Gazing at DJ Basin’s ‘Shale Gale’ with Highlands Natural Resources

Last month, the Oilholic headed stateside to get a 'crude' glimpse of drilling activity in the Denver Julesburg or 'DJ' Basin in Colorado; this blogger's first visit to the region. The basin has been a key hydrocarbon producing region of the US since 1901. Over a century later, it's still going strong courtesy of the state of Colorado's very own 'Shale Gale.' 

Colorado's legislative climate might be a bit onerous compared to Texas, but the basin still remains a relatively benign place for exploration and production, and yes the oil majors are all there poking around the place.

Also, what won't surprise regular readers of this blog one bit is that regional activity is being bolstered by - you guessed it - the independent upstarts, or new-age shale wildcatters as the Oilholic prefers to call them. 

In this august group is London-listed Highlands Natural Resources (HNR), the brainchild of entrepreneur and local oilman Robert Price, and his close-knit group of geologists, engineers, financiers and consultants. The company's simple but effective motto – in Price's own words – is to deliver projects "safely, on time and on budget."

The company has farmed out acreage from ConocoPhillips out in East Denver, is not only trialling Halliburton's cost and process optimising Integrated Asset Management (IAM) suite of techniques to the fullest, but also has a stake in its operations from the global oilfield services company itself; a rather unique scenario. 

HNR's site in the Lowry Bombing Range, East Denver (see above left), visited by this blogger in Price's company, sees just the sort of savvy operations predicated on big data that we often hear about in the popular press. For example, in an area where players are attempting to drill 16 or 24 wells in the same pad, Domingo Mata, HNR's Vice President of Engineering, says his company has opted for 8 wells, as studies have convinced the management that fewer wells will provide a better yield.

"We also keep an eye on the minutiae of the drilling process via a plethora of sensors. That's how we gather data and learn lessons from the drilling process in the case of each well, and bring about a sequential reduction in drilling times by improving upon past processes based on what the data revealed about the last round of works," Mata adds.

In some cases, that drilling time has come down to 10-14 days; and we're talking depths in the range of 17,000 to 19,000 feet. Price says optimised operations are the bedrock of his company and together with his chief geologist Paul Mendell, HNR is "astute and prudent" in managing its exposure to what has been, is, and will always remain, a high risk, high reward business. 

On the East Denver site the Oilholic had a walkabout, HNR now has a 7.5% carried interest in first 8 wells to produce at the project with additional upside potential to own 7.5% interest in up to 24 wells at no extra cost. The arrangement is boosted by a strong working relationship with majority holder True Oil. 

The site carries a potential yield of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of one of the sweetest and best crudes (see right) this blogger has seen since a visit to Oman back in 2013. The product is currently being brought to market via tanker trucks, but will soon be hooked up to ConocoPhillips' pipeline infrastructure. 

And HNR has received £2.9 million of income during four months up to 31 March 2018 from just two wells – Powell and Wildhorse – which sit in the top 3% of all horizontal DJ Basin (Niobrara) wells in Colorado. 

Not wanting to sit on its existing plays, the company is now eyeing West Denver prospects. HNR owns a direct 100% working interest in leases covering 2,721 acres in the area, where Price reckons his team, partners, contractors and affiliates can collaboratively drill at least 48 wells.

What's more the surface area is largely free of urban development and consolidated into closely grouped parcels, and may allow HNR to move through Colorado's permitting and development processes quicker relative other statewide plays.  

Price and Mendell have also made it their mission to diversify HNR. The company is looking to market and monetise its DT Ultravert technology for enhanced oil recovery, which it claims will help the wider industry achieve at least a 15% increase in production. 

It has been proven to prevent 'well bashing' in horizontal and vertical wells. If the monetisation of DT Ultravert takes off, it could be a game-changer for the company, which is incidentally also in the business of Helium and Nitrogen plays.

All things considered, could Team HNR be described as 'Shale Gale' mavericks? "I think prudent, efficient, low-risk operators would be what I'd humbly describe us as," says Price. Well there you have it folks! It was a pleasure exchanging views with Team HNR (above) and seeing what they are up to.

Depending on whom you rely on, ranging from the US Energy Information Administration's projections to estimates by the likes of Anadarko Petroleum, the DJ basin could hold up to 4.5-5 billion barrels of oil equivalent for viable extraction (including natural gas liquids). 

That suggests there's plenty going around for the likes of HNR to continue tapping away at the reserves in their own cost optimised way. So here's to ingenuity and the spirit of private enterprise that has come to symbolise the shale revolution. That's all for the moment; keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

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© Gaurav Sharma 2018. Photo I: Highlands Natural Resources' East Denver drilling site. Photo II: Glimpse of Denver light sweet crude produced by Highlands Natural Resources. Photo III: (Left to Right) Gaurav Sharma with Robert Price, CEO & Chairman, Highlands Natural Resources, and Domingo Mata, Vice President of Engineering, Highlands Natural Resources © Gaurav Sharma, 2018.

What to make of Chevron’s North Sea pullback?

What was widely rumoured is now official – oil major Chevron has commenced the divestment of a number of its oil and gas fields in North Sea.

For some in the UK, the San Ramon, California-based US company's retreat from the mature hydrocarbon exploration prospect is the end of an era. Chevron has had a presence in the region for decades and that about says it all, as the North Sea has been in decline since production peaked in 1998.

The company is by no means alone. Both BP and Royal Dutch Shell have sold assets in the North Sea in recent years, as has Chevron's US rival ConocoPhillips. But scale of the Chevron's assets up for sale is sizeable. In fact, the company has confirmed it would encompass "all of its UK Central North Sea assets."

That includes its Britannia platform and allied infrastructure, along with the Alba, Alder, Captain, Elgin/Franklin, Erskine, and Jade fields as well as the Britannia platform and its satellites. The assets collectively contributed 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 155 million cubic feet of natural gas to its headline output. 

Company won't vanish from the North Sea just yet. It is currently considering the development of the Rosebank field west of the Shetland Islands. However, the oil major is now focussed on growing its shale production in the Permian basin in Texas as well as the giant Tengiz field in Kazakhstan.

All things considered, Chevron's moves points to a strategic move away from mature prospects by IOCs to those with a more viable higher production prospect. In the process, they are leaving these mature prospects behind to independent upstarts, or state operators who can maximise the asset's end of life potential. 

Take for instance, BP’s business in the North Sea, which is now centred around its major interests West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea. The company sold its Forties Pipeline system to billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos last year. 

The move put the 235-mile pipeline system, built in 1975, that links 85 North Sea oil and gas assets, belonging to 21 companies, to the UK mainland and Grangemouth refinery, which Ratcliffe bought from BP in 2005. 

In volume terms, the pipeline's average daily throughput was 445,000 bpd and around 3,500 tonnes of raw gas a day in 2016. The system has a capacity of 575,000 bpd.

