Listado de la etiqueta: oil production

Perspectivas de inversión en los contratos de Exploración y Extracción de hidrocarburos

en

Hasta la fecha, hay 75 contratos signados y se encuentran en proceso de firma 19 de la Ronda 2.4 y 16 de la Ronda 3.1, con lo que se llegaría a un total de 110 contratos para realizar actividades de exploración y extracción en México.

Además, en los próximos meses, la Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos estará llevando a cabo su licitación número 15, para ofertar 46 campos terrestres convencionales y no convencionales. Se trata de una licitación importante, debido al potencial de las áreas contractuales sometidas a concurso, especialmente los 9 campos de recursos no convencionales, que de acuerdo a datos de la Secretaría de Energía, concentran tres veces más el potencial de las áreas terrestres adjudicadas.

Adicionalmente, se encuentra en proceso la búsqueda de socios para Pemex en 7 áreas terrestres, a través de la licitación CNH-A-C6-7 Asociaciones/2018, cuya declaración de ganadores se dará a conocer el próximo octubre.

Lo anterior, nos permite afirmar que la Reforma Energética en nuestro país ha sido exitosa, pues logró ser atractiva no sólo para los inversionistas mexicanos, sino también para los extranjeros, cuyas empresas proceden de más de 18 países, entre las que se encuentran Australia, Noruega,  Italia, Francia, China, Colombia, Estados Unidos de América, Malasia y Alemania y que han comprometido una inversión aproximada de 153 mil millones de dólares.

La mayor parte de la inversión se encuentra concentrada en aguas profundas, toda vez que se trata de un ámbito que requiere el uso de infraestructura de grandes dimensiones, tecnología de punta, personal y equipo especializado y sistemas de seguridad avanzados.

Toda esa inversión se traducirá en el desarrollo de nuevos negocios (de pequeñas y medianas empresas), generación de empleos y configuración de centros económicos en áreas geográficas específicas, como son Tamaulipas, Veracruz y Tabasco en donde se concentran la mayor parte de los campos de exploración y extracción.

La atracción de la inversión representa el mejor indicador para hablar del éxito de la Reforma Energética, pero ello no quiere decir que esté plenamente consolidada, para lograr ese punto es necesario que México sea un país competitivo, lo que implica adoptar las mejores prácticas internacionales a fin de mantenerse como un país atractivo para los inversionistas.

En este sentido, la regulación en materia de seguridad industrial, seguridad operativa y protección ambiental desempeña un papel de primordial importancia para generar una industria de hidrocarburos segura y limpia.

Para ello, los órganos reguladores de México han desarrollado una regulación que busca generar los más altos estándares de seguridad, a fin de los que los contratos de exploración y extracción se desarrollen sin contratiempos y se evite al máximo la ocurrencia de siniestros, que además de las consecuencias que pueden tener en terceros, generalmente implica un desembolso económico importante para la empresa, sin considerar las consecuencias indirectas que pueden presentarse, tales como: pérdida de productividad, incumplimiento de obligaciones legales, demandas, desprestigio, etc.

En este aspecto, las autoridades mexicanas decidieron acertadamente adoptar una de las mejores prácticas internacionales al regular garantías financieras, específicamente seguros de responsabilidad civil y ambiental, control de pozos, daños materiales y daños al personal, para garantizar la existencia de los recursos económicos necesarios para la reparación de los daños que se puedan causar con las actividades de los operadores petroleros.

En NRGI Broker, somos expertos en administración de riesgos y seguros de energía, acércate a nosotros, con gusto te atenderemos.

 

Mexican President Weighs Bids on Huge New Oil Refinery Construction

en

Sputnik News / Latin America / December 10

 

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Mexico’s new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday that tenders for the construction of a new large oil refinery in the country’s southeastern state of Tabasco would be announced no later than March 2019.

«The oil refinery will be built here because oil will be processed here as well, it will not be exported. This is the best site for the construction of the new refinery,» Obrador said at a ceremony of the laying of a symbolic cornerstone for the future facility as quoted by the Excelsior news portal.

The Mexican president also confirmed that the state-owned Pemex petroleum company would receive additional $3.6 billion to boost its oil production.

According to Obrador, Mexico will seek to increase oil production from the current less than 1.8 million barrels per day to 2.4 million barrels per day in 2024. The new oil refinery is expected to process 340,000 barrels of oil per day.

 

Sputnik News / Latin America / December 10

 

Mexico oil production to reach 2.6 mil b/d by 2025: Lopez Obrador

en

S&P Globals Platts / Wendy Wells / Daniel Rodríguez / September 11

 

Mexico City — Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday he plans to focus on developing and exploring onshore and shallow water areas under the control of state oil company Pemex to boost the country’s oil production.

«We have a projection, and our plan is to have production of at least 2.6 million b/d by the end of the presidential term; additional production of 800,000 b/d,» Lopez Obrador said in webcast press conference.

Lopez Obrador was speaking to journalists after a meeting with Mexican drilling and oil service companies at Villahermosa in Tabasco.

