by Paula Dittrick, OGJ Senior Staff Writer, OGJ, Apr 18, 2011
Halliburton Co.’s management plans in the coming months to return some equipment and workers to the Gulf of Mexico, Halliburton Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Pres. Dave Lesar said Apr. 18 while he announced escalating first-quarter profits.
Halliburton moved some equipment and workers from the gulf to US onshore while regulators temporarily suspended drilling during investigations into the Apr. 20, 2010, blowout of BP PLC’s deepwater Macondo well in 5,000 ft of water off Louisiana and the subsequent oil spill.
An explosion and fire on Transocean Ltd.'s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible resulted in the deaths of 11 workers. A resumption of offshore US drilling is coming about gradually as producers and contractors fulfill new federal certification requirements [please see remarks below -- D.R.].
Halliburton reported first-quarter net income of $511 million, compared with $206 million for the same period last year [please see details, here. -- D.R.]. [Full story]
(U.S. regulators began during the first quarter to issue drilling permits for the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters for the first time since halting such activity in response to BP PLC's oil spill a year ago. Halliburton, which provided services to BP on its doomed Macondo well, has won 30% of the drilling service contracts and 40% of well-completion work for projects that have been approved since the resumption of activity, CEO Lesar said. As a result, Lesar said, Halliburton plans in the coming months to bring back to the Gulf some equipment and workers that it had deployed onshore during the deep-water drilling shut down---please see MarketWatch, Apr 18, 2011, here. All deep-water drilling must comply with new safety and environmental mandates imposed since the spill. Companies/Operators also must prove they can swiftly contain a blowout in deep water. Two companies -- Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group and the Exxon Mobil-led Marine Well Containment Company -- have developed systems including vessels and other equipment to capture oil from runaway deep-water wells---please see my post here, including remarks. For Halliburton 4Q 2010 earnings, please see my post here, including remarks. In January 2010, the US presidential commission investigating the BP disaster slammed Halliburton, along with BP and rig owner Transocean---please see my post here. For Halliburton's operations in Iraq, please see my post here. -- D.R.)
Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
EU to Сheck Safety of All Its 143 Nuclear Reactors
Kyodo News, Brussels, Mar 15, 2011
The European Union agreed Tuesday to check the safety of all 143 nuclear reactors operating in its 14 member countries [please see my remarks below -- D.R.] in the wake of a nuclear crisis at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
The European Union made the decision at an emergency meeting of energy ministers of its 27 member countries. Several reactors in the EU region have a structure similar to that of reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 [Daiichi] nuclear power plant, the European Commission said.
As serious accidents hit reactors in Japan, a country deemed to have some of the world's highest safety standards, the European Union is under pressure to review the safety of nuclear power generation, which it has billed as a source of safe and clean energy not emitting global warming gases.
EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said at a press conference that the nuclear safety checks will address all possible threats, including earthquakes, tsunami and terrorist attacks.
The European Union will also test the durability of a cooling system of those nuclear reactors in view of cooling system problems experienced at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It will also check a backup power supply system taking lessons from Japan, where electricity shortage is becoming serious with the suspension of nuclear power plant operations.
The commission said Tuesday it is extremely unlikely that Europe will experience an earthquake similar in size to the one that hit northeastern Japan, apparently in an effort to allay fears over its nuclear reactors.
