas would save $70 million a day, or nearly $26 billion a year.
Their conclusion, of course: not even inflated costs associated with unrealistically high incidences of pollution can come close to balancing the societal benefits of the shale gas boom.
In addition to Prof. MacAvoy, the other members of the Yale Graduates in Energy Study Group include Robert Ames, Solazyme Corporation; Anthony Corridore, Lafarge North America; Joel N. Ephross, Duane Morris LLP; Edward A. Hirs III, Hillhouse Resources, LLC and University of Houston; and Richard Tavelli, private energy consultant.
This article is available online at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/06/22/thearithmetic-of-shale-gas/
di 21 aug 2012, 12:18 Shell pompt miljarden in Chinees schaliegas
PEKING (AFN) - Shell investeert de komende jaren tenminste 1 miljard dollar per jaar in de ontginning van schaliegasvelden in China, die naar verwachting enorme reserves herbergen. Dat zei de hoogste baas van het olie- en gasconcern in het land, Lim Haw Kuang, dinsdag in een vraaggesprek met persbureau Reuters.
De investeringsplannen sluiten aan op de strategie van Shell om te groeien in 's werelds grootste energiemarkt. Het gas, dat gevangen zit in steenlagen, zorgde de afgelopen jaren voor een transformatie van de Amerikaanse energiemarkt en kenners verwachten een vergelijkbare omslag in China. China maakte in maart bekend te streven naar een productie van 6,5 miljard kubieke meter schaliegas in 2015. Dat is 6 procent van de huidige energieproductie van het land. Het ministerie van Natuurlijke Rijkdommen schatte de winbare schaliegasreserve in China destijds op 25 biljoen (25.000 miljard) kubieke meter, de grootste voorraad ter wereld.
wo 12 sep 2012, 13:22 Miljardendeal met Chesapeake Shell wil schaliegas winnen in Texas edwin van der schoot
DEN HAAG - Shell heeft voor 1,935 miljard dollar een Texaanse consessie overgenomen van Chesapeake Energy.
Royal Dutch Shell A 12-09-2012 (17:36) 27,845 EUR -0,38% -0,105
Naar Royal Dutch Shell A detailpagina Het Brits-Nederlandse concern maakte woensdag bekend dat het schaliegebied momenteel het equivalent van 26.000 vaten olie per dag oplevert en een ,significant' groeipotentieel heeft. De aankoop van de 618.000 'acres' (2500 vierkante kilometer) wordt naar verwachting binnen 30 dagen afgerond. De aankoop is opmerkelijk,o mdat afgelopen maand zowel concurrent BP als voormalig dochter en mijnbouwbedrijf BHP Billiton bij de presentatie van halfjaarcijfers fors afboekten op hun schaliegasreserves. Schaliegas is gas dat in poreuze en kilometersdiepe steenlagen zit opgesloten in kleine belletjes, en dat tot voor kort als onwinbaar werd beschouwd. Door de ondergrond met chemicaliën te kraken, is het echter mogelijk gebleken om op een omstreden want mogelijk voor het milieu schadelijke wijze de gassen toch te winnen. In de VS zijn inmiddels talloze schaliegasvelden aangeboord, Chesapeake is een van de twee grootste exploitanten van deze onconventionele gaswinning. Een bijkomstigheid is dat de VS nu zelfvoorzienend zijn op energiegebied, maar dat de gasprijzen daar, en in mindere mate in Europa, inzakken door het plotse aanbod dat de markt overspoeld. Shell boekte nog niet af op zijn bewezen schaliegasreserves. Het Brits-Nederlandse bedrijf lijkt te hebben toegeslagen nu Chesapeake in de problemen zit. 'America's Most Reckless Billionaire', aldus zakenblad Forbes, Aubrey McClendon (ceo van Chesapeake), heeft namelijk zitten goochelen met het onderpand van leningen, waardoor een potentieel belangenconflict tussen verschillende crediteuren van Chesapeake mogelijk werd. Ook zou hij het niet te nauw nemen met de corperate complience regels in de VS, en bijvoorbeeld personeel en ook de bedrijfsvliegtuigen voor eigen klusjes of uitjes laten opdraven. Sinds begin dit jaar verloor het om geld verlegen zittende Chesapeake 10% van de beurswaarde. Naast shell, kocht vooral Chevron flink in bij het bedrijf. In totaal strijkt Chesapeake de komende weken 7 miljard dollar op.
Fracking fluid fit for human consumption in five years Marc Howe | September 17, 2012
The fluids used in the fracking process to release hard-of-access underground oil and gas deposits could soon be safe enough for human consumption.
In an interview with Canada's Business News Network Keith Schaefer, editor of the Oil & Gas Investments Bulletin, said that fracking fluid could reach food grade quality in five years due to the rapid pace of technological advances and the responsiveness of the fracking industry to public concerns over its safety.
"I think food grade fracking fluid will happen, and it is just one example of the type of things that the industry is going to be doing to keep the public aware and happier," said Scahefer.
Fracking technology, which entails the use of pressurized fluid to access gas and petroleum deposits in underground rock layers, has recently become the object of adverse attention and heated debate.
While advocates point to the economic benefits provided by delivering formerly inaccessible oil and natural gas deposits to human usage, detractors claim the technology causes major environmental damage, degrading water quality as well as serving as a potential trigger for earthquakes.
Schaefer says the industry is highly responsive to concerns over fracking's environmental impact, and that public pressure is leading to innovations that will soon render the technology far safer.
Shale Gas Boom Goes Global By Tony Daltorio - September 19, 2012 | Tickers: CVX, XOM, OGZPY.PK, RDS-B |
Tony is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
The shale gas boom in the United States is a well-known story to energy investors. But another story is much less familiar to investors. The exploration for shale gas and its extraction through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is quickly becoming a global phenomena. Major international energy companies are searching for shale gas in all corners of the globe, including Argentina, Australia, China, South Africa and eastern Europe. In deciding where to explore, the oil majors followed simple logic: They looked for the most promising shale basins that were located near the most lucrative natural gas consumer markets. The answer the oil companies came up with? Eastern Europe, a region looking to get out from under the thumb of Russia and its gas company, Gazprom (NASDAQOTH: OGZPY.PK). The region imports about 69% of its natural gas from neighboring Russia and Gazprom. The company hold the world's biggest natural gas reserves, with 18% of the total, and also accounts for about 15% of the world's annual natural gas production. One of the most aggressive companies acquiring acreage in eastern Europe is Chevron (NYSE: CVX). The company's focus is the region from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea called the Trans-European Suture Zone. Chevron has been buying up gas properties in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. It has acquired 6,250 square miles in the region since 2009. The most promising of these areas in eastern Europe seem to be Poland and the Ukraine. It is believed the Ukraine has Europe's fourth largest shale gas reserves and the current government is open to outside investment, inviting in western oil companies to help unlock its potential. Ukraine's government has picked Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell PLC ADR (NYSE: RDS-B) to lead large-scale exploration for shale gas. Shell general manager for Ukraine exploration and production, Graham Tiley, believes that the country can eventually become a gas exporter, a far cry from currently where Ukraine's gas bill annually from Russia has reached above $12 billion. Poland is another jewel in energy companies' eyes, after the US Energy Information Administration said last year that the country may hold 5.3 trillion cubic meters of shale gas, the largest reserves in Europe. However, the country suffered a blow in June, after ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) ended its exploration efforts in the country following tests at two wells in eastern Poland that failed to find natural gas in commercial quantities. Exxon has six properties in Poland. But the real reason why it is abandoning Poland is that it sees a much bigger opportunity in Russia where it will develop Siberian tight oil reserves with Russian oil giant Rosneft. The Exxon disappointment followed a downgrading of Poland's shale gas reserves by the government itself, to reserves of between 346 billion and 768 billion cubic meters of gas. If that estimate is accurate, Poland may never be a big exporter of natural gas. But it will be enough natural gas to get it away from Gazprom which currently supplies about two-thirds of the country's gas needs. Poland is a great example of what the problem is in eastern Europe, and why it is surprising Exxon gave up after only two wells. The region is vastly underexplored, and no one is really sure how much natural gas lies underground there in shale deposits. More wells need to be drilled, as happened in the United States, in order to really get a good understanding of the geology and the size of the shale basins. That will likely take several more years of drilling by companies such as Chevron to get a handle on what actually is in the ground.
Exxon spends $1.6B on North Dakota field Exxon Mobil to boost Bakken ouput with purchase of Denbury assets in North Dakota, Montana
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 11 hours ago
XOM 91.52 DNR 17.34 CLR 79.79 EOG 113.55
Exxon Mobil Corp. will spend $1.6 billion to boost its holdings in the massive Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana by 50 percent. Exxon said Thursday it will buy all of the Bakken shale assets held by Denbury Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash. Denbury will also receive Exxon's interest in two fields in Wyoming and Texas. Exxon will acquire 196,000 acres, boosting its holdings in the region to almost 600,000 acres. The acreage acquired is expected to produce 15,000 barrels of oil and other hydrocarbons per day in the second half of this year. Exxon can increase production with new drilling in the future. Oil production in the Bakken has soared in recent years, recently passing 600,000 barrels per day, or about 10 percent of total U.S. production. That's helped fuel the biggest jump in domestic oil production in more than 40 years. North Dakota recently passed Alaska and California to become the second biggest oil producing state in the U.S., behind Texas. The deal is relatively tiny for Exxon, which produced an average of 4.2 million barrels of oil and other hydrocarbons per day in this year's second quarter. But even small additions help because oil and gas giants such as Exxon struggle every year to secure enough new resources to replace all that they've sold. The purchase increases Exxon's U.S. oil production by about 3 percent. It also makes the Irving, Texas company one of the biggest leaseholders in the Bakken. Other big leaseholders in the region include Continental Resources Inc., EOG Resources Inc., Hess Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. Shares of Denbury, which is based in Plano, Texas, rose 62 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $17.34 Thursday. Exxon shares rose 95 cents, or 1 percent, to $91.52.
Maar weer eens de wekelijkse update. Enkele interessante dingen. In eerste instantie leek dit een recordjaar wat opslag betreft te gaan worden, maar de laatste tijd is een duidelijk afname aan storage toevoeging waar te nemen. Hoe de winter gaat worden speelt natuurlijk een belangrijke rol. Verder heel interessant om de afname in rig count te zien, ook wat betreft horizontaal boren. De reactie op lage aardgasprijzen is hier duidelijk te zien. Typische cycle. Hoewel een zachte winter mogelijk is, zijn er toch wel wat ingredienten aanwezig voor het niet veel lager gaan van aardgasprijzen en mogelijk eerder een uptrend. We zullen het zien.
Eigenlijk hoort een verhaal over de gasprijs thuis in het Olie- en gasdraadje.
Onderstaand stuk lijkt op het eerste gezicht ook niet thuis te horen op dit draadje, maar in feite gaat het over de enorme gevolgen van gas en olie uit schalie.
Export surge could help U.S. add 5 million jobs by 2020: study Reuters – 28 minutes ago
By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Rising U.S. factory productivity, spurred by falling natural gas prices, could help the nation boost exports of products such as locomotives and factory machinery and add as many as 5 million manufacturing and support jobs by the decade's end, a new analysis found. High worker productivity and low energy prices driven by a surge in shale gas production will give the United States a cost advantage in exports against Western European rivals and Japan in the coming years, according to a Boston Consulting Group report set for release on Friday. By 2015, those factors will make average manufacturing costs in the United States lower by 15 percent than in Germany and France, 8 percent than in the United Kingdom and 21 percent than in Japan, the study projects. Factories' costs in China will remain 7 percent cheaper than those in the United States, however. The competitive gap in some ways reflects the open U.S. labor market, where companies can quickly add or cut workers to meet changes in demand, said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner at the BCG consultancy and author of the report. "In Europe and Japan, it's relatively hard to lay people off, and because of that you have employees for a long period of time that you may not be able to use," Sirkin said. "In the United States, there's much more flexibility." Besides the ease of adding or firing workers, lower wages and Americans' readiness to move for work will make U.S. factory labor costs 20 percent to 45 percent lower than prevailing costs in Western Europe and Japan by 2015, the study found. BCG forecast that a glut of natural gas production in the United States would keep the nation's prices of the fuel 50 percent to 70 percent below those in Europe and Japan, as well as hold down electricity costs. BEYOND ONSHORING U.S. factory employment has grown by about 3.6 percent to roughly 12 million people from a 2010 post-recession low, a trend that could accelerate as the United States becomes a more competitive exporter, BCG said.
2) The increase in part reflects a realization by manufacturers that rising shipping costs and wage inflation in China and other countries have made it cheaper to make products at home. The recent growth in U.S. factory employment follows a drop of about 40 percent over three decades as many businesses concluded that high wages made the country too costly for manufacturing and economists predicted that Americans would turn away from assembly jobs in favor of work in the service sector. Over the past year, though, major U.S. exporters General Electric Co (GE) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT) have both added U.S. factory jobs. The study also noted that foreign-owned companies including Japan's Toyota Motor Co <7203.T> and Germany's Siemens AG (SIE.DE) were also making products in the United States and exporting them to other countries. BCG said the United States could boost its exports by about $90 billion by the end of the decade by winning orders currently filled by Western European and Japanese factories. Total U.S. exports came to $1.48 trillion in 2011, according to the Census Bureau. Based on the export forecast and current worker productivity figures, BCG projects that the U.S. could add 2.5 million to 5 million jobs by 2020, an estimate that includes jobs in both factories and related services, such as trucking and construction. The biggest export gains could come in the industrial machinery, transportation and chemicals sectors -- slices of manufacturing that are both highly energy-intensive and automated, requiring fewer workers, BCG said. One wild card is the euro currency, which fell fairly steadily in value from mid-2011 through July as the region's policymakers struggled with a debt crisis. This slide made European factories relatively more competitive than their U.S. rivals. That advantage has begun to fade over the past two months, with the euro trading at $1.29 on Thursday, up about 7.5 percent from its July 24 low. Sirkin said little short of an outright collapse in the euro would change BCG's analysis. "Obviously currency matters," Sirkin said, "but over the range that the euro's been over the last reasonable period of time, the fundamentals don't change."
Helaas zit Europa vol met halve garen die al bij voorbaat negatief zijn (zonder er iets van te weten!) over schaliegas en -olie. Mede hierdoor krijgt Europa een enorme achterstand op de USA, Canada, China en Australië.
Boren naar schaliegas en -olie in Europa kan vele miljarden aan inkomsten opleveren en vele miljoenen banen creëren (direct en indirect).
Ik durf trouwens met zekerheid te stellen dat boren naar schaliegas/olie niet meer risico's oplevert dan gebruik van kolen of boren naar conventionele olie en gas.
za 22 sep 2012, 19:20| Honderd man bij demonstratie tegen schaliegas
UTRECHT - Zo'n honderd mensen hebben zaterdag in Utrecht gedemonstreerd tegen de winning van schaliegas. Dat zei een woordvoerder van Schaliegasvrij Nederland, dat samenwerkte met Milieudefensie. De demonstratie was bij het gebouw van Energiebeheer Nederland.
Zaterdag werd wereldwijd geprotesteerd tegen 'fracking', de techniek waarmee schaliegas en steenkoolgas gewonnen worden. In Frankrijk kwamen zo'n 1000 mensen op de demonstratie af. In Nederland zijn steeds meer gemeenten tegen de winning van schaliegas, zo meldde Milieudefensie vrijdag al op basis van een inventarisatie. Volgens de organisatie hebben 26 gemeenten al laten weten geen medewerking te verlenen aan eventuele boringen.
The Hogshooter May Be Hotter Than The Bakken And The Eagle Ford October 9, 2012 | includes: APA, CHK, FST, LINE Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in LINE over the next 72 hours. (More...)
The "Hogshooter" is a limestone oil formation in Logan, Lincoln, Oklahoma, and Creek counties in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle (roughly the Anadarko Basin/Granite Wash). Chesapeake Energy (CHK) announced on June 1, 2012 its largest oil gusher in company history in the Hogshooter formation. The Thurman Horn 406H well produced 5,400 bopd during its first eight days of operation. This was more than twice the output rate of some of the best performing wells in the Eagle Ford shale. This well which reaches 10,000 ft. in depth also pumped 4.6 MMcf /d of natural gas and 1,2000 bpd of natural gas liquids. All told the initial production was 7,350 boe/d. This well is currently flowing at approximately 5,100 boe/d (65% liquids). In its first 60 days of production, it produced 265,000 barrels of oil, 65,000 barrels of NGLs, and 350 MMcf of natural gas. CHK has other excellent wells there too. It owns approximately 30,000 net acres in the Hogshooter Wash play. CHK is known to be selling some of its assets to raise cash for operations and to pay off debt. It is not considering selling its Hogshooter acres, which are in CHK's existing holdings in the Granite Wash play. CHK pays a 1.80% dividend. It has a $12.47B market cap.
Apache Corp. (APA), which controls 200,000 gross acres in the Granite Wash, drilled its first two Hogshooter wells in 2010. They both produced over 2,000 bopd of oil initially. After about two months on production, each of the wells was averaging approximately 700 bopd and 3.5 MMcf/d of natural gas. The two wells were more than 15 miles apart in Beckham County, Oklahoma. This indicates that there is a substantial oil play in the Hogshooter. APA has since drilled many more wells with good success. APA pays a 0.80% dividend. It has a market cap of $33.81B.
Linn Energy (LINE) drilled nine operated horizontal Hogshooter wells in Q3 2012. These has an average initial production rate of 1,983 bopd, 534 bpd of NGLs, and 3.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. To date, LINE has drilled 12 Hogshooter wells with an average initial production rate of 2,110 bopd, 528 bpd of NGLS, and 3.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. LINE owns about 95,000 net acres in the Granite Wash, and it had identified more than 600 horizontal drilling locations as of March 31, 2012. This play may help assure LINE investors that LINE will be able to continue to grow and pay its great dividend of nearly 7%. LINE has a market cap of $8.40B.
Forest Oil (FST) has about 109,000 net acres in the Texas panhandle (the Granite Wash). This includes areas in which FST is targeting the Hogshooter formation. One of FST's Hogshooter wells had a 24 hour IP rate of 1,500 bopd, 570 bpd of NGLs, and 4.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. This was 2,800 boe/d in total. FST has not been as successful as Chesapeake Energy , but the potential is tremendous. Plus FST has a much smaller market cap of $965.72M, so the Hogshooter acreage could have a big impact on FST's future results.
The chart shows that LINE appears to be breaking out of its long term consolidation phase. This is almost assuredly due to the success of its new Hogshooter wells in Q3 2012. It also recently upped its full year guidance based on the prolific new Hogshooter results. With its oil and natural gas production well hedged years into the future, LINE appears to be a good long term buy. Currently it is overbought, so you may wish to average in. However, if the Hogshooter new drilling success continues in Q4 2012, you may wish you had bought more sooner. Still there is the fiscal cliff to consider. LINE pays a 6.89% dividend, and it trades at a PE of 8.98.
Note: Some of the above fundamental fiscal data comes from Yahoo Finance.
'VS worden grootste olieproducent' Gepubliceerd op 12 nov 2012 om 11:46 |
PARIJS (AFN) - De Verenigde Staten halen rond 2017 Saudi-Arabië in als grootste olieproducent ter wereld. Dat schrijft het Internationaal Energie Agentschap (IEA) maandag in zijn jaarlijkse vooruitblik op de wereldwijde energiemarkt. ,,Energie-ontwikkelingen in de VS zijn uitgesproken en hun effect zal ver buiten Noord-Amerika, en de energiesector, gevoeld worden'', schrijft het agentschap. Vorig jaar meende het IEA nog dat Saudi-Arabië tot 2035 's werelds topproducent zou blijven. De VS zijn nu de nummer 3 ter wereld. Rusland zal volgens het agentschap in 2015 worden ingehaald. De wereldwijde vraag naar olie zal tussen nu en 2035 met zo'n 14 procent stijgen tot 99,7 miljoen vaten per dag, aldus het IEA. Dat zijn 700.000 vaten meer dan het een jaar geleden voorspelde en geeft volgens het IEA aan dat de wereld nog steeds zoekt naar een duurzamer pad voor het wereldwijde energiesysteem. Opkomende economieën De vraag naar elektriciteit zou tussen 2010 en 2035 meer dan 70 procent kunnen stijgen, vooral door een stijgende vraag in opkomende economieën als China en India. Volgens het IEA moet er daarom in deze periode 9,7 biljoen dollar worden geïnvesteerd in het opwekken van elektriciteit. Daarnaast is 7,2 biljoen dollar nodig voor de verplaatsing van de elektriciteit. De prijs van Brentolie zal volgens de IEA in 2035 gestegen zijn tot ongeveer 125 dollar per vat, van het huidige niveau van ongeveer 107 dollar per vat.
In dit bericht worden de woorden frak-gas en- olie niet gebruikt, maar mijn vaste lezers weten dat de USA uitsluitend en alleen dankzij het frakken van schalie-lagen de grootste olieproducent kan worden.
En welk product is onmisbaar bij het frakken...??
Juist ja, frakzand. En wie zal rond 2017 grote hoeveelheden frakzand gaan leveren?
Nou, victory nickel gaat lekker. Nickel prijs omhoog, victory zakt rustig verder. Helft van mijn inleg kwijt, kun je nagaan als ik ingestapt was op de koers van 0,14 toen ppprecies dit pareltje tipte.....
Olieschrokop VS wordt exporteur 12 Nov 2012 om 15:00 - IEXProfs Redactie - Gerelateerde onderwerpen: olie, schaliegas, teerzand, Verenigde Staten
Van olieschrokop tot olie-exporteur: de VS zal vóór 2020 Saoedi-Arabië voorbijsteken als de grootste olieproducent op aarde, en uiterlijk rond 2030 netto exporteur zijn. De Amerikanen lopen voorop in de winning van olie en gas uit nieuwe bronnen als schalie en teerzand. Die opbrengst zal de komende jaren hard toenemen (zie de grafiek hieronder). Daarnaast verbruiken Amerikaanse auto's, bussen, vrachtwagens, vliegtuigen en schepen steeds minder brandstof.
Die opzienbarende ontwikkeling schetst de International Energy Agency (IEA) in zijn laatste World Energy Outlook. De gevolgen zijn legio. Zo zal de olie uit het Midden-Oosten veel meer richting Azië gaan vloeien. De IEA voorspelt dat de vraag naar energie tot 2035 met eenderde zal groeien en dat China, India en het Midden-Oosten zelf 60% van die toename voor hun rekening zullen nemen. De ontwikkelde landen zullen vooral meer duurzame energie gaan gebruiken.
Nu al zijn de gevolgen merkbaar van de aardverschuiving in het Amerikaanse energiepatroon. In de VS komt steeds meer goedkoop gas beschikbaar – op het dieptepunt dit jaar was de Amerikaanse gasprijs eenvijfde van die in Europa en eenachtste van die in Japan. Door de Amerikaanse omschakeling op gas komt er meer steenkool beschikbaar voor gebruik in Europa – niet echt de opzet van het Europese beleid dat is gericht op de omschakeling naar duurzame energie.
Fracking: It’s Good for the Economy…AND the Environment By Aaron Task | Daily Ticker – 3 hours ago
In a welcome development almost no one saw coming, America's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to 1992 levels and are expected to continue to decline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). In addition to a sluggish economy and more fuel efficient cars, "fracking" has been a big driver of this trend. "Fracking" is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock. The EIA projects U.S. greenhouse emissions will fall below 2005 levels by 2040. "It is a revolution," says Joel Kurtzman, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute. "We should be using it. We should be embracing it. It's domestic. We spend $350 billion a year buying foreign oil. We can replace almost all of that with natural gas." Indeed, there are multiple benefits to increased natural gas production, including less dependence on foreign oil and opportunities for the U.S. to be an energy exporter. Lower energy costs are also helping to revive U.S. manufacturing, creating jobs in addition to those directly associated with fracking activity. The boom in domestic natural gas production has really been the biggest macro economic development of 2012 -- even if the election, the fiscal cliff and various other concerns have overshadowed it. See: The Fracking Revolution: More Jobs and Cheaper Energy Are Worth the "Manageable" Risks, Yergin Says As an aside, Kurtzman notes the U.S. is now on track to meet the emission targets of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty the U.S. did not sign, much to the chagrin of many greens. "The reason why we've had these changes is not because of policy," be it carbon taxes or the Kyoto treaty, Kurtzman says. "The treaty itself is not working from an environmental or policy perspective. What is working is the fact that low-priced natural gas is replacing coal; that has a dramatic effect, which is measurable" as electricity produced by natural gas emits 43% less carbon dioxide versus coal. While Kurtzman and others see a victory for free market capitalism, fracking is highly controversial and has replaced greenhouse gases as the primary concern of environmentalists. Among other issues such as air pollution, opponents fear contamination of local water supplies from the chemicals used in the practice. See: What the "Frack?" Natural Gas Is Key to America's Energy Independence, but Is It Safe? "There are risks in fracking but there are a lot of alarmists about fracking," Kurtzman says. "It is not 100% safe but it's a very good technology and we're getting better and better about it." With big companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron now embracing fracking, Kurtzman expects the practice to become safer and more widespread. "This is different than a wildcatter going out five or six years ago in Pennsylvania to drill a well," he says. "These are very big targets with very deep pockets [who are] very concerned about lawsuits; presumably they'll do it right." In addition to companies' aversion to litigation, there is a "learning curve" when any new technology is adopted. Citing Joseph Schumpeter's classic invention-innovation-diffusion paradigm, Cambridge University researchers Tooraj Jamasb and Jonathan Kohler say this very much applies to fracking too, Reuters reports. Undoubtedly that's cold comfort to environmentalists — BP's a big company too. But the economic positives of cheap domestic energy produced via fracking are increasingly hard for policymakers to resist.
Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker and Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com For related coverage see: U.S. to Pass Saudi Arabia in Energy Production, IEA Says: Huge Foreign Policy, Economic Implications U.S. to Be Free from Foreign Oil by 2030: BP
vr 14 dec 2012, 12:18 Vlaggenschip Shell aan het roer in 2013 AMSTERDAM - Sem van Berkel “Olies zesentwintigzevenentwintig!”, roept de dealingroom. Er is geen notering die zo vaak bij ons wordt rondgeroepen als die van het Amsterdamse beursboegbeeld. ‘Olies komt altijd bovendrijven’, luidt een beurswijsheid.Maar wijsheden hebben soms een langere looptijd nodig en de koersontwikkeling is dit jaar bepaald niet Koninklijk. Wat heet, we noteren 1,88 ONDER de ultimo = 6,7%. Onze zwaargewicht met een weging van 13,83% in de AEX heeft dus een drukkend effect gehad op de performance van Mokum, die desondanks dit jaar tot nu toe een dikke 10% wist te PLUSSEN. Niemand van ons kan zich een verschil van 17% herinneren. Maar het is zoals het is, en met hulp van dividend en opties konden we de hoeksteen van onze portefeuilles overeind houden. De nieuwe baas van Shells productietak Upstream zou graag zien dat Europa in navolging van Noord-Amerika zijn schaliegasreserves gaat winnen. Maar ‘emoties’ staan een Europese gold rush volgens hem in de weg. “Europa zit werkloos op zijn reserves schaliegas. Daarmee dreigt het continent de boot te missen”, betoogt Andy Brown. “Europa zou naar Noord-Amerika moeten kijken en oppassen dat we niet de kans missen om onze eigen energiereserves te ontwikkelen.” Er wordt ruim vijftig miljard kubieke voet schaliegas dagelijks in Noord-Amerika uit de grond gehaald. Een hoeveelheid die ruwweg overeenkomt met de hele Europese dagelijkse gasvraag. In de VS behoort Shell tot de grootste spelers. We vinden dat Brown gelijk heeft. Slechts de keuze om de energiesector ruim baan te geven bij het exploiteren van immense verstopte voorraden olie en gas, heeft in de VS het vliegwiel van de economie aangezwengeld. En het bericht dat Saoedi-Arabië de olieproductie heeft teruggebracht naar het laagste peil sinds een jaar, lazen we met genoegen. Hun afzet en daarmee macht neemt af door de stijgende productie in Amerika. De Amerikaanse Energie Information Administration (EIA), een statistiekbureau op energiegebied, maakte afgelopen dinsdag de nieuwste productiecijfers van de Verenigde Staten bekend. Dit jaar met 760.000 vaten per dag gestegen. Dat is de sterkste stijging sinds de eerste ontginning van olie in 1859! De productie is aan een opmars bezig dankzij nieuwe technieken, waarmee voorheen onwinbare (schalie) olie nu wel gewonnen kan worden. Het Internationaal Energie Agentschap, de energiewaakhond van de Westerse wereld, voorspelde vorige maand dat de VS rond 2020 Saoedi-Arabië inhalen als grootste olieproducent ter wereld. De koers van boegbeeld Shell stelde dus in 2012 teleur. Een zeldzaamheid. Die zich, naar onze mening, in 2013 niet zal herhalen. Integendeel, wij rekenen op een inhaalslag. “Olies is hebbe, houwe, bijkope!” Het gezaghebbende beleggersblad Barrons is ook die mening toegedaan. Heeft ze opgenomen in zijn Top Tien favoriete aandelen voor 2013. Stelt dat Shell in het afgelopen jaar is achtergebleven bij Chevron en Exxon Mobil en noemt koers ‘goedkoop’ met een dividendrendement van 4,9% en een koers-winstverhouding van 8. Credit Suisse verhoogde vanmorgen het advies van neutral naar outperform. De consensus van 21 Thomson Financial-analisten luidt BUY. Van de week bleek uit de ‘ING Vraag van Vandaag’ (60.000 respondenten) dat de eindejaarsbonus de spaarpot in gaat. Van de werknemers met zo’n eindejaarsuitkering geeft 50% aan die te zullen sparen. “Dom”, zei onze werkstudent Thomas. “Als je iedere maand een paar Olies koopt en dat jaar in jaar uit volhoudt, hoef je niet op je AOW te wachten.”
'Europa dreigt schaliegasrevolutie mis te lopen' Roger Cohen Thursday 27 December 2012, 09:57 update: Thursday 27 December 2012, 10:20
Europa loopt het risico nieuwe investeringen in de petrochemische industrie mis te lopen vanwege de terughoudendheid om schaliegas te omarmen. Dat zegt de topman van het grootste petrochemische bedrijf ter wereld woensdag in de Financial Times.
'Sommige Europese landen hebben al besloten om niet in schaliegas te stappen. Natuurlijk zal er dan geen ontwikkeling zijn´, zegt Mohamed al-Mady, de bestuursvoorzitter van Sabic, het grootste petrochemische bedrijf ter wereld, dat gevestigd is in Saudi-Arabië. ‘Ik denk dat we een trend zullen zien dat investeerders Europa passeren en de voorkeur geven aan Noord-Amerika, China en het Midden-Oosten.'
Milieuschade Schaliegas moet vaak op grote diepte uit keihard gesteente geperst worden met een oplossing van water en chemicaliën. Deze methode (‘fracking’) is vooral in Europa controversieel: volgens sommigen leidt het tot schade aan het milieu. Onder andere in Frankrijk is fracking daarom verboden. Polen en Groot-Britannië onderzoeken de mogelijkheden om schaliegas te winnen, maar het is nog onduidleijk of de landen een schaliegasrevolutie zullen kennen zoals in de VS. De schaliegasrevolutie in de Verenigde Staten heeft volgens Al-Mady geleid tot een grote uitbreiding van het aantal petrochemische faciliteiten in het land. Sabic wil profiteren van het goedkope schaliegas en zoekt naar Amerikaanse bedrijven om in te investeren. De Saudische topman zei dat hij de zorgen in delen van Europa over fracking begrijpelijk was in ‘een plek van natuurlijke schoonheid en toerisme’.
Victory Nickel Completes Asset Purchase Agreement for Seven Persons Sand Plant Acquisition Marks First Step Towards Frac Sand Production, Cash Flow Generation in 2013 MarketwirePress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 9 minutes ago
Symbol Price Change NI.TO 0.025 0.00
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan 9, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced that it has completed an Asset Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement") for the Seven Persons sand recycling facility ("the 7P Facility") located southwest of Medicine Hat, Alberta (see photos at http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/sevenpersonsplant.jpg) . "The acquisition of the 7P Facility presents Victory Silica with an avenue to generate cash flow for Victory Nickel from frac sand production and sales in the near term," said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Victory Nickel. At the meeting of shareholders held in June 2012, the Company announced the creation of Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL"). VSL was created to establish Victory Nickel''s presence in the frac sand market prior to commencing production of both nickel and frac sand at the 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. The Minago feasibility study envisions production of up to 1.14 million tonnes per year of premium-quality frac sand from the Winnipeg Formation sandstone resource that overlies the Minago nickel deposit.
2) In order to establish Victory Nickel as a premier frac sand supplier today, VSL has planned a three-phase program. Phase 1 establishes production of 400,000 tons per annum ("tpa") of premium-quality Midwest frac sand from the 7P Facility by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Facility for final processing and distribution. The 7P Facility is well located in an area populated with fracking companies (see map at http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/sevenpersonsmap.jpg), its customers, and is within only a few hours'' trucking distance of the well sites. Phase 2 will reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the acquisition of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Silica has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined at Minago.
The acquisition of the 7P Facility has now been completed subject to certain conditions and events. The terms of the agreement provide for payment in three stages: An initial payment of $10,000 on signing the Agreement. A second payment of $300,000 on receipt of approval from Alberta''s Energy Resources Conservation Board ("ERCB") of a reclamation plan to convert the 7P Facility site to a frac sand processing facility; it is currently licensed as a sand recycling facility. A final payment of $400,000 on recovery from ERCB of a reclamation deposit that was posted by the vendor of the 7P Facility or within 90 days of the submission of a reclamation report, the final step of the reclamation plan mentioned in 2) above, whichever comes first. Once the reclamation plan is approved by ERCB, the Company will commence the reclamation work, currently estimated to take approximately three months. The engineering, equipment acquisition and construction of plant upgrades to convert the 7P Facility to a 400,000 tpa frac sand processing plant will occur simultaneously with reclamation. "The frac sand market is constantly evolving, and this presents new opportunities to VSL," said VSL CEO Ken Murdock. "High-quality Midwest frac sand remains at a premium, and the relationships we are establishing in the US and Canada today will benefit Victory Nickel in the near-term as well as down the road when Minago financing, mine development and production moves forward. Our internal forecasts indicate that margins in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand can be realized on sales from the 7P Facility." "We are fortunate to have the expertise of Ken Murdock," said Mr. Galipeau "Today''s achievement is Ken''s first step in his three-phase program which calls for production of 400,000 tpa of premium-quality Wisconsin frac sand in Canada by mid-2013 expanding to 1,500,000 tpa of imported and domestic frac sand within two years. Financing discussions are advancing."
Ik las in een nieuwsbrief een stuk over een (Amerikaans)bedrijf dat een oplossing heeft voor het milieuprobleem van Gas Fracking. Ik las dat als de grote gaswinningsbedrijven snel van hun Natural Gas bleeders af willen, zonder ze te moeten verkopen, dat ze dan haast niet anders kunnen dan snel overstappen op deze techniek.
Schaliegas is game changer Amerikaanse chemische industrie investeert weer
In de Verenigde Staten vindt grootschalige winning van schaliegas plaats. Hierdoor zijn de kosten van ethaan, grondstof voor de chemische industrie nu zó laag dat investeren in nieuwe installaties weer rendabel wordt. Of dat in Europa ook gaat gebeuren is de vraag. De winning van schaliegas stuit nog op de nodige weerstand. In de Verenigde Staten wordt schaliegas gezien als game changer voor de chemische industrie. Tussen 2005 en 2010 groeide de productie van dit onconventionele gas met 45 procent per jaar, en inmiddels voorziet het in een kwart van de behoefte aan aardgas. Er zijn zelfs plannen om terminals (die oorspronkelijk zijn gebouwd om geïmporteerd Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) om te zetten in aardgas) om te bouwen zodat ze aardgas kunnen omzetten in LNG voor de export. De petrochemische industrie speelt actief in op de groeiende gasproductie, zo blijkt uit een vorig jaar verschenen rapport van de American Chemistry Council. Waar de stijgende gasprijzen tussen 2002 en 2009 de investeringen en de bijbehorende bedrijvigheid vooral richting Midden-Oosten stuurden, leidt de dalende gasprijs ertoe dat bedrijven nu weer investeren in de Verenigde Staten.
Miljardeninvesteringen ExxonMobil gaat bijvoorbeeld miljarden investeren in de uitbreiding van zijn petrochemische complex in Baytown, Texas. Onderdeel van de uitbreiding is een nieuwe ethaankraker om te kunnen profiteren van groeiende beschikbaarheid van aardgas. Ook Dow Chemical wil de kraakcapaciteit uitbreiden, terwijl Shell Chemicals zijn installaties in Texas en Louisiana momenteel geschikt maakt voor ethaan. Als het alleen gaat om winbare hoeveelheden lijkt schaliegas ook een game changer voor de Europese chemische industrie. Volgens schattingen van het Internationaal Energie Agentschap zijn de technisch winbare reserves in Europa namelijk voldoende voor 250 jaar. Schattingen voor Nederland variëren van een paar honderd tot 3000 miljard kubieke meter. In het gunstigste geval is er dus sprake van een gasbel met de omvang van die in Slochteren. Maar waar de Groningse gasbel indertijd met gejuich werd ontvangen, stuit de winning van schaliegas in Europa nog op de nodige maatschappelijke weerstand. Frankrijk en Bulgarije hebben zelfs een moratorium ingesteld. Alleen in Engeland en in Polen wordt actief geboord, maar dat komt ook omdat de huidige Poolse regering er veel aan gelegen is om de afhankelijkheid van Russisch aardgas drastisch te verminderen. In Nederland werden de eerste vergunningen voor het doen van proefboringen in 2009 verleend aan het Britse bedrijf Cuadrilla. De boortorens waren echter nog niet gebouwd of de omwonenden en de Rabobank (die in de directe omgeving een datacentrum heeft) stapten naar de rechter. Vervolgens besloot minister Verhagen tot een consultatieronde onder belanghebbenden om de mogelijke risico’s in kaart te brengen. Deze is onlangs afgerond, waarna een onderzoeksbureau wordt aangetrokken om alle vragen te beantwoorden. Resultaten worden niet voor het eind van het jaar verwacht, en tot die tijd worden er geen vergunningen gegeven.
2) Brandend kraanwater Een van de belangrijkste bezwaren tegen de winning van schaliegas is dat de gebruikte methode zou leiden tot vervuiling van grondwater. In de Amerikaanse documentaire Gasland worden beelden getoond van kraanwater dat vlam vat als je er een aansteker bij houdt. Volgens de makers van de film komt dat doordat er schaliegas uit de ondergrond in een zelfgeslagen drinkwaterput terecht is gekomen. Geologen hadden al hun twijfels over deze claim, aangezien het onwaarschijnlijk is dat gas een afstand van enkele kilometers door verschillende soorten gesteenten kan afleggen. Recent is bovendien uit een onderzoek van de staat Colorado gebleken dat het gas in het kraanwater alleen al vanwege zijn samenstelling niet uit de diepe ondergrond afkomstig kan zijn. Inmiddels is duidelijk dat het moerasgas was dat door bacteriën in de ondiepe bodem wordt gevormd. Overigens is het elders wel voorgekomen dat schaliegas in het ondiepe grondwater terecht is gekomen, maar dat kwam vooral door scheuren in de bekleding van het boorgat.
Vervuiling en bevingen Een ander risico is de vervuiling van bodem en water door de chemicaliën die gebruikt worden bij de winning. Voor een deel gaat het om boorvloeistof, maar daarin onderscheidt de schaliegaswinning zich niet van de winning van conventioneel gas. Hooguit is de kans op vervuiling groter omdat er meer putten worden geboord. Voor een ander deel gaat het om water dat na gebruik weer naar boven wordt gehaald. Dat bevat onder meer verdikkingsmiddelen en chemicaliën die aan het water zijn toegevoegd om corrosie en bacteriegroei tegen te gaan. Het afvalwater bevat ook stoffen die vanuit de ondergrond meekomen. Dat kunnen organische stoffen zijn, zoals benzeen, maar ook radioactieve stoffen zoals radium, radon en uranium. Uit een studie van de US Geological Survey naar het Marcellus-voorkomen (een gebied waar veel schaliegas voorkomt) in Pennsylvania blijkt dat de gehaltes in dezelfde orde van grootte liggen als bij conventionele bronnen van aardgas. Hoewel het afvalwater wordt gereinigd, blijft het niettemin een risico om rekening mee te houden. Milieudefensie wijst in een brochure ook op de seismische risico’s van de winning van schaliegas. Door water onder hoge druk te injecteren worden scheurtjes in het gesteente gevormd (fracking), wat kan leiden tot kleine aardbevinkjes die onder bepaalde omstandigheden aardtrillingen aan het oppervlak veroorzaken. Zo vond in het Zwitserse Basel in 2006 een lichte aardbeving plaats als gevolg van het injecteren van water onder hoge druk op een diepte van enkele kilometers. In dit geval gebeurde dat overigens niet voor de winning van schaliegas, maar voor de winning van aardwarmte. Lichte aardbevingen zijn ook bij de winning van conventioneel aardgas niet ongewoon, zoals de inwoners van Groningen en Drenthe inmiddels weten. De vraag is alleen in hoeverre het risico bij schaliegas groter is. De tweede vraag is of er gebieden zijn, zoals in Limburg en Oost-Brabant, waar je misschien beter geen fracking kunt toepassen omdat die van nature al gevoelig zijn voor aardbevingen. De les van de gasbel in Groningen is in ieder geval dat je de mogelijkheid van aardbevingen beter kunt onderkennen dan ontkennen, zoals daar jarenlang gebeurd is.
3) Broeikas Het laatste bezwaar tegen schaliegas is dat de winning leidt tot meer broeikasgassen. Dat komt onder meer doordat er meer energie nodig is om het gas te winnen. Bovendien ontsnapt er mogelijk meer gas. Diverse studies laten zien dat de extra uitstoot van broeikasgassen in de orde ligt van 2 à 3 procent. Volgens de Amerikaanse Environmental Protection Agency kan die echter nog met 90 procent worden verminderd door technische maatregelen en netjes werken. Omgekeerd blijkt overigens dat de uitstoot van CO2 juist afneemt dankzij schaliegas. De lage prijs zorgt er namelijk voor dat steenkool wordt verdrongen als brandstof voor elektriciteitscentrales. Volgens een recent bericht van het Internationaal Energie Agentschap (IEA) heeft die verschuiving ertoe geleid dat de CO2-uitstoot in de Verenigde Staten met bijna 8 procent gedaald sinds 2006.
Beheersbaar Terwijl we in Nederland nog een half jaar moeten wachten op de uitkomsten, blijkt uit onderzoek elders dat het wel meevalt met de extra risico’s van schaliegas. In het recent verschenen rapport Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas beschrijft de IEA dat er voldoende technische mogelijkheden zijn om de risico’s binnen de perken te houden, mits bedrijven en overheden zich houden aan de ‘golden rules’. Naast technische voorzieningen om de risico’s te minimaliseren, gaat het hierbij ook om zaken als volledige transparantie en het betrekken van de lokale gemeenschap bij de plannen en projecten. Ook de Amerikaanse, Britse en Ierse milieu-instanties zien weinig problemen, mits de regels voor gaswinning goed worden nageleefd. Nadeel van het toepassen van de ‘Golden Rules’ is volgens de IEA dat de prijs van schaliegas 7 procent hoger komt te liggen dan die van conventioneel gas. Omdat tegelijkertijd de productie toeneemt, zal de gasprijs de komende jaren waarschijnlijk tóch fors gaan dalen. Hierdoor kan schaliegas ook in Europa een game changer worden voor de chemische industrie.
Onconventioneel gas De term onconventioneel gas verwijst naar gasvoorraden die traditioneel lastig te winnen zijn. De meest bekende is schaliegas, dat opgesloten zit in versteende kleilagen (leisteen). Een andere variant is steenkoolgas, ook wel mijngas geheten, dat opgesloten zit in steenkool. De winning van onconventioneel gas begint met het boren van een put die bij het bereiken van de gasvoerende laag horizontaal wordt voortgezet. Vervolgens wordt er onder een druk van 400 tot 500 bar water in geïnjecteerd, waardoor het millimetergrote scheuren in het gesteente ontstaan. Dit is het zogeheten fracking. Met het water wordt ook zand als vulmiddel (‘proppant’) aangevoerd om de scheurtjes open te houden. Om te voorkomen dat het zand neerslaat worden verdikkingsmiddelen toegevoegd, zoals guar gum. Dit is een natuurlijk middel dat ook in de voedingsmiddelenindustrie wordt gebruikt (E412). Daarnaast worden nog enkele keukenkastchemicaliën toegevoegd zoals keukenzout, soda en boorzout, en een bacteriedodend middel zoals glutaaraldehyde, dat ook in ziekenhuizen wordt gebruikt. Ongeveer tweederde van het gebruikte water wordt – met chemicaliën – weer naar boven gehaald en vervolgens gereinigd en hergebruikt. Voor de winning van schaliegas zijn meer putten nodig dan voor conventionele gaswinning omdat het gas – ondanks fracking – slecht stroomt. Vaak moet om de paar kilometer een gat worden geboord omdat de reikwijdte van de put niet veel langer is dan een kilometer. Voordeel is wel dat je met horizontaal boren vanuit een beperkt gebied van enkele voetbalvelden groot meerdere putten in verschillende richtingen kunt boren. Een goede bekleding van de boorput (casing) zorgt ervoor dat het vrijkomende gas zich niet in de bodem kan verspreiden.
Encana's (ECA) Q4 earnings call on February 14 stirred an animated reaction among E&P-focused investors and analysts. Surprisingly, the most notable news came not from the company's emerging oil and liquids-rich plays (the update on that front was uneventful and cautious, likely contributing to the stock's 6.6% decline on the day of the release), but from its Haynesville dry gas operation. At the time when many competitors and investors seem to have written the Haynesville off as economically uncompetitive in today's low natural gas price environment, Encana announced a plan to re-enter the play and gave a very bold forecast regarding its economics:
Encana is resuming activity in the Haynesville play. Because of the low supply costs in this play, Encana expects that the Haynesville will be able to produce solid returns at current natural gas prices. The company currently has two rigs running in the play with plans to increase to five rigs through 2013. (Encana's February 14 press release)
The company now estimates that its cost of supply in the Haynesville (minimum Nymex price needed to earn the company's 9% hurdle rate of return on incremental drilling) will be "in the $2.50/MMBtu range." Encana believes it will be able to achieve rates of return at the project level of approximately 30% using a flat $3.50/MMBtu Nymex price and approximately 40% using $4/MMBtu. I should note that the $4/MMBtu scenario is by no means in disconnect from what the futures market is currently indicating. Encana is re-entering the play with pad drilling (4-6 wells per pad) and 7,500 laterals, which means that peak production from new drilling will not be seen for at least another six months (I assume 40-45 days spud-to-spud drill time and, once the drilling rig is off the pad, another four-eight weeks to complete the wells and achieve peak production). With the rig count increasing from two rigs currently to five rigs later in the year, the majority of production volumes will ramp up in 2014 and will come in lumpy increments. The Nymex futures show Calendar 2014 and Calendar 2015 currently trading at $3.93/MMBtu and $4.19/MMBtu, respectively (Encana has been layering in hedges at above $4/MMBtu level).
Based on Encana's comments, two major factors are behind the company's confidence in the viability of the play even in a low-price environment. With several hundred Haynesville wells drilled to date, Encana has been continuously improving its frac designs: completions are bigger, denser and more effective (this has been the trend reported by several operators in the Haynesville - an illustration is provided further in this note). Based on the performance from shorter laterals, Encana believes that "the new modern design in the core areas of the Haynesville…will be able to achieve 2.5 Bcf per 1,000 feet of completed interval, which would equate for a 7,500-foot well to approximately 18 Bcf." On the cost side, Encana projects it can drill and complete a 7,500-foot horizontal in the $13-$14 million range, although cost may vary depending on the well's depth and rig specification required. The second, and most crucial, factor is that Encana will be drilling in "the best of the best sweet spots in the play" that has been thoroughly delineated by the dense HBP-driven drilling (at least one well per section).
Bakken: 'Deep' Revolution Underway - Everything Investors Need To Know May 12 2013, 23:24 | includes: CLR, EOG, HES, KOG, MRO, NFX, NOG, OAS, QEP, SM, STO, TPLM, WPX, XOM
As operators continue to turn in exploratory test results for the Lower Three Forks in the Williston Basin, the outlook for this new exploration frontier in the Bakken looks increasingly inspiring. This earnings season has already yielded two major announcements, one by EOG Resources (EOG) and one by Continental Resources (CLR), both very positive (EOG's remarks -- discussed further in this note -- were sufficient to provide a noticeable uplift to the Bakken-focused stocks on the day of the company's earnings call). Even bigger catalysts are on the near-term horizon.
