| Brought to you by Oil and Gas Investor |
Join Lindsay Goodier, online editor for OilandGasInvestor.com, as she muses on the ins and outs of the industry.
I just ran across this interesting video interview with one of the founders of the Internet, Vincent Cerf.
Cerf talks about how technology could be applied to solving the world’s energy crisis with the cooperation of governments. He even suggests that the same collaborative model used to create Google could be used in petroleum…even without petroleum experts.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
I hate to break it to you, my energy-loving friends, but it looks like Oklahomans have turned down “Oklahoma City Energy” as a team name for the recently-transported Seattle Supersonics. It’s not official yet, but it looks like the new team name will be “Oklahoma City Thunder.”
And as I discovered, Aubrey McClendon does have a lot to do with the team. He is indeed a co-owner of the team, along with Clay Bennett, Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward. So I’ll let you, the reader, be the judge of whether the energy industry had anything to do with moving the Supersonics to Oklahoma City.
I remember watching many Hornets games while they were in Oklahoma City and observing a “Sponsored by Devon Energy” sign hanging proudly in the Ford Center. My humble presumption? Devon’s logo will be hard to find in the Ford Center during NBA games now.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
The first tropical storm to have even a slight bit of impact on oil production in 2008 hurricane season is Dolly, which entered the Gulf of Mexico today and could reach a Category I and II before making landfall somewhere on the Texas coast this weekend.
Image from the National Weather Service
Shell is the only company that has reported evacuations thus far, though they do not expect the tropical storm to have any impact on production. This statement was posted on Shell’s web site: “Shell began evacuations of personnel from some of its Gulf of Mexico West operations area on Sunday, July 20, resulting in the safe evacuation of approximately 125 people. We are planning to evacuate approximately 60 additional personnel on Monday, July 21.”
Taking into consideration the ways storms can impact oil production, a company called Storm Exchange helps corporations improve performance by identifying, quantifying and controlling the impact of weather on their income and expenses. Through data, analytics, forecasted weather risk scenarios, and hedging programs, Storm Exchange helps companies identify financial performance that results from exposures to precipitation, wind, temperature and other climate variables.
Storm Exchange also operates its own weather research center in State College, PA.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
It was recently announced that my former home town, Oklahoma City, will be the new home to the Seattle Supersonics. And now the “name game” process has begun. Interestingly, “Energy” has found its way into the name possibilities. Do Larry Nichols and/or Aubrey McClendon have something to do with this?
Well, they have something to do with most of the happenings in Oklahoma City, if that answers your question. But even if Aubrey and/or Larry aren’t behind the name choice (which has a great double entendre, by the way), Energy is quite a fitting name for Oklahoma’s first professional team. To gain a pro team of any kind is a landmark state event (all of us Okies were devastated when the Hornets went back to New Orleans), and to stamp the team with the name “Energy” would be apropos, in my humble, oil-lovin’ Oklahoma-roots opinion.
My former colleague from the state’s newspaper, sports writer Darnell Mayberry, said it nicely in his blog: “Simply put, what is the engine that drives this state’s economy, and more than anything what do you want your team to play with? The answer to both is energy…”
In the eleventh hour of his presidency, Bush’s lifting of the executive order banning drilling offshore in the U.S. may have been one of the most popular gestures of his two terms in the eyes of the American people. According to the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), most Americans favor offshore drilling.
“President Bush has listened and recently lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf—the first important step to improve America’s energy security. Consumers are listening,” said IPAA chief executive Barry Russell.
Russell quoted a CNN poll that shows 73% of Americans support American energy exploration and a Fox News poll showing 76% of Americans support immediately increasing oil drilling in the U.S. Interestingly, in a CNN poll released May 1, 2008, Bush’s approval rate was at 28%.
The American people are becoming ensnared in a desperation mindset when it comes to oil. Most people have become so complacent about the war in Iraq that they forget the U.S. has even bigger struggles than $4/gallon gasoline.
‘Whatever it takes to get cheaper gas prices!’ This is becoming the motto of the public! Who knew gas prices would have such a pull in the 2008 elections?
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
In case you haven’t seen it, the most popular YouTube video for weeks has been a video of a normal-looking American guy named Matt doing a goofy, knee-pumping dance with people in 69 locations across the world. The video is so big that The New York Times wrote a review on it.
