HOUSTON (Reuters) - Higher investments in offshore oil production are critical to avoiding a supply squeeze by 2020, as expanding shale output will not match projected demand increases in the next few years, U.S. oil producer Hess Corp said on Thursday. The past four years of low oil prices have major producers pulling back on needed offshore investment, and the gap between supply and demand should help prices rebound, Hess Chief Operating Officer Greg Hill said at an energy conference at Rice [Read more]
Pembina ups capacity on planned western Canada oil pipeline
Pembina Pipeline Corp is boosting capacity on its Phase V pipeline expansion project in western Canada in response to demand from customers in the Montney and Deep Basin oil fields, the company said on Thursday. Calgary-based Pembina said it will add 45,000 barrels per day of capacity to the planned pipeline, meaning it will be able to carry 305,000 bpd of crude oil and condensate between Lator and Fox Creek, central Alberta. The extra capacity, which includes adding storage tanks and a new [Read more]
Oil climbs as tension over Iraqi Kurdistan rises
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, spurred by rising tension around northern Iraq following the Kurdistan region’s vote in favor of independence in a referendum. Brent crude was up 40 cents at $58.30 a barrel by 1200 GMT. It hit a more than two-year high of $59.49 on Tuesday after Monday’s referendum vote prompted Turkey to threaten to close the region’s oil pipeline. U.S. light crude was 40 cents higher at $52.54 after reaching a five-month intra-day high of $52.86. “Kurdistan [Read more]
Brent slips from 2015 peaks, U.S. crude up on inventory draw
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent prices fell on Wednesday while U.S. crude rallied, after crude stockpiles in the world’s top oil consumer unexpectedly drew down with refiners coming back online following Hurricane Harvey last month. Brent slipped from 26-month highs to settle down 54 cents, or nearly 1 percent, at $57.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, higher at $52.14 but stayed below five-month highs. U.S. crude inventories fell 1.8 million [Read more]
Kinder Morgan Canada ordered to stop some work on pipeline expansion
Canada's energy regulator has ordered Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd to stop some work on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, after a public company blog post showed it had been conducting activities that had "not yet been approved." In a letter sent on Friday, the National Energy Board (NEB) said Kinder Morgan has started work along the pipeline portion of the project, which the company is not yet allowed to do, and that it has to stop. The letter was filed to the NEB's [Read more]
Duvernay field holds Canada’s biggest shale oil reserves -regulator
The Duvernay field in Canada's western province of Alberta holds the country's largest marketable reserves of light shale oil and condensate, according to a new report from the national energy regulator. It is the first time the National Energy Board has done a detailed study of reserves in the 130,000 square kilometer (50,193 square mile) Duvernay play, which covers around 20 percent of Alberta, Canada's main crude-producing province. The NEB report showed the Duvernay holds 3.4 billion [Read more]
Kinder Morgan Canada ordered to stop some work on pipeline expansion
Canada's energy regulator has ordered Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd to stop some work on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, after a public company blog post showed it had been conducting activities that had "not yet been approved." In a letter sent on Friday, the National Energy Board (NEB) said Kinder Morgan has started work along the pipeline portion of the project, which the company is not yet allowed to do, and that it has to stop. The letter was filed to the NEB's website. Kinder [Read more]
Oil near 26-month high as Turkey threatens to choke Kurdish exports
LONDON (Reuters) - Brent oil prices hovered near 26-month highs on Tuesday, supported by Turkey’s threat to cut crude exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region and signs of quicker market rebalancing. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated a threat to cut off the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum. This potential loss, [Read more]
U.S. crude exports to Asia may shake up global oil pricing
The great disruptor that is U.S. shale oil is coming to Asia, as refiners in the energy-hungry region look to expand and diversify their sources of crude, and the consequences will likely go well beyond a shift in oil trade flows. It should come as no surprise that rising oil output in the United States would find its way to the region that is the world's fastest-growing consumer of the fuel, but perhaps the rapid pace of the shift has caught some in the market off-guard. Crude oil exports [Read more]
Minnesota public hearings begin for Enbridge’s $6.5 bln oil pipe expansion
Regulatory hearings for Enbridge Inc's C$8.2 billion ($6.5 billion) Line 3 crude oil pipeline upgrade will begin on Tuesday in the U.S. state of Minnesota, which presents the last hurdle for the biggest project by North America's top pipeline operator. Until mid-November, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will hear from groups including landowners, aboriginals and environmentalists, many of whom fiercely oppose the project, while the energy industry supports it. The commission is [Read more]