While the total number of publicly disclosed exploratory wells in the Deeper Three Forks is still less than a dozen - a miniscule number given the scale of the Bakken play -- the results have nonetheless been very convincing and, for this early stage in the play's evaluation, are nothing short of spectacular. Big IP rates demonstrated by some wells are certainly positive and welcome news. Even more important are the play's structural characteristics that are being gradually confirmed by drilling results:
Comments from operators suggest that the lower benches of the Three Forks likely act as independent reservoirs and therefore provide a source of incremental reserves (something that could not -- and still cannot -- be taken for granted given the very early stage of exploration effort and lack of data on potential well interference among adjacent producing intervals). At least in some areas, the lower Three Forks benches may offer stronger productive potential than the Middle Bakken or the upper Three Forks and, therefore, may substantially expand the play's "core" drilling inventory. This aspect is particularly important. If Deeper Three Forks failed to yield top-tier economics, additional drilling inventory, even if significant in size, would end up at the end of a long development queue and would make little economic difference for the play and provide no uplift to stock valuations. On the other hand, if the deeper benches prove to be the source of incremental sweet spots -- early indications suggest that this may indeed be the case -- value and stock impact may be quite significant. The second bench of the Three Forks formation may be productive over a vast areal extent alongside the first bench. Almost all of the wells announced to date have shown strong IP rates and cumulative production figures that compare favorably to wells in the Middle Bakken and upper Three Forks in the same location (of the announced results, only one well result in the third bench drilled by Continental at the far western flank of the play may fall short of "commercial" strength).
While many more tests are clearly needed to further evaluate the Deeper Three Forks potential, at the very least the results to date have shown no disappointments. The read-across is particularly positive to operators with positions in the central over-pressured part of the play. Stocks that may provide significant exposure to the "Deeper Three Forks" theme include QEP Resources (QEP), Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG), Continental, Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Hess Corporation (HES), and Oasis Petroleum (OAS), just to name a few.
Hoort niet helemaal thuis in dit topic, maar Precies verhuist hem vast wel naar de juiste topic; Ik kom steeds vaker het bedrijf "National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV)" tegen. Volgens mij heeft het bedrijf wel zo'n 20-30% realistisch groeipotentieel op redelijk korte termijn. Meerdere analisten denken er hetzelfde over. Bedrijf maakt gestandariseerde boorapparatuur en mede door veiligheidswetgeving in de VS (na het BP-debacle in de Gulf of Mexico) staat dit bedrijf sterk in de nichemarkt van "safe standarized drilling gear", om het maar even zo te noemen. Het bedrijf heeft backorders tot 2016, hoewel ik nog niet uitgezocht heb welke daarvan contractueel echt vast staan. Warren Buffet heeft miljoenen in dit bedrijf geinvesteerd en Motley Fool heeft meerdere insiders die gek zijn van dit aandeel.
Maar.. doe je eigen onderzoek. Als je informatie wilt delen wordt dit natuurlijk gewaardeerd.
EOG Resources CEO Mark Papa. (Credit: Robert Seale)
‘Usually when you step outside your normal activity level you bungle it,’ says EOG Chairman Mark Papa. ‘We were driven by necessity into something we didn’t know.” And it worked. As showcased in my new Forbes Magazine article, EOG Resources was one of the first companies to use the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to coax oil out of America’s biggest new oilfields, the Bakken and Eagle ford. After proving there was plenty of recoverable oil there, the challenge turned towards how to get it out and get it to market at the lowest cost. Because magazines don’t have the endless bandwidth of the internet, some key secrets of EOG’s success in doing so got left on the cutting room floor. It’s worth sharing them here. CEO Mark Papa had the foresight to make two unusual moves for an oil company — investing in railroads and sand mines. “Usually when you step outside your normal activity level you bungle it,” says Papa. ”We were driven by necessity into something we didn’t know.” Oil volumes in the Bakken were growing so fast in 2008 that there weren’t enough pipelines to get the crude to market. The default option was to load the oil into tanker trucks — but at a transport cost of $25 a barrel. Why not move it by rail? So what if no one else was doing it; Papa met with Matt Rose, CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, to discuss options. EOG spent $100 million building a rail spur and loading terminal. BNSF (a division of Berkshire Hathaway) now hauls 70,000 bpd for EOG, delivering the oil to refineries north of New Orleans where it fetches a premium over what it could get at the glutted midwest oil hub of Cushing, Okla. Rose tells me that the railroad is now hauling 700,000 bpd, or 325,000 carloads of oil per year; the growth of oil by rail is “like nothing in my career.”
2) Rail led into sand mining. EOG uses roughly 3 million tons a year of sand for its fracking operations, several thousand pounds per well. The shale boom doubled and tripled sand prices to as much as $350 a ton. After thinking about the thousands of wells that EOG intended to drill, Papa decided to buy a sand mine. ”We were told it would be a logistical nightmare. I said, ‘We’re already railcar-ing oil, how hard could it be?” Not hard, once you’ve hired a bunch of sand and rail experts. EOG has since invested more than $200 million in three sand mines and two processing plants in Wisconsin. It ships the sand via BNSF and other railroads to the Bakken and Texas. Papa says that sourcing its own sand saves EOG $500,000 in costs on the average $7.5 million well. They drill 600 wells a year. “The only trouble is now our engineers think sand is free,” says Papa. Using more sand in their fracks have helped those engineers deliver more monster wells (initial production of more than 3,000 barrels per day) than any other company. EOG’s engineers, led by President Bill Thomas, are zeroed in on getting perfecting the methods of developing these shale oil fields. Tiny improvements standardized over thousands of wells save money, and they could produce a lot more oil. EOG figures that under the 570,000 acres it controls in the Eagle Ford shale, there’s roughly 26 billion barrels of original oil in place. Yet EOG calculates that there’s “only” 2.2 billion barrels of oil that are technically and economically recoverable. That recovery rate of 8% is about standard across the shale plays. Compare that with a recovery rate of 30% or more in conventional oil fields. Every percentage point improvement in recovery means a couple hundred million more barrels EOG can squeeze out over time. How to get there? EOG is already the industry leader when it comes to using microseismic sensors — which translate vibrations from deep underground into 3-d models of oilfields. Using sensor arrays stretching over dozens of square miles in both south Texas and North Dakota, EOG’s engineers can see how effective their fracks have been and see where the oil has been sucked up and deduce where it’s been left behind. In recent months, says Papa, EOG has come to the conclusion that instead of the “longer, skinnier” fracks that it had been drilling into the Eagle Ford, it’s now moving toward “shorter, fatter fracks” that reach a radius of just 300 feet from the wellbore, but completely pulverize all the rock in the area. A tighter radius means you can fit more wells in a given field and hopefully get more oil out — boosting that all-important recovery rate.
This article is available online at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/07/24/eog-resources-shale-oil-secrets-rail-lines-and-sand-mines/
Bakken Update: U.S. Silica Holdings Misses On High Expectations, But Long-Term Story Still Intact Aug 2 2013, 22:58 | about: SLCA (U.S. Silica Holdings Inc), includes: CRR, EMES, EOG, HCLP, NBL, PXD, WLL
Disclosure: I am long SLCA, TPLM. (More...)
For those who missed the run in U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA), you just got another buying opportunity. It reported a Q2 EPS of $.38 versus the Street's estimate of $.40. Revenues came in at $129.8 million versus $133.94 million. The main reason for the big drop in share price after hours could have been the company's reaffirmation of its 2013 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $165 to $175 million. This was further compounded by a rise in 2013 capital expenditures to a range of $60 to $70 million. Expectations were high going into earnings, and the capital expenditure increase would have been welcomed with a higher 2013 adjusted EBITDA guidance. Either way it was a tough crowd to please, but it's a good time to start or add to your position. U.S. Silica has doubled since August of 2012. Don't let this scare you off, the stock still has value, even at these levels.
There were some very good numbers in Q2 of 2013. Total revenues increased 24.1% year over year. Of this $25.2 million increase, oil and gas accounted for $23.2 million. Oil and gas volumes increased 44%, with overall total volumes improving 14.9%. Total oil and gas tons sold were 988120 in Q2 of 2013. This was an improvement from Q2 of 2012, which was 684992 tons. The only concerning issue in the oil and gas segment, was a slight decrease in margins. This is something to watch, as my expectations have been for margins to increase in the short term. U.S. Silica's industrial and specialty products sold 1060448 tons. This was a decrease from Q2 of 2012, for which it sold 1098425. The decrease in volumes was made up for with better margins. Industrial and specialty products is not a growth business, but U.S. Silica derives a steady income from this area. U.S. Silica derives revenues from multiple industries outside oil and gas. It serves glass, foundry and building product businesses throughout the United States. In reality, an investment here is heavily weighted to oil and gas. More specifically, unconventional oil and gas in U.S. basins. Not only is this part of the business growing quickly, it is already the source of approximately 60% of revenues. There are several reasons to believe that U.S. Silica will continue to outperform. It would be my guess that all players in this industry will do well, like Emerge Energy Services (EMES) and Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP). Emerge has been off like a rocket since its IPO in May. Estimates have the company growing over 41% next year. Hi-Crush estimates have the company growing 43% this year and 21% in 2013. Both of these companies are MLPs, so U.S. Silica offers a little different investment. Whether one company is better than the other as an investment would depend on the individual. All three of these companies offer decent growth, but I would wait for opportunities to buy on pullbacks.
2) In my coverage of the oil and gas industry, there are some changes taking place that will probably improve growth for most players in this space. After CARBO Ceramics (CRR) posted a good Q2 earnings report, there were still issues in the ceramic proppant space. I have seen most operators increasing usage of frac sand per well, and decreasing ceramic proppant. Now CARBO Ceramics will focus on cheap Chinese ceramics hitting the U.S. market and dragging down its sales. I could be wrong, but this is only part of the issue. I believe new completion techniques are not only making it possible to use up to a million pounds of sand per 1000 feet of lateral, but are also to use all sand fracs. My hypothesis may be incorrect (but I would like to hear differing opinions) as deeper source rock is exposed to higher pressures that crush frac sand. This is why many operators use a mix of resin coated sand, or in the Bakken (very deep) ceramic proppant. The idea is simple.
EOG Resources (EOG) is an example of an operator significantly increasing sand usage per foot. This has produced amazing results, and well costs go up minimally. To give an idea of how this completion style is changing well design, I have included the table below.
Victory Silica Ltd., a Subsidiary of Victory Nickel Inc., Hires Frac Sand Marketing Executive Industry veteran to develop customer base for frac sand sales in 2013 and beyond MarketwiredPress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 6 hours ago
Symbol Price Change NI.TO 0.03 0.0000
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug 6, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today took another step towards becoming a high-quality frac sand supplier to the northern markets by making another key addition to its Victory Silica team with the hiring of D. Brent Lock as Vice President, Marketing. Brent brings extensive marketing experience to Victory Silica. He has spent the past five years as VP Operations/Marketing & General Manager with Canfrac Sands Ltd., a Calgary-based frac sand producer with operations located near Lloydminster, Sask. Prior to that, Brent held a variety of operations and marketing positions in the oil & gas sector over the course of 26 years for companies including Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Amerada Hess Canada Ltd. and Apache Canada. Brent will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies and managing customer relationships in support of Victory Silica's goals to begin frac sand sales in 2013 and to become a leading supplier of high-quality frac sand products in Canada. "The addition of Brent, along with the other appointments announced recently, reflects our commitment to becoming the go-to source for premium quality import and domestic frac sands in Canada," said Victory Silica CEO Ken Murdock. "We are excited to have Brent on board. He brings a wealth of marketing experience and relationships within our target customer group that are vital in the near-term and as we execute our growth plans in the future."
About Frac Sand Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process - a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare commodity. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.
About Victory Silica Ltd. Victory Silica is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In Phase 1, Victory Silica plans to begin sales of premium quality Midwest frac sand from its plant in Seven Persons, Alta. near Medicine Hat (the "7P Plant") prior to the end of 2013 by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Plant for final processing and distribution. The 7P Plant is well located in an area populated with fracking companies, its potential customers, and is within only a few hours' trucking distance of major oil play well sites. Phase 2, which includes the construction of a concentrator in Wisconsin, will reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the control of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Silica has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined as a co-product of development of a nickel mine at the Company's 100%-owned Minago project in Manitoba. With margins expected to be in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand sold, Victory Silica should generate sufficient cash flow in Phases 1 and 2 to provide the financial flexibility to expand its activities by developing a second plant as Phase 3 of its growth plan.
Victory Nickel Announces Closing of Convertible Note Financing Proceeds to advance Victory Silica's entry into frac sand industry Marketwired Victory Nickel Inc. 1 hour ago
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov 11, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced that it has completed a US$2 million convertible note financing (the "Note") with an offshore lender, the proceeds of which will be used by the Company's wholly-owned frac sand marketing subsidiary Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL") to advance its entry into the frac sand market. Victory Silica is currently completing development of its Seven Persons frac sand plant (the "7P Plant") near Medicine Hat, Alberta and anticipates beginning frac sand production early in the first quarter of 2014.
The Note carries a two-year term and bears an interest rate of 14.8% calculated monthly with quarterly cash payments. The lender has the option to convert a portion or the entire principal amount into common shares of the Company at any time during the term of the note at a conversion price of CDN$0.10. "The Note represents a significant piece of the financing required to start buying sand to commence frac sand production," said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO. "We continue to get good traction on the Victory Silica plan from investors and potential customers and are working hard to begin production and sales as soon as possible."
About Frac Sand Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process - a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare commodity. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.
The process of converting a sand recycling plant in Seven Persons to process high-grade drilling material is nearing completion about one year after a mining company announced the plan to produce frac sand locally .....
Victory Nickel Begins Sand Shipments to Seven Persons Plant in Alberta
Subsidiary Victory Silica set to commence frac sand production at new 500,000 TPY facility Toronto, January 29, 2014 – Victory Nickel Inc. (“Victory Nickel” or the “Company”) (TSX: Ni) today announced that the first shipment of 900 tons of washed, concentrated sand from the transload terminal in Winona, WI for drying, screening and sale from the Company’s new Seven Persons frac sand dry plant ( the “7P Plant”) near Medicine Hat, AB has now taken place.
“This first movement of premium-quality Jordan Formation sand concentrate to our 7P Plant for drying and screening is a tremendous milestone for Victory Nickel and Victory Silica,” said Ken Murdock, Victory Silica’s CEO. “Construction of our 500,000 ton per year frac sand dry plant is approaching completion; required mobile equipment has been acquired and is ready at our plant and rail siding; and all the necessary supply and transport agreements are in place. All costs other than plant operating costs are fixed under contract and we look forward to commissioning our new plant and making that first sale of high-quality frac sand very shortly.”
“Ken and his crew did an outstanding job dealing with difficult situations to complete the construction of a modern facility which has a capacity of 500,000 tons of frac sand,” said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Victory Nickel. “Design changes during construction to increase availability and therefore production capacity delayed the project somewhat but it will be worth it in the very near term.”
Energierevolutie goed voor VS
BeantwoordenVerwijderen27 feb 2012, 15:30 - IEXProfs Redactie
“De energiesector heeft de wind in de rug.” Het zijn de veranderingen in de Amerikaanse energiesector die kansen bieden voor beleggers, aldus Mark Kiesel, fondsbeheerder bij Pimco in een nieuw Global Credit Perspectives artikel. Althans, het zijn kansen voor beleggers die bereid zijn zich te verdiepen in bedrijven en industrietakken die kunnen profiteren van de grote vraag in de sector.
Kiesel spreekt over ‘game-changing trends’. Hij doelt op het geluk dat Amerika voldoende, zelfs overvloedige energiebronnen bezit. Geen overbodige luxe in een tijdperk waarin de olieprijs alle oude records laat sneuvelen. De Amerikaanse overvloed in aanbod van natural gas geeft de VS met zijn binnenlandse, gedereguleerde markt, een concurrentievoordeel ten opzichte van andere landen.
De fondsbeheerder van Pimco is positief over de kansen die dat biedt. De eigen eneriebronnen - in combinatie met technologische vooruitgang en een toename in kapitaalinvesteringen - zorgen voor meer werkgelegenheid, grotere beleggingen in de private sector en de groei van veilige, onshore energietoevoer in de VS. Van deze 'game-changers’ hebben zowel Amerikaanse consumenten als bedrijven profijt, daar de binnenlandse economie minder afhankelijk wordt van buitenlandse energiebronnen.
Grotere speler dan Rusland
In de loop der tijd zal de VS de transitie van steenkool naar het schonere gas in versneld tempo doorvoeren, dat op haar beurt weer groei in nieuwe infrastructurele beleggingen, fabrieken en andere bedrijven in heel Amerika teweeg zal brengen. Ergo: groei (en energie-veiligheid!) voor de gehele Amerikaanse economie, redeneert Kiesel. sterker nog, door de groeiende binnenlandse productie van aardgas en olie kunnen de Verenigde Staten in de komende tien jaar Rusland inhalen als grootste energieproducent ter wereld, stelt Kiesel.
Voor geïnteresseerde beleggers wijst Kiesel concreet in de richting van energiebedrijven die zich richten op ‘onshore’ schaliegas en schalie-olie. Volgens Kiesel zullen deze energiebedrijven mogelijk veel sterker groeien dan de Amerikaanse economie als geheel.
Fracking makes for sunny times in sand
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMaterial ‘is in extremely short supply’ in the marketplace
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Strong demand for sand used in hydraulic fracturing is heating up the business of providing the grainy material to energy companies.
Pioneer Natural Resources PXD -3.48% plunked down nearly $300 million to buy the U.S. sand business of Carmeuse Holding S.A. in a deal announced Monday.
Carmeuse Lime & Stone
“When Carmeuse announced the desire to sell the sand business, we were very interested in that,” Pioneer Chief Operating Officer Tim Dove said Tuesday at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference in Orlando, Fla. “Demand has taken off and for that matter, as a result of that, the sand availability is generally very tight, and prices are going up.”
Other companies in the energy sector have taken note. EOG Resources Inc. EOG -1.04% now operates a sand mine and processing plant in Texas. Halliburton Co. HAL -3.19% recently announced a $20 million investment in a sand depot in Colorado.
Carmeuse Industrial Sands, which produces brown sand from a mine in Brady, Texas, supplies a critical ingredient for the process of extracting oil and gas deep underground. A mixture of sand, water and other chemicals is injected into horizontal wells to break up shale rock and free up pockets of oil and gas in what’s known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
The sand mine’s proximity to Pioneer’s Permian and Barnett shale fields in Texas provided another plus in the deal.
Analysts at equity-research firm Sterne Agee said Pioneer could save $65 million to $70 million a year on sand, implying a payback on its investment in four years. The acquisition is part of an overall strategy by Pioneer to make investments that reduce costs.
The Pioneer deal comes just weeks after U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. SLCA +0.37% raised about $200 million in its initial public offering on Feb. 1, after operating as a private company for more than 100 years.
The producer of silica used in hydraulic fracturing and solar panels was acquired in 2008 by affiliates of Golden Gate Private Equity Inc. It ranks as the second largest producer in the United States after Unimin, a unit of Belgium-based Sibelco Group.
“The market [for fracking sand] is in extremely short supply right now,” U.S. Silica Chief Executive Bryan Shinn said in an interview last month. “The U.S. shale revolution is here to stay. We’re in the early innings right now.”
Steve Gelsi is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.
3Legs Sees Pilot Gas Production in Poland Within 2 Years
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBy Jim Polson - Mar 7, 2012 8:09 PM GMT+0100
ConocoPhillips (COP) and 3Legs Resources Plc (3LEG) may begin natural-gas production from Poland’s shale formations, the largest in Europe, in two years.
3Legs, which drilled a successful horizontal well in Poland last year, hasn’t disclosed how many it will drill this year as it tries to establish the case for commercial development, Chief Executive Officer Peter Clutterbuck said today.
“We drilled one good well and a well we don’t quite understand,” Clutterbuck said in an interview at CERAWeek, a conference sponsored by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. “Nobody’s cracked the code yet but we’re making huge progress.”
ConocoPhillips, 3Legs’ partner in Poland, is expected to decide this year whether to take over operation of the assets. Poland holds as much as 5.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and may have as much as 187 trillion cubic feet of technically- recoverable shale gas, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Shale and similarly dense geologic formations have flooded North America with gas, pushing prices to a decade-low earlier this month, because of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that allowed the rocks to be cracked.
3Legs, based in London, last year drilled a successful horizontal well in Poland’s Baltic Basin. A second yielded lower-than-expected gas flow, causing the shares to drop 23 percent in a day. 3Legs has fallen 65 percent since its initial public offering in June. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) reported two failed Polish shale wells in January.
China Forecasts Soaring Shale-Gas Output
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBEIJING—China's annual output of shale gas is expected to skyrocket from near zero now to 6.5 billion cubic meters in 2015 and at least 10 times that by 2020, the government said in a development plan Friday, reducing reliance on dirtier coal and so cutting carbon emissions.
The plan urges Chinese companies to work with foreign companies and research institutes with expertise in finding and exploiting unconventional natural-gas resources. That could open opportunities for foreign companies, which are eager to tap the market.
China is pushing hard to shift to cleaner-burning gas from coal, which today generates around 70% of the country's electricity, but large-scale exploitation of shale-gas reserves—gas trapped in rock formations—has yet to begin. In the U.S., by contrast, shale gas has already transformed the energy sector, fattening reserves and driving down gas prices.
By 2015, the report said, China is expected to have identified total exploitable gas reserves of 200 billion cubic meters and total proven reserves of 600 billion cubic meters, in addition to producing 6.5 billion cubic meters. By 2020, annual production is forecast to reach between 60 billion and 100 billion cubic meters, due to more intensive exploration in the 19 designated exploration areas, the plan said.
The plan was drafted by the National Energy Administration and issued by the National Development Reform Commission. The targeted 2015 output of 6.5 billion cubic meters would boost China's overall natural-gas output by more than 6% from current levels, and by substituting for coal in power generation would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 14 million metric tons, sulfur dioxide by 115,000 tons and nitrogen oxides by 43,000 tons.
China has an estimated 25.08 trillion cubic meters of potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, domestic media reported this month, citing the Ministry of Land and Resources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration last year estimated those Chinese reserves at 1,275 trillion cubic feet (36.1 trillion cubic meters), which would be the largest repository of shale gas in the world.
Domestic and foreign energy majors working in China hope to replicate the huge increase in shale-gas output seen in the U.S. over the past decade. U.S. companies pioneered the technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," enabling them to extract previously inaccessible gas from rock formations.
PetroChina Co. PTR +0.23% and Royal Dutch Shell RDSB +0.15% PLC said in December that they had found gas after drilling their first shale-gas evaluation well at a block in Sichuan province. Other companies, including Total SA TOT +0.33% and Chevron Corp., CVX -0.60% are also seeking shale gas in China.
Norway's state-owned Statoil ASA STO +0.47% is in initial talks with Chinese company Shenhua Geological Exploration about jointly developing shale gas projects in China, industry news portal Upstream reported Friday.
China Huadian Corp., one of the country's largest power companies, this month signed a framework agreement with authorities in Hunan province to tap shale deposits there.
—Sarah Chen
Alles over de nieuwe (hot) shale-play in zuid-Texas:
BeantwoordenVerwijderenhttp://eaglefordshaleblog.com/
Insight: Natural gas pain is oil's gain as frack crews head to North Dakota
BeantwoordenVerwijderenReuters – 43 minutes ago
By Selam Gebrekidan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Collapsing natural gas prices have yielded an unexpected boon for North Dakota's shale oil bonanza, easing a shortage of fracking crews that had tempered the biggest U.S. oil boom in a generation.
Energy companies in the Bakken shale patch have boosted activity recently thanks to an exceptionally mild winter and an influx of oil workers trained in the specialized tasks required to prepare wells for production, principally the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing.
State data released this month showed energy companies in January fracked more wells than they drilled for the first time in five months, suggesting oil output could grow even faster than last year's 35 percent surge as a year-long shortage of workers and equipment finally begins to subside.
As output accelerates, North Dakota should overtake Alaska as the second-largest U.S. producer within months, extending an unexpected oil rush that has already upended the global crude market, clipped U.S. oil imports, and made the state's economy the fastest-growing in the union.
Six new crews trained in "well completion" -- fracking and other work that follows drilling -- have moved into North Dakota in the past two months alone, according to the state regulator and industry sources. Back in December, the state was 10 crews short of the number needed to keep up with newly drilled wells.
"Three to four months ago, the operators were begging for fracking crews," said Monte Besler, who consults companies on fracking jobs in North Dakota's Bakken shale prospect. Now "companies are calling, asking if we have a well to frack."
For the last three years, smaller oil companies with thin pockets were forced to wait for two to three months before they could book fracking crews and get oil out of their wells. As more and more wells were drilled, that backlog has grown.
Last year, an average 12 percent of all oil wells were idled in North Dakota. Even so, output in January hit 546,000 barrels per day, doubling in the last two years and pushing the state ahead of California as the country's third-largest producer.
FEWER WELLS IDLE
Fracking, which unlocks trapped oil by injecting tight shale seams with a slurry of water, sand and chemicals, has drawn fierce protests in some parts of the country, but it has not generated heated opposition in North Dakota.