Sadly, shale will probably never gain the worldwide recognition that Matt has gained through his video. However, Trans-Orient has put together a few videos on shale that are great educators. In the first video, Trans-Orient COO Drew Cadenhead shows and explains why fractured oil-shale exploration is driving unconventional opportunities. I love how he describes shale and sandstones:
“Shales are the actual source rocks — they’re the kitchen; they’re what the stuff is being cooked in. Sandstones are the pantry — that’s where you store the stuff that’s cooked already.” -Drew Cadenhead
Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. (TOPLF) is a Canadian-based corporation acquiring and exploring for oil and gas in the Australasian region.
Currently, the Company holds a 100% interest in two lightly explored exploration permit areas totaling 2.2 million acres of the East Coast Basin of New Zealand; the acreage includes an unconventional opportunity targeting the fractured oil and gas shale.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
The Houston Chronicle ran a nice Shale Oil 101 piece in Sunday’s paper. Other than explaining that shale isn’t really a shale at all, but marlstone rock containing kerogen, the article spoke to the skepticisms of big downstream companies like Shell Oil Co., Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Schlumberger to embrace shale as a reliable help in production’s future. Each company is conducting shale research to decide how much to put into shale oil production. But according to the Chron’s article, Shell spokesman Tracy Boyd said the company’s shale project would be economical with oil prices at half the current levels.
Despite Shell’s hesitancy to embrace shale oil production, the company seems to be moving full-speed ahead in terms of shale-gas. Shell made a bold move today by announcing their plan to acquire Canadian Montney Shale-Gas Player Duvernay for C$5.9B. According to my colleague Steve Toon, Shell will pay C$83 per Duvernay share, a 36% premium over the 30-day weighted average.
Shell chief executive Jeroen van der Veer says, “Duvernay could become a valuable part of the Shell portfolio, where we can add value through technology and scale. The combination of Duvernay’s acreage with Shell’s proven operating experience and financing capabilities make this transaction attractive to all shareholders.”
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
Day Four: When SUVs are quickly becoming an excess rather than a commodity, the pool is becoming a popular place this summer. The carpool, that is.
The most interesting carpool story I’ve seen is that of what’s happening in San Francisco. For years, Bay Area commuters have used “casual carpools,” where drivers eager to avoid tolls and cut travel time offer rides to strangers waiting in lines on corners. According to locals, corners that used to see four or five waiting passengers have recently seen about 20 waiting passengers. “Casual carpool” etiquette? Don’t talk unless the driver initiates conversation. No smoking, food, drinks or exchanging money.
When it comes to carpooling, it’s really a battle of saving time and money vs. feeling awkward. While most Americans would save a few tanks of gas money each month and hours of time by using the HOV lanes if they were to start carpooling, would they be willing to step out of their comfort zones and spend a couple hours each day with a near-stranger? In a society that is only saying “no” to SUVs after getting to the point where it costs nearly triple digits to fuel up, I find it hard to believe that carpooling could actually become a trend.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
Day 3: Is it possible that the number of jerks on our roadways could be diminished? Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. People who used to tear through school zones at 70 mph might actually start slowing down in order to save money. People who once cut off grandmas walking across grocery store parking lots might recall that their brakes work just as well (hopefully even better) than their accelerator.
According to fueleconomy.gov, your gas mileage drops off sharply once you zoom past 60 mph. You can save 7 percent to 23 percent by slowing your speed, depending on how heavy-footed your usual driving style. One online car sales site, Edmunds.com, tested several gas-saving theories, from inflating your tires, to driving less aggressively, to lowering your speed. They found that the best way to cut on gas mileage is to become a more angelic driver. If drivers slowed their 0-to-60-mph acceleration time down from 10 seconds to a more normal city pace of 15 seconds, they would feel the savings immediately. Their tests revealed that pacifying your driving could save you up to 37 percent, on average 31 percent.
Other driving tips to cut costs, according to Edmunds’ study, are driving slower, using cruise control and avoiding excessive idling. Their test actually recommends that if you are going to be stuck in the same place in traffic for more than a minute, you should turn off your car.
–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com
It’s time for “Gas Is So Expensive…Day Two.”
Several businesses, homeowners and even state officials have decided to let their grass go au naturel as a response to high gas prices. In Stillwater, Oklahoma (Boone Pickens’ stomping ground) the city has designated “natural areas” of parkland where grass will be allowed to grow unhindered. Workers are mowing less than half the acreage they were at this time last year.
While mowing my lawn as an excuse for “going green” sounds like a great excuse for being lazy, some people are taking more innovative approaches. Ecomowers are becoming all the rage among green circles. These push-operated mowers run on zero gasoline or electricity, cutting lawns with scissors and even leaving behind a fine mulch spray.
Others are turning to electric-powered mowers, which have corded or cordless models. The corded models leave the mower a little movability, while the battery for the cordless mowers adds about 30 pounds to the model.