The acquisition also made Ineos the only UK player with refinery and petrochemical assets directly integrated into the North Sea.

It is highly likely independents will queue up for Chevron's assets, and of course so will the state operators contingent upon pricing. Nexen, a subsidiary of China's CNOOC, and TAQA already have sizable operations in the North Sea and will be keeping an eye on proceedings. Expect more of the same! That's all for the moment folks! Keep reading, keep it crude! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2018. Photo: Oil rig in the North Sea © Cairn Energy.

US oil production decline much less than feared

As the latest visit to Houston, Texas nears its conclusion, the Oilholic walked wistfully past a petrol station in the Lone Star state. What European motorists wouldn’t give for US$2.49 (£1.61) per US gallon (3.79 litres) to fill up their cars. That was the price was this morning (see left)!

Ditching wistfulness and moving on to price of the crude stuff, the latest energy outlook report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) sees Brent averaging $61 per barrel in 2015, with WTI averaging around $55. The EIA also expects a decline in crude oil production stateside from June onwards through to September.

However, there is little anecdotal evidence here on the ground in Houston to suggest the Eagle Ford is slowing down if activity elsewhere is. Furthermore, feedback from selected attendees at two events here – Baker & McKenzie’s 2015 Oil & Gas Institute 2015 and the Mergermarket Energy Forum – alongside most experts this blogger has spoken to since arrival, point to the said production decline being much less than feared.

On average, most opined that we’d be looking at a decline of between 35,000 to 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year. It would imply that US production would still stay within a very respectable 9.1 to 9.3 million bpd range with much of the drop coming from North Dakota. As if with eerie timing, American Eagle’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following its inability to service debt on plays in North Dakota (and Montana), provided a near instant case in point.

Overall picture is less clear for 2016. If the oil price stays where it is, we could see a US production decline in the region of 60,000 to 100,000 bpd. EIA has estimated the decline might well be towards the upper end of the range. 

It comes after analysts at Goldman Sachs labelled the recent oil prices “rally” as being a bit ahead of itself. Or to quote their May 11 email to clients in verbatim: “While low prices precipitated the market rebalancing, we view the recent rally as premature.

“The oil market focus has dramatically shifted over the past month, from fearing a breach of US crude oil storage capacity to reflecting a well under way oil market rebalancing. We view this shift in sentiment and positioning as excessive relative to still weak fundamentals.”

The Oilholic has repeatedly said over the past six weeks that both benchmarks are likely to stay within the $50-75 barrel range, as the decline in the number of operational oil rigs stateside was not high enough (yet) to trigger persistently lower US production. EIA data and feedback here in Houston supports such conjecture.

Meanwhile, the front page of the Financial Times loudly, but bleakly, declared on Tuesday that “more than $100 billion of projects” were on ice with Canada hit the hardest. According to the newspaper’s research, Shell, BP, Statoil and ConocoPhillips have all led moves to curtail capital spending on 26 major projects in 13 countries.

Speaking of ConocoPhillips, its CEO Ryan Lance has joined an ever increasing chorus stateside of oil industry bosses calling on the US government to lift its 40-year plus ban on crude exports. 

At a conference in Asia, Lance told Bloomberg that the Houston-based oil and gas producer had sufficient production capacity stateside to cater the global market and ensure stable domestic supply. Right, so there’s no danger to Houstonians paying $2.49 per gallon to fill up their cars then?

To be fair, the ConocoPhillips boss is not alone in calling for a lifting of the ban. Since last July, the Oilholic has counted at least 27 independents, many mid-tier US-listed oil and gas producers including Hess Corp and Continental Resources, and almost all of the majors voicing a similar opinion.

They can say what they like; there won’t be any movement on this front until there is a new occupant in the White House. That’s all from Houston on this visit folks, its time for the big flying bus home. Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2015. Photo: Price display board at a Shell Petrol Station in Houston, Texas, USA © Gaurav Sharma, May 2015.

Crude talking points of the last two weeks

In a fortnight during which the Bank of England hired a man whose signature appears on Canadian banknotes as its new governor, the oil & gas world reiterated its own cross-border nature, when an American firm sold a Kazakh asset to an Indian company. That firm being ConocoPhillips, the asset being its 8.4% stake in Kazakh oil field Kashagan and the Indian buyer being national oil company (NOC) ONGC Videsh – all signed, sealed and delivered in a deal worth around US$5.5 billion.

 

Even with an after-tax impairment of US$400 million, the deal represents a tidy packet for ConocoPhillips as it attempts to cut its debt. Having divested its stake in Russia’s Lukoil, the American oil major has already beaten its asset sale programme target of US$20 billion. So when the final announcement came, it was not much of a surprise as Kazakhstan government officials had revealed much earlier that a move was on the cards.

 

Still it is sobering to see ConocoPhillips divest from Kashagan – the world's biggest oilfield discovery by volume since 1968. It may hold an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil. Phase I of the development, set to begin next year, could yield around 8 billion barrels, a share of which ONGC is keenly eyeing.

India imports over 75% of the crude oil it craves and is in fact the world's fourth-biggest oil importer by volume. Given this dynamic, capital expenditure on asset with a slower turnaround may not be an immediate concern for an Indian NOC, but certainly is for investors in the likes of ConocoPhillips and its European peers.

On the back of a series of meetings between investors and its EMEA natural resources & commodities team in London, Fitch Ratings recently revealed that elongated upstream investment lead times and a (still) weak refining environment in Western Europe remain a cash flow concern for investors.

 

They seemed most concerned about the lead time between higher upstream capex and eventual cash flow generation and were worried about downward rating pressure if financial metrics become strained for an extended period. It is prudent to mention that Fitch Ratings views EMEA oil & gas companies' capex programmes as measured and rational despite a sector wide revised focus on upstream investment.

 

For example, the two big beasts – BP and Royal Dutch Shell – are rated 'A'/Positive and 'AA'/Stable respectively; both have increased capex by more than one-third for the first 9 months of 2012 compared to the same period last year. Elsewhere in their chats, unsurprisingly Fitch found that refining overcapacity and weak utilisation rates remain a concern for investors in the European refining sector. Geopolitical risk is also on investors' minds as they look to 2013.

 

While geopolitical events may drive oil prices up, which positively impact cash flow, interruptions to shipping volumes may more than offset gains from these price increases – negatively impacting both operating cash flow and companies' competitive market positions. Away from capex concerns, Fitch also said that shale gas production in Poland could improve the country's security of gas supplies but is unlikely to lead to large declines in gas prices before 2020.

In a report published on November 26, Arkadiusz Wicik, Fitch’s Warsaw-based director and one of the most pragmatic commentators the Oilholic has encountered, noted that shale gas production in Poland, which has one of the highest shale development potentials in Europe, would lower the country's dependence on gas imports. Most of Poland's imports currently come from Russia.