The number of idle wells waiting to be completed in the state reached a record 908 last June, the result of a new drilling rush and heavy spring floods. Only 733 wells were idle in August as crews caught up, but the figure crept steadily higher until the start of this year.
Now, the industry may be turning a corner in North Dakota, the fastest-growing oil frontier in the world.
"Both rig count and hydraulic fracturing crews are limiting factors. Should they continue to rise together, production will not only increase, it will accelerate," said Lynn Helms, director of the state Industrial Commission's Oil and Gas Division.
The tame winter likely played an important role in helping reduce the number of idle wells -- those that have been drilled but not yet fracked and prepped for production. That number fell by 11 in January, as oil operations that would normally be slowed by blizzards were able to carry on, experts said.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenResidents of the northern Midwest state -- accustomed to temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 Celsius) in winter and snow piles as high as 107 inches -- this year enjoyed the fourth warmest since 1894, according to the National Weather Service.
The milder conditions also helped prevent the usual exodus of warm-weather workers that occurs when blizzards set in.
"Not everyone wants to work in North Dakota in the winter," Besler said.
The backlog of unfinished wells has also begun to subside because the pace with which new wells are drilled has leveled off. The state hasn't added new rigs since November.
The latest state data shows oil companies brought 37 new rigs to North Dakota's in 2011 but have not added more since November. The rig count held steady at 200 in January 2012, although more than 200 new wells were drilled in that period.
SLUMPING NATGAS PRICE PROVIDES RELIEF
North Dakota has gotten a boost from the fall-off in natural gas drilling due to the collapse in prices to 10-year lows. Energy companies such as Chesapeake and Encana have shut existing natural gas wells and cut back on new ones. Last week, the number of rigs drilling for gas in the United States sank to the lowest level in 10 years as major producers slimmed down their gas business, according to data from Houston-based oil services firm Baker Hughes. [ID:nL2E8EG9OY] The fewer gas wells drilled, the less need for skilled fracking crews in the country's shale gas outposts.
Fracking in oil patches is similar to the process used in gas wells, except for the inherent power of the pumps employed. Crews inject high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to free hydrocarbons trapped in shale rock. So big service firms such as Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger are reshuffling crews from shale gas fields to oil prospects in the badlands. "We have moved or are moving about eight crews. Some of those crews are moving as we speak," Mark McCollum, Halliburton's chief financial officer, said at an industry summit in February.
Halliburton declined to specify where the crews were moving.
Calgary-based Calfrac moved one crew into the Bakken in late 2011, according to an SEC filing. Privately owned FTS International no longer works in the gas-rich Barnett shale but has set up operations in the Utica, an emerging prospect in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, according to a company representative.
3)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe reallocations come with some efficiency losses. Halliburton had to scale back its 24-hour operations and is still trying to solve logistical problems. "You actually take the crew from one basin and they have to go stay in motels, you have to pay them per diems for a while. And then you have to double up your personnel while you're training new, locally based crew on the equipment once it is moved," McCollum said.
At the same time, a shortage of key equipment such as pressure pumps is easing as companies start taking delivery of material ordered months or even years ago.
It takes about 15 such pumps to frack a gas well, and many more for oil wells. The total pressure-pumping capacity in the United States at the end of 2012 will be 19 million horsepower, two-and-a-half times more than in 2009, according to Dan Pickering, analyst with Tudor Holt and Pickering in Houston.
FRACKING AROUND THE NATION
Easing personnel constraints suggest recruiters may be meeting with success in nationwide campaigns to attract workers with specialized knowledge of complex pumps and hazmat trucks -- and a willingness to brave harsh conditions.
Even with U.S. unemployment at 8.3 percent, such skilled labor remains in short supply despite salaries from $70,000 to $120,000 a year. In North Dakota, unemployment was just 3.2 percent in January, the lowest rate in the nation.
Fracking crews, much like roughnecks on drilling rigs, clock in 12-hour shifts for two straight weeks before getting a day off. They live in camps far from cities and towns. Jobs are transient -- a few weeks at a single location. Most workers divide their time between the California desert, Texas ranchlands and the freezing badlands of the Midwest state.
Companies have scrambled to nab talent, with recruiters scouring far and wide. Military bases have gotten frequent visits, and some companies have hired truckers from Europe.
"There's definitely a push to look all over for people who have good experience since it takes at least six months to train someone how to use a fracking pump," said David Vaucher, analyst with IHS Cambridge Energy Research.
Shell tekent schaliegascontract in China
BeantwoordenVerwijderenGepubliceerd op 21 mrt 2012 om 10:51 |
Royal Dutch Shell A 17:39
€ 26,90 +0,02 (+0,06%)
DEN HAAG (AFN) - Shell heeft een contract getekend met het Chinese staatsbedrijf CNPC voor de gezamenlijke zoektocht naar en ontginning van schaliegas in China. Dat maakte Shell woensdag bekend.
De Chinese overheid moet nog akkoord gaan met de verbintenis, volgens Shell het eerste zogeheten 'production sharing contract' voor schaliegas in China. Het gebied waarin Shell en CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) gaan zoeken beslaat circa 3500 vierkante kilometer.
Een analist van ING noemde de overeenkomst een ,,aantrekkelijke ontwikkeling voor Shell in het Verre Oosten''. De analist stelde dat een noemenswaardig productieniveau niet voor 2014 of 2015 moet worden verwacht, afhankelijk van een definitieve investeringsbeslissing in 2013 of 2014. Hij voorziet een productie die gelijkstaat aan 200.000 tot 300.000 vaten olie in 2015 of 2016.
Ik ben van plan om voortaan meer Nederlandse woorden te gaan gebruiken zoals schaliegas en -olie.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIk wil ook een paar nieuwe NL-woorden introduceren: frakken en frakzand.
Nieuwe Industriële Revolutie
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDoor Jan-Willem Nijkamp op 26 mrt 2012 om 12:20 | Views: 2.666 | Categorie: Grondstoffen | Onderwerpen: energie, olie, Verenigde Staten
De Verenigde Staten staan aan de vooravond van een nieuwe industriële revolutie als gevolg van een enorme energiehausse. Zo werd het land vorig jaar voor het eerst sinds 1949 netto-exporteur van olie en gas en gaat het land de productie de komende jaren spectaculair opvoeren.
Volgens een provocerend rapport van Citigroup van deze week zijn de Verenigde Staten op weg het nieuwe Midden Oosten te worden als grootste exporteur van energie ter wereld. Ontwikkelingen die de wereldeconomie danig op zijn kop zullen zetten.
Toegegeven, Joe Sixpack zal hier momenteel nog weinig baat bij hebben. Maar het rapport is wederom een bevestiging van de bloei van de Amerikaanse energie-industrie. Door deze oliehausse zal de reeds ingezette herindustrialisering van de Verenigde Staten verder vaart krijgen.
Zo verwacht men dat de olie- en gasproductie van 15 miljoen vaten per dag nu zullen toenemen naar 27 miljoen in 2020. En dat bij een afnemende energieconsumptie in de Verenigde Staten. Nieuwe technologieën zoals fracking, diepzeeboren en horizontal boren zijn ontstaan door de steeds verder oplopende olieprijs.
Grootse exporteur
Commodity-handelaren mogen graag zeggen dat een hoge prijs de beste remedie is tegen diezelfde hoge prijs. Dat blijkt ook nu het geval met olie. De Verenigde Staten zullen in 2020 Rusland en Saoedie-Arabië zijn voorbijgestreefd als 's werelds grootste energie-exporteur.
Kans van de eeuw
Fracking, het inspuiten van water en chemicalieën onder hoge druk om rotspartijen open te breken teneinde het gas vrij te laten heeft geleid tot en enorm nieuw aanbod van aardgas tegen en zeer lage kostprijs.
De snelle toename van het aantal actieve gasbronnen in de Verenigde Staten stuiten op veel protest bij milieu-organisaties. Net als de aantoonbare gevaren van diepzeeboren.
Dit sterk gepolitiseerde aspect van de nieuwste boortechnieken vormt de grootste horde voor de Verenigde Staten op weg naar olie-onafhankelijkheid. De politiek zal daar een doorslaggevende rol in gaan spelen maar dat men deze opportunity-of-the-century zal laten lopen lijkt welhaast uitgesloten.
De gevolgen van deze ontwikkelingen strekken bovendien veel verder dan de energie-industrie zelf. Zo zullen deze ontwikelingen bijdragen aan extra economische groei van 2 tot 3,3% per jaar.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenNiet alleen de werkgelegenheid in de olie- en gassector zal met 500.000 arbeidsplaatsen toenemen maar men verwacht als gevolg van de toegenomen efficiëntie een toename van 3,6 miljoen banen voor de gehele economie.
In zijn recente State of the Union benadrukte president Obama nog eens de enorme boost die de nieuwste boortechnieken aan de economie kunnen geven.
Ook de dubbele tekorten op de begroting en de handelsbalans kunnen als sneeuw voor de zon verdwijnen. Het gierende tekort op de handelsbalans was immers vooral het resultaat van de olieverslaafdheid van de Amerikanen. Maar door de steeds verder afnemende olie-import zal de wereld niet langer overspoeld worden met dollars.
Hogere dollar
Verwacht dan ook een waardestijging van ‘s werelds belangrijkste munt de komende jaren. De economische expansie als gevolg van deze olieboom zal ook dat andere tekort - op de overheidsbegroting - doen verminderen. De Twin Deficits van de Verenigde Staten waren de voornaamste oorzaak van de destabilisering van de wereldeconomie.
Hieraan kan de energierevolutie een einde maken. Ook de spanningen in het Midden Oosten zouden wel eens een heel ander aanzien kunnen krijgen. De Verenigde Staten zijn niet langer een belanghebbende partij en zullen zich uit deze regio gaan terugtrekken. En ook van belang, de olieprijzen kunnen in de toekomst weer omlaag.
Deze rooskleurige vooruitzichten zijn moeilijk te rijmen met de harde realiteit van een natie die nog bezig is zich te herstellen van de zware crisis van 2008:
miljoenen werklozen
een onzeker economisch herstel
een uit de hand gelopen overheidstekort
een verlies van economische concurrentiekracht
angst voor verder stijgende brandstofprijzen
diepe sociale verdeeldheid
een rampzalige politieke patstelling
Deze oliehausse is echter al enkele jaren gaande – de olie-import neemt reeds zienderogen af – en de Verenigde Staten zouden er aan het begin van het volgende decennium wel eens heel anders voor kunnen staan. En in het kielzog de rest van de wereldeconomie. Het zal de wereld zoals we die nu kennen op zijn kop zetten.
Jan-Willem Nijkamp is senior vermogensbeheerder bij Fintessa Vermogensbeheer.
http://www.iex.nl/Column/73486/Nieuwe-Industri%C3%ABle-Revolutie.aspx
VerwijderenTriangle Petroleum Emerges As One Of Three Bakken/Eagle Ford Growth/Value Stocks To Consider
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMarch 28, 2012 | about: TPLM, includes: USEG, VOG
Triangle Petroleum (TPLM) emerged as having the second most upside from a series of four previous articles where I compared the announced 2012 capital expenditure budgets for 20 various small/ mid/large-cap stocks versus their enterprise value, which is total market cap plus long-term debt. This provides a bang-for-the-buck ratio, which will be a strong predictor of future production and revenue growth of each respective company. The higher the percentage of planned capital expenditures to total capital structure, the greater the growth potential to current valuation.
Three smallcap companies exhibited much higher ratios than the other 17 companies in the comparison; Triangle Petroleum, U.S. Energy (USEG) , and Voyager Oil & Gas (VOG). Since these three companies emerged from the screening process, I will attempt to give a more in-depth look at each of the three. It should be noted Triangle Petroleum is a smallcap/microcap company and all such companies carry higher risks than larger more well established companies. In general microcap companies can have more difficulty accessing the capital markets to raise additional capital and are often subject to a much higher beta (swings in price) than larger companies.
As of March 27, 2012, Triangle Petroleum had 43,261,133 shares outstanding and a marketcap of $309 million. The company has a very strong balance sheet reporting $93.8 million in cash and no debt in its 10-Q for the third quarter ending October 31, 2011. The company should have the cash and cashflow to fund their $131 million capital expenditure budget for 2012. The company owns 83% of RockPile, which is a pressure pumping company in North Dakota. In addition to its pressure pumping fleet, RockPile will have fully integrated purpose-built proppant loading and storage facilities, fleet maintenance and repair facilities, and employee housing facilities. Triangle Petroleum has a $24.6 million investment in RockPile. The company has contracted for 50% of RockPile's capacity to supply services at market rates and RockPile will market to outside companies the remaining 50% of its service capacity.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenTriangle Petroleum's business is exploring for oil and natural gas. The company's main asset is 29,000 net Bakken acres in North Dakota. Over 80% of these acres are non-operated. Triangle has contracted one rig to drill on its operated acreage though the end of 2012. They project adding 8 net operated and non-operated wells over the next four quarters. The company has 54,500 net Bakken acres in Montana. Management intends to hold this acreage and let others in the industry drill around them to potentially prove the play. Triangle also has 410,000 net acres in Nova Scotia, Canada. Five test wells have confirmed the presence of natural gas. The company intends to market this position to raise additional capital to be deployed into the Williston Basin in North Dakota.
For its latest quarter ended October 31, 2011, Triangle reported losses of ($.05) per share on revenue of $3,462,471. The company sold 39,636 barrels of oil and 10,591 Mcf of natural gas. Based on the company's plans to add 8 net Bakken wells oil and gas production are expected to ramp rapidly throughout the year.
Triangle Petroleum is somewhat undervalued based on the assets the company owns. The real upside opportunity for investors exists in Triangle's growth potential. Triangle needs to prove that it can successfully complete wells in a timely manner to have the future cashflow necessary to complete the company's growth plan. The company's growth plan also depends on oil prices staying high. If Triangle can prove itself as a good operator in the Bakken and if oil prices stay high, then Triangle offers investors a significant growth opportunity.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in USEG over the next 72 hours.
by HiddenValueInvestor »
vr 30 mrt 2012, 08:45
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWeer nieuwkomer voor Beursplein 5
door EDWIN VAN DER SCHOOT
AMSTERDAM - De van oorsprong Nederlandse dienstverlener aan de olie- en gasindustrie Core Laboratories NV, komt thuis. Het bedrijf heeft al sinds 1995 een notering in New York, maar wil in een poging om extra kapitaal investeerders te binden, ook een notering in Amsterdam verwerven. Core Lab groeit als kool, onder andere door de schaliegasrevolutie in de VS.
Mede om historische redenen lijkt daarbij het oog op Beursplein 5 gevallen. Core Lab heeft een martkapitalisatie van $6,1 miljard, en draaide in 2011 een omzet van $908 miljoen. De nettowinst bedroeg liefst $185 miljoen. Daarmee is het bedrijf een potentiële midkapper, indien nieuwe aandeelhouders het huidige groeitempo op peil kunnen houden.
Insiders bevestigen de notering, die in principe eind juni een feit moet zijn.
The Bakken Oil Field: Is Drilling And Exploration Slowing Down?
BeantwoordenVerwijderenApril 2, 2012 | includes: EOG, NFX, OXY
The rig count in North Dakota has leveled off significantly in the past few weeks, hovering around 205 active drilling rigs. With thousands of more acres to protect and wells to drill, many are asking: "Why has the rising number of rigs stopped?" There are many schools of thought on this matter:
First, older rigs are being replaced with more efficient ones which is accelerating the amount of wells being drilled but holding the rig count flat. What that means is basically older rigs, which turned wells in 45 days, are now being replaced with more efficient rigs which can drill a well in less than 30 days. And, if drilling on a multi-well pad, can simply skid or "walk" to the next location a few hundred feet away, decreasing transport time.
Second, there is a large delay in fracturing services. The number of wells waiting to be fractured in North Dakota is around the 250 mark. This number, while still high, is significantly lower than 650+ plus wells waiting to be fracked during the Winter / Spring of 2011.
Third, the price for crude at the wellhead in North Dakota is at an extreme discount from the West Texas Intermediate Benchmark and even further discounted from North Sea Brent crude. The price at the wellhead in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, is $75.50/bbl. WTI is approximately 30% higher and Brent 13% higher than WTI. In addition to escalating service and drilling costs in North Dakota, these factors significantly hurt the economics of drilling and production in The Bakken at this time. Having said that, many big players, which have the majority of their acreage held by production, are dialing back their rig counts. EOG (EOG), Oxy (OXY), and Newfield (NFX) have all publicly stated they plan to reduce their Bakken rig counts. It is interesting to note, however, that the biggest player, Continental Resources (CLR) has gobbled up several of the released rigs from the above mentioned E&Ps.
Although these large independents are reallocating capital resources, I would not take it as a sign the Bakken is on the downswing, nor that these companies are in trouble. Newfield has a significant acreage in Utah and just signed a large supply agreement with an oil refinery (Holly Frontier Corp (HFC)). Based on the supply agreement, there is no doubt Utah is a better return for the company to develop right now. Oxy has enough assets all over the world to keep it busy. If other projects provide a better return, the smart thing to do is move resources to concentrate on them. EOG has a significant position in the Eagle Ford. The Eagle Ford in Texas provides better economics at this time due to decreasing drilling and completion costs as well as fetching a gulf coast price for its crude.
What will it take for these companies to return to the Bakken full scale? One word - infrastructure. The price for crude at the Wellhead must increase in North Dakota and the cost for services must decrease to get the Bakken back on top. In order for this to happen, the supply chain needs to be smoothed in the form of crude takeaway. More pipelines or predictable rail takeaway options need to be built, which will help close the gap between North Dakota Sweet Crude, WTI, and Brent. Also, fracturing service companies will need to find a predictable and solid workforce (employee turnover is extremely high in ND for many companies) and a predictable supply of fracturing sand.
Once the infrastructure problem is reined in and crude and service prices stabilize, get ready for full scale Bakken development: rig counts north of 250, and more major oil companies moving into the State.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Auteur: Jacob Gelt Dekker maandag 2 april 2012
BeantwoordenVerwijderenOBAMANOMICS IN OPMARS
Herverkiezing lonkt voor Barack Obama nu de economie in de VS aantrekt als gevolg van een heuse aardgasboom, betoogt Jacob Gelt Dekker.
Het gaat de Amerikaanse president Obama veel te goed. De economie groeit sneller dan verwacht. De Republikeinen hadden gehoopt dat ze politieke munt konden slaan over de presidentiele aarzeling over de Keystone-pijpleiding. Maar als een echte democraat flip-flopte Obama en gaf zijn zegen in een fraai ‘Cushing-moment’ voor het oog van de camera, prachtig geënsceneerd met enorme stapels pijplijnbuizen op de achtergrond.
Dankzij het Keystone-project konden er direct 50 duizend extra mensen aan het werk. Alsof dat niet genoeg was, kondigde het in Houston gevestigde Enterprise Products LP en Enbridge Inc. uit Calgary aan dat ze nog twee leidingen naast Keystone zullen aanleggen. De vergunningen hiervoor zijn al binnen en deze nieuwe pijpleidingen functioneren al gedeeltelijk. Vanaf juni 2012 kan er al 850 duizend met gas gevulde barrels per dag worden geproduceerd en dit kan in 24 maanden oplopen naar maar liefst 3,2 miljoen.
Obama kip met gouden eieren
Als gevolg van deze aardgas boom ontpopt president Obama zich als de kip met gouden eieren. Nieuwe technieken in de aargaswinning alsmede innovatief transport van aardgas hebben voor een grote doorbraak gezorgd. Bovendien kan aardgas zonder raffinagetechnieken. In de USA kost aardgas maar 2,27 dollar per British Thermal Unit (BTU), terwijl het in Europa al snel goed is voor tussen de 12 en 14 dollar. Vandaar dan ook dat de Amerikaanse aardgasindustrie er alles aan gelegen is om de boel snel vloeibaar maken om vervolgens te verschepen naar de hoogste bieder.
De sterke vraag naar buizen en pijpleidingen is ook een opsteker voor de staalindustrie, aannemers en transporteurs. Zo bezien, kan Obama straks vergenoegd vaststellen dat onder hem er 1 miljoen extra banen zijn bijgekomen het komende half jaar.
Als powerhouse kan de VS sowieso niet zonder aardgas, zo blijkt uit recente cijfers. Olie in de USA zorgt maar voor 1,0 procent voor elektriciteitsopwekking. Het leeuwendeel komt van kolen met 48,3 procent, gevolgd door kernenergie met 21,3 procent en aardgas met 19 procent. De resterende 10,4 procent komt voor rekening dankzij waterkracht, windmolens en zonnepanelen.
De Amerikaanse betalingsbalans gaat er aanzienlijk op vooruit, naar schatting met zeker 2 triljoen dollar in de komende 36 maanden en nog meer door het doordruppeleffect. De financiële markten weerspiegelen het nieuwe optimisme dan ook royaal.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWanhoopsaanvallen Republikeinen
Ondertussen staan de krijsende Republikeinse presidentskandidaten voorlopig buitenspel. Bijna een jaar lang hebben ze hun kiezers bang proberen te maken met economische onheilspreken en de vervloekte financiële markten als gevolg van het beleid van Obama. Maar de economische feiten spreken in het voordeel van de zittende president. Vandaar dan ook dat de Republikeinse uitdagers wanhoopsaanvallen zijn begonnen door te razen over de buitenlandse politiek van Obama. Zo heeft Mitt Romney Rusland uitgeroepen tot staatsvijand één. Alsof we nog leven in de jaren zestig van James Bond toen de Koude Oorlog een hoogtepunt had bereikt.
Als het aankomt op de kostbare beslommeringen van de VS in buitenlandse brandhaarden, zit het Romney al niet mee. De Amerikaanse oorlogen in Irak en Afghanistan zijn afgerond of lopen af. Met als gevolg: een besparing van 700 miljard dollar. Daarbovenop hebben zuiniger auto’s ertoe geleid dat de invoer van olieproducten met al ruim 20 procent is verlaagd: van 10 miljoen naar 7,8 miljoen barrels per dag. De uitgaven lopen dus ook daar al aanzienlijk terug.
Pokerspel van pijplijnpolitiek
De energiepolitiek van Obama zorgt ervoor dat het machtsevenwicht in de wereld is verschoven. Het Midden Oosten moet het doen met aanzienlijk minder olie-inkomsten uit de USA en Europa. Ook Venezuela, die met haar enorme Orinoco teerolievoorraden een sleutelrol wilde spelen, is door gebrek aan technici, raffinage en transport uitgespeeld. Rusland verkoopt nu aan Europa en hoopt op China als klant. Maar de Chinezen tappen liever uit haar eigen voorraden en uit het nabijgelegen Mongolië. Ook daar is de groei niet te stoppen van oliepijplijnen die grote voorraden olie naar de industriestreken aan de kusten kan brengen.
In dit internationale pokerstel van pijplijnpolitiek in zet Iran de boel met veel bravoure op scherp. Vooral in Centraal Azië staat de pijplijnpolitiek op scherp. De pijplijn langs de Straat van Hormuz gaat rechtstreeks naar havens in Oman en die begint in mei op volle toeren te draaien. Daardoor wordt het al dan niet afsluiten van de nauwe zeestraat nauwelijks meer van enig belang. Ondertussen kan bij Israël een Holocaust syndroom opspelen ten overstaan van Iran. Met als gevolg militaire acties van Israël tegen Iraanse kerncentrales en aanverwante industrieën. Maar dat zal in de praktijk niet meer inhouden dan wat sabotage en commando-operaties zonder hulp van de grote bondgenoot de VS.
Rooskleurige economische toekomst
Voor West Europa gloren er juist weer grote economische kansen als gevolg van de implosie van de Islamitische wereld in Noord Afrika en het Midden Oosten. Niet alleen de wederopbouw maar ook de herinrichting van olieproducenten tot veelzijdige productiestaten zullen de nodige diepte investeringen vergen over de komende jaren. En laat Europa bijna alles kunnen aanbieden op dit gebied. Al met al ziet de economische toekomst op korte en lange duur er rooskleurig uit. Profiteerden we in de jaren tachtig van de Reagonomics, nu zouden we wel eens de wind mee kunnen hebben dankzij Obamanomics.
http://www.ftm.nl/followleader/obamanomics-in-opmars.aspx
Putin Says Russia Needs to Rise to U.S. Shale-Gas Challenge
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBy Ilya Arkhipov and Anna Shiryaevskaya - Apr 11, 2012 12:16 PM GMT+0200
Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin urged energy producers from the world’s biggest natural- gas exporter to “rise to the challenge” of a changing market as the U.S. increases output of shale gas.
U.S. shale gas production may “seriously” restructure supply and demand in the global hydrocarbons market, Putin said today in an address to the Russian lower house of parliament.