Also at the emergency meeting were officials from nuclear watchdog authorities and power companies from member countries. They will work out details for safety checks in cooperation with the European Union and member state governments. [Full story]
(Also, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that seven reactors that went into operation before 1980 would be offline for three months while Europe's biggest economy reconsiders its plans to extend the life of its atomic power plants in the wake of events in Japan---please see my posts here and here. One of them, the 840MW Neckarwestheim I reactor, would remain shut down for good. A previous government decided a decade ago to shut all 17 German nuclear reactors by 2021, but Merkel's administration last year moved to extend their lives by an average 12 years. That decision was suspended for three months on Monday. Energy policies in the EU are still driven independently by member nations and vary hugely. For example, France gets about 75% of its energy from nuclear power, while Poland relies mostly on coal and solid fuels. France's 58 nuclear reactors make France the second-biggest user of nuclear power in the world after the United States, where 104 reactors deliver 20% of the country's electricity. In the EU 143 nuclear power plants are in use: Belgium (7), Bulgaria (2), Czech Republic (6), Finland (4), France (58), Germany (17), Hungary (4), Netherlands (1), Romania (2), Slovakia (4), Slovenia (1), Spain (8), Sweden (10), and UK (19). Before the Fukushima disaster, Italy and Poland planned to built nuclear power plants. Switzerland, which is not in the EU, on Monday suspended plans to replace and build new nuclear plants pending a review of the tsunami-stricken reactors in Japan. -- D.R.)
The European Union agreed Tuesday to check the safety of all 143 nuclear reactors operating in its 14 member countries [please see my remarks below -- D.R.] in the wake of a nuclear crisis at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
The European Union made the decision at an emergency meeting of energy ministers of its 27 member countries. Several reactors in the EU region have a structure similar to that of reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 [Daiichi] nuclear power plant, the European Commission said.
As serious accidents hit reactors in Japan, a country deemed to have some of the world's highest safety standards, the European Union is under pressure to review the safety of nuclear power generation, which it has billed as a source of safe and clean energy not emitting global warming gases.
EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said at a press conference that the nuclear safety checks will address all possible threats, including earthquakes, tsunami and terrorist attacks.
The European Union will also test the durability of a cooling system of those nuclear reactors in view of cooling system problems experienced at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It will also check a backup power supply system taking lessons from Japan, where electricity shortage is becoming serious with the suspension of nuclear power plant operations.
The commission said Tuesday it is extremely unlikely that Europe will experience an earthquake similar in size to the one that hit northeastern Japan, apparently in an effort to allay fears over its nuclear reactors.
Also at the emergency meeting were officials from nuclear watchdog authorities and power companies from member countries. They will work out details for safety checks in cooperation with the European Union and member state governments. [Full story]
(Also, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that seven reactors that went into operation before 1980 would be offline for three months while Europe's biggest economy reconsiders its plans to extend the life of its atomic power plants in the wake of events in Japan---please see my posts here and here. One of them, the 840MW Neckarwestheim I reactor, would remain shut down for good. A previous government decided a decade ago to shut all 17 German nuclear reactors by 2021, but Merkel's administration last year moved to extend their lives by an average 12 years. That decision was suspended for three months on Monday. Energy policies in the EU are still driven independently by member nations and vary hugely. For example, France gets about 75% of its energy from nuclear power, while Poland relies mostly on coal and solid fuels. France's 58 nuclear reactors make France the second-biggest user of nuclear power in the world after the United States, where 104 reactors deliver 20% of the country's electricity. In the EU 143 nuclear power plants are in use: Belgium (7), Bulgaria (2), Czech Republic (6), Finland (4), France (58), Germany (17), Hungary (4), Netherlands (1), Romania (2), Slovakia (4), Slovenia (1), Spain (8), Sweden (10), and UK (19). Before the Fukushima disaster, Italy and Poland planned to built nuclear power plants. Switzerland, which is not in the EU, on Monday suspended plans to replace and build new nuclear plants pending a review of the tsunami-stricken reactors in Japan. -- D.R.)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Eurogas: EU 27 Gas Consumption Rises 7.2% in 2010
by Doris Leblond, Paris, OGJ, Mar 9, 2011
Preliminary figures from Eurogas indicate that total gas consumption for the European Union 27 [...] increased by 7.2% to 522 billion cu m in 2010 vs. 2009. In 2009, the economic crisis had pulled down consumption to its lowest level since 2002.
The growth was due to a combination of severe weather conditions, which strongly pushed up demand from the residential sector, and economic recovery illustrated by the 1.8% real GDP growth and the 6.6% [sic] increase in the EU 27 average production index for 2010.