 

However, Wicik candidly noted that even substantial shale gas production by 2020, is unlikely to result in large declines in domestic gas prices.

 

"In the most likely scenario, shale gas production, which may start around 2015, will not lead to a gas oversupply in the first few years of production, especially as domestic gas demand may increase by 2020 as several gas-fired power plants are planned to be built. If there is a surplus of gas because shale gas production reaches a significant level by 2020, this surplus is likely to be exported," he added.

 

In actual fact, if the planned liberalisation of the Polish gas market takes place in the next few years, European spot gas prices may have a larger impact on gas prices in Poland than the potential shale gas output.

 

From a credit perspective, Fitch views shale gas exploration as high risk and capital intensive. Meanwhile, the UK government was forced on the defensive when a report in The Independent newspaper claimed that it was opening up 60% of the country’s cherished countryside for fracking.

 

Responding to the report, a government spokesperson said, "There is a big difference between the amount of shale gas that might exist and what can be technically and commercially extracted. It is too early to assess the potential for shale gas but the suggestion more than 60% of the UK countryside could be exploited is nonsense."

 

"We have commissioned the British Geological Survey to do an assessment of the UK's shale gas resources, which will report its findings next year," he added.

 

Barely had The Independent revealed this ‘hot’ news, around 300 people held an 'anti-fracking' protest in London. Wow, that many ‘eh!? In defence of the anti-frackers, it is rather cold these days in London to be hollering outside Parliament.

 

Moving on to the price of the crude stuff, Moody’s reckons a constrained US market will result in a US$15 per barrel difference in 2013 between the two benchmarks – Brent and WTI – with an expected premium in favour of the former. Its recently revised price assumptions state that Brent crude will sell for an average US$$100 per barrel in 2013, US$95 in 2014 and US$90 in the medium term, beyond 2014. While the price assumption for Brent beyond 2014 is unchanged, the agency has revised both the 2013 and 2014 assumptions.

 

For WTI, Moody’s has left its previous assumptions unchanged at US$85 in 2013, 2014 and thereafter. Such a sentiment ties-in to the Oilholic’s anecdotal evidence from the US and what many in City concur with. So Moody’s is not alone in saying that Brent’s premium to WTI is not going anywhere, anytime soon. Even if the Chinese economy tanks, it’ll still persist in some form as both benchmarks will plummet relative to market conditions but won’t narrow up their difference below double figures.

 

Finally, on the noteworthy corporate news front, aside from ConocoPhillips’ move, BP was in the headlines again for a number of reasons. Reuters’ resident Oilholic Tom Bergin reported in an exclusive that BP is planning a reorganisation of its exploration and production (E&P) operations. Citing sources close to the move, Bergin wrote that Lamar McKay, currently head of BP's US operations, will become head of a new E&P unit; a reinstatement of a role that was abolished in 2010 in the wake of the oil spill.

 

Current boss Bob Dudley split BP's old E&P division into three units on his elevation to CEO to replace Tony Hayward, whose gaffes in during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill led to his stepping down. BP declined to comment on Bergin’s story but few days later provided an unrelated newsworthy snippet.

 

The oil giant said it had held preliminary talks with the Russian government and stakeholders in the Nordstream pipeline about extending the line to deliver gas to the UK. BP said any potential extension to the pipeline was unlikely to be agreed before mid-2013.

 

The pipeline’s Phase I, which is onstream, runs under the Baltic Sea bringing Russian gas into Germany. A source described the move as “serious” and aimed at diversifying the UK’s pool of gas supplying nations which currently include Norway and Qatar as North Sea production continues to wane. As if that was not enough news from BP for one fortnight, the US government decided to "temporarily" ban the company from bagging any new US government contracts.

 

The country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on November 28 that the move was standard practice when a company reaches an agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges as BP did earlier in the month. New US E&P licences are made available regularly, so BP may miss out on some opportunities while the ban is in place but any impact is likely to be relatively ephemeral at worst. No panic needed!

 

On a closing note, in a move widely cheered by supply side industry observers, Shell lifted its force majeure on Nigeria's benchmark Bonny Light crude oil exports on November 21 easing supply problems for Africa’s leading oil producer. The force majeure, implying a failure to meet contractual obligations due to events outside of corporate control, on Bonny Light exports came into place on October 19 following a fire on a ship being used to steal oil. It forced the company to shut down its Bomu-Bonny pipeline and defer 150,000 barrels per day of production.

 

However, Shell said that force majeure on Nigerian Forcados crude exports remains in place. Forcados production was also stopped owing to damage caused by suspected thieves tapping into the Trans Forcados Pipeline and the Brass Creek trunkline. As they say in Nigeria - it’s all ok until the next attempted theft goes awry. That’s all for the moment folks! Keep reading, keep it 'crude'!

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo: Oil Rig, USA © Shell

The drivers, the forecasts & the ‘crude’ mood

At times wild swings in the crude market’s mood do not reflect oil supply and demand fundamentals. The fundamentals, barring a geopolitical mishap on a global scale, alter gradually unlike the volatile market sentiment. However, for most parts of Q2 and now Q3 this year, both have seemingly conspired in tandem to take the world’s crude benchmarks for a spike and dive ride.

 

Supply side analysts have had as much food for thought as those geopolitical observers overtly keen to factor in an instability risk premium in the oil price or macroeconomists expressing bearish sentiments courtesy dismal economic data from various crude consuming jurisdictions. For once, no one is wrong.

 

A Brent price nearing US$130 per barrel in mid-March (on the back of Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz) plummeted to under US$90 by late June (following fears of an economic slowdown in China and India affecting consumption patterns). All the while, increasing volumes of Libyan oil was coming back on the crude market and the Saudis, in no mood to compromise at OPEC, were pumping more and more.

 

Then early in July, as the markets were digesting the highest Saudi production rate for nearly three decades, all the talk of Israel attacking Iran resurfaced while EU sanctions against the latter came into place. It also turned out that Chinese demand for the crude stuff was actually up by just under 3% for the first six months of 2012 on an annualised basis. Soon enough, Brent was again above the US$100 threshold (see graph on the right, click to enlarge).

 

Fast forward to the present date and the Syrian situation bears all the hallmarks of spilling over to the wider region. As the West led by the US and UK helps rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, Russia is seen helping the incumbent; not least via a recent announcement concerning exchange of refined oil products from Russia for Syrian crude oil exports desperately needed by the latter.

 

A spread of hostilities to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq could complicate matters with the impact already having been seen in the bombing of Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline. Additionally, anecdotal evidence suggests the Saudis are now turning the taps down a bit in a bid to prop up the oil price and it appears to be working. The Oilholic will be probing this in detail on visit to the Middle East next week.

 

While abysmal economic data from the Old Continent may not provide fuel – no pun intended – to bullish trends, one key component of EU sanctions against Iran most certainly will. A spokesperson told the Oilholic that tankers insured by companies operating in EU jurisdictions will lose their coverage if they continue to carry Iranian oil from July.

