April 22nd, 2006:

Husky adds to oil sands holdings

Husky Energy has built on its major role in Alberta’s oil sands, picking up almost 23,680 acres for C$10 million in a region that is attracting a flurry of attention.

The Saleski property gives Husky another 2.7 billion barrels of bitumen reserves and will allow the company to become “a dominant oil sands player,” President and Chief Executive Officer John Lau said in a statement April 17.He said the purchase allows Husky to consolidate its total Saleski leases to 178,560 acres and builds its potential resources to 19.5 billion barrels of original bitumen in place. read more

Contenders picked for shale development

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management narrowed the field of oil companies hoping to exploit vast oil-shale reserves in Utah and Colorado, government officials said April 10.

In a second elimination round, ExxonMobil and a tiny Utah company, Oil-Tech, were knocked out of the running for research and development leases to work BLM’s 160-acre parcels.

Exxon wasn’t prepared to commence research until as late as 2014 for a government program meant to expedite experimental works by this summer, said Jim Edwards, chief of BLM’s solid minerals branch in Colorado. read more

Sand beats land in Canadian sales
For the first time in any three-month period, oil sands edged out conventional properties in Western Canada government auctions of exploration rights.

The northern Alberta swamps attracted spending of C$860.15 million on 428,868 hectares (1.06 million acres) in the opening quarter — 10 times greater than in the same period of 2005 — just over half the C$1.69 billion spent by companies across Canada.

The deciding factor was the C$467.7 million spent by Sure Northern Energy, a subsidiary of Shell Exploration & Production of the Americas, on 10 parcels in a new bitumen play. read more

The Washington Post: Oil's top brass talk prices at summit

By Peg Mackey and Janet McBride

Reuters

Saturday, April 22, 2006

DOHA (Reuters) – Chief executives of the world's top oil firms met ministers from the biggest producers and consumers on Saturday as record crude prices of above $75 a barrel added urgency to consumers' calls for more supply investment.

A four-year rally, fueled by disruptions from the oilfield to the refinery gate, has led to bumper profits for Exxon Mobil , Royal Dutch Shell and BP and billions of dollars in oil revenues for producers like Saudi Arabia. read more

Venezuela takes back 10,700 sq. mi.

Venezuela reclaimed more than 27,000 square kilometers (10,700 square miles) in potential drilling acreage from private oil companies in March by requiring them to join new state-controlled joint ventures, a local daily reported April 17.

Amid efforts by the Venezuelan government to take greater control of the oil industry and boost its share of revenues, private companies operating 32 oil fields were required to form joint ventures with the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA. Under the new terms, PDVSA took at least a 60 percent stake in each field, hiked taxes and royalties, and took back drilling acreage that it claimed the companies had failed to invest in. read more

Oil's top brass talk prices at summit Sat Apr 22, 2006 10:05 AM BST

Printer Friendly  |  Email Article  |  RSS

By Barbara Lewis and Deepa Babington

DOHA (Reuters) – Chief executives of the world's top energy companies met ministers from the biggest producers on Saturday with record oil prices of above $75 a barrel speeding the race for supply investment.

A four-year rally, fuelled by supply constraints from the oilfield to the refinery gate, has left both sides with bumper profits. This year, worries over Iran's exports and crises in Iraq's and Nigeria's industry have pushed oil to levels that threaten economic growth. read more

Leaders Question Gasoline Prices

Hastert, Frist to Ask Bush for Probe