The U.S. overtook Russia as the biggest producer of gas in 2009 as it extracted fuel trapped in shale rocks. That has cut prices and led nations from China to Poland to explore for such resources, potentially cutting their reliance on Russian gas.
OAO Gazprom (GAZP), Russia’s biggest gas producer, has played down the threat of U.S. competition and said the gas industry will benefit from the shale boom. The Moscow-based exporter is seeking to join a U.S. project to liquefy the fuel for shipment by tanker, Frederic Barnaud, LNG executive director at the company’s London marketing unit, said last month.
The U.S. plans to be a net exporter of LNG from 2016, with initial sales of 1.1 billion cubic feet (31.1 million cubic meters) a day doubling after three years.
Exports may begin in a decade, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in February.
di 17 apr 2012, 14:46
BeantwoordenVerwijderenEnorme Britse voorraden schaliegas in zee
LONDEN (AFN) - Groot-Brittannië heeft enorme voorraden schaliegas in zee en kan een van de grootste producenten ervan ter wereld worden. Dat meldden Britse geologen dinsdag.
De voorraden in zee worden geschat op meer dan vijf keer zoveel als op het land. Daarmee zou Groot-Brittannië tientallen jaren van energie kunnen worden voorzien.
De winning van schaliegas is nu nog erg kostbaar, maar met nieuwe Amerikaanse technologie zou het op den duur rendabel kunnen worden. Het British Geological Survey wijst ook op grote voorraden schalieolie in zee.
De Britse autoriteiten gaven dinsdag hun fiat voor boringen naar schaliegas aan land. Die waren tijdelijk stilgelegd als gevolg van aardschokken die waren gemeten door het zogenoemde fracken (kraken van steen).
Insight: China's coalbeds spur unconventional gas supply boom
BeantwoordenVerwijderenhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-china-gas-cbm-idUSBRE83A0D820120411
'VS en China profiteren van schaliegas-boom'
BeantwoordenVerwijderenUitgegeven: 29 mei 2012 12:51
OSLO - De komende 20 jaar zal er steeds meer gas worden gewonnen uit nieuwe bronnen, zoals schalie- of steenkoolgas. Daar zullen veel landen, met name de Verenigde Staten en China, van profiteren.
Dat zegt het Internationaal Energie Agentschap (IEA). Volgens het agentschap is er wel strikte regulering nodig om de winning van dit gas op een manier te laten verlopen die aanvaardbaar is voor de maatschappij en het milieu.
De gassector zal, met name door het 'onconventionele gas' explosief groeien. Volgens het IEA zal de gasprijs dalen en zal het belang van gas als energiebron fors toenemen. De VS, tot nu toe een land dat gas moest invoeren, zullen een van de grootste gasproducerende landen ter wereld worden.
Rusland
Het belang van traditionele producenten, zoals Rusland, zal juist afnemen. Europa kan profiteren van de lagere prijzen, aldus het IEA.
De gasbedrijven zullen zich wel aan strikte regels moeten houden om tegemoet te komen aan de maatschappelijke bezwaren die tegen de winning van bijvoorbeeld teerzandgas leven. Daardoor zullen de exploitatiekosten stijgen, maar krijgt de industrie wel de mogelijkheid om op grote schaal het gas te winnen.
© ANP
6/04/2012 @ 10:29PM |1,071 views
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMeet The Oil Shale Eighty Times Bigger Than The Bakken
Everyone has heard about the Bakken shale, the huge expanse of oil-bearing rock underneath North Dakota and Montana that billionaire Harold Hamm thinks could yield 24 billion barrels of oil in the decades to come. The Bakken is a huge boon, both to the economic health of the northern Plains states, but also to the petroleum balance of the United States. From just 60,000 barrels per day five years ago, the Bakken is now giving up 500,000 bpd, with 210,000 bpd of that coming on in just the past year. Given the availability of enough rigs to drill it and crews to frack it, there’s no reason why the Bakken couldn’t be producing more than 1 million bpd by the end of the decade, a level that could be maintained for halfway through the century.
But as great as the Bakken is, I learned last week about another oil shale play that dwarfs it. It’s called The Bazhenov. It’s in Western Siberia, in Russia. And while the Bakken is big, the Bazhenov — according to a report last week by Sanford Bernstein’s lead international oil analyst Oswald Clint — “covers 2.3 million square kilometers or 570 million acres, which is the size of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico combined.” This is 80 times bigger than the Bakken.
Getting access to the Bazhenov appears to be a key element in both ExxonMobil and Statoil‘s big new joint ventures with Kremlin-controlled Rosneft. Exxon’s recent statement says the two companies have agreed “to jointly develop tight oil production technologies in Western Siberia.”
No wonder. The geology of the Bazhenov looks just as good if not better. Its pay zone averages about 100 feet thick, and as Clint points out, the Bazhenov has lots of cracks and fractures that could make its oil flow more readily. The couple test wells that he sites flowed at an average of 400 barrels per day. That’s in line with the Bakken average.
This Siberian bonanza might be news to most of us, but it’s old news to Big Oil. The conventional oil fields of Siberia have been producing millions of barrels a day for decades — oil that originated in the Bazhenov “source rock” then slowly oozed up over the millenia. From the looks of it, geologists have been looking at the Bazhenov for more than 20 years.
It’s only in the last five years that the technology and expertise has been developed that will enable drillers to harvest it. Lukoil‘s president Vagit Alekperov said a year ago that his company was also experimenting with the shale.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAnalyst Clint figures that it won’t be hard for Big Oil to export their shale-cracking techniques to Siberia. They will be challenged, however by summer weather in Siberia, which softens the ground enough to prevent drilling for much of the season. If Russia can get its act together to deploy 300 drilling rigs to the play, Clint figures Bazhenov could be producing 1 million bpd by 2020.
This would, of course, have huge geopolitical implications. Russia, though it doesn’t have as many proved reserves as Saudi Arabia, had been outproducing the Saudis for years, averaging about 10 million bpd to Saudi’s 9 million bpd. This year, the Saudis are said to have surpassed Russia, leading some pundits to speculate that Russian oil supply had peaked and was set to begin spiralling down.
Developing the Bazhenov could reverse that decline. Unlike the Kremlin’s much ballyhooed plan to drill for oil in ice-packed Arctic waters, the beauty of the Bazhenov is that it is onshore and it underlies an area that is already criss-crossed with pipelines serving mature, conventional fields. No need for expensive icebreakers, cold-weather drillships and subsea pipelines.
If Harold Hamm is convinced the Bakken will give up 24 billion barrels, a play 80 times bigger like the Bazhenov would imply 1,920 billion barrels. That’s a preposterous figure, enough oil to satisfy all of current global demand for 64 years, or to do 5 million bpd for more than 1,000 years. Rosneft, says Clint, has already estimated 18 billion barrels on its Bazhenov acreage. Either way, it looks like they’ll still be working the Bazhenov long after Vladimir Putin has finally retired and the Peak Oil crowd realizes there’s more oil out there than we’ve ever imagined.
Anatolia Energy announces updated NI 51-101 results including 11.6 billion barrels of original oil in place and 412 million barrels of prospective recoverable oil in Turkey's Dadas Shale and provides details for investor conference call
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPress Release: Anatolia Energy Corp. – 3 hours ago
Symbol Price Change
AEE.V 0.155 0.02
CALGARY , June 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Anatolia Energy Corp. (the "Company" or "Anatolia") (AEE.V) is pleased to report the results of an independent, NI 51-101 compliant resource evaluation report (the "Ryder Scott Report") of the Company's unconventional shale resource that has been completed by Ryder Scott Petroleum Consultants ("Ryder Scott") and has identified a P50 gross best estimate of 11.6 billion barrels of original oil in place ("OOIP") on the Company's prospective Dadas Shale acreage in Turkey in which it holds a 50% interest.
Gross Original Oil in Place (Million barrels)
Low Estimate (P90) Best Estimate (P50) High Estimate (P10)
Total OOIP 8,357 11,586 15,895
Ryder Scott has assigned a P50 gross best estimate of 412 million barrels (206 MMBbl net) of recoverable oil in the Company's Dadas Shale prospective acreage in the Bismil, Antep and Sinan Licences. This is a substantial increase from the Company's previous resource report, which allocated 24.9 MMBbl net from the Dadas Shale in only the Bismil Licences. (AJM Report, April 30, 2011 )
Gross (100%) Unrisked Prospective Recoverable Oil Resources (Million barrels)
Licence Low Estimate (P90) Best Estimate (P50) High Estimate (P10)
Antep 204 318 498
Bismil 49 75 114
Sinan 13 19 29
Total 265 412 641
Net to Anatolia (50%) 133 206 320
Unrisked prospective resources are the arithmetic sum of multiple probability distributions and resulted in ultimate recovery factors ranging between 3% and 4% of OOIP. This is in-line with the recovery factors initially experienced at other shale oil developments including the Barnett, Eagleford and Niobrara.
The Ryder Scott Report includes data from the Caliktepe-2 well drilled in the Bismil Licence in January 2012 , shale core extracted from the Caliktepe-2 well and significant new and re-interpreted seismic data acquired over the past year including 206 km² of 3D seismic from the Bismil Licence and 377 km of 2D seismic acquired over the Antep Licence.
"We are very pleased with the significant increase in our estimated shale oil resources. In a little over a year, the Company has developed its asset portfolio in Turkey which has resulted in a significant increase in prospective resource value. The Ryder Scott Report incorporates the updated information from all of the hard work the Anatolia and Çalık teams have collaborated on over the past year and provides further validation of the significant Dadas Shale potential on our Turkish licences. We continue to be excited with the prospectivity of the Dadas Shale and we will remain focused on further advancing the development of this resource", stated Anatolia CEO, Bob Spring
Stockhouse forum:
BeantwoordenVerwijderenJust another idea on the frac sand
riverrock0
6/3/2012 8:22:12 PM | | 172 reads | Post #31133290
Why doesn't Victory capitalize on the frac sand?
With Minago's 11.2 million tonne frac sand deposit in the pit footprint and estimates of a possible 75 million tonne within the quarry license, (see page 4 of the MD&A of 3/31//2012) its easy to see the frac sand potential at Minago. With such potential Victory should invite an established Frac Sand Producer to drill the other frac sand deposits within the quarry license and when positive they can consider a JV.
The present NI-43-101 compliant 11.2 million tonne presently has an in ground value of about $700 million. Assuming that half of the estimated 75 million tonne in the quarry license is NI-43-101 compliant, Minago's total in ground frac sand could have a value of $3 billion.
Victory might then negotiate a JV covering the entire quarry license, but stipulate that excavation of overburden over the Minago pit footprint to be paid 100% by the JV partner, with the CAPEX for the Frac Sand Plant and Facilities shared according to the agreed upon JV percentages.
If such were the case, Victory would eliminate their cost oroverburden excavation, while the entire 11.2 million tonne of frac sand could be mined immediately and stored as per Victory's preliminary intention and be the by-product credit to nickel mining based on the JV percentage..
Victory Nickel Creates Victory Silica Ltd., Appoints Ken Murdock as CEO, Industry Veteran to Lead Victory Silica's Entry Into Frac Sand Business in 2012
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 4 hours ago
Symbol Price Change
NI.TO 0.035 0.00
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/19/12)- Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced its entry into frac sand distribution and sales with the appointment of Ken Murdock, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the frac sand and industrial mineral industries, as Chief Executive Officer of Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL"), a wholly owned subsidiary.
The Company, through VSL headed up by Mr. Murdock, will establish Victory Nickel as a supplier of premium frac sand prior to commencing frac sand sales from its 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. Sulphide nickel mineralization in the proposed open pit at Minago is overlain by approximately 15 million tonnes of sandstone which must be removed prior to mining the nickel deposit; of this, approximately 11 million tonnes meets API standards for frac sand of various grades. The potential for more than 100 million tonnes of frac sand exists on properties adjacent to the Minago open pit outline.
"I welcome Ken to the team. With his strong technical and marketing background and contacts within the frac sand and oil field services industries, I am confident Ken will very quickly establish Victory Nickel as an important player in the frac sand business and set the stage for full-scale frac sand production at Minago," said Rene Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and C.E.O. of Victory Nickel.
Mr. Murdock has a degree in Environmental Engineering from McGill University, a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Manitoba, and over 25 years of related experience with Lafarge Cement, United Industrial Services Ltd and Canfrac Sands Ltd. Since 2011 he has managed his own firm, I.M.&M. Consulting, where he was involved in building sand plants for third parties. Victory Nickel first worked with Mr. Murdock when he was hired by Wardrop Engineering (a Tetratech Company) to prepare the frac sand portion of the Minago feasibility study that was completed in December 2009. Since this time, Mr. Murdock has worked as a consultant to Victory Nickel and is very familiar with the significant profit potential from frac sand sales at Minago.
About Victory Nickel
EINDELIJK! een duidelijk signaal van Victory Nickel dat ze het frakzand-gebeuren serieus gaan nemen.
VerwijderenVoor zover ik weet is een investering van enige tientallen miljoenen voldoende om de verkoop van frakzand op te kunnen starten.
Ik heb nu het idee dat NI het zelfstandig wil gaan proberen i.p.v. een samenwerking met een grote partij op te starten.
Voor alle duidelijkheid: als het frakzand-onderdeel een succes wordt, dan praten we over een multibagger, een tenbagger is zeker niet uitgesloten.
VerwijderenDe vraag is uiteraard weer hoe ze aan die enkele tientallen miljoenen gaan komen. Nog meer aandelen uitgeven aan de huidige koers betekent een massale verwatering, ze hebben ale zoveel aandelen uitstaan.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenHoe denk jij dat ze het project willen gaan financieren Ppprecies? Heb jij nog steeds een aanzienlijke posistie in victory Ppprecies?
MvG
Johan
Johan,
Verwijderenvoor een goed project is altijd wel geld te vinden, evt. via een mogelijke afnemer of via hun Chinese relaties.
Een mogelijke conculega is net overgenomen voor ca 200 miljoen, alles wat met frakken te maken heeft is 'hot'.
Zelfs als er met laten we zeggen 100% verwatering een winstgevend bedrijf uit de grond gestampt kan worden, heb ik daar vrede mee.
En ik koop nog steeds (voorzichtig) wat bij.
Natural Gas Fracking Begets a Clean-Up Industry
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPublished: Wednesday, 20 Jun 2012 | 9:42 AM ET By: Trevor Curwin,
The U.S. natural gas boom has kicked off a gold rush among clean tech firms trying to cash in on minimizing the industry’s environmental footprint.
“There’s a real feeding frenzy,” says Dallas Kachan, founder of clean tech research firm, Kachan and Co.
He says he even sees vendors of technologies that may not have targeted the energy sector “rushing to retool their products for the high visibility, high growth fracking and oil-sands markets.”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas is poised to become nearly 50 percent of the national fuel mix by 2030, up from 23 percent in 2009.
With that massive growth coming primarily from shale-gas deposits that require fracking, the cleanup opportunity is huge.
Boutique research firm Lux Research says it expects the market for fracking-related water treatment will grow nine‐fold to $9 billion in 2020.
The main issues are quality and quantity of wastewater from fracking. There is “flowback” water that’s left over after injection for the process, and “produced” water, the kind that may be unleashed by the rock fracturing from inside the shale deposit.
Both types of water can be a “toxin‐laced brine that can be more than six times as salty as the sea,” says Lux analyst Brent Giles.
This expansion will spur innovation and novel thinking about water disposal and reuse, but the field is already getting crowded, says Giles, who authored a recent report on the water treatment market.
In the past, used frack water was often moved offsite and stored in underground injectable wells.
But the rapid growth in the northeastern Marcellus shale-gas field — spanning parts of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — has few of those storage opportunities, meaning drillers must treat the water.
“Fracking represents a significant water treatment challenge — hydrocarbons, heavy metals, microbes and salts,” says Giles. He says the fluid represents “a water treatment challenge on par with the most difficult industrial wastewaters.”
According to Lux, fracking requires 25,000-140,000 barrels of water per well, and all that water needs to be cleaned and disposed of.
Kachan estimates that each of the 3,000-plus wells drilled in the Marcellus field results in up to 15,000 gallons of produced water, too.
Treatment costs vary widely, and the gas industry closely guards its recipes for the fracking fluid injected into the ground to fracture the well.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenSara Banaszak, chief economist with the America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a leading trade group, says there can be a “huge variance” from well to well, depending on how deep you drill and the quality of the shale itself, making per-well costs hard to average out.
Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of OriginOil, a biofuels firm now active in frack water treatment, says wastewater handling at similar oil sites costs 11-22 cents per gallon.
Water may be plentiful in the Marcellus area, but in other areas, like the Barnett shale-gas field in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region, fracking water relies on groundwater aquifers or rivers that are already claimed for other purposes, like crop irrigation and human consumption.
Treatment, say experts, will be a higher priority, and more costly.
With much attention focused on fracking practices, energy-market giants are taking the hint.
Drilling firm Halliburton [HAL 29.40 0.01 (+0.03%)] has a “long term alliance” with WaterTectonics to use its technology to remove hydrocarbons, heavy metals and biological matter from frack water, according to Lux.
Chevron [CVX 103.78 -0.28 (-0.27%)] is working with GasFrac, which uses high-pressure propane, rather than high pressure water, to fracture wells.
Treating frack water versus shipping and storing it has clear upside.
Chesapeake Energy [CHK 19.0482 0.3382 (+1.81%)] claims its wastewater treatment activities in the Marcellus region save the company $6 million in 2011.
Contaminants “come out of solution very quickly,” Eckelberry says about his firm’s technology, which is the lab stage now but is expected "to be in the field soon.”
Eckelberry says the gas industry could be a critical new revenue stream for companies like his, but Lux's Giles says they could be late to the game.
“Only a few companies are really positioned to profit,” says Giles. “Nearly every start‐up we talk to is going after frack water, regardless of their technology, and many of them are going to come to grief.”
© 2012 CNBC.com
The Duvernay shale is a colossal oil and gas play
BeantwoordenVerwijderenOil and Gas Investments Bulletin | June 13, 2012
In many ways the oil industry is a fashion industry, and in 2011 the exciting new model on the investment bankers’ catwalk was the Duvernay shale.
Over $2 billion was spent acquiring big land packages, and the rising price per acre kept the play in the news headlines.
Covering over 100,000 km2 along the edges of the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, it’s the source rock for almost all the pools of oil that have created fortunes for Alberta oilmen.
Canada's second largest brokerage firm, BMO Nesbit Burns, says the highly productive wet gas window in the Duvernay is 7500 km2–that’s 30% larger than the EagleFord wet gas, or liquid rich, area.
It’s huge—no, it’s colossal. It’s over-pressured, and has a high organic content—all the right signs for a great “resource play."
And some recent drill holes have shown it to be very promising. The industry says it could hold 750 TRILLION cubic feet of gas with high liquid rich numbers to make it all economic.
And the first OIL well in the Duvernay just came up with some intriguing numbers as well.
But it’s deep, and expensive to drill. The Duvernay needs very good to great results to be economic. That means liquid rich gas with at least 60 barrels of condensate per million cubic feet of gas—if not 90. (Condensate is more like a light oil that gets better than oil pricing.)
Now, in 2012, the news has gone quiet as everyone drills their first few wells. But the make-or-break economics are starting to become public.
"All the wells reported to date have produced hydrocarbons," says Ray Smith, CEO of Bellatrix Explorations (BXE-TSX), the only junior to drill and report a 100% owned Duvernay well. "So I'm encouraged. And as the play develops there will be improved recovery and reductions in cost."
But there just haven't been enough data produced to judge the economics on the play.
The juniors want to see the data so they can gauge how much their Duvernay rights are worth. The gassy juniors in particular are very cash strapped now, and selling their Duvernay rights is a big lifeline for them.
The Canadian majors involved in the play—Encana (ECA-TSX;NYSE), Talisman (TLM-TSX;NYSE) and Husky (HSE-TSX)—have had struggling stocks for the last two years (or more). But the Duvernay is big enough that it could get them back into analysts’ and investors' good books.
etc,etc,
http://www.mining.com/2012/06/13/the-duvernay-shale-is-a-colossal-oil-and-gas-play/
Victory Nickel's Ken Murdock Discusses Plans for Victory Silica's Entry Into Frac Sand Market
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 9 hours ago
Symbol Price Change
NI.TO 0.05 0.01
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/26/12)- Further to the announcement of June 19, 2012, Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today provided additional discussion on the proposed activities of its newly-created subsidiary Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL") by VSL's CEO Ken Murdock.
Victory Nickel's objective is to establish its presence in the frac sand market through VSL prior to commencing frac sand production and sales from its 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. The Minago feasibility study envisions production of up to 1.14 million tonnes per year of premium-quality frac sand from Winnipeg Formation sandstone.
"The goal is to become the preferred supplier of a full suite of import and domestic frac sand products to the Canadian market," said VSL CEO Ken Murdock. "As a first step we intend to produce premium-quality Midwest frac sand in Canada by shipping raw or partially processed sand from Wisconsin to an existing facility in Alberta. We see this as an opportunity to establish Victory Nickel as a premier frac sand supplier prior to beginning production from the 100%-owned Minago nickel project in northern Manitoba. Minago is destined to be a significant source of frac sand for many years. In addition to a large nickel deposit, the Minago open pit footprint alone contains approximately 11 million tonnes of API spec frac sand of various grades."
With the proliferation of shale oil and gas drilling and the adoption of horizontal drilling technology, demand for premium-quality frac sand imported from the Midwest United States has outpaced supply in northern markets. Combined with infrastructure constraints (rail capacity and a shortage of covered hopper rail cars which are necessary to ship fully-processed sand) it has become extremely difficult for frac service companies to access premium frac sand.
"In the frac sand business, it is important to build strong relationships with customers by proving you can deliver quality product in the quantities they want, when and where they want it," said Mr. Murdock. "We see the opportunity to add value by not only providing the products but by also streamlining frac sand logistics to meet the needs of our customers and provide the returns for our investors."
Initially, VSL intends to target opportunities in the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and North Dakota Bakken formation and the Montney in British Columbia. Additional opportunities exist in the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, and the Marcellus and Ithaca formations in the northeastern US.
"To tap these opportunities, VSL brings several advantages," Mr. Murdock added. "Our first advantage is that I am bringing a seasoned operational team that is familiar with the Alberta facility and is excited to bring it back into production. Another advantage is that VSL will be the first producer of Midwestern frac sand in Canada. Ultimately, our suite of products will include both import and domestic sands. We will also add value for customers and investors through strategic relationships in transportation and distribution; this will minimize or eliminate costs for end users in the movement, transloading and storage of frac sand products. Locating our primary finishing facilities close to our markets in areas with a skilled labour force is also an advantage. Down the road, Minago is positioned to be a long-term source of cost-effective sand supply with excellent access to road, rail and power, and is positioned to be the frac sand producer closest to the developing Manitoba portion of the Bakken oil shale."
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2012 Results
BeantwoordenVerwijderenReaffirms Full Year 2012 Guidance
Press Release: U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. – Tue, May 8, 2012 8:00 AM EDT
Symbol Price Change
SLCA 10.71 0.07
FREDERICK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA - News) today announced net income of $19.1 million, or $0.37 per basic and diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared with net income of $3.5 million, or $0.07 per share for the same period in 2011.
President and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Shinn commented, “We are very pleased with our first quarter performance, delivering record revenues and earnings for the Company. Customers continue to highly value our premium Ottawa white sand, our multi-plant-multi-basin logistics capabilities, and supply chain responsiveness. We believe we are well positioned for continued success and reaffirm our guidance for the full year 2012.”
The Company reported first quarter 2012 revenues of $102.6 million, an increase of $38.2 million, or 59% from $64.4 million in 2011 driven by continued growth in demand for our Ottawa White frac sand. Overall sales volume increased 19% during the first quarter of 2012 to 1.7 million tons, as compared to 1.5 million tons in the first quarter of 2011.
First quarter 2012 sales volume within our Oil & Gas Proppants segment increased by 57%, to 679 thousand tons, compared to 434 thousand tons in 2011, while sales volumes for our Industrial and Specialty Products segment grew year over year by 29 thousand tons, or 3%, to 1,064 thousand tons, compared to 1,035 thousand tons in the prior year.
SG&A expense was $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, as compared to $5.3 million for 2011. The increase was driven by increased staffing to support our Oil & Gas Proppants segment and to support the transformation and administrative requirements of a public company.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 121%, or $20.3 million, to $37.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, as compared to $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, driven by accelerated volume increases in our Oil & Gas Proppants segment, as well as increased pricing in both segments. Adjusted EBITDA margin percentage increased for the three months ended March 31, 2012 to 36%, compared to 26% during the three months ended March 31, 2011.