 

Since 90% of the world's tanker fleet – including those behemoths called ‘supertankers’ passing through dangerous Gulf of Aden – is insured in Europe, the measure could take out between 0.8 and 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil from Q3 onwards according an Istanbul-based contact in the shipping business.

 

In fact OPEC’s output dipped by 70,000 bpd in month over month terms to 31.4 million bpd in July on the back of a 350,000 bpd drop in June over May. No prizes for guessing that of the 420,000 bpd production dip from May to July – 350,000 bpd loss is a direct result of the Iranian squeeze. Although Tehran claims it is a deliberate ploy.

With an average forecast of a rise in consumption by 1 million bpd over 2012 based on statements of various agencies and independent analysts, price spikes are inevitable despite a dire economic climate in Europe or the OECD in general.

 

Cast aside rubbish Iranian rhetoric and throw in momentary geopolitical supply setbacks like the odd Nigerian flare-up, a refinery fire in California or the growing number of attacks on pipeline infrastructure in Columbia. All of these examples have the potential to temporarily upset the apple cart if supply is tight.

 

“Furthermore, traders are wising up to fact that a price nudge upwards these days is contingent upon non-OECD consumption patterns and they hedge their bets accordingly. WTI aside, most global benchmarks look towards the motorist in Shanghai more than his counterpart in San Francisco these days,” says one industry insider of his peers.

 

When the Oilholic last checked at 1215 BST on August 23, the ICE Brent October contract due for expiry on September 13 was trading at US$115.95 while the NYMEX WTI was at US$97.81. It is highly likely that ICE Brent forward futures contracts for the remaining months of the year will end-up closing above US$110 per barrel, and almost certainly in three figures. Nonetheless, prepare for a rocky ride over Q4!

 

Moving away from pricing of the crude stuff, it seems the shutdown of Penglai 19-3 oilfield by the Chinese government in wake of an oil spill last year has hit CNOOC’s output and profits. According to a recent statement issued at Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CNOOC saw its H1 2012 output fall 4.6% on an annualised basis owing to Penglai 19-3 in which it holds 51% of the participating interest for the development and production phase. ConocoPhillips China Inc (COPC) is the junior partner in the venture.

 

This meant H1 2012 net income was down by 19% on an annualised basis from Yuan 39.34 billion to Yuan 31.87 billion (US$5 billion) according to Chief Executive Li Fanrong. CNOOC's US$15.1 billion takeover of Canada’s Nexen, a move which could have massive implications for the North Sea, is awaiting regulatory approval from Ottawa.

 

Away from the “third largest” of the big trio of rapidly expanding Chinese oil companies to a bit of good news, however temporary, for refiners either side of the pond. That’s if you are to believe investment bank UBS and consultancy Wood Mackenzie. UBS believes that for better parts of H1 2012, especially May and June, refining margins were at near “windfall levels” as the price of the crude stuff dipped in double-digit percentiles (25% at one point in the summer) while distillate prices held-up.

 

Wood Mackenzie also adds that given the refiners’ crude raw material was priced lower but petrol, diesel and other distillates remained pricey meant moderately complex refiners in northwest Europe made a profit of US$6.40 per barrel of processed light low sulphur Brent crude in June, compared with the average profit of 10 cents per barrel last year.

 

The June margin for medium, high sulphur Russian Urals crude was a profit of US$13.10 per barrel compared with the 2011 average of US$8.70, the consultancy adds. American refiners had a bit of respite as well over May and June. Having extensively researched refining investment and infrastructure for over two years, the Oilholic is in complete agreement with Société Générale analyst Mike Wittner that such margins are not going to last (see graph above, click to enlarge).

 

To begin with the French investment bank and most in the City expect global refinery runs to drop shortly and sharply to -1.3 million bpd in September versus August and -0.8 million bpd in October versus September. Société Générale also remains neutral on refining margins and expects them to weaken on the US Gulf Coast, Rotterdam and the Mediterranean but strengthen in Singapore. Yours truly will find out more in the Middle East next week. That’s all for the moment from London folks! Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo 1: Russian oil pump jacks © Lukoil. Graph 1: Comparison of world crude oil benchmarks (Source: ICE, NYMEX, SG). Graph 2: World cracking margins (US$/barrel 5 days m.a) © SG Cross Asset Research, August 2012.

On Oilfield services co’s & a Texan Goodbye

Last two days have been about chatter on oilfield services and drilling companies at a pan global level based on Houstonian feedback, an interesting editorial and an investment note – all of which suggest that things are stable, growth will occur but that 2012-2013 may not be as good as 2011.

The reason is tied-in to the Oilholic’s last few blog posts that natural gas price is low and crude oil price is relatively high. So gains are to be made on one side of the business and the other side – while not necessarily countering all gains – would still stunt growth to a degree according to those in the know. Furthermore, growing competition within the services and drilling industry also means the biggest companies will still grow over the next 12 months, but not by the 10%-or-higher range that would warrant a continued positive outlook according to Moody’s.

“We foresee lower operating margins and slower EBITDA growth in 2012-2013 for the three companies that offer the best barometer of industry conditions – Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes,” says Stuart Miller, Vice President & Senior Analyst at the ratings agency.

“We would move our outlook to positive if we projected that sector’s EBITDA would grow by more than 10% (annualised) over the next 12-18 months, while a drop of more than 10% would translate to a negative outlook,” he concludes.

The US rig count is also expected stabilise in 2012-2013. Oil-directed drilling will continue to outperform, but natural gas drilling will remain depressed into the foreseeable future, leading to a slower upward curve according to the agency.

(Click on graph - above right - to enlarge; for the latest Baker Hughes Rig Count click here). Nonetheless, drilling and associated services in unconventional plays continues as an area of strength for the industry.

The technical difficulty of developing unconventional resources will support a robust demand for sophisticated (also read expensive) horizontal well services. Companies such as Superior Energy Services, Key Energy Services and Basic Energy Services all stand to gain from their increasing exposure to unconventional plays, says Moody’s.

This ties-in nicely to an editorial in the latest (Apr 13, 2012) issue of the Houston Business Journal by Deon Daugherty in which she notes that private equity funding is being pumped in to oilfield services firms as 2012 unfolds alongside the usual investment in other traditional E&P components of the business.

Based on feedback from key local players, Daugherty writes that the technology and technical expertise needed to drill complex horizontal wells, hydraulic fracturing and expensive equipment is partly behind Houston private equity funds pouring investments in to oilfield services companies, alongside a high price of black gold driving investment into traditional E&P activity.

Speaking of editorials, there is another interesting and controversial one in The New Yorker (Apr 9, 2012) which makes a comment on ExxonMobil – the world’s largest “non-state-owned” corporation with annual revenues exceeding the GDP of Norway – and its ties with the US Republican Party.

