Estimated Shale Gas Technically Recoverable Resources for Select Basins in 32 Countries -- EIA

Extracted from the EIA's overview, World Shale Gas Resources: An Initial Assessment of 14 Regions Outside the United States, April 5, 2011

Table 1. Estimated Shale Gas Technically Recoverable Resources for Select Basins in 32 Countries, Compared to Existing Reported Reserves, Production and Consumption during 2009 -- EIA 

	2009 Natural Gas Market1                             (trillion cubic feet, dry basis)			Proved Natural Gas Reserves2 (trillion cubic feet)	Technically Recoverable Shale Gas Resources (trillion cubic feet)
	Production	Consumption	Imports (Exports)
Europe
France	0.03	1.73	98%	0.2	180
Germany	0.51	3.27	84%	6.2	8
Netherlands	2.79	1.72	(62%)	49.0	17
Norway	3.65	0.16	(2,156%)	72.0	83
U.K.	2.09	3.11	33%	9.0	20
Denmark	0.30	0.16	(91%)	2.1	23
Sweden	-	0.04	100%		41
Poland	0.21	0.58	64%	5.8	187
Turkey	0.03	1.24	98%	0.2	15
Ukraine	0.72	1.56	54%	39.0	42
Lithuania	-	0.10	100%		4
Others(3)	0.48	0.95	50%	2.71	19
North America
United States(4)	20.6	22.8	10%	272.5	862
Canada	5.63	3.01	(87%)	62.0	388
Mexico	1.77	2.15	18%	12.0	681
Asia[-Pacific]
China	2.93	3.08	5%	107.0	1,275
India	1.43	1.87	24%	37.9	63
Pakistan	1.36	1.36	-	29.7	51
Australia	1.67	1.09	(52%)	110.0	396
Africa
South Africa	0.07	0.19	63%	-	485
Libya	0.56	0.21	(165%)	54.7	290
Tunisia	0.13	0.17	26%	2.3	18
Algeria	2.88	1.02	(183%)	159.0	231
Morocco	0.00	0.02	90%	0.1	11
Western Sahara	-	-		-	7
Mauritania	-	-		1.0	0
South America
Venezuela	0.65	0.71	9%	178.9	11
Colombia	0.37	0.31	(21%)	4.0	19
Argentina	1.46	1.52	4%	13.4	774
Brazil	0.36	0.66	45%	12.9	226
Chile	0.05	0.10	52%	3.5	64
Uruguay	-	0.00	100%		21
Paraguay	-	-			62
Bolivia	0.45	0.10	(346%)	26.5	48
Total of above areas	53.1	55.0	3%	1,001[*]	6,622
Total world	106.5	106.7	0%	6,609

 Sources [and Notes]:
¹Dry production and consumption: EIA, International Energy Statistics, as of March 8, 2011.
² Proved gas reserves: Oil and Gas Journal, Dec., 6, 2010, P. 46-49.
³Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria.
⁴U.S. data are from various EIA sources.

[*Excluding the United States – D.R.]

(Please see my post "World Shale Gas Resources Outside US Assessed," here. -- D.R.) 

  

United States: Oil Production from Shale Formations, 2005-2010 -- EIA

Extracted from EIA, This Week in Petroleum, Apr 27, 2011

             [Click on bar chart to enlarge]

Operators increased North Dakota's Bakken production from less than 3,000 bbl/d in 2005 to over 230,000 bbl/d in 2010. The Bakken's share of total North Dakota oil production rose from about 3 percent to about 75 percent over the same period. At the Barnett shale in Texas, overall oil production more than tripled from 2005 to 2010. Oil production from the Woodford shale in Oklahoma surpassed 4,000 bbl/d in 2010, up 42 percent from 2009 and nearly three times 2008 volumes. At the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas, oil production, which was negligible in 2005, approached 30,000 bbl/d in 2010 [sic]. [Update: for the Eagle Ford production, please see my post/remarks here -- D.R.] Oil production from Appalachia's Marcellus shale more than doubled in 2010 from a year earlier and has grown nearly thirteen-fold since 2007. [Please see here. -- D.R.]

(U.S. production of crude oil and lease condensate increased in 2009 and again in 2010. While much of the increase in 2009 was associated with deepwater developments in the Federal Gulf of Mexico, the increase in 2010 was led by escalating horizontal drilling programs in U.S. shale plays, notably the North Dakota section of the Bakken formation---please see my post "Domestic Oil Production Reversed Decades-Long Decline in 2009 and 2010," including remarks, here. For North Dakota's oil production in historical perspective, please see my post "North Dakota ... ," remarks below, here. For the Eagle Ford shale production and development, please see my posts here and here. -- D.R.)

OTC: Alaska Would Restore Oil Pipeline Volumes

by OGJ editors, OGJ, Houston, May 4, 2011
The state of Alaska is putting final touches on a plan to attract investment in order to restore trans-Alaska oil pipeline throughput to 1 million b/d within 10 years.

