Apr
25

Drilling in the Wilderness (The Economist)

From: The Economist

PASSENGERS arriving on the sole daily flight to the Las Malvinas gas-processing plant by the lower Urubamba river in Peru are ushered into a waiting room and shown a video. This contains a long list of “don’ts” for the Camisea gas project’s 600 permanent workers, including bans on bringing food and having contact with the Amerindian peoples of the surrounding forest. To get on the flight, which is chartered by Pluspetrol, the Argentine firm that operates the gas concession, passengers must have a medical pass, issued only after vaccination against flu and yellow fever.

Apr
16

Africa and Brazil ‘are Better Oil Bets than Arctic (Energy Tribune)

Energy Tribune

By Nina Chestney           

London – Africa and Brazil were more attractive areas for oil and gas exploration than the Arctic, where firms would need 15 to 20 years to tap reserves due to the harsh climate, the chief executive of Norway’s DNV GL said yesterday.

DNV GL is one of the world’s largest certification, inspection, testing and advisory firms for the maritime, oil and gas and renewable power industries.

The Arctic is estimated to contain 20 percent of the world’s undiscovered hydrocarbon resources. Melting ice due to global warming has created opportunities there for oil and gas companies, but they still face high costs and risks at a time that most oil majors are cutting capital spending.