While Democrats love to loathe the Irving, Texas headquartered IOC, columnist Steve Coll, splendidly notes that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson and President Obama "appear to share at least one understanding about energy policy and the 2012 (presidential) campaign: they are both aware that the partisan and media-amplified war over where to place the blame for rising (US) gasoline prices is largely a phony one."

The Oilholic couldn’t have put it better himself that being an E&P behemoth and that in itself being the area where its core interests are, "ExxonMobil can neither control prices at the pump nor make high profits there."

On a related R&M note, a Bloomberg report suggests that Delta Airlines is possibly in talks with ConocoPhillips about purchasing the Houston-based oil and gas major’s Trainer Refinery in Pennsylvania. Citing anonymous sources, the newswire says Delta would use the fuel from the Trainer refinery and other refineries in exchange for other products made there that it would not use.

While ConocoPhillips has said it would close the Trainer facility if it could not find a buyer by the end of May, its spokesman Rich Johnson told Bloomberg it is "still in the process of seeking a buyer for the refinery” and that the process was confidential. If it goes through, the move would be a remarkable one for a privately listed international airline.

Lastly on a crude pricing note, local media outlets suggest Enterprise Product Partners and Enbridge plan to reverse the flow of the Seaway oil pipeline two weeks ahead of schedule by mid-May pending US regulatory approval, thereby starting a much-needed reduction of excess crude from the US Midwest down and dispatch it to the Gulf Coast.

While the crude fetches a premium in the Gulf Coast, high inventory levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma – the delivery point for WTI oil futures contracts – have impacted WTI pricing relative to Brent. Reports suggest a mid-May (May 17) start date for the pipeline flow reversal will initially carry about 150,000 barrels per day of crude from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. The news had an immediate impact as the arbitrage between transatlantic Brent and Gulf coast crudes on one hand and WTI on the other contracted sharply.

At 18:15 GMT, Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) traded at US$19.40 a barrel premium over WTI, down US$1.65 from Friday's, Mars Sour (MRS) traded at US$12.25 a barrel over WTI down US$1.75, Poseidon (PSD) traded at US$11.55 over WTI down US$1.55.

Meanwhile, the ICE Brent futures contract for June traded at US$118.60 down US$2.61. Hitherto Brent crude and Gulf Coast crudes were moving up in tandem for the last 18 months, so this is certainly welcome news for those hoping for a return to more traditional levels stateside between WTI and Gulf Coast crudes.

Sadly, it is now time to bid another goodbye to Houston – a city which the Oilholic loves to visit more than any other. Yours truly leaves you with a view of the Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. It is home to the local baseball team – the Houston Astros.

The stadium has a capacity of 40,963 spectators according to a spokesperson with an electronically retractable roof which was developed by Vahle, courtesy of which it can be fully air-conditioned when required – a wise decision given the city’s often hot and humid weather!

A local enthusiast tells the Oilholic that the field is unofficially and lightheartedly known as "The Field Formerly Known As Enron" by fans, locals, critics and scribes alike, acquiring the title in wake of the Enron scandal, as the failed energy company had bought naming rights to the stadium in 2000 before its spectacular and fraud-ridden collapse in November 2001.

Thankfully, on June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid, the fruit-juice subsidiary of Coca Cola Company, acquired the naming rights to the stadium for 28 years. Unlike Enron, it’s a healthier brand says the Oilholic. That’s all from Texas folks! Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo 1: Pump Jacks Perryton, Texas, USA © Joel Sartore/National Geographic. Photo 2: Minute Maid Park - home of the Houston Astros, Texas, USA © Gaurav Sharma 2012. Graph: Land & Offshore rig count and forecast © Baker Hughes/Moody's.

Of ConocoPhillips & the integrated model

Is the integrated model of operations incorporating a mixed bag of upstream, midstream and downstream assets ‘dead’ for oil & gas majors given that so many of them have put refining & marketing (R&M) assets up for sale in the last half decade? The question of raises some fierce emotions! Some say it’s not dead, some (including the Oilholic) say it is and others simply say it is on “life support.” The wider market and quite a few delegates here at the 20th WPC point to one company's move which typifies the market dilemma – that's ConocoPhillips.

The US major's announcement in July that it will be pursuing the separation of its exploration and production (E&P) and R&M businesses into two separate publicly traded corporations via a tax-free spin-off R&M to its shareholders did not surprise the Oilholic and those who think the integrated model is no longer in vogue.

As many are watching what unfolds at ConocoPhillips, it is worth turning one’s attention to what its Chief Executive Jim Mulva had to say amid a cacophony of soundbites in Doha. Mulva intends to retire once his company’s split is complete and will be replaced by Ryan Lance as head of the split upstream business.

He notes that ConocoPhillips will spend close to US$14 billion on E&P in 2012 with the majority of the stated capital invested in unconventional projects in North America – namely the Canadian oil sands and liquids rich shale plays (Eagle Ford shale, Permian, Bakken and Barnett prospection fields). From these, the outgoing Chief Executive expects “competitive returns”. The company also hopes to remain active in Indonesia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan and is not giving up on the North Sea.

In fact, it will invest more on existing and new prospects in the North Sea’s Greater Britannia, Greater Ekofisk fields and Jasmine and Clair ridge projects. However, moving away from E&P, ConocoPhillips will divest between US$15 to US$20 billion in assets by Q4 2012. Some, but not all, proceeds will be used to finance a recently announced US$10 billion share buy-back.

Mulva has been as clear as he can be on his company's forward planning. The wider market will now be watching how things pan out for the split companies. However, nothing the Oilholic has heard at the 20th WPC fundamentally alters his initial thoughts - that the integrated model is in deep trouble in Western jurisdictions.

© Gaurav Sharma 2011. Photo: ConocoPhillips exhibition stand at the 20th Petroleum Congress © Gaurav Sharma 2011.

Canada, India pitch to world & each other!

One country aims to be a leading producer (Canada) and one is projected to be a leading consumer or at least among them (India), so the Oilholic has clubbed them together for purposes of blogging about what officials from each country said and did here today at the 20th WPC.

Starting with Canada, its ministerial session complete with a RCMP officer on either side of the stage saw Serge DuPont, Deputy Minister, Natural Resources Canada and Cal Dallas, Alberta’s Minister of Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Affairs outline their country’s goals for its energy business with the session being moderated by Neil McCrank, Counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

The Canadians maintained that in context of developing and investing in the oil sands – of which there is considerable interest here – the country’s energy strategy would be transparent, accountable and responsible both internally and internationally. They also outlined plans to support their industry, akin to many rival oil & gas exporting jurisdictions, via grants – chiefly the provincial government’s energy innovation fund.