Alaska’s North Slope is still considered sparsely explored, said Daniel S. Sullivan, commissioner of the state Department of Natural Resources. The trans-Alaska oil pipeline has shipped more than 16 billion bbl since 1977, but the ANS and adjacent offshore areas are still lightly drilled.

For example, about 500 exploratory wells have been drilled in an ANS area the size of the state of Wyoming [sic], where more than 19,000 wells have been drilled, Sullivan said May 4 in Houston during the Offshore Technology Conference. Alaska’s other main producing basin, Cook Inlet, is also considered to be underexplored, he said.

The pipeline has a capacity of slightly more than 2 million b/d, which was reached in 1988. But with declines at giant Prudhoe Bay field [please see remarks below -- D.R.], Alaskan oil production had fallen to 628,000 b/d last month (OGJ, May 2, 2011, p. 133).

The state’s five-part plan starts with ensuring that Alaska has a globally competitive investment climate, Sullivan said. The state plans to streamline permitting by enacting statutory and regulatory reforms. Specifics haven’t been released.

The state will enact incentives to facilitate the next phase of ANS development, Sullivan said. That work will involve offshore and onshore heavy and viscous oil development, shale oil, and smaller pools of conventional oil and gas.

Alaska is one of a group of coastal states that seeks to improve liaison with federal agencies, Congress, and the president to promote constructive investment (OGJ Online, May 4, 2011).

Sullivan, who was Alaska’s attorney general until December 2010, noted that Alaska’s constitution provides for the maximization of the state’s natural resources. [Full story]

(Prudhoe Bay field, discovered in 1968, came on stream in 1977, rapidly increasing output until the field's maximum rate was reached in 1979 at 1.5 million barrels a day. This rate was maintained until early 1989. Field's production declined to 1.1 million barrels a day in December 1993 and further to 1 million barrels a day at the beginning of 1995. Prudhoe Bay produced an average of 855,000 barrels a day during the 1996. Production totaled approximately 475,000 barrels a day on January 1, 2004, and continued its decline. Nevertheless, the North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay field today is still the largest oil field in United States, producing nearly 300,000 barrels a day in 2010---please see my post, including remarks and map of Alaska/TAPS, here. Alaska is the second-ranked oil-producing State after Texas, when output from the Federal Outer Continental Shelf/OCS is excluded from the State totals. Alaska produced 599,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2010, with 97% of this coming from the Alaska's North Slope/ANS. U.S. crude oil production totaled 5.51 million barrels per day in 2010. Thus, Alaska accounted for about 11% of U.S. crude oil production in 2010---please see EIA figures, here. In 1988 it was c. 25% of total U.S. crude oil production. For the latest trends in U.S. oil production, please see my post "Domestic Oil Production Reversed Decades-Long Decline in 2009 and 2010," here. -- D.R.)

Saudis Consider Need to Raise Output Capacity

PIW, Apr 25, 2011
Although Saudi Arabia’s desire to keep oil markets in balance saw it cut supply by 800,000 barrels per day in March [please see remarks below -- D.R.], the kingdom’s bigger and longer-term concern is over whether it needs to increase oil production capacity to meet likely future demand. The Saudi view on oil markets has altered sharply from where it was a year ago, when a battered global economy was still limping out of recession. Riyadh thinks medium- to long-term oil demand growth may be higher than it had previously anticipated, driven by China, India and also the Middle East itself, and PIW understands that discussions are now taking place on whether the kingdom should raise oil output capacity beyond its current 12.5 million b/d (PIW Apr.11,p1). The pickup in Asian demand in the second half of 2010 surprised Saudi officials, forcing them to start increasing output in November and December to try to cool rising oil prices. A tumultuous start to 2011, which has seen political upheaval across the Arab world and an earthquake and subsequent nuclear emergency in Japan, has further complicated the picture, and helped drive oil prices to levels last seen in 2008. While Saudi Aramco cut output in March in response to weak buying interest for its sour crude [please see my post here; and refiners also started to cut production on top of planned seasonal maintenance, thus reducing intake of crude oil -- D.R], demand is expected to surge again over the summer. A significant part of that surge will come from the Mideast's power plants, which have shown a recent preference for direct crude burning to power air conditioning systems to cool their cities; in a speech last week, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi lumped "the [Mideast] region's oil and gas producers" together with China and India as "the main drivers of this increase in petroleum consumption.”

