Niger Delta Avengers Attack Eni Pipeline in Nigeria

Excerpt from: UPI

Italian energy company Eni confirmed Friday that it was the target of sabotage in the Niger Delta, with a minor impact on its equity production.

A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers took credit for an attack on pipeline infrastructure in the southern Bayelsa state that's operated by a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the attack in a statement emailed to UPI. About 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent production equity to Eni was impacted, though the spokesperson said overall operations were still under force majeure, meaning it's freed from fulfilling its contract because of circumstances beyond its control.

The attack come nearly one month to the day after the group said it blew up a pipeline in Bayelsa state said to be the largest operated by Eni's subsidiary in the Niger Delta region.

The Niger Delta Avengers surfaced early this year, launching a militant campaign against national and international energy companies working in the Niger Delta. The group accuses the government of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari of favoring oil and gas interests over the interests of the people in the Niger Delta.

By the World Bank's estimates, more than 70 percent of the government's revenue comes from oil. In a report on the job market in Nigeria, the World Bank found widespread polarization as the vast majority of the population are trapped in low-productivity and traditional subsistence activities. Only a small portion of the workforce is benefiting from any economic growth in the country, the report found.

The government last month said progress was made on brokering a truce with Niger Delta militants, though the group itself has maintained it was not party to any talks with the Buhari administration.

The group this week was suspended from Twitter after breaching the site's policies.

"Niger Delta Avenger is not on social networks anymore," spokesman Mudoch Agbinibo said in a statement.

West Africa Could Lead The World's Next Production Boom

During the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia cut production as a reminder that it held the cards to the world’s petroleum resources. What the swing country did not count on was the slew of development and production that would subsequently take place in the North Sea. As a result, a new oil supply was born far away from the Middle East.

Fast forward to today: With oil saturating the market again, Saudi Arabia has kept its spigots on this time to try and prove once again its place on top of the hydrocarbon pyramid. Despite its effort to slow production – primarily from shale in the United States – there is still room for surprise in the oil marketplace.

The small offshore oilfields of West Africa, if exploited properly, could become the next big economical play even as oil prices hover around $60 a barrel, said Keith Millheim, a director at Atlantis Offshore, an offshore technology company focused on well testing, production and drilling. And, all it takes is one adventurous company to get the ball rolling.

Cheap Oil Is 'Bad' for the Economy

It's been about a year since oil prices started their historic drop, falling from above $100 a barrel to a bottom of about $45 in March. After creeping back to around $60, prices are shaky again amid news of a nuclear deal with Iran and record Saudi production.

And low oil prices are good for growth, right?

OPEC Shows It Still Matters, and Right Now It’s Bearish for Oil

The last time OPEC met, its decision to leave output unchanged cast doubt on the group’s relevance.

That was a little premature.

From the ministers’ market-moving comments to the array of oil executives gathered in Vienna to court new ventures, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed no loss of stature in the run-up to Friday’s meeting, at which it again decided to maintain its current output target. While OPEC has ceded the role of adjusting supply to balance the market, its strategy of keeping up production is still driving prices lower now -- and possibly higher later on.

'What If' Technology Rapidly Simulates Offshore Oil Spills

New software developed by scientists in the US could prevent future hydrocarbon spills and accelerate the response to those that do occur. The team behind the technology explains more.

New software developed by scientists at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the US could help prevent future hydrocarbon leaks and is already providing a much better understanding of how leaks behave in different offshore scenarios, potentially speeding response times to spills if and when they do occur.

The Blowout and Spill Occurrence Model, or BLOSOM, is able to rapidly simulate offshore spills in hypothetical 'what if' scenarios, taking into account everything from ocean currents to the volume of the leak, and may also, when used in tandem with other DOE tools, be able to prevent incidents in the future by identifying trends and technology gaps that contribute to a higher risk of spills.

Elly Earls caught up with Kelly Rose, Lawrence Sim, Lucy Romeo, Joe Umhoefer and Jason Vielma, the NETL's Offshore Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) team and the brains behind the technology, to find out more about how BLOSOM works and the impact it could have on future spill prevention efforts.

Crude Production Growth to Slow, Could Open Up To A Future Of Stable Price

Non-OPEC liquids growth potential of 5.5 MMb/p over the next five years has been reduced by over 2 MMb/d to 3.3 MMb/d, according to forecasts by energy analysts Rystad Energy.

The Norwegian firm’s research shows investments in oil and gas production are estimated to drop 20% in 2015, compared to 2014. Outside OPEC, US$200 billion in yearly capex is considered to be axed over a two-year period.

Top 10 Oil Producing Countries In Africa 2015 (Current)

The year thus far has seen a lot of fluctuations per country production and a large effect coming in from the drop in oil prices by over 60% in November 2014. The withdrawal of investments from oil and gas projects across the continent have not been so surprising owing to issues ranging from the current oil price, civil unrest, unfavourable policies and diverse politically uncertain scenarios.

TOTAL Hits 2 Billion Barrels Cumulative Oil Production Milestone Offshore Angola

French oil company Total has said today it has achieved the significant milestone of producing a cumulative two billion barrels from its operated deep offshore Block 17 located 150 km off the coast of Angola.

With the recent start up of CLOV, Block 17 has become Total’s most prolific site with production of over 700,000 barrels per day, the company has revealed.

OPEC Not Likely To Back Down On Maintaining Current Production

When Saudi Arabia argues next week that OPEC should keep up production to fight the rise in U.S. shale oil, prices will be on its side.

Crude plunged for eight of nine weeks prior to the group’s November gathering, when the kingdom faced down opposition from the majority of fellow members, who advocated output reductions to tackle a global glut. With oil companies around the world cutting investment, U.S. output peaking and prices up, Saudi Arabia’s strategy will be extended at OPEC’s semiannual meeting on June 5, say Societe Generale SA and Bank of America Corp.

Oil prices have recovered more than 40 percent from a six-year low in January as U.S. production eases from the highest in more than four decades. The rebound will help vindicate the approach taken by Saudi Arabia as it steers the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to favor market share over prices in a bid to drive out high-cost producers.

14 Drill-Ready Exploration Sites Discovered In Niger

Energy firm Savannah Petroleum has announced that 14 drill-ready exploration sites with prospective oil resources of 215 million barrels were found in Niger. The prospects were found following detailed 3D seismic mapping over a 260-square mile area in the R1/R2 permit region, which is situated in the Agadem Rift Basin of southeast Niger. 

Erin Energy's Oyo-8 Well Offshore Nigeria Exceeds Expectations

Independent oil company Erin Energy Corporation announced Monday that its Oyo-8 well offshore Nigeria has exceeded expectations by producing a stable rate of 7,080 barrels of oil per day. 

Erin Energy is the operator of Oyo-8 and holds a 100 percent interest in the well. The company is currently undertaking drilling and completion operations on its Oyo-7 development well and expects to achieve first oil production from the site in the next few weeks. 

Erin Energy Senior Vice-President of Exploration and Production Segun Omidele commented in a company statement: “We are pleased with the Oyo-8 well’s performance and delighted that well parameters are stable. We plan to continue this very cautious well management approach and expect to bring Oyo-7 on production in a similar manner. We are advancing both our development and exploration work offshore Nigeria and look forward to an exciting second half of 2015.”

Millions of Barrels of Oil Are About to Vanish

Millions of barrels of untapped oil that U.S. shale drillers discovered during the boom years are about to disappear from their inventories.

Six years ago, the industry pushed the Securities and Exchange Commission to make it easier for companies to claim proved reserves for wells that wouldn’t be drilled for years. Some prospects considered sure-things when crude was $95 a barrel are money losers at today’s $60. When crude crashed in 2008, 44 U.S. companies wiped 630 million barrels from their books.

Norway Outstrips Russia as Western Europe’s largest Gas Supplier

Norway has overtaken Russia in terms of European gas supply, having delivered more gas to Western Europe in the first quarter of 2015, according to data from gas operators.

Norway surpassed Russian gas exports to Europe for the first time since a brief period in 2012, Reuters reported Friday comparing the figures released by Gassco and Gazprom.

Lucius: From design to first oil (Video)

Anadarko, one of the largest independent leaseholders and producers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, has launched a video, or better yet, a movie, showing a long, but interesting process of bringing its Lucius development into production.

The film presents the project from its early beginnings and design selection, through construction of the Lucius production platform, to its first oil in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project was made in December 2011.

Construction of the platform was carried out in two parts: Lower, truss spar, was made by Technip in Finland, and the topside was built in Texas.

The Lucius truss spar, Anadarko’s largest, is today located in 7100 feet of water, in Keathley Canyon 875, 236 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. First oil from the platform started flowing three years after the FID, in January 2015.

In its first quarter results for 2015, Anadarko said it continued to ramp up production at the Lucius spar toward its design rate of 80,000 barrels of oil per day.

Bourbon’s Crew Set Free After Kidnapping in Nigeria

Three sailors kidnapped in April offshore Nigeria have been released.

Bourbon, a France-based provider of offshore support vessel has confirmed that the 3 Nigerian crew members abducted on board the Surfer 1440 off the coast of Nigeria on April 8, 2015, have been set free.

“They are in good health and arrived at Port Harcourt on May 8, 2015. This news comes as a great relief to all BOURBON employees as a whole, who share the joy of the families. For obvious reasons of confidentiality, BOURBON shall not make any further comment.”

Eland Gets Go-Ahead for OML 40 Operatorship

Junior energy firm Eland Oil & Gas reported Monday that its Nigerian joint venture company has received consent from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to operate the OML 40 license, onshore Nigeria. 

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Norway’s SINTEF "Smart" Pipeline

Researchers at Norway’s SINTEF together with a consortium of industrial partners have developed technologies to enable real-time condition monitoring reports from within pipelines to be transmitted to shore.

The Research Council of Norway-supported SmartPipe technology carries out condition monitoring in real time. This is achieved by installing belts around the pipelines packed with a multitude of sensors which measure pipewall thickness, tension, temperature and vibration.

Exxon Angola Kizomba Project Starts Production

BP confirmed today the start of oil production from the Exxon Mobil-operated Kizomba Satellites phase 2 development in Block 15, offshore Angola.

The deepwater project is expected to produce around 70,000 barrels of oil per day at peak, and is expected to increase total daily Block 15 production to 350,000 barrels.

Oil Prices to Stay Weak for at Least a Year - Reuters Poll

Oil is likely to stay relatively weak for at least the next year, a Reuters poll forecast on Thursday, suggesting a slowdown in oil production in the United States will not be enough to offset a global supply glut.

Reuters monthly survey of 32 analysts predicted North Sea Brent crude would average $60 a barrel in 2015, up 80 cents from the projection in last month's survey.

Not All Doom and Gloom for South Africa as Shell Pulls Out

EDISON Research believes Royal Dutch Shell’s “pull-back” from South Africa is not the harbinger of doom for the country’s nascent shale gas industry analysts have predicted, as there’s more to the super-major’s decision than meets the eye.

Shell announced in March it was putting its South Africa shale gas exploration program on hold and pulling its shale gas head, Jan-Willem Eggink, out of the country – with more “highly skilled staff” to follow him – as it continues to seek an exploration licence.

Shell cited falling oil and gas prices and the need for greater clarity on legislation and technical regulations before deciding on its next steps.