Global Resource management

Time to redevelop an abandoned European oilfield?

Souring oil prices have inspired NAM to consider redeveloping one of Europe’s largest oil fields. A 3D high resolution seismic survey will lower the structural uncertainties and horizontal drilling, in combination with new recovery procedures, means that the abandoned Schoonebeek…

Yemen – for the smaller players

Despite Yemen’s modest and, as yet not fully explored, oil resources, the country has shown an impressive progress in the business. Since the preliminary geological studies started in the eighties, Yemen has managed to attract significant international interests in oil…

Critical Minerals From Sedimentary Basins

Exploration for critical minerals in sedimentary rocks and basins is rapidly growing in the US as the country seeks to decrease its dependency on China, which has been the dominant exporter of critical minerals in the past three decades. The…

Will US Oil Take Over the World?

Is the continuing rise in oil production from unconventional sources in the US financially viable? “In a major shift, the United States is set to produce more oil and liquids than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined by 2025.” This is…

Future Energy Consumption

Primary energy consumption grew by 2.2% in 2017, which sets oil to be the largest provider of future energy consumption. Global Energy Consumption 2017 Primary energy demand (btoe) by (a) fuel and (b) region. Source: BP World Energy Outlook 2018.…

How Much Oil?

World oil output continues to increase – but if we experience a decline next year, it might be a consequence of lack of investments since 2014. “The energy transition is taking place much faster than most people realise” is a…

Hunting the Silver Bullet

Prospect high grading does have an effect – an increased commercial success ratio as demonstrated by the Norwegian continental shelf. In 1978 – that is, almost 40 years ago – Exxon decided not to apply for the acreage that later…

Arctic Hot Spot

It could turn out to be the discovery of the 21st century – or the duster of the year. Some 1.2 Bbo have reportedly been discovered in the Horseshoe-1 and 1A wells in Alaska’s North Slope. If correct, this might…

The Quest for Oil

Once again the message is that, despite a phenomenal increase in renewable energy, oil is here to stay. BP is finally giving in. In the recently published BP Energy Outlook 2017 Edition the key message is that an energy transition…

Oil is No. 1

Despite a strong growth in the use of renewables, oil is by far the preferred energy carrier When somebody tells you that the oil age is soon to end, and that renewables will dominate in the near future, remind them…

Some Basic Facts

Oil is still no. 1, but renewables are picking up fast – very fast. Global energy consumption grew by only 1.0% in 2015. This is in line with 2014 (1.1%), but considerably slower than over the last decade (1.9%). In…

27 Years of Misery

Is it time to learn from the past? Statistics teach some basic history. In the time that Norway has been an oil producer, the oil price was lowest in 1971 (the first year of production) and in 1998, at $13…