Capital Update
As of March 31, 2012, we had $84.6 million of cash on hand and $24.0 million available under our credit facilities. Our total outstanding debt at March 31, 2012 was $261.2 million.
Outlook and Guidance
The Company reaffirms full year 2012 guidance with revenues of approximately $395 million to $420 million and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $142 million to $150 million. The Company has raised the range for full year 2012 capital spend to between $100 million to $115 million. Spending is expected to be primarily directed towards the construction of a resin-coated sand plant in Rochelle, IL and a new Greenfield raw sand plant in Sparta, WI, with $15 million allocated for maintenance.
Uit bovenstaand verhaal van US Silica kan ik met een natte hand ongeveer berekenen dat Victory (NI) met 1 miljoen ton frakzand een omzet zou kunnen behalen van ca 150 miljoen.
VerwijderenDe bruto winstmarge schat ik op ca 50 tot 70%.
De netto winst kan ik niet uitrekenen, maar zal toch algauw enkele tientallen miljoenen bedragen.
http://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?s=NI&t=LIST&m=31230871&l=0&pd=2&r=0
VerwijderenChristopher Helman, Forbes Staff
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI'm based in Houston, Texas, energy capital of the world.
6/22/2012 @ 12:29PM |17,220 views
The Arithmetic Of Shale Gas
There are a few societal costs to the development of shale gas, such as the potential contamination of groundwater, complications in treating and recycling water used in fracking. Then there’s air pollution from leaking methane (a potent greenhouse gas) and from the diesel-powered rigs and trucks involved in drilling. If you live too close to a drilling rig you’ll find it’s noisy too.
But all things considered, the benefits of shale gas appear to far outweigh any costs. Many utilities are finding that burning natural gas to generate electricity is cheaper (and cleaner) than coal. Cheaper supplies of fuel and feedstocks benefit U.S. industry, especially manufacturers and chemicals makers which after years of looking for cheap gas abroad have been reinvesting in the U.S. Homeowners benefit from cheaper heating and cooling and electricity. Drilling for gas has created hundreds of thousands of jobs during this economic malaise and it’s generated billions of dollars of lease payments and royalties to landowners.
A group of Yale economics graduates, many of them energy industry executives, led by Yale Professor Emeritus Paul W. MacAvoy, were curious about whether they could quantify the economic benefit that shale gas has on America. So they recently set out to do a cost-benefit analysis, valuing and balancing the pros against the cons. They’ve released their findings in a paper called “The Arithmetic of Shale Gas.”
I’ve parsed all the complicated academic equations so you don’t have to. Their conclusion: the benefits of continued shale gas development are enormous and dramatically outweigh even worst-case scenario costs of pollution and clean-up.
Some specifics. Consider that back in 2008, before the shale boom really took off, the nominal price of natural gas (that is, the price at the Henry Hub in Louisiana) averaged $7.97 per mcf. In 2011, the price averaged $3.95 per mcf. Multiply that price drop of $4.02 per mcf by the 25.6 trillion cubic feet the country consumed in 2008 and you find that thanks to the shale boom, America is paying $103 billion a year less for natural gas. (With gas prices falling even further since 2011, in 2012 the benefit will be even greater.)
Had drillers not cracked the code on shale gas, the United States would instead have been forced to do what the experts expected five years ago: import massive quantities of gas, in the form of LNG from countries like Qatar, Australia, even Russia. Import-dependent nations like Japan and Korea pay upwards of $14 per mcf for LNG — more than triple U.S. prices. If the U.S. had to supplement domestic supplies with imports, the extra costs could have easily added $50 billion a year to the national natgas bill.
As the report’s authors write: “It is startling to acknowledge that consumer benefits from the technology of shale gas drilling and new gas production can be expected to exceed $100 billion per year, year in and year out, as long as present production rates are maintained.”
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBut it’s not enough to just look at the benefits. What about the costs?
The authors collected as many reports as they could find describing “accidents, misuse of technology and poor well design and installation.” A 2011 report for the Secretary of Energy counted 19 times that water from fracking operations spilled out of thousands of wells drilled. None of these instances included groundwater contamination. The Oklahoma Corporations Commission, which regulates the 100,000 oil and gas wells that have been hydraulically fractured in Oklahoma had zero documented instances of groundwater contamination. The EPA has reported two instances of groundwater contamination from fracking in Wyoming, though the agency has been roundly criticized for its methods.
Despite any evidence showing that drilling and fracking cause spills or pollution with any frequency, the authors decided to calculate the costs for a scenario that assumes 100 spills a year out of 10,000 new wells drilled each year. They figure that if 5,000 gallons of polluted frack water were to spill into a field, the cost to scrape up a hypothetical 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and dispose of it at an offsite landfill would be on the order of $2.5 million. Furthermore, if a potable water well were polluted by fracking, the cost to haul in a potable water supply and drill a new water well would be about $5,000. Given 100 incidents in a year, the clean-up costs associated with fracking accidents would be roughly $250 million.
3)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenComparing this $250 million a year in damages against the $100 billion in savings, and “economic benefits, as estimated in as limited methodology as is reasonable, exceed costs to the community by 400-to-1.”
(The study authors don’t attempt to quantify the costs of gas leaking into the atmosphere and don’t factor in any legal costs incurred in settling with landowners whose water is polluted. I would have hypothesized a worse worst-case scenario that would tack on an additional $2.5 million per incident in legal settlements and/or fines, to bring the total to $500 million a year. In that case, the benefits outweigh the costs by only 200-to-1.)
The study group also looked at the potential benefit to consumers of replacing oil consumption with gas — most likely via cars that run on compressed gas or LNG. It takes roughly 6,000 cubic feet of gas to get the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil. The authors assume an average natgas price of $5 per mcf (nearly double today’s price) and an average oil price of $100 per barrel (about $20 more than today). Thus, you need $30 worth of natgas to replace $100 of oil, a savings of $70 per barrel. Replacing just 1 million barrels per day of oil demand with natural gas would save $70 million a day, or nearly $26 billion a year.
Their conclusion, of course: not even inflated costs associated with unrealistically high incidences of pollution can come close to balancing the societal benefits of the shale gas boom.
In addition to Prof. MacAvoy, the other members of the Yale Graduates in Energy Study Group include Robert Ames, Solazyme Corporation; Anthony Corridore, Lafarge North America; Joel N. Ephross, Duane Morris LLP; Edward A. Hirs III, Hillhouse Resources, LLC and University of Houston; and Richard Tavelli, private energy consultant.
This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/06/22/thearithmetic-of-shale-gas/
di 21 aug 2012, 12:18
BeantwoordenVerwijderenShell pompt miljarden in Chinees schaliegas
PEKING (AFN) - Shell investeert de komende jaren tenminste 1 miljard dollar per jaar in de ontginning van schaliegasvelden in China, die naar verwachting enorme reserves herbergen. Dat zei de hoogste baas van het olie- en gasconcern in het land, Lim Haw Kuang, dinsdag in een vraaggesprek met persbureau Reuters.
De investeringsplannen sluiten aan op de strategie van Shell om te groeien in 's werelds grootste energiemarkt. Het gas, dat gevangen zit in steenlagen, zorgde de afgelopen jaren voor een transformatie van de Amerikaanse energiemarkt en kenners verwachten een vergelijkbare omslag in China.
China maakte in maart bekend te streven naar een productie van 6,5 miljard kubieke meter schaliegas in 2015. Dat is 6 procent van de huidige energieproductie van het land. Het ministerie van Natuurlijke Rijkdommen schatte de winbare schaliegasreserve in China destijds op 25 biljoen (25.000 miljard) kubieke meter, de grootste voorraad ter wereld.
wo 12 sep 2012, 13:22
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMiljardendeal met Chesapeake
Shell wil schaliegas winnen in Texas
edwin van der schoot
DEN HAAG - Shell heeft voor 1,935 miljard dollar een Texaanse consessie overgenomen van Chesapeake Energy.
Royal Dutch Shell A 12-09-2012 (17:36)
27,845 EUR -0,38% -0,105
Naar Royal Dutch Shell A detailpagina
Het Brits-Nederlandse concern maakte woensdag bekend dat het schaliegebied momenteel het equivalent van 26.000 vaten olie per dag oplevert en een ,significant' groeipotentieel heeft.
De aankoop van de 618.000 'acres' (2500 vierkante kilometer) wordt naar verwachting binnen 30 dagen afgerond.
De aankoop is opmerkelijk,o mdat afgelopen maand zowel concurrent BP als voormalig dochter en mijnbouwbedrijf BHP Billiton bij de presentatie van halfjaarcijfers fors afboekten op hun schaliegasreserves.
Schaliegas is gas dat in poreuze en kilometersdiepe steenlagen zit opgesloten in kleine belletjes, en dat tot voor kort als onwinbaar werd beschouwd. Door de ondergrond met chemicaliën te kraken, is het echter mogelijk gebleken om op een omstreden want mogelijk voor het milieu schadelijke wijze de gassen toch te winnen.
In de VS zijn inmiddels talloze schaliegasvelden aangeboord, Chesapeake is een van de twee grootste exploitanten van deze onconventionele gaswinning. Een bijkomstigheid is dat de VS nu zelfvoorzienend zijn op energiegebied, maar dat de gasprijzen daar, en in mindere mate in Europa, inzakken door het plotse aanbod dat de markt overspoeld.
Shell boekte nog niet af op zijn bewezen schaliegasreserves.
Het Brits-Nederlandse bedrijf lijkt te hebben toegeslagen nu Chesapeake in de problemen zit. 'America's Most Reckless Billionaire', aldus zakenblad Forbes, Aubrey McClendon (ceo van Chesapeake), heeft namelijk zitten goochelen met het onderpand van leningen, waardoor een potentieel belangenconflict tussen verschillende crediteuren van Chesapeake mogelijk werd. Ook zou hij het niet te nauw nemen met de corperate complience regels in de VS, en bijvoorbeeld personeel en ook de bedrijfsvliegtuigen voor eigen klusjes of uitjes laten opdraven.
Sinds begin dit jaar verloor het om geld verlegen zittende Chesapeake 10% van de beurswaarde. Naast shell, kocht vooral Chevron flink in bij het bedrijf. In totaal strijkt Chesapeake de komende weken 7 miljard dollar op.
Een zeer slimme aankoop van Shell, zo ongeveer op het dieptepunt van de USA-gasprijzen en vlak voordat Shell aardgas uit de USA gaat exporteren.
VerwijderenBP, Exxon en BHP Billiton hebben allemaal vele miljarden te veel betaald.
Fracking fluid fit for human consumption in five years
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMarc Howe | September 17, 2012
The fluids used in the fracking process to release hard-of-access underground oil and gas deposits could soon be safe enough for human consumption.
In an interview with Canada's Business News Network Keith Schaefer, editor of the Oil & Gas Investments Bulletin, said that fracking fluid could reach food grade quality in five years due to the rapid pace of technological advances and the responsiveness of the fracking industry to public concerns over its safety.
"I think food grade fracking fluid will happen, and it is just one example of the type of things that the industry is going to be doing to keep the public aware and happier," said Scahefer.
Fracking technology, which entails the use of pressurized fluid to access gas and petroleum deposits in underground rock layers, has recently become the object of adverse attention and heated debate.
While advocates point to the economic benefits provided by delivering formerly inaccessible oil and natural gas deposits to human usage, detractors claim the technology causes major environmental damage, degrading water quality as well as serving as a potential trigger for earthquakes.
Schaefer says the industry is highly responsive to concerns over fracking's environmental impact, and that public pressure is leading to innovations that will soon render the technology far safer.
Shale Gas Boom Goes Global
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBy Tony Daltorio - September 19, 2012 | Tickers: CVX, XOM, OGZPY.PK, RDS-B |
Tony is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
The shale gas boom in the United States is a well-known story to energy investors. But another story is much less familiar to investors. The exploration for shale gas and its extraction through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is quickly becoming a global phenomena.
Major international energy companies are searching for shale gas in all corners of the globe, including Argentina, Australia, China, South Africa and eastern Europe. In deciding where to explore, the oil majors followed simple logic: They looked for the most promising shale basins that were located near the most lucrative natural gas consumer markets.
The answer the oil companies came up with? Eastern Europe, a region looking to get out from under the thumb of Russia and its gas company, Gazprom (NASDAQOTH: OGZPY.PK). The region imports about 69% of its natural gas from neighboring Russia and Gazprom. The company hold the world's biggest natural gas reserves, with 18% of the total, and also accounts for about 15% of the world's annual natural gas production.
One of the most aggressive companies acquiring acreage in eastern Europe is Chevron (NYSE: CVX). The company's focus is the region from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea called the Trans-European Suture Zone. Chevron has been buying up gas properties in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. It has acquired 6,250 square miles in the region since 2009.
The most promising of these areas in eastern Europe seem to be Poland and the Ukraine. It is believed the Ukraine has Europe's fourth largest shale gas reserves and the current government is open to outside investment, inviting in western oil companies to help unlock its potential. Ukraine's government has picked Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell PLC ADR (NYSE: RDS-B) to lead large-scale exploration for shale gas. Shell general manager for Ukraine exploration and production, Graham Tiley, believes that the country can eventually become a gas exporter, a far cry from currently where Ukraine's gas bill annually from Russia has reached above $12 billion.
Poland is another jewel in energy companies' eyes, after the US Energy Information Administration said last year that the country may hold 5.3 trillion cubic meters of shale gas, the largest reserves in Europe. However, the country suffered a blow in June, after ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) ended its exploration efforts in the country following tests at two wells in eastern Poland that failed to find natural gas in commercial quantities. Exxon has six properties in Poland. But the real reason why it is abandoning Poland is that it sees a much bigger opportunity in Russia where it will develop Siberian tight oil reserves with Russian oil giant Rosneft.
The Exxon disappointment followed a downgrading of Poland's shale gas reserves by the government itself, to reserves of between 346 billion and 768 billion cubic meters of gas. If that estimate is accurate, Poland may never be a big exporter of natural gas. But it will be enough natural gas to get it away from Gazprom which currently supplies about two-thirds of the country's gas needs.
Poland is a great example of what the problem is in eastern Europe, and why it is surprising Exxon gave up after only two wells. The region is vastly underexplored, and no one is really sure how much natural gas lies underground there in shale deposits. More wells need to be drilled, as happened in the United States, in order to really get a good understanding of the geology and the size of the shale basins. That will likely take several more years of drilling by companies such as Chevron to get a handle on what actually is in the ground.
Exxon spends $1.6B on North Dakota field
BeantwoordenVerwijderenExxon Mobil to boost Bakken ouput with purchase of Denbury assets in North Dakota, Montana
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 11 hours ago
XOM 91.52
DNR 17.34
CLR 79.79
EOG 113.55
Exxon Mobil Corp. will spend $1.6 billion to boost its holdings in the massive Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana by 50 percent.
Exxon said Thursday it will buy all of the Bakken shale assets held by Denbury Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash. Denbury will also receive Exxon's interest in two fields in Wyoming and Texas.
Exxon will acquire 196,000 acres, boosting its holdings in the region to almost 600,000 acres. The acreage acquired is expected to produce 15,000 barrels of oil and other hydrocarbons per day in the second half of this year. Exxon can increase production with new drilling in the future.
Oil production in the Bakken has soared in recent years, recently passing 600,000 barrels per day, or about 10 percent of total U.S. production. That's helped fuel the biggest jump in domestic oil production in more than 40 years. North Dakota recently passed Alaska and California to become the second biggest oil producing state in the U.S., behind Texas.
The deal is relatively tiny for Exxon, which produced an average of 4.2 million barrels of oil and other hydrocarbons per day in this year's second quarter. But even small additions help because oil and gas giants such as Exxon struggle every year to secure enough new resources to replace all that they've sold.
The purchase increases Exxon's U.S. oil production by about 3 percent. It also makes the Irving, Texas company one of the biggest leaseholders in the Bakken. Other big leaseholders in the region include Continental Resources Inc., EOG Resources Inc., Hess Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp.
Shares of Denbury, which is based in Plano, Texas, rose 62 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $17.34 Thursday. Exxon shares rose 95 cents, or 1 percent, to $91.52.
Maar weer eens de wekelijkse update. Enkele interessante dingen. In eerste instantie leek dit een recordjaar wat opslag betreft te gaan worden, maar de laatste tijd is een duidelijk afname aan storage toevoeging waar te nemen. Hoe de winter gaat worden speelt natuurlijk een belangrijke rol. Verder heel interessant om de afname in rig count te zien, ook wat betreft horizontaal boren. De reactie op lage aardgasprijzen is hier duidelijk te zien. Typische cycle. Hoewel een zachte winter mogelijk is, zijn er toch wel wat ingredienten aanwezig voor het niet veel lager gaan van aardgasprijzen en mogelijk eerder een uptrend. We zullen het zien.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenhttp://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/
SHR,
Verwijderenbedankt voor je stukje!
Eigenlijk hoort een verhaal over de gasprijs thuis in het Olie- en gasdraadje.
Onderstaand stuk lijkt op het eerste gezicht ook niet thuis te horen op dit draadje, maar in feite gaat het over de enorme gevolgen van gas en olie uit schalie.
Export surge could help U.S. add 5 million jobs by 2020: study
BeantwoordenVerwijderenReuters – 28 minutes ago
By Scott Malone
BOSTON (Reuters) - Rising U.S. factory productivity, spurred by falling natural gas prices, could help the nation boost exports of products such as locomotives and factory machinery and add as many as 5 million manufacturing and support jobs by the decade's end, a new analysis found.
High worker productivity and low energy prices driven by a surge in shale gas production will give the United States a cost advantage in exports against Western European rivals and Japan in the coming years, according to a Boston Consulting Group report set for release on Friday.
By 2015, those factors will make average manufacturing costs in the United States lower by 15 percent than in Germany and France, 8 percent than in the United Kingdom and 21 percent than in Japan, the study projects. Factories' costs in China will remain 7 percent cheaper than those in the United States, however.
The competitive gap in some ways reflects the open U.S. labor market, where companies can quickly add or cut workers to meet changes in demand, said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner at the BCG consultancy and author of the report.
"In Europe and Japan, it's relatively hard to lay people off, and because of that you have employees for a long period of time that you may not be able to use," Sirkin said. "In the United States, there's much more flexibility."
Besides the ease of adding or firing workers, lower wages and Americans' readiness to move for work will make U.S. factory labor costs 20 percent to 45 percent lower than prevailing costs in Western Europe and Japan by 2015, the study found.
BCG forecast that a glut of natural gas production in the United States would keep the nation's prices of the fuel 50 percent to 70 percent below those in Europe and Japan, as well as hold down electricity costs.
BEYOND ONSHORING
U.S. factory employment has grown by about 3.6 percent to roughly 12 million people from a 2010 post-recession low, a trend that could accelerate as the United States becomes a more competitive exporter, BCG said.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe increase in part reflects a realization by manufacturers that rising shipping costs and wage inflation in China and other countries have made it cheaper to make products at home.
The recent growth in U.S. factory employment follows a drop of about 40 percent over three decades as many businesses concluded that high wages made the country too costly for manufacturing and economists predicted that Americans would turn away from assembly jobs in favor of work in the service sector.
Over the past year, though, major U.S. exporters General Electric Co (GE) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT) have both added U.S. factory jobs. The study also noted that foreign-owned companies including Japan's Toyota Motor Co <7203.T> and Germany's Siemens AG (SIE.DE) were also making products in the United States and exporting them to other countries.
BCG said the United States could boost its exports by about $90 billion by the end of the decade by winning orders currently filled by Western European and Japanese factories. Total U.S. exports came to $1.48 trillion in 2011, according to the Census Bureau.
Based on the export forecast and current worker productivity figures, BCG projects that the U.S. could add 2.5 million to 5 million jobs by 2020, an estimate that includes jobs in both factories and related services, such as trucking and construction.
The biggest export gains could come in the industrial machinery, transportation and chemicals sectors -- slices of manufacturing that are both highly energy-intensive and automated, requiring fewer workers, BCG said.
One wild card is the euro currency, which fell fairly steadily in value from mid-2011 through July as the region's policymakers struggled with a debt crisis. This slide made European factories relatively more competitive than their U.S. rivals.
That advantage has begun to fade over the past two months, with the euro trading at $1.29 on Thursday, up about 7.5 percent from its July 24 low.
Sirkin said little short of an outright collapse in the euro would change BCG's analysis.
"Obviously currency matters," Sirkin said, "but over the range that the euro's been over the last reasonable period of time, the fundamentals don't change."
Helaas zit Europa vol met halve garen die al bij voorbaat negatief zijn (zonder er iets van te weten!) over schaliegas en -olie.
VerwijderenMede hierdoor krijgt Europa een enorme achterstand op de USA, Canada, China en Australië.
Boren naar schaliegas en -olie in Europa kan vele miljarden aan inkomsten opleveren en vele miljoenen banen creëren (direct en indirect).
Ik durf trouwens met zekerheid te stellen dat boren naar schaliegas/olie niet meer risico's oplevert dan gebruik van kolen of boren naar conventionele olie en gas.
za 22 sep 2012, 19:20|
BeantwoordenVerwijderenHonderd man bij demonstratie tegen schaliegas
UTRECHT - Zo'n honderd mensen hebben zaterdag in Utrecht gedemonstreerd tegen de winning van schaliegas. Dat zei een woordvoerder van Schaliegasvrij Nederland, dat samenwerkte met Milieudefensie. De demonstratie was bij het gebouw van Energiebeheer Nederland.
Zaterdag werd wereldwijd geprotesteerd tegen 'fracking', de techniek waarmee schaliegas en steenkoolgas gewonnen worden. In Frankrijk kwamen zo'n 1000 mensen op de demonstratie af.
In Nederland zijn steeds meer gemeenten tegen de winning van schaliegas, zo meldde Milieudefensie vrijdag al op basis van een inventarisatie. Volgens de organisatie hebben 26 gemeenten al laten weten geen medewerking te verlenen aan eventuele boringen.
Allemaal halve garen die op internet water hebben zien branden........!!
Verwijderenlol
The Hogshooter May Be Hotter Than The Bakken And The Eagle Ford
BeantwoordenVerwijderenOctober 9, 2012 | includes: APA, CHK, FST, LINE
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in LINE over the next 72 hours. (More...)
The "Hogshooter" is a limestone oil formation in Logan, Lincoln, Oklahoma, and Creek counties in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle (roughly the Anadarko Basin/Granite Wash). Chesapeake Energy (CHK) announced on June 1, 2012 its largest oil gusher in company history in the Hogshooter formation. The Thurman Horn 406H well produced 5,400 bopd during its first eight days of operation. This was more than twice the output rate of some of the best performing wells in the Eagle Ford shale. This well which reaches 10,000 ft. in depth also pumped 4.6 MMcf /d of natural gas and 1,2000 bpd of natural gas liquids. All told the initial production was 7,350 boe/d. This well is currently flowing at approximately 5,100 boe/d (65% liquids). In its first 60 days of production, it produced 265,000 barrels of oil, 65,000 barrels of NGLs, and 350 MMcf of natural gas. CHK has other excellent wells there too. It owns approximately 30,000 net acres in the Hogshooter Wash play. CHK is known to be selling some of its assets to raise cash for operations and to pay off debt. It is not considering selling its Hogshooter acres, which are in CHK's existing holdings in the Granite Wash play. CHK pays a 1.80% dividend. It has a $12.47B market cap.
Apache Corp. (APA), which controls 200,000 gross acres in the Granite Wash, drilled its first two Hogshooter wells in 2010. They both produced over 2,000 bopd of oil initially. After about two months on production, each of the wells was averaging approximately 700 bopd and 3.5 MMcf/d of natural gas. The two wells were more than 15 miles apart in Beckham County, Oklahoma. This indicates that there is a substantial oil play in the Hogshooter. APA has since drilled many more wells with good success. APA pays a 0.80% dividend. It has a market cap of $33.81B.
Linn Energy (LINE) drilled nine operated horizontal Hogshooter wells in Q3 2012. These has an average initial production rate of 1,983 bopd, 534 bpd of NGLs, and 3.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. To date, LINE has drilled 12 Hogshooter wells with an average initial production rate of 2,110 bopd, 528 bpd of NGLS, and 3.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. LINE owns about 95,000 net acres in the Granite Wash, and it had identified more than 600 horizontal drilling locations as of March 31, 2012. This play may help assure LINE investors that LINE will be able to continue to grow and pay its great dividend of nearly 7%. LINE has a market cap of $8.40B.
Forest Oil (FST) has about 109,000 net acres in the Texas panhandle (the Granite Wash). This includes areas in which FST is targeting the Hogshooter formation. One of FST's Hogshooter wells had a 24 hour IP rate of 1,500 bopd, 570 bpd of NGLs, and 4.4 MMcf/d of natural gas. This was 2,800 boe/d in total. FST has not been as successful as Chesapeake Energy , but the potential is tremendous. Plus FST has a much smaller market cap of $965.72M, so the Hogshooter acreage could have a big impact on FST's future results.
