Free Republic

“How much more productive can these new wells get?” I asked my host who had kindly invited me on a field trip to some of western Canada’s most prolific oil fields. Looking down the aisle of bobbing pump jacks, seven in a row on one side of the immaculate gravel pad, the veteran oil executive replied, “We can get up to 1,000 barrels a day out of some of the new ones, but that’s not a limit; we’re improving the economics and productivity with each new well.” Impressive I thought, subconsciously nodding my head in sync with the leading pump...

It might not be a great time to start offshore drilling, with oil prices as depressed as they are, but it might just be a great time to buy an offshore drilling rig for a cut-rate price—in fact, you might be able to get one for only one tenth of what they cost in 2011. This is the cost coup recently pulled off by Ocean Rig, a company controlled by shipping billionaire George Economou, who has landed a drillship—the Cerrado—for only US$65 million at auction, which represents less than 10 percent of the estimated price when it was built over...

As the global energy industry stares transfixed at a spectacular drop in U.S. rigs, Saudi Arabia is ramping up the number of machines drilling for oil and gas despite a sharp fall in the price of crude. Industry sources and analysts say the OPEC kingpin is looking beyond the halving of global oil prices since June 2014 to a time when crude could again be in short supply. Riyadh is therefore keen to preserve what is known as its spare capacity - the kingdom's unique ability to raise oil output quickly at any given moment. But to achieve that, Saudi...

Producers idled the most oil rigs in a single week since 1991, as a more than 50 percent fall in crude prices further impacted drilling. The number of rigs searching or drilling for oil fell by 61 to 1,421 while the number of rigs pursuing natural gas rose by one to 329, according to oil service company Baker Hughes’ weekly count. One miscellaneous rig was idled. The United States total rig count fell by 61 rigs to 1,750 from 1,811 in the prior week. The total rig count — a measure of both oil and gas rigs — declined by...

<p>TRIPOLI, Libya -- The euphoria that followed the rebels' triumphant march in Tripoli gave way to confusion and wariness Monday, as Moammar Gadhafi remained at large, his son Seif al-Islam made a surprise appearance at a hotel with foreign journalists and pockets of loyalist forces stubbornly resisted rebel efforts to take control of the capital.</p>

ABOARD SEAHAWK 2007, Gulf of Mexico — For the 31 workers on this jackup oil rig, the waiting is finally over. In recent weeks, they have been doing basic chores like painting handrails and scrubbing the deck while the federal government reviewed Castex Energy’s application to drill a natural gas well in 150 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico — a normally quick process that turned glacial after the BP oil spill on April 20 prompted regulators to shut down almost all new drilling in the region.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (right) alongside Oil and Energy Minister ... http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=iafpCNG.939483e305b1ba22fc2cd72e1641a9c0.5b1p0&show_article=1&article_id=CNG.939483e305b1ba22fc2cd72e1641a9c0.5b1 Venezuela's legislature has voted to nationalize 11 oil rigs owned by the US firm Helmerich & Payne. The rigs, located in Monagas, Anzoategui and Zulia states, will be taken over by state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the official news agency AVN said. PDVSA had asked the legislature controlled by supporters of leftist President Hugo Chavez to take over the rigs after the US firm declined to negotiate a new service contract, unlike 32 other foreign firms.

Faint fingers of oily sheen have reached the mouth of Mississippi River, the vanguard of a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The slick is making its way toward a delicate environment of birds, marine life and some of the nation's richest seafood grounds. By sunset Thursday, the oil had creeped into South Pass of the river and was lapping at the shoreline in long, thin lines.

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by 23 this week to 899, the second time this year the weekly count has increased. Of the rigs running nationwide, 692 were exploring for natural gas and 196 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI ) reported Friday. Eleven were listed as miscellaneous. The only other time this year the count increased was the first week of April. A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,906. The U.S. count is down 56 percent since the end of August as weak energy demand...

Large and dangerous Hurricane Ike approaching the Upper Texas coast. Mandatory evacuations began in earnest Thursday as an estimated one million coastal residents headed inland. There were widespread reports of gas stations running out of fuel. The National Weather Service posted dire storm surge predictions of 20-25 ft storm surge along the coast and bay heads. Hurricane warnings covered a 400 mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico. Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do. Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours Discussion Updated every 6 hours Buoy...