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As Countries Shun Russian Crude, Canada Plans to Boost Its Oil Exports
04/01/2022
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's natural resources minister, reports that his country is looking at ways to increase pipeline utilization to boost crude exports as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian oil.
Enbridge Inc., the operator of the Southern Lights pipeline (part of the Mainline pipeline system), is in talks with the government, looking for ways to ease the current energy crisis. Network capabilities are the main point of discussion, as well as how fully they are utilized. Increasing exports to Europe is a key goal of the Canadian government.
At the moment, oil exports from Canada to the U.S. are approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day, with a small portion reexported to other countries. And this number is poised to rise.
In addition to Enbridge's Mainline pipeline, TC Energy's Keystone pipeline carries another 590,000 barrels/day of crude oil to the United States. However, no comment was provided by TC Energy as of yet.
What is known in the meantime, is that Enbridge's liquids and natural gas pipelines are near or at capacity, but the company has begun examining potential ways to supply more energy to U.S. and European markets. That strategy includes using facilities on the Gulf Coast for crude oil and natural gas export as one of the most feasible options.
This situation unveils following the geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe. The Canadian government and other nations vowed not to import Russian oil. European leaders agreed to cut their reliance on Russian fossil fuels on March 10.
Ukraine's war has shown all of the European countries that they cannot be dependent on Russian oil and gas for long, which has sped up discussions about transitioning from natural gas to hydrogen. However, this cannot be done overnight.
Together with industry, the Canadian government is also analyzing how pipeline flows can be increased in response to such violence, but the extent of what can be done will not be known for another week.
Despite the fact that Canada is willing to increase pipeline export capacity, many producers have been reluctant to adjust their spending plans, which could significantly increase output.
There are currently no LNG export terminals in Canada, but a consortium led by Shell Plc and Petroliam Nasional Bhd is building a large facility on the west coast that will be open by the middle of the decade.
This will come in handy, as even by the end of 2021 Canadian oil companies exported a record amount of crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, mostly to big importers India, China, and South Korea.
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To Be or Not To Be: Bakken Assets Could Fetch $5 Billion for Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil Corp. is weighing prospects of selling its assets in North Dakota’s Bakken, after gauging interest from potential buyers — 5 billion is the issue price, at least according to rumors. The price point came about after the news that the oilgiant is in the final round of hiring bankers to help launch the sale. Yet Exxon Mobil itself stays tight-lipped regarding the situation.
$690 Million Deal Moves Ahead: Crescent Energy to Complete Purchase of EP Energy's Uinta Assets
Crescent Energy closed the acquisition of Uinta Basin assets in Utah that were previously owned by EP Energy for $690 million, a few hundred million dollars below the original price. The accretive deal increases Crescent's Rockies position and adds significant cash flow and a portfolio of high-quality oil-weighted undeveloped sites. In addition to its acquired Uinta assets, Crescent's pro forma year-end 2021 provided reserves totaled 598 million boe, of which 83% was developed, 55% was liquid, and its provided PV-10 was $6.2 billion.
The Williston Basin is a big area filled with layers of rock that sits next to the Rocky Mountains in western North Dakota, eastern Montana, and the southern part of Saskatchewan in Canada. This area covers roughly 110,000 square miles. Geologically, it's very similar to the Alberta Basin in Canada. People started drilling for oil in the Williston Basin back in 1936, and by 1954, most of the land where oil could likely be found was already claimed for drilling. The Bakken Formation with parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has become one of only ten oil fields globally to yield over 1 million barrels per day (bpd) since the late 2000s. It is currently the third-largest U.S. shale oilfield, behind the Permian and Eagle Ford. The boom in the Bakken started around September 2008, coinciding with the U.S. housing market crash. The application of new technologies, such as swell packers enabling multiple-stage fracturing, significantly enhanced oil recovery, making the Bakken Formation a key player in the U.S. In 2022, the Bakken oil field saw big improvements in how much oil and gas it could produce. At the start of the year, 27 drilling rigs were working there, more than double the 11 rigs from the start of 2021. Important upgrades included making the Tioga Gas Plant able to process 150 million cubic feet more gas each day, and making the Dakota Access Pipeline bigger, increasing its oil transport capacity from 570,000 to 750,000 barrels every day.
Continental Resources is expanding its operations in the Midland Basin, including taking over some assets that used to belong to Occidental Petroleum. The company plans to use its expertise in exploration in this area.
Equinor and EQT Corporation have agreed that Equinor will exchange its operated assets in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Ohio for a stake in EQT’s non-operated interests in the Northern Marcellus formation.