This would, according to Deputy Minister DuPont, accompany developing renewable energy sources and a C$2 billion investment in carbon capture and storage. Canada indeed is open for business with foreign direct investment (FDI) welcomed albeit under strict investment guidelines. Proof is in the pudding – not even one top 10 international oil major worth its balance sheet has chosen to ignore projects in the Alberta oil sands.

The Oilholic is reasonably convinced after hearing the ministerial session, that when it comes to environmental concerns versus developing oil & gas projects who would you rather reason with – an open democracy like Canada or Chavez about Venezuela’s heavy oil? In light of recent events, one simply had to raise the Keystone XL question as the Oilholic did with Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) President Dave Collyer on a visit to Calgary earlier this year. After all, one wonders, what is the Canadian patience threshold when it comes to US exports given that new buyers are in town chiefly China, Korea and India.

“Well Canadians are a patient lot. The US remains a major export market for us. The delays associated with the Keystone XL project are frustrating but our medium term belief is that the construction of the pipeline would be approved,” said session moderator and member of the Canadian delegation Neil McCrank of BLG.

He also believes the new buyers in town can be happily accommodated with the oil sands seeing investments from China, South Korea and India (among others). “We acknowledge that there are difficulties in pulling a pipeline from Alberta via British Columbia to the Pacific coast as well – but we are working to resolve these issues as patiently, pragmatically and ethically as only Canadians can!” McCrank concludes.

There is certain truth in that. Despite being an oil producer, Canada does not have a national oil company (NOCs) to trumpet and shows no inclination to shun FDI in Alberta. One of the aforementioned investors, whether ethical or not, is India which has a ‘mere’ 14 NOCs all aching to explore and secure fresh oil reserves to help meet its burgeoning demand for oil.

Of the 14, some four are in the Fortune 500 and operate in 20 international jurisdictions; the loudest of these is ONGC Videsh Limited (or OVL) which among other countries is also looking at Canada as confirmed by both sides. India’s Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas S. Jaipal Reddy sounded decidedly upbeat at the WPC, telling the world his country’s NOCs would make for robust project partners.

Over a period of the last 12 months, the Oilholic notes that Indian NOCs have invested in admirably strategic terms but overseas forays have also seen them in Syria and Sudan which is politically unpalatable for some but perhaps ‘fair game’ for India in its quest for security of supply. Canada – should Indian NOCs increase their exposure in Alberta – would be interesting from a geopolitical standpoint given China’s overt stance on being a Canadian partner too.

However, the only open quotes in terms of overseas forays from Indian officials came regarding investment in Russia and FSU republics. A high powered Russo-Indian delegation met on the sidelines of the 20th WPC to discuss possible investment by Indian NOCs in the Sakhalin project. Separately, officials from ONGC and GAIL told the Oilholic they were keen in buying a stake in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oilfield, which is thought to contain between 9 to 16 billion barrels of oil, and join the consortium under the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement which sees stakes by seven companies – Eni (16.81%), Shell (16.81%), Total (16.81%), ExxonMobil (16.81%), KazMunayGas (16.81%), ConocoPhillips (8.4%) and Inpex (7.56%).

However the rumoured seller – ConocoPhillips – quashed all rumours and instead said it was actually checking out material prospects in Kazakhstan itself. It also detailed its plans for Canada and shale plays. That’s all for the moment folks. Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

© Gaurav Sharma 2011. Photo 1: Canadian Ministerial session at the 20th Petroleum Congress (Seated L to R: Neil McCrank, BLG, Cal Dallas, Alberta Goverment, Serge DuPont, Canada's Deputy Minister, Natural Resources. Photo 2: Indian Ministerial session (Seated third from right: India’s Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas S. Jaipal Reddy) © Gaurav Sharma 2011.

Penglai 19-3, Syrian oil & the latest price forecast

Starting with the latter point first, Société Générale’s latest commodities review for Q4 2011 throws up some crude points for discussion. In the review, the French investment bank’s analysts hold a largely bearish stance over the price of crude for the remainder of 2011; even for the forecasts where the possibility of a recession has not been factored in.

Société Générale’s global head of oil research Mike Wittner notes that oil markets have not yet priced in a weaker economic and oil demand growth environment. “As such, our view is that crude oil prices are due for a significant decline, which will ratchet the oil complex down into a lower trading range that will last through 2012,” he adds.

He notes that the crude price drop “should” begin within the next 30-45 days, for a variety of reasons. “Current bullish supply disruptions in Nigeria and the UK are temporary, and peak Atlantic hurricane season typically ends in mid-October. As these bullish factors fade, a bearish driver will begin to emerge,” Wittner adds.

As the Oilholic noted last week, this driver is the new Libyan government’s move toward a modest resumption of crude production by end-September. Couple this with weak economic data and Société Générale is not alone in bearish price forecasts. It projects ICE Brent crude to average US$98 in both Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 (each revised downward by US$15). Brent forecast for 2012 is US$100 (also down US$15).

Concurrently, NYMEX WTI crude is expected to average US$73 in both Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 (down US$28). Société Générale’s WTI projection for 2012 is US$80 (down US$23). The reason for the larger revisions to WTI is that the bank expects current price disconnect with waterborne crudes, such as LLS and Brent, to continue.

As widely expected, and in line with weaker economic growth, Société Générale also lowered its forecasts for global oil demand growth to 1.0 million barrels per day (bpd) in both 2011 and 2012 (revised downward by 0.4 million bpd and 0.5 million bpd, respectively). Additionally, it is now looking increasingly like that growth in non-OPEC supply and OPEC NGLs will be enough to meet demand, so OPEC will not need to increase crude output above the current 30.0 million bpd at its next meeting in December.

Moving away from pricing, the row over whether or not banning or restricting the import of Syrian crude oil is an effective enough tool to force President Bashar al-Assad to give up violent ways continues. While clamour had been growing for the past four weeks, it gained momentum when the EU has stepped up sanctions on Syria by banning imports of its oil, as protests against the rule of President Assad were brutally crushed last week. On the other side of the argument, Russia condemned the EU’s move as ‘ineffective.’

Quite frankly, in a crude hungry world, there is nothing to stop the Syrians from seeking alternative markets. Nonetheless, the Oilholic feels it is prudent to point out that EU member nations are buyers of 95% of Syrian crude. So a sudden ban could be a blow to Assad, albeit a temporary one. From a risk premium standpoint, Syrian contribution to global markets is not meaningful enough to impact crude prices.

Elsewhere, the State Oceanic Administration of China ordered ConocoPhillips China Inc (COPC) to stop all operations at the Penglai 19-3 oil field in the Bohai Bay off North-eastern China last week because of its dissatisfaction with COPC's progress in cleaning up an oil spill.

The field is operated under a Production Sharing Contract wherein COPC is the operator and responsible for the management of daily operations while CNOOC holds 51% of the participating interest for the development and production phase. However, ratings agency Moody’s thinks suspension of Penglai 19-3 work has no ratings impact on CNOOC itself.

