Unconventionals

Argentina’s government on Monday announced that Darío Martínez would take over from Sergio Lanziani as the Energy Secretary, the top position in the energy sector. Martínez was head of the energy committee in the lower house. He previously worked for state energy firm YPF SA, and he hails from Neuquén Province, where most of the…

Royal Dutch Shell plc expects to impair up to $22 billion in the value of its global natural gas and oil assets for the second quarter, citing the challenges from Covid-19 that have slammed commodity prices and energy demand. The supermajor said it was adapting “to ensure the business remains resilient.” A revised forecast for…

Liquids-rich onshore plays from a stable of better-known assets, including the San Juan Basin, and an emerging portfolio of unconventionals will “almost double” domestic liquids production this year, Encana Corp. U.S. chief Jeff Wojahn said Tuesday.

Due to the rapid rise in the development of unconventionals, natural gas surpassed coal as the most-produced domestic fuel in 2011, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. Gas production was 23.5 quadrillion Btu (quads) in 2011 compared to coal’s 22.2 quads. Gas accounted for nearly 39% of the 60.6 quads of domestic fossil fuel produced in 2011, which exceeded the previous record of 59.3 quads in 1998. One quad is equal to about 1 Tcf of natural gas. Crude oil production, which experienced a long decline from 20.4 quads in 1970 to 10.5 quads in 2008, rose to almost 12 quads in 2011, the EIA said. Natural gas liquids (NGL) climbed to their highest level, 2.9 quads in 2011. Overall in 2011, the United States produced about 78 quads of energy, more than at any point in the nation’s history. More than three-quarters of the energy production came from nonrenewable fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, crude oil and NGLs. But despite rising production, the agency said the United States remained a net energy importer, consuming more than 97 quads of energy in 2011.

Independent exploration and production (E&P) operators in the United States have faced a funding dilemma since they began rushing into unconventionals. With more resources than capital, many have taken loans that have increased their debt, or they’ve sought out joint venture (JV) partners to pay for drilling expenses.

Independent exploration and production (E&P) operators in the United States have faced a funding dilemma since they began rushing into unconventionals. With more resources than capital, many have taken loans that have increased their debt, or they’ve sought out joint venture (JV) partners to pay for drilling expenses.

U.S. energy independence won’t be achievable until at least 2030, even with a renewed focus on domestic energy resources, energy infrastructure and unconventionals, according to more than two-thirds of the energy executives responding to a new survey conducted by KPMG Global Energy Institute (GEI).

Encana Corp. is hunkering down with a reduced spending plan for 2012 in dry natural gas plays and a shift to investments to liquids and oil-prone unconventionals in North America, CEO Randy Eresman said last week.

A shift by global natural gas and oil companies to unconventionals, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the deepwater has lifted prospective value growth across the upstream sector by 23% from a year ago, according to new research by industry consultant Wood Mackenzie.