A Canadian company has loaded a test cargo of solid bitumen onto a vessel destined for a refinery in China, the latest effort by the energy industry to avoid congested export pipelines and find new ways to export more oil sands crude. Calgary, Alberta-based Melius Energy loaded 130 barrels of neat bitumen, similar in consistency to a hockey puck, onto a 20-foot shipping container in Edmonton, Alberta, and transported it by rail to the Port of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia. The [Read more]
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Imperial Oil to begin planned work at Sarnia site
A planned maintenance turnaround is expected to get underway in the next several days and continue for about two months at Imperial Oil Ltd's Sarnia site, according to a local media website. Individual process units will come offline beginning this weekend and restart at various times within the overall period, the report said citing Kristina Zimmer, the company's Public & Government Affairs Manager. Imperial operates a 121,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Sarnia. [Read more]
Oil prices steady amid concerns of rising supplies and sluggish demand
Oil prices were steady on Thursday after falling the previous two sessions on industry concerns about rising supplies and signs of slowing demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were 2 cents lower, or 0.04%, to $56.47 a barrel. Brent crude futures were at $62.36 a barrel, down 3 cents, or 0.05%, from the previous close, by 0555 GMT. Brent prices have dropped 3.6% since the close on Monday, while WTI is down 3.7% over the same period, weighed down by a surprise 2.4 [Read more]
Japan to invest $10 bln in global LNG infrastructure projects
Japan and its private sector firms will invest $10 billion on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worldwide, the country's industry minister said on Thursday, in a strategy to boost the global LNG market and reinforce the security of energy supply. The move, doubling a commitment by Japan two years ago to bolster energy supply chains, comes as the world's biggest LNG buyer aims to reduce its reliance on energy from the Middle East as growing tensions in the region threaten the [Read more]
Jupiter Announces Credit Facility Extension
CALGARY, Sept. 25, 2019 /CNW/ - Jupiter Resources Ltd. and its affiliates (collectively, "Jupiter" or the "Company") have received an extension to the maturity date, associated with the Company's existing senior secured reserve-based revolving credit facility (the "RBL Facility"), until November 4, 2019. The commitments under the RBL Facility will be limited to a maximum of $275 million for the extension period, during which the Company will continue to negotiate a longer-term credit [Read more]
Decision on Canada’s Come-By-Chance refinery expansion expected in coming days
Canadian officials will decide in coming days whether to grant environmental approval for expansion and upgrades at the North Atlantic Refining-owned refinery in Come-by-Chance, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment in Newfoundland and Labrador said on Wednesday. The expansion, if approved, would increase output at the 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery to 162,000 bpd. That would allow the refinery to process more light, sweet crude oil as new maritime rules governing sulfur [Read more]
New technology moves oilsands bitumen in shipping container to West Coast
CALGARY - Melius Energy says it has successfully tested a new technology that allows oilsands bitumen to be shipped as a semi-solid product in six-metre-long shipping containers. The Calgary-based company says it moved 130 barrels of bitumen treated with the BitCrude process from Edmonton to Prince Rupert, B.C., by intermodal rail. President Nicole Zhang says the alternative to pipeline or rail tanker cars delivers value for Canadian producers while satisfying international demand for the [Read more]
Saudi Aramco restores oil output earlier than expected
Saudi Arabia has restored its oil production capacity to 11.3 million barrels per day, three sources briefed on Saudi Aramco's operations told Reuters, maintaining a faster than expected recovery after the Sept. 14 attacks on its oil facilities.Crude output from the Khurais field is now at 1.3 million bpd and the Abqaiq plant is currently at about 4.9 million bpd, the sources said. On Monday, sources had said Abqaiq production was about 3 million bpd. The Sept. 14 attacks on the two plants [Read more]
The Marten Hills Clearwater Oil Play: From Open Land to High Demand
In four short years, the Clearwater cold flow heavy oil play at Marten Hills and Nipisi has gone from interesting land sales to producing over 14,000 bopd. Over 6 mmbo have been produced to mid-July 2019. The main players are Spur and Deltastream, with Highwood, Cenovus and CNRL also active (map). A timeline shows the interplay of drilling activity and land sales, while a graph shows that oil rates went from almost zero in late 2016 to over 14,000 bopd in mid-2019. The potential size of the [Read more]
XI Technologies: How the oil and gas industry can adapt to today’s challenges
Each week, XI Technologies scans their unique combination of enhanced industry data to provide trends and insights that have value for professionals doing business in the WCSB. If you'd like to receive our Wednesday Word to the Wise in your inbox, subscribe here. Last week, XI had the opportunity to take part in two important industry conferences, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Landman (CAPL) Conference and the Energy Disruptors Conference. Both these conferences featured exciting [Read more]