World's Top 15 Oil Net Exporters in 2011 vis-à-vis 2009 -- EIA

by David Rachovich

Top World Oil Net Exporters (Thousand Barrels per Day) in 2009 and 2011

 

Rank	Country	Exports 2011*	Country	Exports 2009
1.	Saudi Arabia	8,336	Saudi Arabia	7,322
2.	Russia	7,083	Russia	7,194
3.	Iran	2,540	Iran	2,486
4.	United Arab Emirates	2,524	United Arab Emirates	2,303
5.	Kuwait	2,343	Norway	2,132
6.	Nigeria	2,257	Kuwait	2,124
7.	Iraq	1,915	Nigeria	1,939
8.	Norway	1,762	Angola	1,878
9.	Angola	1,760	Algeria	1,767
10.	Venezuela	1,715	Iraq	1,764
11.	Algeria	1,568	Venezuela	1,748
12.	Qatar	1,468	Libya	1,525
13.	Canada	1,425	Kazakhstan	1,299
14.	Kazakhstan	1,396	Canada	1,147
15.	Mexico	881	Qatar	1,066

*Libya's oil supply was disrupted for much of 2011 due to conflict. 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 "World's Top 23 Proven Oil Reserves Holders, Jan 1, 2012 -- OGJ." According to BP data, Angola has the third largest proved oil reserves in Africa, ahead of Algeria---please see BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2012. -- D.R.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Last revised:  May 30, 2012

(Imports of Iranian oil by major consumers registered a sharp drop in July 2012, to 1.00 million barrels per day from 1.74 mb/d in June 2012---International Energy Agency/IEA, Oil Market Report (OMR), August 10, 2012, but are estimated to have inched up in August 2012, to 1.1 mb/d---IEA, OMR, Sept 12, 2012. Also, please see my post "OPEC's Top Crude Oil Producers, 2011-May 2012" -- D.R.).

East Africa Set for Major Gas, Oil Transformation

By Jacinta Moran in Cape Town; Edited by Jeremy Lovell, Platts, Jul 12, 2012
Oil and gas activity has started rolling in East Africa, as drilling activity ramps up, long-awaited deals are sealed and oil companies scramble to get a slice of what could be an energy goldmine. (see related map: East Africa oil and gas resources) [or right here below

click on map to enlarge -- D.R.]

In Uganda, Tullow Oil has resolved a long-standing dispute with the government for the development of a number of oil-rich blocks, and the UK-listed explorer has also made Kenya's first ever major oil discovery.

Significant gas reserves have been found in Mozambique and Tanzania, where LNG facilities are now been planned. Drilling will kick off in Ethiopia later this year, while Madagascar is believed to hold significant reserves of gas and the Puntland region of Somalia is also showing positive signs. [Read more]

(Also, please see my posts "East African Oil & Gas" and "Third Tanzanian Gas Discovery for Ophir-BG. For gas reserves, please see "Wood Mackenzie: East Africa’s Yet-to-Find Reserves Hold 95 tcf of Gas," OffshoreEnergy Today.com, Aug 22, 2012---Recent discoveries and high profile M&A activity in Mozambique and Tanzania are attracting attention and Martin Kelly, Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Sub-Sahara Upstream Research, says the interest is justified: “100 tcf of gas has been discovered to date in East Africa and we estimate yet-to-find reserves could be as much as 80 tcf in Mozambique and 15 tcf in Tanzania. There is clearly plenty of gas to supply the likely commercialization route of LNG – theoretically enough to support up to 16 LNG trains. “The Rovuma basin is the most prolific in the region, and one of the hottest conventional gas plays in the world, with 85 tcf discovered so far. Globally in 2011, it yielded the third most hydrocarbons, and we expect it to top the list in 2012 if the first half of the year is anything to go by,” Kelly continues. Update:  East Africa may be the new hotspot for explorers but the region will first need to invest in infrastructure to develop and transport the products for domestic and international consumption. The region's regulatory and infrastructure gaps could hinder the transition from gas exploration to production in the medium term, while governments need to be more realistic about timeframes for revenue flows, delegates heard at an industry conference in London on October 2, 2012. [...] Total now expects first commercial oil in Uganda in 2017, a year later than originally expected. The French major entered Uganda's nascent industry early this year after it and China's CNOOC took a third of Tullow's assets for $2.9 billion---please see Jacinta Moran "East Africa Faces Energy Infrastructure Issue," Platts, Oct 4, 2012 -- D.R.)
 