The chart shows that LINE appears to be breaking out of its long term consolidation phase. This is almost assuredly due to the success of its new Hogshooter wells in Q3 2012. It also recently upped its full year guidance based on the prolific new Hogshooter results. With its oil and natural gas production well hedged years into the future, LINE appears to be a good long term buy. Currently it is overbought, so you may wish to average in. However, if the Hogshooter new drilling success continues in Q4 2012, you may wish you had bought more sooner. Still there is the fiscal cliff to consider. LINE pays a 6.89% dividend, and it trades at a PE of 8.98.
Note: Some of the above fundamental fiscal data comes from Yahoo Finance.
Good Luck Trading.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/912751-the-hogshooter-may-be-hotter-than-the-bakken-and-the-eagle-ford?source=yahoo
VerwijderenBakken Shale: The New Exploration Frontier In The Bakken
BeantwoordenVerwijderenOctober 17, 2012 | includes: CLR, EOG, ERF, KOG, MDU, NFX, NOG, OAS, QEP, SM, TPLM, WPX
http://seekingalpha.com/article/929331-bakken-shale-the-new-exploration-frontier-in-the-bakken?source=yahoo
'VS worden grootste olieproducent'
BeantwoordenVerwijderenGepubliceerd op 12 nov 2012 om 11:46 |
PARIJS (AFN) - De Verenigde Staten halen rond 2017 Saudi-Arabië in als grootste olieproducent ter wereld. Dat schrijft het Internationaal Energie Agentschap (IEA) maandag in zijn jaarlijkse vooruitblik op de wereldwijde energiemarkt.
,,Energie-ontwikkelingen in de VS zijn uitgesproken en hun effect zal ver buiten Noord-Amerika, en de energiesector, gevoeld worden'', schrijft het agentschap. Vorig jaar meende het IEA nog dat Saudi-Arabië tot 2035 's werelds topproducent zou blijven. De VS zijn nu de nummer 3 ter wereld. Rusland zal volgens het agentschap in 2015 worden ingehaald.
De wereldwijde vraag naar olie zal tussen nu en 2035 met zo'n 14 procent stijgen tot 99,7 miljoen vaten per dag, aldus het IEA. Dat zijn 700.000 vaten meer dan het een jaar geleden voorspelde en geeft volgens het IEA aan dat de wereld nog steeds zoekt naar een duurzamer pad voor het wereldwijde energiesysteem.
Opkomende economieën
De vraag naar elektriciteit zou tussen 2010 en 2035 meer dan 70 procent kunnen stijgen, vooral door een stijgende vraag in opkomende economieën als China en India. Volgens het IEA moet er daarom in deze periode 9,7 biljoen dollar worden geïnvesteerd in het opwekken van elektriciteit. Daarnaast is 7,2 biljoen dollar nodig voor de verplaatsing van de elektriciteit.
De prijs van Brentolie zal volgens de IEA in 2035 gestegen zijn tot ongeveer 125 dollar per vat, van het huidige niveau van ongeveer 107 dollar per vat.
In dit bericht worden de woorden frak-gas en- olie niet gebruikt, maar mijn vaste lezers weten dat de USA uitsluitend en alleen dankzij het frakken van schalie-lagen de grootste olieproducent kan worden.
VerwijderenEn welk product is onmisbaar bij het frakken...??
Juist ja, frakzand.
En wie zal rond 2017 grote hoeveelheden frakzand gaan leveren?
Juist ja, Victory Nickel.
Nou victory nickel is behoorlijk ingekakt de laatste tijd, all time low?
VerwijderenNou, victory nickel gaat lekker. Nickel prijs omhoog, victory zakt rustig verder. Helft van mijn inleg kwijt, kun je nagaan als ik ingestapt was op de koers van 0,14 toen ppprecies dit pareltje tipte.....
VerwijderenOlieschrokop VS wordt exporteur
BeantwoordenVerwijderen12 Nov 2012 om 15:00 - IEXProfs Redactie - Gerelateerde onderwerpen: olie, schaliegas, teerzand, Verenigde Staten
Van olieschrokop tot olie-exporteur: de VS zal vóór 2020 Saoedi-Arabië voorbijsteken als de grootste olieproducent op aarde, en uiterlijk rond 2030 netto exporteur zijn. De Amerikanen lopen voorop in de winning van olie en gas uit nieuwe bronnen als schalie en teerzand. Die opbrengst zal de komende jaren hard toenemen (zie de grafiek hieronder). Daarnaast verbruiken Amerikaanse auto's, bussen, vrachtwagens, vliegtuigen en schepen steeds minder brandstof.
Die opzienbarende ontwikkeling schetst de International Energy Agency (IEA) in zijn laatste World Energy Outlook. De gevolgen zijn legio. Zo zal de olie uit het Midden-Oosten veel meer richting Azië gaan vloeien. De IEA voorspelt dat de vraag naar energie tot 2035 met eenderde zal groeien en dat China, India en het Midden-Oosten zelf 60% van die toename voor hun rekening zullen nemen. De ontwikkelde landen zullen vooral meer duurzame energie gaan gebruiken.
Nu al zijn de gevolgen merkbaar van de aardverschuiving in het Amerikaanse energiepatroon. In de VS komt steeds meer goedkoop gas beschikbaar – op het dieptepunt dit jaar was de Amerikaanse gasprijs eenvijfde van die in Europa en eenachtste van die in Japan. Door de Amerikaanse omschakeling op gas komt er meer steenkool beschikbaar voor gebruik in Europa – niet echt de opzet van het Europese beleid dat is gericht op de omschakeling naar duurzame energie.
http://www.iexprofs.nl/Column/Opinie/87968/Olieschrokop-VS-wordt-exporteur.aspx
Fracking: It’s Good for the Economy…AND the Environment
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBy Aaron Task | Daily Ticker – 3 hours ago
In a welcome development almost no one saw coming, America's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to 1992 levels and are expected to continue to decline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).
In addition to a sluggish economy and more fuel efficient cars, "fracking" has been a big driver of this trend. "Fracking" is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock. The EIA projects U.S. greenhouse emissions will fall below 2005 levels by 2040.
"It is a revolution," says Joel Kurtzman, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute. "We should be using it. We should be embracing it. It's domestic. We spend $350 billion a year buying foreign oil. We can replace almost all of that with natural gas."
Indeed, there are multiple benefits to increased natural gas production, including less dependence on foreign oil and opportunities for the U.S. to be an energy exporter. Lower energy costs are also helping to revive U.S. manufacturing, creating jobs in addition to those directly associated with fracking activity.
The boom in domestic natural gas production has really been the biggest macro economic development of 2012 -- even if the election, the fiscal cliff and various other concerns have overshadowed it.
See: The Fracking Revolution: More Jobs and Cheaper Energy Are Worth the "Manageable" Risks, Yergin Says
As an aside, Kurtzman notes the U.S. is now on track to meet the emission targets of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty the U.S. did not sign, much to the chagrin of many greens.
"The reason why we've had these changes is not because of policy," be it carbon taxes or the Kyoto treaty, Kurtzman says. "The treaty itself is not working from an environmental or policy perspective. What is working is the fact that low-priced natural gas is replacing coal; that has a dramatic effect, which is measurable" as electricity produced by natural gas emits 43% less carbon dioxide versus coal.
While Kurtzman and others see a victory for free market capitalism, fracking is highly controversial and has replaced greenhouse gases as the primary concern of environmentalists. Among other issues such as air pollution, opponents fear contamination of local water supplies from the chemicals used in the practice.
See: What the "Frack?" Natural Gas Is Key to America's Energy Independence, but Is It Safe?
"There are risks in fracking but there are a lot of alarmists about fracking," Kurtzman says. "It is not 100% safe but it's a very good technology and we're getting better and better about it."
With big companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron now embracing fracking, Kurtzman expects the practice to become safer and more widespread.
"This is different than a wildcatter going out five or six years ago in Pennsylvania to drill a well," he says. "These are very big targets with very deep pockets [who are] very concerned about lawsuits; presumably they'll do it right."
In addition to companies' aversion to litigation, there is a "learning curve" when any new technology is adopted. Citing Joseph Schumpeter's classic invention-innovation-diffusion paradigm, Cambridge University researchers Tooraj Jamasb and Jonathan Kohler say this very much applies to fracking too, Reuters reports.
Undoubtedly that's cold comfort to environmentalists — BP's a big company too. But the economic positives of cheap domestic energy produced via fracking are increasingly hard for policymakers to resist.
Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker and Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com
For related coverage see:
U.S. to Pass Saudi Arabia in Energy Production, IEA Says: Huge Foreign Policy, Economic Implications
U.S. to Be Free from Foreign Oil by 2030: BP
vr 14 dec 2012, 12:18
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVlaggenschip Shell aan het roer in 2013
AMSTERDAM - Sem van Berkel
“Olies zesentwintigzevenentwintig!”, roept de dealingroom. Er is geen notering die zo vaak bij ons wordt rondgeroepen als die van het Amsterdamse beursboegbeeld.
‘Olies komt altijd bovendrijven’, luidt een beurswijsheid.Maar wijsheden hebben soms een langere looptijd nodig en de koersontwikkeling is dit jaar bepaald niet Koninklijk. Wat heet, we noteren 1,88 ONDER de ultimo = 6,7%.
Onze zwaargewicht met een weging van 13,83% in de AEX heeft dus een drukkend effect gehad op de performance van Mokum, die desondanks dit jaar tot nu toe een dikke 10% wist te PLUSSEN. Niemand van ons kan zich een verschil van 17% herinneren.
Maar het is zoals het is, en met hulp van dividend en opties konden we de hoeksteen van onze portefeuilles overeind houden.
De nieuwe baas van Shells productietak Upstream zou graag zien dat Europa in navolging van Noord-Amerika zijn schaliegasreserves gaat winnen. Maar ‘emoties’ staan een Europese gold rush volgens hem in de weg.
“Europa zit werkloos op zijn reserves schaliegas. Daarmee dreigt het continent de boot te missen”, betoogt Andy Brown. “Europa zou naar Noord-Amerika moeten kijken en oppassen dat we niet de kans missen om onze eigen energiereserves te ontwikkelen.”
Er wordt ruim vijftig miljard kubieke voet schaliegas dagelijks in Noord-Amerika uit de grond gehaald. Een hoeveelheid die ruwweg overeenkomt met de hele Europese dagelijkse gasvraag. In de VS behoort Shell tot de grootste spelers.
We vinden dat Brown gelijk heeft.
Slechts de keuze om de energiesector ruim baan te geven bij het exploiteren van immense verstopte voorraden olie en gas, heeft in de VS het vliegwiel van de economie aangezwengeld.
En het bericht dat Saoedi-Arabië de olieproductie heeft teruggebracht naar het laagste peil sinds een jaar, lazen we met genoegen. Hun afzet en daarmee macht neemt af door de stijgende productie in Amerika.
De Amerikaanse Energie Information Administration (EIA), een statistiekbureau op energiegebied, maakte afgelopen dinsdag de nieuwste productiecijfers van de Verenigde Staten bekend. Dit jaar met 760.000 vaten per dag gestegen. Dat is de sterkste stijging sinds de eerste ontginning van olie in 1859!
De productie is aan een opmars bezig dankzij nieuwe technieken, waarmee voorheen onwinbare (schalie) olie nu wel gewonnen kan worden.
Het Internationaal Energie Agentschap, de energiewaakhond van de Westerse wereld, voorspelde vorige maand dat de VS rond 2020 Saoedi-Arabië inhalen als grootste olieproducent ter wereld.
De koers van boegbeeld Shell stelde dus in 2012 teleur. Een zeldzaamheid. Die zich, naar onze mening, in 2013 niet zal herhalen. Integendeel, wij rekenen op een inhaalslag. “Olies is hebbe, houwe, bijkope!”
Het gezaghebbende beleggersblad Barrons is ook die mening toegedaan. Heeft ze opgenomen in zijn Top Tien favoriete aandelen voor 2013.
Stelt dat Shell in het afgelopen jaar is achtergebleven bij Chevron en Exxon Mobil en noemt koers ‘goedkoop’ met een dividendrendement van 4,9% en een koers-winstverhouding van 8.
Credit Suisse verhoogde vanmorgen het advies van neutral naar outperform. De consensus van 21 Thomson Financial-analisten luidt BUY.
Van de week bleek uit de ‘ING Vraag van Vandaag’ (60.000 respondenten) dat de eindejaarsbonus de spaarpot in gaat. Van de werknemers met zo’n eindejaarsuitkering geeft 50% aan die te zullen sparen.
“Dom”, zei onze werkstudent Thomas. “Als je iedere maand een paar Olies koopt en dat jaar in jaar uit volhoudt, hoef je niet op je AOW te wachten.”
http://www.telegraaf.nl/dft/goeroes/semvanberkel/21157766/__Vlaggenschip_Shell_aan_het_roer_in_2013__.html
'Europa dreigt schaliegasrevolutie mis te lopen'
BeantwoordenVerwijderenRoger Cohen
Thursday 27 December 2012, 09:57
update: Thursday 27 December 2012, 10:20
Europa loopt het risico nieuwe investeringen in de petrochemische industrie mis te lopen vanwege de terughoudendheid om schaliegas te omarmen. Dat zegt de topman van het grootste petrochemische bedrijf ter wereld woensdag in de Financial Times.
'Sommige Europese landen hebben al besloten om niet in schaliegas te stappen. Natuurlijk zal er dan geen ontwikkeling zijn´, zegt Mohamed al-Mady, de bestuursvoorzitter van Sabic, het grootste petrochemische bedrijf ter wereld, dat gevestigd is in Saudi-Arabië. ‘Ik denk dat we een trend zullen zien dat investeerders Europa passeren en de voorkeur geven aan Noord-Amerika, China en het Midden-Oosten.'
Milieuschade
Schaliegas moet vaak op grote diepte uit keihard gesteente geperst worden met een oplossing van water en chemicaliën. Deze methode (‘fracking’) is vooral in Europa controversieel: volgens sommigen leidt het tot schade aan het milieu. Onder andere in Frankrijk is fracking daarom verboden. Polen en Groot-Britannië onderzoeken de mogelijkheden om schaliegas te winnen, maar het is nog onduidleijk of de landen een schaliegasrevolutie zullen kennen zoals in de VS.
De schaliegasrevolutie in de Verenigde Staten heeft volgens Al-Mady geleid tot een grote uitbreiding van het aantal petrochemische faciliteiten in het land. Sabic wil profiteren van het goedkope schaliegas en zoekt naar Amerikaanse bedrijven om in te investeren. De Saudische topman zei dat hij de zorgen in delen van Europa over fracking begrijpelijk was in ‘een plek van natuurlijke schoonheid en toerisme’.
Victory Nickel Completes Asset Purchase Agreement for Seven Persons Sand Plant
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAcquisition Marks First Step Towards Frac Sand Production, Cash Flow Generation in 2013
MarketwirePress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 9 minutes ago
Symbol Price Change
NI.TO 0.025 0.00
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan 9, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced that it has completed an Asset Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement") for the Seven Persons sand recycling facility ("the 7P Facility") located southwest of Medicine Hat, Alberta (see photos at http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/sevenpersonsplant.jpg) .
"The acquisition of the 7P Facility presents Victory Silica with an avenue to generate cash flow for Victory Nickel from frac sand production and sales in the near term," said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Victory Nickel.
At the meeting of shareholders held in June 2012, the Company announced the creation of Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL"). VSL was created to establish Victory Nickel''s presence in the frac sand market prior to commencing production of both nickel and frac sand at the 100%-owned Minago mine in Manitoba. The Minago feasibility study envisions production of up to 1.14 million tonnes per year of premium-quality frac sand from the Winnipeg Formation sandstone resource that overlies the Minago nickel deposit.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn order to establish Victory Nickel as a premier frac sand supplier today, VSL has planned a three-phase program. Phase 1 establishes production of 400,000 tons per annum ("tpa") of premium-quality Midwest frac sand from the 7P Facility by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Facility for final processing and distribution. The 7P Facility is well located in an area populated with fracking companies (see map at http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/sevenpersonsmap.jpg), its customers, and is within only a few hours'' trucking distance of the well sites. Phase 2 will reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the acquisition of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Silica has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined at Minago.
The acquisition of the 7P Facility has now been completed subject to certain conditions and events. The terms of the agreement provide for payment in three stages:
An initial payment of $10,000 on signing the Agreement.
A second payment of $300,000 on receipt of approval from Alberta''s Energy Resources Conservation Board ("ERCB") of a reclamation plan to convert the 7P Facility site to a frac sand processing facility; it is currently licensed as a sand recycling facility.
A final payment of $400,000 on recovery from ERCB of a reclamation deposit that was posted by the vendor of the 7P Facility or within 90 days of the submission of a reclamation report, the final step of the reclamation plan mentioned in 2) above, whichever comes first.
Once the reclamation plan is approved by ERCB, the Company will commence the reclamation work, currently estimated to take approximately three months. The engineering, equipment acquisition and construction of plant upgrades to convert the 7P Facility to a 400,000 tpa frac sand processing plant will occur simultaneously with reclamation.
"The frac sand market is constantly evolving, and this presents new opportunities to VSL," said VSL CEO Ken Murdock. "High-quality Midwest frac sand remains at a premium, and the relationships we are establishing in the US and Canada today will benefit Victory Nickel in the near-term as well as down the road when Minago financing, mine development and production moves forward. Our internal forecasts indicate that margins in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand can be realized on sales from the 7P Facility."
"We are fortunate to have the expertise of Ken Murdock," said Mr. Galipeau "Today''s achievement is Ken''s first step in his three-phase program which calls for production of 400,000 tpa of premium-quality Wisconsin frac sand in Canada by mid-2013 expanding to 1,500,000 tpa of imported and domestic frac sand within two years. Financing discussions are advancing."
Ik las in een nieuwsbrief een stuk over een (Amerikaans)bedrijf dat een oplossing heeft voor
BeantwoordenVerwijderenhet milieuprobleem van Gas Fracking. Ik las dat als de grote gaswinningsbedrijven snel
van hun Natural Gas bleeders af willen, zonder ze te moeten verkopen, dat ze dan haast niet
anders kunnen dan snel overstappen op deze techniek.
Weet iemand welk bedrijf dit is?
Alles over frakzand:
BeantwoordenVerwijderenhttp://www.indmin.com/downloads/MODFracSandFrenzySilicaArabia201213312.pdf
Schaliegas is game changer
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAmerikaanse chemische industrie investeert weer
In de Verenigde Staten vindt grootschalige winning van schaliegas plaats. Hierdoor zijn de kosten van ethaan, grondstof voor de chemische industrie nu zó laag dat investeren in nieuwe installaties weer rendabel wordt. Of dat in Europa ook gaat gebeuren is de vraag. De winning van schaliegas stuit nog op de nodige weerstand.
In de Verenigde Staten wordt schaliegas gezien als game changer voor de chemische industrie. Tussen 2005 en 2010 groeide de productie van dit onconventionele gas met 45 procent per jaar, en inmiddels voorziet het in een kwart van de behoefte aan aardgas. Er zijn zelfs plannen om terminals (die oorspronkelijk zijn gebouwd om geïmporteerd Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) om te zetten in aardgas) om te bouwen zodat ze aardgas kunnen omzetten in LNG voor de export.
De petrochemische industrie speelt actief in op de groeiende gasproductie, zo blijkt uit een vorig jaar verschenen rapport van de American Chemistry Council. Waar de stijgende gasprijzen tussen 2002 en 2009 de investeringen en de bijbehorende bedrijvigheid vooral richting Midden-Oosten stuurden, leidt de dalende gasprijs ertoe dat bedrijven nu weer investeren in de Verenigde Staten.
Miljardeninvesteringen
ExxonMobil gaat bijvoorbeeld miljarden investeren in de uitbreiding van zijn petrochemische complex in Baytown, Texas. Onderdeel van de uitbreiding is een nieuwe ethaankraker om te kunnen profiteren van groeiende beschikbaarheid van aardgas. Ook Dow Chemical wil de kraakcapaciteit uitbreiden, terwijl Shell Chemicals zijn installaties in Texas en Louisiana momenteel geschikt maakt voor ethaan.
Als het alleen gaat om winbare hoeveelheden lijkt schaliegas ook een game changer voor de Europese chemische industrie. Volgens schattingen van het Internationaal Energie Agentschap zijn de technisch winbare reserves in Europa namelijk voldoende voor 250 jaar. Schattingen voor Nederland variëren van een paar honderd tot 3000 miljard kubieke meter. In het gunstigste geval is er dus sprake van een gasbel met de omvang van die in Slochteren. Maar waar de Groningse gasbel indertijd met gejuich werd ontvangen, stuit de winning van schaliegas in Europa nog op de nodige maatschappelijke weerstand. Frankrijk en Bulgarije hebben zelfs een moratorium ingesteld. Alleen in Engeland en in Polen wordt actief geboord, maar dat komt ook omdat de huidige Poolse regering er veel aan gelegen is om de afhankelijkheid van Russisch aardgas drastisch te verminderen.
In Nederland werden de eerste vergunningen voor het doen van proefboringen in 2009 verleend aan het Britse bedrijf Cuadrilla. De boortorens waren echter nog niet gebouwd of de omwonenden en de Rabobank (die in de directe omgeving een datacentrum heeft) stapten naar de rechter. Vervolgens besloot minister Verhagen tot een consultatieronde onder belanghebbenden om de mogelijke risico’s in kaart te brengen. Deze is onlangs afgerond, waarna een onderzoeksbureau wordt aangetrokken om alle vragen te beantwoorden. Resultaten worden niet voor het eind van het jaar verwacht, en tot die tijd worden er geen vergunningen gegeven.
2)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBrandend kraanwater
Een van de belangrijkste bezwaren tegen de winning van schaliegas is dat de gebruikte methode zou leiden tot vervuiling van grondwater. In de Amerikaanse documentaire Gasland worden beelden getoond van kraanwater dat vlam vat als je er een aansteker bij houdt. Volgens de makers van de film komt dat doordat er schaliegas uit de ondergrond in een zelfgeslagen drinkwaterput terecht is gekomen.
Geologen hadden al hun twijfels over deze claim, aangezien het onwaarschijnlijk is dat gas een afstand van enkele kilometers door verschillende soorten gesteenten kan afleggen. Recent is bovendien uit een onderzoek van de staat Colorado gebleken dat het gas in het kraanwater alleen al vanwege zijn samenstelling niet uit de diepe ondergrond afkomstig kan zijn. Inmiddels is duidelijk dat het moerasgas was dat door bacteriën in de ondiepe bodem wordt gevormd. Overigens is het elders wel voorgekomen dat schaliegas in het ondiepe grondwater terecht is gekomen, maar dat kwam vooral door scheuren in de bekleding van het boorgat.
Vervuiling en bevingen
Een ander risico is de vervuiling van bodem en water door de chemicaliën die gebruikt worden bij de winning. Voor een deel gaat het om boorvloeistof, maar daarin onderscheidt de schaliegaswinning zich niet van de winning van conventioneel gas. Hooguit is de kans op vervuiling groter omdat er meer putten worden geboord. Voor een ander deel gaat het om water dat na gebruik weer naar boven wordt gehaald. Dat bevat onder meer verdikkingsmiddelen en chemicaliën die aan het water zijn toegevoegd om corrosie en bacteriegroei tegen te gaan.
Het afvalwater bevat ook stoffen die vanuit de ondergrond meekomen. Dat kunnen organische stoffen zijn, zoals benzeen, maar ook radioactieve stoffen zoals radium, radon en uranium. Uit een studie van de US Geological Survey naar het Marcellus-voorkomen (een gebied waar veel schaliegas voorkomt) in Pennsylvania blijkt dat de gehaltes in dezelfde orde van grootte liggen als bij conventionele bronnen van aardgas. Hoewel het afvalwater wordt gereinigd, blijft het niettemin een risico om rekening mee te houden.
Milieudefensie wijst in een brochure ook op de seismische risico’s van de winning van schaliegas. Door water onder hoge druk te injecteren worden scheurtjes in het gesteente gevormd (fracking), wat kan leiden tot kleine aardbevinkjes die onder bepaalde omstandigheden aardtrillingen aan het oppervlak veroorzaken. Zo vond in het Zwitserse Basel in 2006 een lichte aardbeving plaats als gevolg van het injecteren van water onder hoge druk op een diepte van enkele kilometers. In dit geval gebeurde dat overigens niet voor de winning van schaliegas, maar voor de winning van aardwarmte.
