04-17-2017, 11:38 PM
The construction addresses a lack of pipeline capacity that has stunted development of two of the largest shale fields in the United States, the Marcellus and Utica formations. The lines should allow output to increase from both fields by about 50 percent in the next two years, according to the EIA. Gas from the Marcellus and Utica is among the cheapest in the country.
New U.S. pipelines to drive natural gas boom as exports surge | Reuters
The global oil market is moving closer to balance even as increases in U.S. oil production push prices down in the short-term, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. CEO Amin Nasser said. “This is not a good indication of where the market is likely to be headed going forward, as the large new production capacity and investment we will need in the future are lagging,” Nasser said during an event at Columbia University in New York Friday. “While the short-term market is pointing to a surplus of oil, the supply required in the coming years is falling behind.” Many indicators are pointing to a more balanced market, Nasser said. The combined inventories of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are flattening and poised to drop, among other signs that the market is tightening, he said.
Aramco CEO sees oil market closer to balance, despite U.S. boom
Iran, holder of the world’s biggest natural gas reserves, boosted output by inaugurating six projects at the giant South Pars offshore field. The country raised total production capacity at South Pars to 570 MMcmgd, putting it almost on par with neighboring Qatar, which produces from an adjacent portion of the same deposit, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Sunday at a ceremony in the port city of Assaluyeh. Iran invested $20 billion to complete the six projects, or phases, President Hassan Rouhani said at the event. Iran is on track to out-produce Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, at the Persian Gulf deposit.
Iran boosts gas output capacity with new projects at giant field
Wall Street banks’ growing optimism about the energy industry is the latest boost for U.S. oil and natural gas producers already enjoying higher prices. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. said on Thursday in their first-quarter earnings results that rising oil prices have helped them free a combined $370 million they previously set aside to cover bad loans. If the optimism turns into an increase in lending, it would be a boon to shale firms from Texas to North Dakota that rely on borrowed money to finance their drilling and fracing. That could further accelerate U.S. oil production, which is already expected to rise above 10 MMbpd for the first time in late 2018, and put more pressure on OPEC’s efforts to restrain supply.
Bankers' fading fear of oil lending is latest boon for shale