"CNOOC expects the suspension of all operations at Penglai 19-3 will reduce the company's net production volume by 62,000 barrels per day, or approximately 6.7% of its average daily production in H1 2011. Although the reduction is sizable, the impact is mitigated by the higher-than-expected oil prices realised by CNOOC year-to-date, and which provide it with strong operational cash flow and a strong liquidity buffer," says Kai Hu, a Moody's Vice President and Lead Analyst for CNOOC.

Even after the volume reduction and a moderate retreat of crude oil prices to around US$90 is factored in, Moody’s estimates that CNOOC will still generate positive free cash flow in 2011 and 2012, on the assumption that there is no material change in its announced capex and investment plan, and that it will maintain prudent discipline in reserve acquisitions and development.

"CNOOC has maintained a solid liquidity profile, which is supported by a total of Rmb 88.37 billion in cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2010, and compared with Rmb 40.66 billion in total reported debt (including Rmb 21.99 billion in short-term debt)," Hu concludes.

© Gaurav Sharma 2011. Photo: Alaska Pipeline, Brooks Range, USA © Michael S. Quinton/National Geographic

ConocoPhillips’ move is a sign of crude times

US major ConocoPhillips' announcement last Friday that it will be pursuing the separation of its exploration and production (E&P) and refining and marketing (R&M) businesses into two separate publicly traded corporations via a tax-free spin-off R&M to COP shareholders does not surprise the Oilholic. 

Rather, it is a sign of crude times. Oil majors are increasing turning their focus to the high risk, high reward E&P side of things rather than the R&M business where margins albeit recovering at the moment, continue to be abysmal. Most oil majors  are divesting their refinery assets, and even BP would have done so, regardless of the Macondo tragedy forcing its hand towards divestment. 

ConocoPhillips’ decision should not be interpreted as a move away from R&M – nothing in the oil business is either that simple or linear. However, it certainly tells us where its priorities currently lie and how it feels the integrated model is not the best way forward. This is in line with industry trends as the Oilholic noted last November. 

Meanwhile, following the announcement, ratings agency Moody's says it may review ConocoPhillips' ratings for possible downgrade with approximately US$19.6 billion of rated debt being affected. This includes A1 senior unsecured and other long-term debt ratings of the parent company and its rated subsidiaries. 

Tom Coleman, Moody's Senior Vice-President notes that the distribution to shareholders of the large R&M business could weaken the credit profile of ConocoPhillips and result in a downgrade of its A1 rating. 

"Our review will focus on the company's capital structure following the spin-off, including the potential for debt reduction by ConocoPhillips, along with its financial policies and growth objectives going forward as a stand-alone E&P company," he concludes. 

The wider market is waiting to get a clearer understanding of the oil major’s plans for debt reduction, capital structure and financial policies as an independent E&P. Continuing with corporate deals, BHP Billiton made a strategic swoop for Petrohawk Energy. The cash acquisition, also announced last Friday, to the tune of US$12.1 billion, will give it access to shale oil and gas assets across Texas and Louisiana. BHP’s latest move follows its earlier decision to buy Chesapeake Energy's Arkansas-based gas business for US$4.75 billion. 

Meanwhile, figures released by Brazil’s Petrobras for the month of June indicate that the company’s domestic production rose 3.5% on an annualised basis. The results were boosted by the resumption of production on platforms that had been undergoing scheduled maintenance in the Campos Basin, and startup of a new well connected to platform Jubarte field's P-57 in the Espírito Santo section of the Campos Basin. The Extended Well Test (EWT) in the Campos Basin's Aruanã field also started up in late June.

However, its international output was down 5.6% on an annualised basis due to operating issues and tax payments in Akpo, Nigeria. Petrobras' average oil and natural gas production (both domestic and overseas) amounted to 2,641,508 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), 2.13% up on the total figure for May 2011. 

Finally, European woes are weighing on the crude markets. With the NYMEX August crude futures contract due to expire on Wednesday, intraday trading at one point, 1045 GMT to be precise, saw it down 0.31% or 33 cents at US$96.91 a barrel. Concurrently, the September ICE Brent futures contract was down 0.6%, 74 cents at US$116.44 a barrel. 

© Gaurav Sharma 2011. Photo 1: COP Refinery & Oil Platform collage © ConocoPhillips

Keystone XL, politics & the King’s Speech

Even before the original Keystone cross-border pipeline project aimed at bringing Canadian crude oil to the doorstep of US refineries had been completed, calls were growing for an extension. The original pipeline which links Hardisty (Alberta, Canada) to Cushing (Oklahoma) and Patoka (Illinois) became operational in June 2010, just as another, albeit atypical US-Canadian tussle was brewing.

The extension project – Keystone XL first proposed in 2008, again starting from Hardisty but with a different route and an extension to Houston and Port Arthur (Texas) is still stuck in the quagmire of US politics, environmental reticence, planning laws and bituminous mix of the Canadian oil sands.

The need for extension is exactly what formed the basis of the original Keystone project – Canada is already the biggest supplier of crude oil to the US; and it is only logical that its share should rise and in all likelihood will rise. Keystone XL according to one of its sponsors – TransCanada – would have the capacity to raise the existing capacity by 591,000 barrels per day though the initial dispatch proposal is more likely to be in the range of 510,000 barrels.

Having visited both the proposed ends of the pipeline in Alberta and Texas, the Oilholic finds the sense of frustration only too palpable more so because infrastructural challenges and the merits (or otherwise) of the extension project are not being talked about. To begin with the project has a loud ‘fan’ club and an equally boisterous ‘ban’ club. Since it is a cross-border project, US secretary of State Hillary Clinton has to play the role of referee.

A pattern seems to be emerging. A group of 14 US senators here and 39 there with their counterparts across the border would write to her explaining the merits only for environmental groups, whom I found to be very well funded – rather than the little guys they claim to be – launching a counter representation. That has been the drill since Clinton took office.

One US senator told me, “If we can’t trust the Canadians in this geopolitical climate then who can we trust. Go examine it yourself.” On the other hand, an environmental group which tries to get tourists to boycott Alberta because of its oil sands business tried its best to convince me not to land in Calgary. I did so anyway, not being a tourist in any case.

Since 2008, TransCanada has held nearly 100 open houses and public meetings along the pipeline route; given hundreds of hours of testimony to local, state and federal officials and submitted thousands of pages of information to government agencies in response to questions. The environmentalists did not tell me, but no prizes for guessing who did and with proof. This is the kind of salvo being traded.

Send fools on a fool’s errand!

It is not that TransCanda, its partner ConocoPhillips and their American and Canadian support base know something we do not. It is a fact that for some years yet – and even in light of falling gasoline consumption levels – the US would remain the world’s largest importer of crude oil. China should surpass it, but this will not happen overnight.

