Iran's Southern Regions Producing 3 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day

- Iran's Southern Regions Producing 3 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day

Thursday, July 21, 2011
OilPrice.com
by Charles Kennedy

Iran is currently the second largest oil exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), exceeded only by Saudi Arabia.

According to National Iranian South Oil Company executive director Hormoz Qalavand, "From the beginning of the current year (starting March 21, 2011, according to the Iranian calendar) until now, an average of about 3 million barrels per day of crude oil has been produced within the operational scope of the company, which is equivalent to 99.98 percent of the plan set by the National Iranian Oil Company," Donya-e Eqtesad newspaper reported.

Qalavand observed, "according to the plan, through the installation and operation of the pumps inside the wells and the drilling of the new wells, the groundwork and mechanisms for which have been prepared, we will be able to achieve a level of production beyond that in the plan projected through the end of the current year." Regarding increasing production from Masjed Soleyman oil field Qalavand noted, "Through the complete inauguration of the development project of this oil field, which is in the experimental launch phase, the oil production capacity in the oil-rich regions of the south will increase to 25,000 barrels per day. The production of oil from the reserves of this company is carried out based on the principle of protecting the reservoirs, and this matter is considered as the main strategy for the oil-rich regions."

(Charles Kennedy is Deputy Editor of OilPrice.com. The original article is here.)

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Aminex Flows 8.1MMcf Per Day at Alta Loma

- Aminex Flows 8.1MMcf Per Day at Alta Loma

Friday, June 03, 2011
Aminex plc

Aminex provided a further update on progress at the Sunny Ernst-2 well ('SE-2') on its Alta Loma property, Galveston County, Texas.

Enhanced treatment facilities have now been successfully installed and other production facilities upgraded. Production is being increased gradually during pressure monitoring and is currently producing at 8.1 million cubic feet gas per day and 345 barrels condensate (1,695 Barrels oil equivalent) from the recently perforated 'S' sands formation, with no significant decline in pressure. Higher production rates should ultimately be achieved but the well is being prudently managed for the time being in compliance with Federal regulatory limits and current pipeline availability. Gas and condensate produced from SE-2 is sold to market at a premium respectively over posted gas prices and over the West Texas Intermediate marker price for crude oil in the USA.

Aminex USA, Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) has a 37.5% interest in this well which is operated by El Paso E&P, LP. Several other parties share ownership of the remaining 37.5% of the property. Aminex's working interest share of production equates to approximately 636 barrels oil per day, of which 20% is condensate and 80% is gas.

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Platts Survey: OPEC Pumps 28.84 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day in April

Platts Survey: OPEC Pumps 28.84 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day in April

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Platts

The 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) pumped an average 28.84 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in April, down from 29.17 million b/d in March, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts showed May 9.

Excluding Iraq, which does not participate in OPEC output agreements, the 11 members bound by quotas (OPEC-11) pumped an average 26.18 million b/d during the month. This is down 340,000 b/d from the March estimate of 26.52 million b/d.

Lower volumes from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Angola accounted for almost the entire drop.

"With oil prices taking center stage, many pundits have dismissed fundamental supply and demand as a factor in the recent increases," explains Platts Global Director of News John Kingston. "One need go no further than these latest statistics to see one reason as to why the price of crude has risen so sharply. It's nice to point to an easily-understood concept like excessive speculation, but losing one million barrels per day of supply over the last two months in a market where demand has been climbing is having the result economic supply/demand theory would suggest it should have."

Some participants in the survey revisited their March estimates for Saudi Arabia after oil minister Ali Naimi said last month that the kingdom had slashed production by some 700,000 b/d to 8.29 million b/d in March because the oil market was oversupplied.

But some industry sources wondered whether the minister's figure might not have been intended as an average for the month, noting that the kingdom had submitted a figure of 8.655 million b/d to the International Energy Forum's Joint Oil Data Initiative, or JODI, for March.

In early March, Naimi said Saudi Arabia had increased production to 9 million b/d to make up for the loss of Libyan output and had even created a special blend of crude similar in quality to the lighter, lower-sulfur content Libyan grades. Refiners have shown little appetite for the new Saudi concoction, however.

The survey showed Libyan output dropping further in April, to just 200,000 b/d from 460,000 b/d in March.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the 200,000-barrel-per-day drop in production from the offshore Upper Zakum field does not appear to have had an impact on overall output for the month. Industry sources said Abu Dhabi kept supply steady by amending production levels at other fields and tapping into storage to meet export commitments.

Angolan production fell 100,000 b/d to 1.6 million b/d, as maintenance and repair work continued on Greater Plutonio.

Qatari production also dipped slightly due to the production shut down at a platform of Denmark's Maersk Oil at the offshore Al-Shaheen field following a fire on April 21.

The 470,000-barrel-per-day decreases more than offset the increases of 190,000 b/d. Higher Nigerian output accounted for the bulk of the increases, but volumes also rose in Ecuador, Iraq, and Kuwait.

The latest estimates leave the OPEC-11 overproducing its official target of 24.845 million b/d by 1.385 million b/d.

There had been a suggestion earlier this month that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia might want to see OPEC raise its official output target at the upcoming June 8 meeting to a level closer to actual production. Subsequent soundings would appear to rule out such a move, however.

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