Riyadh has always said that it could move to capacity of 15 million b/d if required, but such statements have typically been made at times of uncertainty, as in 2008, with officials saying privately that such capacity was unnecessary. Now, while no decisions have yet been made and while work is unlikely to start this year, expansions at Shaybah, Manifa and Khurais are back on the table (PIW Jun.30'08,p3). With little help likely from other Opec producers apart from Iraq, discussions are underway on whether to reactivate plans for a 250,000 b/d expansion at the 18 billion bbl Shaybah field to bring capacity to 1 million b/d. Aramco has already decided to bring forward the 10 billion-14 billion bbl Manifa project, and could now expand its capacity from 900,000 b/d to 1.2 million b/d (PIW Apr.18,p7) [For Manifa, please see my post here -- D.R.]. Another new field, the 27 billion bbl Khurais, could add a further 300,000 b/d [sic] to its existing 1.2 million b/d capacity (PIW Mar.7,p3) [For Khurais, please see my post here -- D.R.].

Saudi sources expect the kingdom will need to keep oil output around 9 million b/d or higher over the next few years, which helps explain the decision to accelerate development of the 900,000 b/d Manifa heavy oil project. The new timetable for Manifa will help offset natural declines at fields now being asked to produce more, as well as provide strategic crude for two new deep-conversion refineries at Jubail and Yanbu. The kingdom's newer fields have annual decline rates of 2% or less, while its older fields average around 4%, so the higher overall Saudi output climbs, the sooner Manifa will be needed. The development has also been earmarked to feed Jubail and Yanbu, which will need 800,000 b/d of Arab Heavy by 2014. Taking that amount of Saudi crude off the market could be disruptive, however, particularly if the supply-demand balance has tightened by then, industry sources tell PIW. In the context of stronger demand and higher oil prices, of course, Aramco can more easily justify the $15 billion investment needed for full Manifa development, despite the $130 billion increase in social spending announced by Riyadh this year to head off potential political unrest at home (PIW Apr.4,p1). [Full story]

(Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday/Apr 17 the kingdom had slashed output by 800,000 barrels per day in March due to oversupply. "Our production in February was 9.125 million barrels per day, in March it was 8.292 million bpd. In April we don't know yet, probably a little higher than March. The reason I gave you these numbers is to show you that the market is oversupplied," Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi told reporters---please see Reuters, Apr 17, 2011, here. Saudi Arabia was the world's second largest crude oil producer in 2010, behind Russia---please see Aaron and David Rachovich, "World's Top 22 Oil Producers, Full Year 2010," here. It maintains the world's largest crude oil production capacity. The kingdom's Ghawar field alone accounts for more than 40% of Saudi Arabia's total oil production capacity, and is the world’s largest oil field. It produces more than 5 million bbl/d of Arabian Light crude. Ghawar also produces more than every other country except Russia and the United States---please see U.S. EIA, Saudi Arabia Country Analysis Brief, Jan 2011, here. Also, Saudi Arabia was the sixth largest oil consumer in the world in 2010, behind the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia, according to the latest estimates, and the eighth largest oil consumer in the world in 2009---please see my post "Top 25 World Oil Consumers, 2009-2010," here. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest holder of proved oil reserves---please see our post "World's Top 22 Proven Oil Reserves Holders, Jan 1, 2011 -- OGJ," here. And the world's fourth largest holder of natural gas proven reserves as of Jan 1, 2011, behind Russia, Iran and Qatar---please see our post "World's Top 22 Natural Gas Proven Reserve Holders," here. -- D.R.)

Remarks by President Obama on Osama Bin Laden

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, East Room, May 2, 2011

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda. [Read more]

Africa's Top 8 Oil Producers, 2006-2010 -- EIA

by Aaron and David Rachovich

Production of Crude Oil including Lease Condensate (Thousand Barrels Per Day), 2006-2010

Rank	Country	Full Year 2010 Average	Full Year 2009 Average	Full Year 2008 Average	Full Year 2007 Average	Full Year 2006 Average
1.	Nigeria	2,455	2,208	2,165	2,350	2,440
2.	Angola	1,939	1,907	1,981	1,744	1,413
3.	Algeria	1,729	1,741	1,825	1,834	1,814
4.	Libya	1,650	1,650	1,736	1,702	1,681
5.	Egypt	523	539	581	637	633
6.	Sudan	511	483	478	464	378
7.	Equatorial Guinea	298	322	337	345	343
8.	Congo (Brazzaville)	296	268	233	207	242
Top 8 countries		9,401	9,118	9,336	9,283	8,944
Africa total		9,997	9,757	9,989	9,949	9,641
Russia		9,674	9,495	9,357	9,437	9,247
All Countries (World)		74,043	72,259	73,655	72,986	73,428

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), International Energy Statistics, here.

(Figures above may be updated at any time by EIA. Also, please see our post " World's Top 22 Oil Producers, Full Year 2010 (including OPEC and plus 2009 production)," here. And our post "Top 25 World Oil Consumers, 2009-2010," here. Libya holds the world's 9th largest proven oil reserves and the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, followed by Nigeria, Algeria and Angola---please see Aaron and David Rachovich "World's Top 22 Proven Oil Reserves Holders, Jan 1, 2011," Feb 7, 2011 -- D.R.)