Mexico’s production averaged 1.8 million b/d in July, down from an historical high of 3.4 million b/d in 2004, latest data from Mexico’s National Hydrocarbon Commission showed.

Lopez Obrador said the incoming administration plans to tender drilling contracts in December when his six-year term begins to develop Pemex’s shallow water and inland areas to boost oil production. «We are inviting all companies to participate in these tenders. However, we will have a preference over domestic contractors,» he added.

He said he planned to add Peso 75 billion ($3.9 billion) to Pemex’s exploration and production budget to boost drilling and thus raise output. The tenders will help Mexico reverse its production downtrend by the end of 2019, he added.

Mexico’s oil industry is at a crisis as a result of low public investment in the sector. Pemex in 2017 had an E&P capital expenditure budget of Peso 81.5 billion, down from Peso 222 billion in 2014, the company’s annual financial statements show. The cut in Pemex’s budget resulted in a significant decrease in drilling activity; it drilled 83 wells in 2017, compared with 705 in 2013.

Lopez Obrador blamed the previous administration for Pemex’s lower capital expenditure, claiming it was done on purpose amid expectations the private sector would offset lower activity from the state company. «It has been a complete failure, this wrongly named energy reform,» Lopez Obrador said

The president-elect has historically been an opponent of private participation in Mexico’s energy sector. His critics note Pemex’s spending cuts reflect lower global oil prices after 2014.

The president-elect neither mentioned the long-term nature of the energy sector nor the advances made by Eni at Amoca, PanAmerica with Hotchi and Talos with Zama, where peak production across the three fields could be above 250,000 b/d.

Analysts also point out that Lopez Obrador does not acknowledge that it has been a challenge for Mexico to replace production from the aging Cantarell super field, which produced 2.1 million b/d in 2003 and but 160,000 b/d in July.

Mexico won’t call for new hydrocarbon auction rounds until all 107 contracts awarded to date under the energy reform are reviewed for corruption, Lopez Obrador said.

«The majority aren’t working, there is no investment, but those 107 contracts don’t include all the oil regions in the country, just a fraction of Mexico’s hydrocarbon potential,» he added.

The president-elect did not indicate when this contract review process could conclude. Currently, Mexico’s National Hydrocarbon Commission is organizing two gas-rich auction rounds, which are expected to be awarded in February.

The commission postponed both auctions as well as a Pemex’s auction to farm out seven onshore clusters in southern Mexico from this summer until the coming year, citing a request from the industry for more time to analyze the areas as well as the opportunity to involve the incoming administration in the process.

Lopez Obrador said the state owns all of Mexico’s oil resources, and has greater control over areas that have not yet been assigned. «The greater majority of our oil potential is still under the control of Pemex,» he added.

 

S&P Globals / Wendy Wells / Daniel Rodríguez / September 11

 

Rangeland Energy Begins Operations at its South Texas Energy Products System (STEPS) Terminal Facility in Corpus Christi, Texas

en

Oil and Gas 360 / june 5

 

SUGAR LAND, Texas

Rangeland Energy III, LLC (“Rangeland”) today announced that operations commenced at its STEPS terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Monday, June 4. Rangeland also announced that in June the company will begin loading diesel onto railcars for a leading refined products customer. The diesel will be delivered to third-party inland terminals in Mexico via the Kansas City Southern Railway(NYSE: KSU).

“Rangeland is looking forward to facilitating the transportation of diesel to destinations in Mexico for a major industry player,” said Rangeland President and CEO Christopher W. Keene. “This is the first customer to contract with us for services at the STEPS facility. As we continue to build out the STEPS project, we are working with other key marketers, refiners and producers to provide services into and out of STEPS.”

About STEPS

STEPS is an integrated hydrocarbon logistics system that receives and stores refined products, liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) and other hydrocarbons at a new terminal hub located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and transports them to terminals primarily located in Mexico. During the initial phase of the project, refined products and LPGs will be received in the Corpus Christi terminal then shipped to third-party inland terminals located in Mexico. In subsequent phases, marine facilities in Corpus Christi and Mexico will be added to the system, along with the infrastructure to accommodate additional commodities including crude oil, condensate and fuel oil. The STEPS project expands upon and leverages Rangeland’s successful track record of developing similar infrastructure in the Bakken Shale and Permian Basin.

The terminal site in Corpus Christi is strategically situated along the Kansas City Southern Railroad mainline within five miles of the Port of Corpus Christi and the Valero, CITGO and Flint Hills refineries. Inbound products initially will be delivered by truck or rail, followed later by pipeline and barge. Refined products and LPGs will move out of the STEPS Corpus Terminal primarily by rail, but the terminal could eventually connect to pipelines and vessels.

About Rangeland Energy

Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Rangeland Energy was formed in 2009 to focus on developing, acquiring, owning and operating midstream infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and other petroleum products. The company is focused on emerging hydrocarbon production areas across North America, with a current emphasis on the Gulf Coast and Canada. The Rangeland team represents more than 200 years of combined midstream experience and is backed by an equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream. Visit www.rangelandenergy.com for more information.

