In the words of former Shell CEO Jeroen van der Weer, the era of ‘easy oil’ is over. Although a few bright spots remain for conventional oil and gas development, most notably in Iraq, the hydrocarbons industry will increasingly depend for production growth on more technically challenging ‘frontier’ fields. These will be located further offshore… [Read more]

Yesterday, my colleagues and I wrote about the domestic implications of Japan’s earthquake. Today, we look at some of the more salient external ramifications: Downside Risks For Base Metals… Base metals continue to correct in line with the view our Commodities team presented last week, but the earthquake in Japan has added additional downside pressure… [Read more]

Several developments in 2010 will linger well into 2011. My colleagues and BMI’s Oil and Gas Team see industry majors continuing their push into deepwater drilling and unconventional hydrocarbons, while cash-rich national oil companies keep looking for upstream opportunities. Depressed US gas prices are unlikely to move significantly in 2011, while Asia-Pacific remains the LNG… [Read more]

One area of significant interest in the US energy market over the past eighteen months has been hydrocarbons extracted from shale. Strong industry interest in shale-derived gas may yet reverse the medium-term decline in US natural gas production. Shale deposits are widespread across the US, but concentrated in states such as Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania… [Read more]

Offshore gas industry is set for change and with it, the fortunes of the governments, companies and consumers connected to it. The harbinger of change is the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, a technology that will allow producers to commercialise offshore gas deposits without pipelines and onshore infrastructure. A ship comes along, taps gas,… [Read more]

Technological advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have resulted in booming gas production from shale deposits in the US. US gas reserves, once thought due to run out in 30 years, now look sufficient to meet 100 years of demand. While this is good news for the US, as it reduces gas import dependency,… [Read more]