Jan 06

Realm Energy, Halliburton Driving Shale Play Development Outside North America

By Trevor J. Murphy shale gas in Europe 1 Comment »

From: New Technology Magazine, December 21 2009

In an effort to accelerate shale gas development, Realm Energy International Corporation and Halliburton have announced they will aggressively continue the evaluation of high potential shale deposits throughout Europe and select emerging countries.

In early 2009, Realm Energy began collaborating with Halliburton Consulting on a global evaluation of shale plays with potential for natural gas and oil production. Shale deposits are a proven and significant resource in North America and an emerging unconventional resource in other areas of the world.

With an initial focus on Europe, Realm Energy and Halliburton successfully selected eight discrete sedimentary basins in seven European countries, identified key prospect trends and targeted a substantial amount of petroleum and natural gas leases for acquisition.

“Following our evaluation, Realm Energy is pleased to inform its shareholders that the company is in the process of acquiring large contiguous tracts of land over significant shale formations,” said Realm Energy chairman Craig Steinke.

“As we enter the exploration and development phase of our strategy, we can rapidly transfer Halliburton’s extensive shale knowledge and modify best practices from all North American shale plays to continental Europe and beyond.”

Going forward, Realm Energy will access Halliburton’s global infrastructure and partnerships, leading edge solutions and customized strategies for optimizing value from each specific shale formation, with the highest environmental standards.

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. The company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir-from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field.

Realm Energy International Corporation is a Canadian domiciled global energy company focused on driving the exploration and development of major shale plays throughout Europe and emerging countries. The company is in the process of acquiring petroleum and natural gas rights in large contiguous tracts which it has identified as high potential, and is committed to leveraging the most advanced shale technology to bring these resources into production.

SOURCE
New Technology Magazine: “Realm Energy, Halliburton Driving Shale Play Development Outside North America”

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Jan 06

Russia, Belarus Dispute Spotlights Continuing Need For Energy Independence

By Michaela Davies energy independence No Comments »
An energy price dispute between Russia and Belarus escalated early this week

The dispute focuses on the Soviet-era Druzhba  pipeline system that supplies 10% of the European Union’s oil.  Poland depends on the Druzhba pipeline for most of its crude oil. Germany received about 15% of its crude through the pipeline in 2008.

Russia began curbing supplies through the pipeline to Belarus’s domestic market after an oil-supply agreement between the two countries expired Dec. 31. On Monday, Russian officials said those deliveries had been resumed, but not before Belarus threatened to cut off electricity to Russia’s westernmost region if the Russians insisted on imposing a new tax on the oil Belarus processes for export.

Three years ago, Russia briefly cut oil exports to the European Union nations through a Belarussian pipeline as the two former Soviet republics quarreled over price. That shutdown, along with a January 2009 natural-gas cutoff to Europe caused by contract disputes with Ukraine, has raised doubts in Europe about Russia’s dependability as a top energy supplier.

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Jan 05

European Energy Disputes Continue as 2010 Arrives

By Michaela Davies energy independence No Comments »
Troubled times in the energy sector continue with Russia and its European neighbours, even those who are closest to the Russian sphere of influence.  
Russia and Belarus have failed to renew an agreement on crude oil export tariffs that expired on New Year’s Eve, raising the prospect that yet another otherwise unremarkable energy pricing dispute between Russia and a neighbor could unravel into a midwinter fuel shut-off on the Continent. Just a year ago, Europeans shivered through a politically tinged dispute that went on for weeks between Russia and Ukraine over  natural gas prices and transit fees. As is the case with natural gas pipelines in Ukraine, about 1.3 million barrels of oil per day shipped along the Belarussian spur of the Druzhba pipeline supply both the internal market in Belarus and the more lucrative markets in the European Union like Germany and Poland.

On Sunday, Reuters cited two oil traders as saying that Russia had begun curbing supplies to the domestic market by cutting the flows to two refineries, Naftan and Mozyr. In Ukraine last January, that was a first step toward a more general shutdown.  Russian officials took pains to emphasize that the export volumes would continue to flow, while either refusing to confirm or denying the report of a local shut-off in Belarus.

Belarus is one-half of a loose confederation with Russia that was supposed to eventually lead to a common currency and customs zone. Yet in the oil business, so vital to Russia’s economy, Belarus was treated with privilege but as less than a fully integrated partner. The government in Belarus posted a statement saying that they had been subjected to “unprecedented pressure” to acquiesce to Russia’s demands. Both sides, however, said Sunday that negotiations were continuing.

Last January, the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom first tried to halt supplies to Ukraine’s domestic market in a pricing dispute. It then shut down the pipeline entirely, accusing the Ukrainians of continuing to supply their own needs by siphoning gas intended for export.

Source: New York Times   

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Jan 04

European Energy Giant Total Acquires Shale Gas Interests

By ckeddy natural gas, natural gas in Europe, natural gas in the USA No Comments »

Total SA, Europe’s third-largest oil producer, agreed with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to acquire 25 percent of its upstream Barnett Shale assets.Total will pay $800 million in cash and up to another $1.45 billion by funding 60 percent of Chesapeake’s share of drilling and other costs in a joint venture. The companies said they also intend to acquire additional acreage in the Barnett Shale under the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval and expected to close by the end of January.

The Total/Chesapeake joint venture is the second major deal in as many months. In December, Exxon Mobil Corp. said it would acquire Fort Worth’s XTO Energy, also a big player in the Barnett Shale, in a deal valued at $41 billion.

Unconventional gas in the U.S. “has been the biggest, most unexpected surprise in the U.S. and global energy,” Exane BNP Paribas analyst Irene Himona wrote in a recent note. Unconventional gas, including so-called tight gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane accounts for around 40% of U.S. gas output, she noted.

Total-Chesapeake deal is another sign of growing interest by the world’s largest oil companies in natural gas as oil resources become more difficult to find. European Giants BP (BP.L) and Statoil (STL.OL) have also entered into deal Chesapeake in the past 18 months. Western companies are also looking closer to home for investments, as barriers to investment in resource-rich countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia limit their options.

Other Sources: RIGZONE

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