Economy

Following a second quarter that saw performance declines across its businesses, drilling and oil field services, Nabors Industries Ltd., is ready for the economy and the industry to turn around. When will that be? The third quarter could put a floor under declines and mark the beginning of a recovery, CEO Gene Isenberg said, but he’s not particularly bullish.

Soft gas demand due to a weak economy and mild weather is driving the industry through what could be a belly-busting storage injection season with record inventories quite possible. Whatever pain is to come for producers will emanate first from full caverns in the producing region, analysts at Barclays Capital said Tuesday.

Following a second quarter that saw performance declines across its businesses, drilling and oil field services firm, Nabors Industries Ltd., is ready for the economy and the industry to turn around. When will that be? The third quarter could put a floor under declines and mark the beginning of a recovery, CEO Gene Isenberg said, but he’s not particularly bullish.

An estimated $10 billion of floating production systems (FPS) designed to explore offshore for oil and natural gas failed to materialize as the global economy began to derail last year, but a recovery in the sector should begin in 2010, energy consultant Douglas-Westwood said in a new report. Projects worth an estimated $46 billion total are forecast to begin ramping up through 2013. Africa, North America and Latin America are expected to take 59% of the forecast global FPS capital expenditures, with an estimated 121 FPS facilities expected to be installed worldwide through 2013. Brazil’s national oil company Petroleo Brasilerio (Petrobras) is expected to be the biggest spender. Last year Petrobras was given approval by the Minerals Management Service to develop the first floating production storage offloading (FPSO) facility in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (see NGI, May 5, 2008). The FPSO is to be built in the Cascade-Chinook area in the Walker Ridge region of the Lower Tertiary trend, which is 165 miles offshore Louisiana in 8,200 feet of water.

An estimated $10 billion of floating production systems (FPS) designed to explore offshore for oil and natural gas failed to materialize as the global economy began to derail last year, but a recovery in the sector should begin in 2010, energy consultant Douglas-Westwood said in a new report. Projects worth an estimated $46 billion total are forecast to begin ramping up through 2013.

Rocky Mountain natural gas production is at a crawl and the economy isn’t moving any faster, but El Paso Corp.’s Ruby Pipeline Project is on track to begin service in 2011, executives said last week.

Rocky Mountain natural gas production is at a crawl and the economy isn’t moving any faster, but El Paso Corp.’s Ruby Pipeline Project is on track to begin service in 2011, an executive said Monday.

As part of the Obama administration’s plan to build a clean energy economy and reduce dependence on foreign oil, the Department of Energy (DOE) will launch a $400 million organization to foster research and development of transformational energy-related technologies, President Obama said during a speech at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC. Also attending the NAS meeting last Tuesday were Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Obama science adviser John Holdren.

As part of the Obama administration’s plan to build a clean energy economy and reduce dependence on foreign oil, the Department of Energy (DOE) will launch a $400 million organization to foster research and development of transformational energy-related technologies, President Obama said during a speech Tuesday at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC. Also attending the NAS meeting were Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Obama science adviser John Holdren.