Higher electricity demand due to economic recovery combined with the switch to gas from other fuels for electric power generation, which significantly contributed to total demand growth.
Indigenous gas production fell by 4% to 176 bcm in 2010, mainly because of the decline in mature production basins. However, with a 34% share [of the total net supplies -- D.R], it is still the largest source of gas for the EU 27. Main external sources were Russia, 23%; Norway, 19%; Algeria, 10%; and Qatar, 6%; the latter two countries showed an increasing role as LNG suppliers to Europe.
The UK was the largest gas consumer in 2010 with 99.8 bcm. [Estonia] [...] was the smallest with [0.5] bcm ... of gas consumed. Other countries’ gas consumption numbers were, [in order]: Germany, 87 bcm; Italy, 81.1 bcm; France, 50.7 bcm; the Netherland, 46.8 bcm; Spain, 37 bcm; [Belgium, 19.9 bcm] and [Poland, 15.5 bcm] [...].
(Cyprus and Malta are the only two EU member states that do not consume natural gas. However, the US' Noble Energy plans to start work on an exploration well in block 12 offshore Cyprus at end-2011 in an attempt to prove the country's gas potential. Both Cyprus and Malta have been oil import-dependent countries. Among the Baltic States (in the narrower sense), Lithuania was the largest consumer of natural gas with 3 bcm in 2010, followed by Latvia, 1.7 bcm and Estonia, 0.5 bcm---please see Eurogas original report -- Natural Gas Consumption in the EU27 and Switzerland in 2010, Mar 7, 2011, here. For information on EU plans to import gas from Azerbaijan, please see my post here. -- D.R.)
Preliminary figures from Eurogas indicate that total gas consumption for the European Union 27 [...] increased by 7.2% to 522 billion cu m in 2010 vs. 2009. In 2009, the economic crisis had pulled down consumption to its lowest level since 2002.
The growth was due to a combination of severe weather conditions, which strongly pushed up demand from the residential sector, and economic recovery illustrated by the 1.8% real GDP growth and the 6.6% [sic] increase in the EU 27 average production index for 2010.
Higher electricity demand due to economic recovery combined with the switch to gas from other fuels for electric power generation, which significantly contributed to total demand growth.
Indigenous gas production fell by 4% to 176 bcm in 2010, mainly because of the decline in mature production basins. However, with a 34% share [of the total net supplies -- D.R], it is still the largest source of gas for the EU 27. Main external sources were Russia, 23%; Norway, 19%; Algeria, 10%; and Qatar, 6%; the latter two countries showed an increasing role as LNG suppliers to Europe.
The UK was the largest gas consumer in 2010 with 99.8 bcm. [Estonia] [...] was the smallest with [0.5] bcm ... of gas consumed. Other countries’ gas consumption numbers were, [in order]: Germany, 87 bcm; Italy, 81.1 bcm; France, 50.7 bcm; the Netherland, 46.8 bcm; Spain, 37 bcm; [Belgium, 19.9 bcm] and [Poland, 15.5 bcm] [...].
(Cyprus and Malta are the only two EU member states that do not consume natural gas. However, the US' Noble Energy plans to start work on an exploration well in block 12 offshore Cyprus at end-2011 in an attempt to prove the country's gas potential. Both Cyprus and Malta have been oil import-dependent countries. Among the Baltic States (in the narrower sense), Lithuania was the largest consumer of natural gas with 3 bcm in 2010, followed by Latvia, 1.7 bcm and Estonia, 0.5 bcm---please see Eurogas original report -- Natural Gas Consumption in the EU27 and Switzerland in 2010, Mar 7, 2011, here. For information on EU plans to import gas from Azerbaijan, please see my post here. -- D.R.)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Top 10 Largest Refining Companies in Asia, the USA and Western Europe -- OGJ
by David Rachovich
Largest Refining Companies in Asia, the USA and Western Europe
Region
|
Rank
|
Company
|
No. of Refineries
|
Crude Capacity, barrels per calendar day (b/cd)*
|
Asia
| ||||
1.
|
Sinopec (China)
|
27
|
3,971,000
| |
2.
|
CNPC (China)
|
25
|
2,615,000
| |
3.
|
ExxonMobil (USA)
|
10
|
1,937,500
| |
4.
|
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (Japan)
|
7
|
1,423,200
| |
5.
|
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NL/UK)
|
13
|
1,324,875
| |
6.
|
Indian Oil Co. Ltd. (India)
|
11
|
1,274,293
| |
7.
|
Reliance Industries Ltd. (India)
|
2
|
1,240,000
| |
8.
|
Pertamina (Indonesia)
|
8
|
1,011,825
| |
9.
|
SK Corp. (South Korea)
|
1
|
817,000
| |
10.
|
Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC, Taiwan)
|
3
|
770,000
| |
USA
| ||||
1.
|
ConocoPhillips (USA)
|
13
|
2,226,200
| |
2.
|
ExxonMobil Corp. (USA)
|
7
|
2,043,000
| |
3.
|
Valero Energy Corp. (USA)
|
12
|
1,999,660
| |
4.
|
BP PLC (UK)
|
6
|
1,476,575
| |
5.
|
Marathon Oil Corp. (USA)
|
7
|
1,188,000
| |
6.
|
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NL/UK)
|
8
|
971,250**
| |
7.
|
Chevron Corp. (USA)
|
5
|
941,000
| |
8.
|
PDVSA (Venezuela)
|
4
|
849,400***
| |
9.
|
Sunoco Inc. (USA)
|
4
|
825,000
| |
10.
|
Flint Hills Resources (USA)
|
3
|
816,525
| |
Western Europe
| ||||
1.
|
Total SA (France)
|
15
|
2,121,085
| |
2.
|
ExxonMobil Corp. (USA)
|
9
|
1,668,000
| |
3.
|
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NL/UK)
|
11
|
1,551,801
| |
4.
|
Agip Petroli SPA (Italy)
|
10
|
876,117
| |
5.
|
BP PLC (UK)
|
8
|
868,954
| |
6.
|
Repsol YPF SA (Spain)
|
5
|
709,200
| |
7.
|
TUPRAS (Turkey)
|
4
|
613,275
| |
8.
|
ConocoPhillips (USA)
|
4
|
610,125
| |
9.
|
Petroplus (Switzerland)
|
5
|
581,000
| |
10.
|
CEPSA (Spain)
|
3
|
427,000
| |
Notes: In table above, Shell exchanged positions with JX Nippon Oil and Indian Oil Co. Ltd. moved up in the Asia list (9 to 6); for the USA, Valero moved to No. 3 from No. 2 on the strength of closings or sales (please read notes here). ExxonMobil moved up to No. 2; Petroplus in Western Europe dropped to 9 from 6. – Please read Warren R. True and Leena Koottungal, "Global Capacity Growth Slows, But Asian Refineries Bustle," OGJ, Dec 6, 2010.
*Includes partial interests in refineries not wholly owned by the company.
**Includes Shell's stakes in Motiva and its 50% stake in the Deer Park, Texas, refinery.
***Consists of PDVSA's ownership of Citgo and its 50% stake in the ExxonMobil Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal, Dec 6, 2010.
(Also, please see my post "World's Top 25 Largest Refining Companies, Jan 1, 2011 -- OGJ," and Aaron and David Rachovich, "World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries -- OGJ." Furthermore, please see "Top 28 Largest Refineries in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011 -- EIA," and "Top 20 Largest Refining Companies/Refiners in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011." Update: "Top 10 Largest Refining Companies in Asia," Feb 13, 2012 -- D.R.)
(Also, please see my post "World's Top 25 Largest Refining Companies, Jan 1, 2011 -- OGJ," and Aaron and David Rachovich, "World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries -- OGJ." Furthermore, please see "Top 28 Largest Refineries in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011 -- EIA," and "Top 20 Largest Refining Companies/Refiners in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011." Update: "Top 10 Largest Refining Companies in Asia," Feb 13, 2012 -- D.R.)
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