The opponents of oil sands have gotten the narrative engrained in a wider debate on the environment and the energy mix. Going forward, they view Keystone XL and other incremental pipeline projects in the US as perpetuating reliance on crude oil and are opposing the project on that basis.

Given the current geopolitical climate, environmental groups in California and British Columbia impressed upon this blogger that stunting Alberta’s oil sands – hitherto the second largest proven oil reserve after Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar extraction zone – would somehow send American oilholics to an early bath and force a green age. This is a load of nonsense.

Au contraire, it will increase US dependency on Middle Eastern oil and spike the price. Agreed the connection is neither simple nor linear – but foreign supply will rise not fall. Keystone XL brings this crude foreign product from a friendly source.

Everyone in Alberta admits work needs to be done by the industry to meet environmental concerns. However, a 'wells to wheels' analysis of CO2 emissions, most notably by IHS CERA and many North American institutions has confirmed that oil sands crude is only 5 to 15 per cent ‘dirtier’ than US sweet crude mix.

The figure compares favourably with Nigerian, Mexican and Venezuelan crude which the US already imports. So branding Canadian crude as dirty and holding up Keystone XL on this basis is a bit rich coming from the US. Keystone XL increases US access to Canadian crude. Who would the Americans rather buy from Canada or Venezuela? Surveys suggest the former.

The pragmatists at CAPP

Over a meeting in Calgary, Dave Collyer, President of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) told the Oilholic that they have always viewed Keystone XL as an opportunity to link up Western Canada to the US Gulf coast market, to replace production that would otherwise be imported by the US from overseas sources most notably Venezuela and Mexico where production is declining according to available data. There are also noticeable political impediments in case of the former.

“We don’t see this pipeline extension as incremental supply into that orbit, rather a replacement of existing production through a relatively straightforward pipeline project, akin to many other pipeline projects and extensions that have been built into the US,” Collyer said.

Energy infrastructure players, market commentators and CAPP make another valid point – why are we not debating scope of the Keystone XL project and its economic impact and focussing on the crude stuff it would deliver across the border? CAPP for its part takes a very pragmatic line.

“Do we think there is legitimacy in the argument that is being made against Keystone? No (for the most part) but the reality is that there has to be due consideration in the US. I would assume the US State Department is in a position where it has no alternative but to employ an abundance of caution to ensure that all due processes are met. What frustrates Canadians and Americans alike is the length of time that it has taken. However, at the end of the day when we get that approval and it is a robust one which withstands a strict level of scrutiny then it’s a good thing,” Collyer said.

T I M B E R!

Canadians and Americans first started bickering about timber, another Canadian resource needed in the US, about taxation, ethics, alleged subsidies and all the rest of it way back in 1981. Thirty years later, not much has changed as they are still at it. But these days it barely makes the local news in Canada each time the Americans take some reactive action or the other against the timber industry. Reason – since 2003 there has been another buyer in town – China.

In 2010, timber sales from Canada to China (and Japan to a lesser extent) exceed those to the US. Over the last half-decade timber exports from the province of British Columbia alone to China rose 10 times over on an annualised basis. Moral of the story, the US is not the only player in town whatever the natural resource. Canadians feel a sense of frustration with the US, and rightly so according to Scott Rusty Miller, managing partner of Ogilvy Renault (soon to be part of Norton Rose) in Calgary.

“We are close to the US, we are secure and we have scruples. Our industry is more open to outside scrutiny and environmental standards than perhaps many or in fact any other country the US imports crude oil from – yet there are these legal impediments. Scrutiny is fine. It’s imperative in this business, but not to such an extent that it starts frustrating a project,” Miller noted.

Ask anyone at CAPP or any Toronto-based market analyst if Canada could look elsewhere – you would get an answer back with a smile; only the Americans probably would not join them. The Oilholic asked Collyer if Americans should fear such moves.

His reply was, “As our crude production grows we would like access to the wider crude oil markets. Historically those markets have almost entirely been in the US and we are optimistic that these would continue to grow. Unquestionably there is increasing interest in the Oil sands from overseas and market diversification to Asia is neither lost on Canadians nor is it a taboo subject for us.”

CAPP has noted increasing interest from Chinese, Korean and other Asian players when it comes to buying in to both crude oil reserves and natural gas in Western Canada. Interest alone does not create a market – but backed up by infrastructure at both ends, it strengthens the relationship between markets Canadians have traditionally not looked at. All of this shifts emphasis on Canadian West coast exports.

“Is it going to be straightforward to get a pipeline to the West coast – we’ll all acknowledge that it’s not. For instance, Enbridge has its challenges with the Gateway pipeline. There is an interest in having an alternative market. There are drivers in trying to pursue that and I would say collectively this raises the “fear” you mention and with some factual basis. However, the US has been a great market and should continue to be a great market...while some caution is warranted,” he concluded.

The King’s speech

We’re not talking about Bertie, (King George VI of England) but Barack (The King of gasoline consumers and the US President). On March 30th, the King rose and told his audience at Georgetown University that he would be targeting a one-third reduction in US crude imports by 2025.

“I set this goal knowing that we’re still going to have to import some oil. And when it comes to the oil we import from other nations, obviously we have got to look at neighbours like Canada and Mexico that are stable, steady and reliable sources,” he added. While I am reliably informed that the speech was not picked up by Chinese state television, the Canadian press went into overdrive. The Globe and Mail, the country’s leading newspaper, declared “Obama signals new reliance on oil sands.”

Shares of Canadian oil and service companies rose the next day on the Toronto Exchange, even gas producers benefited and 'pro-Keystone XL' American senators queued up on networks to de facto say “We love you, we told you so.” Beyond the hyped response, there is a solid reason. Keystone XL bridges both markets – a friendly producer to a friendly consumer with wide ranging economic benefits.

According to Miller, “Refining capacity exists down south. Some refineries on the US Gulf coast could be upgraded at a much lower cost compared to building new infrastructure. There are economic opportunities for both sides courtesy this project – we are not just talking jobs, but an improvement of the regional macro scenario. Furthermore, however short or long, it could be a shot in the arm for the much beleaguered and low-margin haunted refining business.”

The pipeline could also help Canadians export surplus crude using US ports in the Gulf and tax benefits could accrue not just at the Texan end but along the route as well. That the oil sands are in Canada is a geological stroke of luck, given the unpredictability of OPEC and Russian supplies. The US State Department says it will conclude its review of Keystone XL later this year. Subjecting this project to scrutiny is imperative, but bludgeoning it with impediments would be ‘crudely’ unwise.

This post contains excerpts from an article written by the Oilholic for UK's Infrastructure Journal. While the author retains serial rights, the copyright is shared with the publication in question.

Gaurav Sharma 2011 © Gaurav Sharma and Infrastructure Journal 2011. Map: All proposals of Canadian & US Crude Oil Pipelines © CAPP (Click map to enlarge)