Lichte aardbevingen zijn ook bij de winning van conventioneel aardgas niet ongewoon, zoals de inwoners van Groningen en Drenthe inmiddels weten. De vraag is alleen in hoeverre het risico bij schaliegas groter is. De tweede vraag is of er gebieden zijn, zoals in Limburg en Oost-Brabant, waar je misschien beter geen fracking kunt toepassen omdat die van nature al gevoelig zijn voor aardbevingen. De les van de gasbel in Groningen is in ieder geval dat je de mogelijkheid van aardbevingen beter kunt onderkennen dan ontkennen, zoals daar jarenlang gebeurd is.
3)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBroeikas
Het laatste bezwaar tegen schaliegas is dat de winning leidt tot meer broeikasgassen. Dat komt onder meer doordat er meer energie nodig is om het gas te winnen. Bovendien ontsnapt er mogelijk meer gas. Diverse studies laten zien dat de extra uitstoot van broeikasgassen in de orde ligt van 2 à 3 procent. Volgens de Amerikaanse Environmental Protection Agency kan die echter nog met 90 procent worden verminderd door technische maatregelen en netjes werken.
Omgekeerd blijkt overigens dat de uitstoot van CO2 juist afneemt dankzij schaliegas. De lage prijs zorgt er namelijk voor dat steenkool wordt verdrongen als brandstof voor elektriciteitscentrales. Volgens een recent bericht van het Internationaal Energie Agentschap (IEA) heeft die verschuiving ertoe geleid dat de CO2-uitstoot in de Verenigde Staten met bijna 8 procent gedaald sinds 2006.
Beheersbaar
Terwijl we in Nederland nog een half jaar moeten wachten op de uitkomsten, blijkt uit onderzoek elders dat het wel meevalt met de extra risico’s van schaliegas. In het recent verschenen rapport Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas beschrijft de IEA dat er voldoende technische mogelijkheden zijn om de risico’s binnen de perken te houden, mits bedrijven en overheden zich houden aan de ‘golden rules’. Naast technische voorzieningen om de risico’s te minimaliseren, gaat het hierbij ook om zaken als volledige transparantie en het betrekken van de lokale gemeenschap bij de plannen en projecten. Ook de Amerikaanse, Britse en Ierse milieu-instanties zien weinig problemen, mits de regels voor gaswinning goed worden nageleefd.
Nadeel van het toepassen van de ‘Golden Rules’ is volgens de IEA dat de prijs van schaliegas 7 procent hoger komt te liggen dan die van conventioneel gas. Omdat tegelijkertijd de productie toeneemt, zal de gasprijs de komende jaren waarschijnlijk tóch fors gaan dalen. Hierdoor kan schaliegas ook in Europa een game changer worden voor de chemische industrie.
Onconventioneel gas
De term onconventioneel gas verwijst naar gasvoorraden die traditioneel lastig te winnen zijn. De meest bekende is schaliegas, dat opgesloten zit in versteende kleilagen (leisteen). Een andere variant is steenkoolgas, ook wel mijngas geheten, dat opgesloten zit in steenkool.
De winning van onconventioneel gas begint met het boren van een put die bij het bereiken van de gasvoerende laag horizontaal wordt voortgezet. Vervolgens wordt er onder een druk van 400 tot 500 bar water in geïnjecteerd, waardoor het millimetergrote scheuren in het gesteente ontstaan. Dit is het zogeheten fracking. Met het water wordt ook zand als vulmiddel (‘proppant’) aangevoerd om de scheurtjes open te houden.
Om te voorkomen dat het zand neerslaat worden verdikkingsmiddelen toegevoegd, zoals guar gum. Dit is een natuurlijk middel dat ook in de voedingsmiddelenindustrie wordt gebruikt (E412). Daarnaast worden nog enkele keukenkastchemicaliën toegevoegd zoals keukenzout, soda en boorzout, en een bacteriedodend middel zoals glutaaraldehyde, dat ook in ziekenhuizen wordt gebruikt. Ongeveer tweederde van het gebruikte water wordt – met chemicaliën – weer naar boven gehaald en vervolgens gereinigd en hergebruikt.
Voor de winning van schaliegas zijn meer putten nodig dan voor conventionele gaswinning omdat het gas – ondanks fracking – slecht stroomt. Vaak moet om de paar kilometer een gat worden geboord omdat de reikwijdte van de put niet veel langer is dan een kilometer. Voordeel is wel dat je met horizontaal boren vanuit een beperkt gebied van enkele voetbalvelden groot meerdere putten in verschillende richtingen kunt boren. Een goede bekleding van de boorput (casing) zorgt ervoor dat het vrijkomende gas zich niet in de bodem kan verspreiden.
(Chemie magazine, augustus 2012)
Haynesville Shale Redefined: Encana Sees 18 Bcf EURs, $2.50 Cost Of Supply
BeantwoordenVerwijderenFebruary 18, 2013 | 19 comments | about: ECA, includes: BBG, BHP, BRGYY.PK, CHK, COG, DVN, FCX, FST, KWK, QEP, RDS.A, RDS.B, RRC, SWN, UNG, UPL, WPX, XCO, XOM
Encana's (ECA) Q4 earnings call on February 14 stirred an animated reaction among E&P-focused investors and analysts. Surprisingly, the most notable news came not from the company's emerging oil and liquids-rich plays (the update on that front was uneventful and cautious, likely contributing to the stock's 6.6% decline on the day of the release), but from its Haynesville dry gas operation. At the time when many competitors and investors seem to have written the Haynesville off as economically uncompetitive in today's low natural gas price environment, Encana announced a plan to re-enter the play and gave a very bold forecast regarding its economics:
Encana is resuming activity in the Haynesville play. Because of the low supply costs in this play, Encana expects that the Haynesville will be able to produce solid returns at current natural gas prices. The company currently has two rigs running in the play with plans to increase to five rigs through 2013. (Encana's February 14 press release)
The company now estimates that its cost of supply in the Haynesville (minimum Nymex price needed to earn the company's 9% hurdle rate of return on incremental drilling) will be "in the $2.50/MMBtu range."
Encana believes it will be able to achieve rates of return at the project level of approximately 30% using a flat $3.50/MMBtu Nymex price and approximately 40% using $4/MMBtu. I should note that the $4/MMBtu scenario is by no means in disconnect from what the futures market is currently indicating. Encana is re-entering the play with pad drilling (4-6 wells per pad) and 7,500 laterals, which means that peak production from new drilling will not be seen for at least another six months (I assume 40-45 days spud-to-spud drill time and, once the drilling rig is off the pad, another four-eight weeks to complete the wells and achieve peak production). With the rig count increasing from two rigs currently to five rigs later in the year, the majority of production volumes will ramp up in 2014 and will come in lumpy increments. The Nymex futures show Calendar 2014 and Calendar 2015 currently trading at $3.93/MMBtu and $4.19/MMBtu, respectively (Encana has been layering in hedges at above $4/MMBtu level).
Based on Encana's comments, two major factors are behind the company's confidence in the viability of the play even in a low-price environment. With several hundred Haynesville wells drilled to date, Encana has been continuously improving its frac designs: completions are bigger, denser and more effective (this has been the trend reported by several operators in the Haynesville - an illustration is provided further in this note). Based on the performance from shorter laterals, Encana believes that "the new modern design in the core areas of the Haynesville…will be able to achieve 2.5 Bcf per 1,000 feet of completed interval, which would equate for a 7,500-foot well to approximately 18 Bcf." On the cost side, Encana projects it can drill and complete a 7,500-foot horizontal in the $13-$14 million range, although cost may vary depending on the well's depth and rig specification required. The second, and most crucial, factor is that Encana will be drilling in "the best of the best sweet spots in the play" that has been thoroughly delineated by the dense HBP-driven drilling (at least one well per section).
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1201041-haynesville-shale-redefined-encana-sees-18-bcf-eurs-2-50-cost-of-supply?source=yahoo
Verwijderen
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBakken: 'Deep' Revolution Underway - Everything Investors Need To Know
May 12 2013, 23:24 | includes: CLR, EOG, HES, KOG, MRO, NFX, NOG, OAS, QEP, SM, STO, TPLM, WPX, XOM
As operators continue to turn in exploratory test results for the Lower Three Forks in the Williston Basin, the outlook for this new exploration frontier in the Bakken looks increasingly inspiring. This earnings season has already yielded two major announcements, one by EOG Resources (EOG) and one by Continental Resources (CLR), both very positive (EOG's remarks -- discussed further in this note -- were sufficient to provide a noticeable uplift to the Bakken-focused stocks on the day of the company's earnings call). Even bigger catalysts are on the near-term horizon.
While the total number of publicly disclosed exploratory wells in the Deeper Three Forks is still less than a dozen - a miniscule number given the scale of the Bakken play -- the results have nonetheless been very convincing and, for this early stage in the play's evaluation, are nothing short of spectacular. Big IP rates demonstrated by some wells are certainly positive and welcome news. Even more important are the play's structural characteristics that are being gradually confirmed by drilling results:
Comments from operators suggest that the lower benches of the Three Forks likely act as independent reservoirs and therefore provide a source of incremental reserves (something that could not -- and still cannot -- be taken for granted given the very early stage of exploration effort and lack of data on potential well interference among adjacent producing intervals).
At least in some areas, the lower Three Forks benches may offer stronger productive potential than the Middle Bakken or the upper Three Forks and, therefore, may substantially expand the play's "core" drilling inventory. This aspect is particularly important. If Deeper Three Forks failed to yield top-tier economics, additional drilling inventory, even if significant in size, would end up at the end of a long development queue and would make little economic difference for the play and provide no uplift to stock valuations. On the other hand, if the deeper benches prove to be the source of incremental sweet spots -- early indications suggest that this may indeed be the case -- value and stock impact may be quite significant.
The second bench of the Three Forks formation may be productive over a vast areal extent alongside the first bench.
Almost all of the wells announced to date have shown strong IP rates and cumulative production figures that compare favorably to wells in the Middle Bakken and upper Three Forks in the same location (of the announced results, only one well result in the third bench drilled by Continental at the far western flank of the play may fall short of "commercial" strength).
While many more tests are clearly needed to further evaluate the Deeper Three Forks potential, at the very least the results to date have shown no disappointments. The read-across is particularly positive to operators with positions in the central over-pressured part of the play. Stocks that may provide significant exposure to the "Deeper Three Forks" theme include QEP Resources (QEP), Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG), Continental, Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Hess Corporation (HES), and Oasis Petroleum (OAS), just to name a few.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1428281-bakken-deep-revolution-underway-everything-investors-need-to-know?source=yahoo
Hoort niet helemaal thuis in dit topic, maar Precies verhuist hem vast wel naar de juiste topic;
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIk kom steeds vaker het bedrijf "National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV)" tegen. Volgens mij heeft het bedrijf wel zo'n 20-30% realistisch groeipotentieel op redelijk korte termijn. Meerdere analisten denken er hetzelfde over. Bedrijf maakt gestandariseerde boorapparatuur en mede door veiligheidswetgeving in de VS (na het BP-debacle in de Gulf of Mexico) staat dit bedrijf sterk in de nichemarkt van "safe standarized drilling gear", om het maar even zo te noemen. Het bedrijf heeft backorders tot 2016, hoewel ik nog niet uitgezocht heb welke daarvan contractueel echt vast staan. Warren Buffet heeft miljoenen in dit bedrijf geinvesteerd en Motley Fool heeft meerdere insiders die gek zijn van dit aandeel.
Maar.. doe je eigen onderzoek. Als je informatie wilt delen wordt dit natuurlijk gewaardeerd.
zie reactie op: 'Alles over olie- en gaswinning en -aandelen'
Verwijderen7/24/2013 @ 8:39AM |1,516 views
BeantwoordenVerwijderenEOG Resources' Shale Oil Secrets: Rail Lines And Sand Mines
EOG Resources CEO Mark Papa. (Credit: Robert Seale)
‘Usually when you step outside your normal activity level you bungle it,’ says EOG Chairman Mark Papa. ‘We were driven by necessity into something we didn’t know.” And it worked.
As showcased in my new Forbes Magazine article, EOG Resources was one of the first companies to use the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to coax oil out of America’s biggest new oilfields, the Bakken and Eagle ford. After proving there was plenty of recoverable oil there, the challenge turned towards how to get it out and get it to market at the lowest cost.
Because magazines don’t have the endless bandwidth of the internet, some key secrets of EOG’s success in doing so got left on the cutting room floor. It’s worth sharing them here.
CEO Mark Papa had the foresight to make two unusual moves for an oil company — investing in railroads and sand mines. “Usually when you step outside your normal activity level you bungle it,” says Papa. ”We were driven by necessity into something we didn’t know.” Oil volumes in the Bakken were growing so fast in 2008 that there weren’t enough pipelines to get the crude to market. The default option was to load the oil into tanker trucks — but at a transport cost of $25 a barrel. Why not move it by rail?
So what if no one else was doing it; Papa met with Matt Rose, CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, to discuss options. EOG spent $100 million building a rail spur and loading terminal. BNSF (a division of Berkshire Hathaway) now hauls 70,000 bpd for EOG, delivering the oil to refineries north of New Orleans where it fetches a premium over what it could get at the glutted midwest oil hub of Cushing, Okla. Rose tells me that the railroad is now hauling 700,000 bpd, or 325,000 carloads of oil per year; the growth of oil by rail is “like nothing in my career.”
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VerwijderenRail led into sand mining.
EOG uses roughly 3 million tons a year of sand for its fracking operations, several thousand pounds per well. The shale boom doubled and tripled sand prices to as much as $350 a ton. After thinking about the thousands of wells that EOG intended to drill, Papa decided to buy a sand mine. ”We were told it would be a logistical nightmare. I said, ‘We’re already railcar-ing oil, how hard could it be?”
Not hard, once you’ve hired a bunch of sand and rail experts. EOG has since invested more than $200 million in three sand mines and two processing plants in Wisconsin. It ships the sand via BNSF and other railroads to the Bakken and Texas. Papa says that sourcing its own sand saves EOG $500,000 in costs on the average $7.5 million well. They drill 600 wells a year.
“The only trouble is now our engineers think sand is free,” says Papa. Using more sand in their fracks have helped those engineers deliver more monster wells (initial production of more than 3,000 barrels per day) than any other company. EOG’s engineers, led by President Bill Thomas, are zeroed in on getting perfecting the methods of developing these shale oil fields. Tiny improvements standardized over thousands of wells save money, and they could produce a lot more oil. EOG figures that under the 570,000 acres it controls in the Eagle Ford shale, there’s roughly 26 billion barrels of original oil in place. Yet EOG calculates that there’s “only” 2.2 billion barrels of oil that are technically and economically recoverable. That recovery rate of 8% is about standard across the shale plays. Compare that with a recovery rate of 30% or more in conventional oil fields. Every percentage point improvement in recovery means a couple hundred million more barrels EOG can squeeze out over time.
How to get there? EOG is already the industry leader when it comes to using microseismic sensors — which translate vibrations from deep underground into 3-d models of oilfields. Using sensor arrays stretching over dozens of square miles in both south Texas and North Dakota, EOG’s engineers can see how effective their fracks have been and see where the oil has been sucked up and deduce where it’s been left behind.
In recent months, says Papa, EOG has come to the conclusion that instead of the “longer, skinnier” fracks that it had been drilling into the Eagle Ford, it’s now moving toward “shorter, fatter fracks” that reach a radius of just 300 feet from the wellbore, but completely pulverize all the rock in the area. A tighter radius means you can fit more wells in a given field and hopefully get more oil out — boosting that all-important recovery rate.
This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/07/24/eog-resources-shale-oil-secrets-rail-lines-and-sand-mines/
Bakken Update: U.S. Silica Holdings Misses On High Expectations, But Long-Term Story Still Intact
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAug 2 2013, 22:58 | about: SLCA (U.S. Silica Holdings Inc), includes: CRR, EMES, EOG, HCLP, NBL, PXD, WLL
Disclosure: I am long SLCA, TPLM. (More...)
For those who missed the run in U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA), you just got another buying opportunity. It reported a Q2 EPS of $.38 versus the Street's estimate of $.40. Revenues came in at $129.8 million versus $133.94 million. The main reason for the big drop in share price after hours could have been the company's reaffirmation of its 2013 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $165 to $175 million. This was further compounded by a rise in 2013 capital expenditures to a range of $60 to $70 million. Expectations were high going into earnings, and the capital expenditure increase would have been welcomed with a higher 2013 adjusted EBITDA guidance. Either way it was a tough crowd to please, but it's a good time to start or add to your position. U.S. Silica has doubled since August of 2012. Don't let this scare you off, the stock still has value, even at these levels.
There were some very good numbers in Q2 of 2013. Total revenues increased 24.1% year over year. Of this $25.2 million increase, oil and gas accounted for $23.2 million. Oil and gas volumes increased 44%, with overall total volumes improving 14.9%. Total oil and gas tons sold were 988120 in Q2 of 2013. This was an improvement from Q2 of 2012, which was 684992 tons. The only concerning issue in the oil and gas segment, was a slight decrease in margins. This is something to watch, as my expectations have been for margins to increase in the short term. U.S. Silica's industrial and specialty products sold 1060448 tons. This was a decrease from Q2 of 2012, for which it sold 1098425. The decrease in volumes was made up for with better margins. Industrial and specialty products is not a growth business, but U.S. Silica derives a steady income from this area.
U.S. Silica derives revenues from multiple industries outside oil and gas. It serves glass, foundry and building product businesses throughout the United States. In reality, an investment here is heavily weighted to oil and gas. More specifically, unconventional oil and gas in U.S. basins. Not only is this part of the business growing quickly, it is already the source of approximately 60% of revenues. There are several reasons to believe that U.S. Silica will continue to outperform. It would be my guess that all players in this industry will do well, like Emerge Energy Services (EMES) and Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP). Emerge has been off like a rocket since its IPO in May. Estimates have the company growing over 41% next year. Hi-Crush estimates have the company growing 43% this year and 21% in 2013. Both of these companies are MLPs, so U.S. Silica offers a little different investment. Whether one company is better than the other as an investment would depend on the individual. All three of these companies offer decent growth, but I would wait for opportunities to buy on pullbacks.
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BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn my coverage of the oil and gas industry, there are some changes taking place that will probably improve growth for most players in this space. After CARBO Ceramics (CRR) posted a good Q2 earnings report, there were still issues in the ceramic proppant space. I have seen most operators increasing usage of frac sand per well, and decreasing ceramic proppant. Now CARBO Ceramics will focus on cheap Chinese ceramics hitting the U.S. market and dragging down its sales. I could be wrong, but this is only part of the issue. I believe new completion techniques are not only making it possible to use up to a million pounds of sand per 1000 feet of lateral, but are also to use all sand fracs. My hypothesis may be incorrect (but I would like to hear differing opinions) as deeper source rock is exposed to higher pressures that crush frac sand. This is why many operators use a mix of resin coated sand, or in the Bakken (very deep) ceramic proppant. The idea is simple.
EOG Resources (EOG) is an example of an operator significantly increasing sand usage per foot. This has produced amazing results, and well costs go up minimally. To give an idea of how this completion style is changing well design, I have included the table below.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1601742-bakken-update-u-s-silica-holdings-misses-on-high-expectations-but-long-term-story-still-intact?source=yahoo
Victory Silica Ltd., a Subsidiary of Victory Nickel Inc., Hires Frac Sand Marketing Executive
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIndustry veteran to develop customer base for frac sand sales in 2013 and beyond
MarketwiredPress Release: Victory Nickel Inc. – 6 hours ago
Symbol Price Change
NI.TO 0.03 0.0000
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug 6, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today took another step towards becoming a high-quality frac sand supplier to the northern markets by making another key addition to its Victory Silica team with the hiring of D. Brent Lock as Vice President, Marketing.
Brent brings extensive marketing experience to Victory Silica. He has spent the past five years as VP Operations/Marketing & General Manager with Canfrac Sands Ltd., a Calgary-based frac sand producer with operations located near Lloydminster, Sask. Prior to that, Brent held a variety of operations and marketing positions in the oil & gas sector over the course of 26 years for companies including Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Amerada Hess Canada Ltd. and Apache Canada.
Brent will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies and managing customer relationships in support of Victory Silica's goals to begin frac sand sales in 2013 and to become a leading supplier of high-quality frac sand products in Canada.
"The addition of Brent, along with the other appointments announced recently, reflects our commitment to becoming the go-to source for premium quality import and domestic frac sands in Canada," said Victory Silica CEO Ken Murdock. "We are excited to have Brent on board. He brings a wealth of marketing experience and relationships within our target customer group that are vital in the near-term and as we execute our growth plans in the future."
About Frac Sand
Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process - a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare commodity. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.
About Victory Silica Ltd.
Victory Silica is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In Phase 1, Victory Silica plans to begin sales of premium quality Midwest frac sand from its plant in Seven Persons, Alta. near Medicine Hat (the "7P Plant") prior to the end of 2013 by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Plant for final processing and distribution. The 7P Plant is well located in an area populated with fracking companies, its potential customers, and is within only a few hours' trucking distance of major oil play well sites. Phase 2, which includes the construction of a concentrator in Wisconsin, will reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the control of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Silica has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined as a co-product of development of a nickel mine at the Company's 100%-owned Minago project in Manitoba. With margins expected to be in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand sold, Victory Silica should generate sufficient cash flow in Phases 1 and 2 to provide the financial flexibility to expand its activities by developing a second plant as Phase 3 of its growth plan.
Victory Nickel Announces Closing of Convertible Note Financing
BeantwoordenVerwijderenProceeds to advance Victory Silica's entry into frac sand industry
Marketwired
Victory Nickel Inc. 1 hour ago
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov 11, 2013) - Victory Nickel Inc. ("Victory Nickel" or the "Company") (NI.TO) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced that it has completed a US$2 million convertible note financing (the "Note") with an offshore lender, the proceeds of which will be used by the Company's wholly-owned frac sand marketing subsidiary Victory Silica Ltd. ("VSL") to advance its entry into the frac sand market. Victory Silica is currently completing development of its Seven Persons frac sand plant (the "7P Plant") near Medicine Hat, Alberta and anticipates beginning frac sand production early in the first quarter of 2014.
The Note carries a two-year term and bears an interest rate of 14.8% calculated monthly with quarterly cash payments. The lender has the option to convert a portion or the entire principal amount into common shares of the Company at any time during the term of the note at a conversion price of CDN$0.10.
"The Note represents a significant piece of the financing required to start buying sand to commence frac sand production," said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO. "We continue to get good traction on the Victory Silica plan from investors and potential customers and are working hard to begin production and sales as soon as possible."
About Frac Sand
Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process - a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare commodity. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.
http://www.victorynickel.ca/_resources/victory_silica_factsheet.pdf
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDeze reactie is verwijderd door de auteur.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPrecies, mijn eerste mislukte reactie op jouw bijzonder interessante log kun je gewoon weghalen hoor !
VerwijderenHallo Peter,
Verwijderenvan harte welkom op mijn blog!
Aarzel niet om interessante bijdragen te plaatsen die passen bij een specifiek draadje.
Links boven het blog vind je een zoekmachine.
Veel succes!
Frac sand plant nearly ready in Seven Persons.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe process of converting a sand recycling plant in Seven Persons to process high-grade drilling material is nearing completion about one year after a mining company announced the plan to produce frac sand locally .....
http://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2014/01/frac-sand-plant-nearly-ready-in-seven-persons/
http://www.victorynickel.ca/victory_presentation/files/assets/common/downloads/NI%20Presentation%20January%2013_%202014.pdf
BeantwoordenVerwijderenzie vooral pagina 18
Victory Nickel Begins Sand Shipments to Seven Persons Plant in Alberta
BeantwoordenVerwijderenSubsidiary Victory Silica set to commence frac sand production at new 500,000 TPY facility
Toronto, January 29, 2014 – Victory Nickel Inc. (“Victory Nickel” or the “Company”) (TSX: Ni) today announced that the first shipment of 900 tons of washed, concentrated sand from the transload terminal in Winona, WI for drying, screening and sale from the Company’s new Seven Persons frac sand dry plant ( the “7P Plant”) near Medicine Hat, AB has now taken place.
“This first movement of premium-quality Jordan Formation sand concentrate to our 7P Plant for drying and screening is a tremendous milestone for Victory Nickel and Victory Silica,” said Ken Murdock, Victory Silica’s CEO. “Construction of our 500,000 ton per year frac sand dry plant is approaching completion; required mobile equipment has been acquired and is ready at our plant and rail siding; and all the necessary supply and transport agreements are in place. All costs other than plant operating costs are fixed under contract and we look forward to commissioning our new plant and making that first sale of high-quality frac sand very shortly.”
“Ken and his crew did an outstanding job dealing with difficult situations to complete the construction of a modern facility which has a capacity of 500,000 tons of frac sand,” said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Victory Nickel. “Design changes during construction to increase availability and therefore production capacity delayed the project somewhat but it will be worth it in the very near term.”
Eindelijk......!!!!
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