OPEC's Top Crude Oil Producers, 2011-May 2012

by David Rachovich

OPEC Crude Oil Production March 2012-May 2012 (thousand barrels per day)

Rank  2012	Country	Full Year 2011*[UPD]	Mar '12*	Apr '12*	May '12* (May '12**)
1.	Saudi Arabia	9,268	9,832	9,877	9,917 (9,807)
2.	Iran	3,621	3,313	3,210	3,138 (3,760)
3.	Iraq	2,666	2,807	2,994	2,952 (2,915)
4.	Kuwait	2,538	2,785	2,789	2,858 (3,000)
5.	UAE	2,517	2,578	2,587	2,578 (2,383)
6.	Venezuela	2,380	2,368	2,362	2,378 (2,826)
7.	Nigeria	2,111	2,085	2,175	2,126 (..)
8.	Angola	1,664	1,722	1,769	1,730 (1,762)
9.	Libya	462	1,340	1,394	1,452 (1,552)
10.	Algeria	1,240	1,222	1,217	1,197 (1,206)
11.	Qatar	794	789	778	757 (732)
12.	Ecuador	490	489	489	499 (498)
Total OPEC***		29,751	31,329	31,640	31,582 (..)

 
*Based on secondary sources.

**Based on direct communication.

***Totals may not add up due to independent rounding.

Source: OPEC, Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), June 2012, p. 45, Tables 5.4 and 5.5 here.

(Update: Iranian crude oil production - 2,963,000 barrels per day - fell below that of Iraq - 2,984,000 b/d - in June 2012, according to the OPEC, Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), July 2012, p. 49, Table 5.4, citing secondary sources. Please compare this to the International Energy Agency/IEA's argument: "Symbolically, Iranian crude output [- 2,900,000 b/d -] fell below that of regional rival Iraq [- 3,020,000 b/d -] in July [2012] for the first time since the late 1980s [my emphasis -- D.R.]."---IEA, Oil Market Report (OMR), August 10, 2012, pp. 15-16 Update 2: Iraq's oil exports averaged 2.51 million barrels per day in August [2012]. The exports lift Iraq’s crude production to 3.18 million b/d for the month, similar to July's levels, and are a further indication that Iraq is solidifying its position as Opec’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia---please see EI, Energy Intelligence Briefing, Aug 31, 2012. Also, please see "OPEC's Top Crude Oil Producers, 2011-Jan. 2012," "OPEC's Top Crude Oil Producers, 2010-Jan. 2011," and "World's Top 23 Crude Oil Producers (including OPEC production), Nov 2011 - EIA," -- D.R.)

U.S. Crude Oil Production in First Quarter of 2012 Highest in 14 Years

EIA, Today in Energy, June 8, 2012

[Click on chart to enlarge]

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

Strong growth in U.S. crude oil production since the fourth quarter of 2011 is due mainly to higher output from North Dakota, Texas,and federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico, with total U.S. production during the first quarter of 2012 topping 6 million barrels per day (bbl/d) for the first time in 14 years.

After remaining steady between 5.5 million and 5.6 million bbl/d during each of the first three quarters of 2011, EIA estimates that U.S. average quarterly oil production grew to over 5.9 million bbl/d during the fourth quarter and then surpassed 6 million bbl/d during the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest output estimates from EIA's May Petroleum Supply Monthly report (see chart below). The last time U.S. quarterly oil production was above 6 million bbl/d was during October-December 1998.

[Click on chart to enlarge]

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

The roughly 6% growth in U.S. oil production from October 2011 through March 2012 is largely the result of increases in oil output in North Dakota, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. After passing California in December 2011 to become the third largest oil producing state, North Dakota then jumped ahead of Alaska in March 2012 as the state with the second largest oil output [Please see remarks below -- D.R.]. Texas remains far ahead in the number one production spot. [Full story]

(Please see my post "North Dakota Tops Alaska in Oil Production, Trailing Only Texas," including my remarks. North Dakota produced an average of 609,000 barrels of crude oil every day in April 2012, another record, and up from 577,000 barrels a day in March 2012, according to EIA. Also, please see "EIA Expects Higher U.S. Crude Production," Aaron and David Rachovich, "U.S. Crude Oil Production, 1970-2011 -- EIA" and "Texas Crude Oil Production, Jan 2007-Jul 2012" -- D.R.)