 

Oil and Gas 360 / june 5

 

Expert questions BP’s drilling plans for offshore Nova Scotia

en

The Canadian Press / The Chronicle Herald / May 15

 

An engineering expert and former oil industry consultant has raised the alarm on BP Canada Energy Group’s plans to drill off Nova Scotia.

“Given BP’s current proposals for exploratory drilling offshore Nova Scotia, the likelihood of an uncontrolled blowout exceeds the upper limits for tolerability of exploratory well drilling risks,” said Robert Bea in his risk analysis of BP’s plans.

Bea, who is professor emeritus at the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California at Berkeley, has investigated catastrophes including the Columbia space shuttle explosion in 1987 and the blowout of a Deepwater Horizon rig owned by BP eight years ago.

“Based on the information provided by BP, the blowout risk is clearly not acceptable,” Bea said in an interview Monday.

Bea uses a complex risk assessment system that looks into factors such as the commitment of everyone involved in an operation to safety, from contractors to the company’s top managers. The company’s awareness of major risks and its technical and management ability to assess risk is also taken into account.

After applying these criteria to BP’s plans for offshore Nova Scotia, Bea said the risk of an uncontrolled blowout like Deepwater Horizon was high. Eleven rig workers were killed in the Deepwater explosion on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico and it triggered the biggest oil spill in U.S. history at an estimated 4.9 million barrels.

In a decision in early April, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board authorized BP Canada to do preparatory work in advance of its plan to drill an exploration well about 50 kilometres off Sable Island. The decision drew protests from groups, including the Council of Canadians, about the environmental risks associated with the project and the strength of the regulations that govern the offshore.

BP contends that if there was a blowout off Nova Scotia, there would be sufficient time to drill a relief well and to get access to equipment such as a capping stack to contain the situation. But Bea said he questions that optimism, based on the documentation he’s seen and his personal experience in assessing gas and oil projects.

The provincial and federal governments have denied that the project, which could see up to seven exploration wells drilled off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia over a three-year period, poses unacceptable environmental risks.

Premier Stephen McNeil has said he’s confident that BP would take the appropriate measures to ensure safety and environmental responsibility throughout the project. He said BP has taken strides to strengthen regulations since Deepwater.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has said the project “is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”

Bea agrees there would be economic benefits for Nova Scotia but only if the project is done successfully.

“I don’t think it’s a case of we should do this at all,” he said. “I think it’s a case of if we choose to do this, we need to do it with the best available technology. Because the consequences of being wrong are too high.”

 

The Canadian Press / The Chronicle Herald / May 15

 

Qatar Petroleum to push ahead with expansion despite Gulf crisis

en

From: REUTERS NEWS AGENCY / 8 Mayo

 

State energy giant continue with expansion strategy to be on par with oil majors, despite Gulf crisis embargo.

State energy giant Qatar Petroleum (QP) will push ahead with its production expansion and foreign asset acquisition strategy to be on par with oil majors, despite a regional political and economic embargo on Doha, its chief executive said.

Qatar is one of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ smallest producers but is also one of the most influential players in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market due to its annual production of 77 million tonnes.

«We are in Mexico, we are in Brazil, we are contemplating investing in the US in many areas, in shale gas, in conventional oil. We are looking at many things,» al-Kaabi said in an interview at QP’s headquarters in Doha.

«We are looking very critically at the United States because we have a position there. We have the Golden Pass that we are investing in,» he said.

Qatar Petroleum is the majority owner of the Golden Pass LNG terminal in Texas, with ExxonMobil Corp and ConocoPhillips holding smaller stakes.

Al-Kaabi said «depending on the project’s cost and feasibility» he expects to take a final investment decision on expanding the Golden Pass LNG by the end of the year.

«I’m not in the business of infrastructure. I’m not going to have a liquefaction plant only. It has to be something that will be linked with an upstream business that we would buy in the US so we need to be naturally hedged,» he added.

To maintain its dominance in the US and Australia, QP is cutting costs at home and seeking to expand overseas through joint ventures with international companies.

«We will always go with one of our international partners that we have business with here in Qatar,» al-Kaabi said. «Some of our partners want to divest, some of our partners want to acquire something together.»

QP is focusing on other opportunities in Mexico, Latin America, Africa and in the Mediterranean, he said. QP is also looking to enter Mozambique, where Exxon and Eni operate, he added.

Al-Kaabi said the share of overseas upstream production will be «a good portion» in the long term, but it will not compare with its share at home.

«Our strategy says we are going to expand in upstream business with a little bit of downstream that will be connected to some other businesses that we are doing and a few one-off deals in petrochemicals,» he said.

 

We are in Mexico, we are in Brazil, we are contemplating investing in the US in many areas

                                                                        SAAD AL-KAABI

 

From: REUTERS NEWS AGENCY / 8 Mayo