Cubic

Oil and gas patch output is typically measured in barrels or cubic feet, but gross domestic product (GDP) is another yardstick by which to chart growth, and that’s particularly true in North Dakota, home to the Bakken Shale, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said U.S. gas production could reach 797 billion cubic meters (bcm) (28.14 Tcf) by 2018, 17% higher than last year’s total of 681 bcm (24.05 Tcf), which was a 5% increase over 2011. That’s thanks to shale gas. Other countries have it, but they won’t be getting at it for some time, and that fact will keep the United States among the leading natural gas producers.

The first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Angola LNG plant is on its way to Brazil on the SS Sonangol Sambizanga, one of seven 160,000-cubic meter LNG vessels contracted to the Angola LNG project, one of the largest energy projects on the African continent. Angola LNG is a partnership of Sonangol, Chevron Corp., BP plc, ENI and Total that will gather and process gas to produce and deliver LNG and natural gas liquids (NGL). “First gas at Angola LNG is an important milestone in support of our strategic plan to grow our production,” said George Kirkland, Chevron vice chairman. The $10 billion project will collect and transport gas from offshore Angola to an onshore liquefaction plant on the coast near the Congo River. The project has the capacity to produce 5.2 million metric tons per year of LNG, 63,000 b/d of NGL for export and 125 MMcf/d of natural gas for domestic consumption, Chevron said. “The project represents the first LNG project in Angola, and it is expected to contribute to the development of Angola’s natural gas industry,” said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Co. Five and a half years ago it was expected that some supply from Angola LNG would land in the United States (see Daily GPI, Dec. 11, 2007).

Poland on Wednesday suffered a double dose of bad news regarding its prospective shale plays after Marathon Oil Corp. and Talisman Energy Inc. issued separate statements indicating that they were pulling out of the country.

The U.S. Lower 48 onshore has 1.1 quadrillion cubic feet equivalent (Qcfe) of recoverable resources across 450,000 drilling locations, according to a new analysis by Calgary-based ITG Investment Research, which, not surprisingly, cited the big-name shales for being reserves and production stars.

The U.S. Lower 48 onshore has 1.1 quadrillion cubic feet equivalent (Qcfe) of recoverable resources across 450,000 drilling locations, according to a new analysis by Calgary-based ITG Investment Research, which, not surprisingly, cited the big-name shales for being reserves and production stars.

Texas tax revenues during fiscal year 2012, which ended Aug. 31, were considerably higher than the prior year, according to the state comptroller’s office, thanks in part to oil and gas activities in the state.

Total combined natural gas purchase and sales volumes reached 124,752 TBtu in 2011, a 2.5% increase compared with 121,682 TBtu in 2010, according to an analysis by Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) of 2011 Form 552 filings with FERC.

Golar LNG Ltd. has contracted to build four 160,000-cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd.