Alerta Del Mes de Enero2018-R0

TUBAZO- ¿Qué esperar de la industria petrolera en 2018?
– pg 68
15 DE ENERO 2018, N° ÚNICO
CONTENIDO:
1. Gira de Tillerson augura peligros para la paz de América Latina 02

2. Radiactividad persiste en sedimentos del Fracking de Pensilvania 05
3. Fiscal General ordenó aprehensión del Presidente de Petropiar y Petrocedeño 07
4. Conozca el prontuario del nombre que recomendó a Trumps las sanciones contra Vzla 08
5. SHELL se alzó con nueve de los 19 licitaciones petroleras en México. 09
6. Carencia de conocimiento industrial coartó trabajo de la EPA sobre fracking y agua 11
7. Polonia, un país genuflexo a EEUU, se apone al gasoducto Rusia - Alemania 16
8. Inteligencia en hidrocarburos III 17
9. Estados Unidos reconoce que las sanciones económicas buscan el colapso de Venezuela 20
10. BP invierte el empresa para recargar vehículos eléctricos en sitio 24
11. ¿Está el precio del petróleo tocando el techo? 27
12. Tres factores que pueden acabar con el incremento en el precio del barril 29
13. Ni Google ni Facebook tienen la mínima idea de cómo es la industria de los hidrocarburos 31
14. Conteo de taladros en EEUU se incrementaron a 947 con Texas añadiendo 13 33
15. ¿Por qué Canadá se convertirá en la próxima frontera para petróleo de lutita y fracking? 33
16. Ministro Iraquí indica que se comprometen con recortes OPEP pero…. 37
17. Secretaria de Estado de EEUU viajará por América Latina para tumbar gobierno de Vzla 38
18. Inteligencia en hidrocarburos II 39
19. Mercado petrolero: WTI se estabiliza mientras que el Brent de mar del Norte sube 42
20. Una de las más grandes refinerías de EEUU en philadelfia se acoge a la bancarrota 43
21. Primer cargamento de gas ruso llega a EEUU para paliar la crisis y otro va en camino 46
22. Caída en márgenes de refinación, amenaza los precios de la OPEP 48
23. Los pesos pesados de la industria petrolera se aprestan a entrar a México con su Apertura 50
24. Venezuela y Trinidad y Tobago negocian acuerdo energético 51
25. Economista petrolero predice empuje de la industria en 2018 53
26. Las grandes corporaciones petroleras tendrán un montón de billetes este año.. 54
27. La Ciudad de California demandó a CHEVRON y otras MAJORS por el cambio climático 57
28. Hay más de la 59 en adelante. Lea que algo queda!
ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

1
Gira de Tillerson augura peligros para la paz
en América Latina y el Caribe
31.Ene.2018 / 02:35 pm / Por Javier Tolcachier
En la primera semana de Febrero, el secretario del Departamento de Estado

estadounidense Rex Tillerson realizará una gira por diversos países de América
Latina y el Caribe. El objetivo central de la gira es incentivar y organizar una nueva
escalada de ataques contra la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, bajo el ya
remanido pretexto de la “ayuda humanitaria”. Los destinos a visitar, todos
gobiernos implicados en el “grupo de Lima”, no dejan dudas.
Luego de una breve escala en la Universidad de Texas en Austin, donde disertará

sobre las políticas previstas por la administración Trump en relación a la región,
arribará a México el 1° de Febrero para reunirse con el canciller Videgaray y el
presidente saliente Peña Nieto.
A partir del 3 de Febrero, el turno será de Argentina. Tillerson viajará primero a

Bariloche y luego a Buenos Aires, para encontrarse con Macri y el ministro Faurie
con el objeto de discutir – según informa el comunicado del DoS “la agenda
bilateral de crecimiento económico y la cooperación en seguridad”.
Acto seguido, el secretario viajará a Lima, para encontrarse con el presidente

Kuczynski y su ministra de Relaciones Exteriores Aljovin. Entre los asuntos a tratar
figura la preparación de la próxima Cumbre de las Américas en Abril, en la que
participará Donald Trump.
El día 6 Tillerson visitará Colombia. En la reunión con Juan Manuel Santos y su

canciller Holguín se abordarán “el apoyo de Estados Unidos” – así el comunicado
2
– “a los esfuerzos de Colombia para enfrentar el crecimiento de los cultivos de
coca, la producción de cocaína, aspectos económicos y el crecimiento de la
población de refugiados”.
Por último, Tillerson se encontrará con el primer ministro jamaiquino Andrew

Holness y su ministra de Asuntos Exteriores Kamina Johnson-Smith. Entre los
temas a tratarse en Kingston figuran “la seguridad bilateral y regional, esfuerzos
energéticos y las exitosas reformas de Jamaica en materia económica.”
Nada bueno augura esta gira para la región
A la luz del anuncio de la realización de elecciones presidenciales en Venezuela

en Abril próximo y de una oposición debilitada y desunida, el periplo de Tillerson
se vislumbra como un nuevo capítulo de la opción intervencionista de la
administración Trump.
Un propósito similar tuvo el recorrido que emprendió el vicepresidente Mike Pence

en Agosto pasado por Colombia, Argentina, Chile y Panamá, En aquella
oportunidad el saldo fue infructuoso debido al cerrado rechazo que recogió ante la
mención de la “opción armada” contra Venezuela, incluso por parte de estrechos
aliados.
Por lo demás, el viaje de Tillerson apunta a dar continuidad a la estrategia de

fortalecer la acción concertada del bloque de gobiernos de derecha, hoy agrupada
en el “grupo de Lima”, con el objeto de bloquear toda posibilidad de integración
regional de carácter emancipador.
Esta es la primera vez que el secretario de Estado recorre la región y obedece

también a la necesidad de EEUU de mostrar presencia, frente a la propuesta que
hizo China a la CELAC en la reciente ronda de reuniones en Santiago de Chile de
incorporar a la región al gigantesco proyecto de infraestructura conocido como La
Franja y La Ruta o la Nueva Ruta de la Seda.
Asimismo la inminente concreción del Tratado Transpacífico entre once naciones

de América Latina y Asia, a ser firmado en Chile en Marzo próximo sin la
participación de EEUU, es un desafío comercial ante el cual el gobierno
norteamericano no puede permanecer impasible.
El comunicado emitido por el Departamento de Estado informando sobre la gira

prevista, indica que el secretario instará a sus socios a promover un hemisferio
“seguro, próspero, democrático y con seguridad energética”. Por otra parte, la
atención que Tillerson dedicará durante las conversaciones a Venezuela, es
explícita.
Más allá de códigos formales, “seguridad” implica venta de armas y tecnología de

vigilancia y represión ante posibles estallidos sociales, al par que un aumento de

3
la retórica belicista contra Venezuela, bajo la excusa de constituir un peligro para
la democracia. Democracia de la que ha dado una muestra espléndida el reciente
fraude en Honduras, uno de los principales enclaves asociados a EEUU en la
región.
Alarmante, más allá de los aspectos de retórica diplomática y propaganda, es la

mención de “apoyo” a Colombia. En el marco de una campaña electoral
presidencial que los sectores conservadores polarizarán con referencia a
Venezuela para ocultar (y canalizar) el descontento social frente al retroceso
económico del país, el “apoyo” estadounidense significa una cosa: apoyo a los
sectores de derecha – presentables o impresentables – frente a la posibilidad
cierta de una derrota política que descomprima la región fronteriza con Venezuela.
En un momento de recrudecimiento de los asesinatos a líderes campesinos y

miembros del ahora partido FARC, la remilitarización es un escenario bienvenido
por los halcones en Washington y Bogotá, echando así por tierra los avances
logrados con la finalización del conflicto armado. La amenaza para Venezuela y el
incremento de la tensión en la región sería el efecto directo de ese desatino.
Del mismo modo debe interpretarse el aspecto de “seguridad energética”. Es

conocida la estrategia de EEUU para que los estados insulares del Caribe,
beneficiados por la política preferencial de PetroCaribe, retiren su apoyo
diplomático a Venezuela a cambio de integrarse en una política de “energías
limpias”. Esta política implica, entre otras cosas, ampliar la reconversión
energética que ya se viene llevando a cabo en América Central con el objetivo de
minimizar la influencia de la exportación petrolífera de Venezuela, recortando así
su principal ingreso.
Es difícil creer con seriedad que el ex ejecutivo de Exxon, ahora canciller de un

país renuente a aceptar compromisos ecológicos retirándose del Acuerdo de
París, esté interesado en políticas de conservación medioambiental.
Otro escenario a tener en cuenta es la Cumbre de las Américas de la OEA

proyectada para Abril en Perú. Teniendo en cuenta las muestras de parcialidad
dadas por el secretario Luis Almagro, constituyéndose en un alfil conspirativo de
EEUU contra Venezuela, es altamente probable que en esa reunión – por enésima
vez y a pesar del retiro en curso de la nación bolivariana de esa organización – se
quiera lograr una “condena” contra el país caribeño que incluya sanciones a nivel
regional. Para esto, EEUU y sus socios deberán contar con mayorías que no
pudieron lograr anteriormente, a pesar de haberlo intentado repetidamente en los
momentos más críticos del 2017.
A los problemas sociales que deberán afrontar los habitantes de varios países de
América Latina y el Caribe gobernados por el dictamen neoliberal, se suma en el
horizonte la posible tragedia de una escalada bélica. Frente a ello, el repudio
generalizado a las acciones conspirativas de una potencia en declive y la defensa
irrestricta de la paz son esenciales.
4
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/opiniones/gira-tillerson-
augura-peligros-para-paz-america-latina-y-caribe/#.WnStUXrj90I; 31/01/2018.
Radioactivity From Oil And Gas Wastewater

Persists In Pennsylvania Stream Sediments
(Radioactividad persiste en sedimentos de petróleo y gas extraídos vía
fracking en los campos de Pensilvania)
More than seven years after Pennsylvania officials requested that the disposal of
radium-laden fracking wastewater into surface waters be restricted, a new Duke
University study finds that high levels of radioactivity persist in stream sediments at
three disposal sites.
The contamination is coming from the disposal of conventional, or non-fracked, oil

and gas wastewater, which, under current state regulations, can still be treated and
discharged to local streams. “It’s not only fracking fluids that pose a risk; produced
water from conventional, or non-fracked, oil and gas wells also contains high levels
of radium, which is a radioactive element. Disposal of this wastewater causes an
accumulation of radium on the stream sediments that decays over time and
converts into other radioactive elements,” said Avner Vengosh, professor of
geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
The level of radiation found in stream sediments at the disposal sites was about
650 times higher than radiation in upstream sediments. In some cases, it even
exceeded the radioactivity level that requires disposal only at federally designated
radioactive waste disposal sites.

5
“Our analysis confirms that this accumulation of radioactivity is derived from the
disposal of conventional oil and gas wastewater after 2011, when authorities
limited the disposal of unconventional oil and gas wastewater,” said Nancy Lauer,
a Nicholas School PhD student who led the study. “The radionuclide ratios we
measured in the sediments and the rates of decay and growth of radioactive
elements in the impacted sediments allowed us to essentially age-date the
contamination to after 2011,” she explained. The researchers published their
findings in a peer-reviewed policy paper Jan. 4 in Environmental Science and
Technology.
To conduct the study, they collected stream sediments from three wastewater
disposal sites in western Pennsylvania, as well as three upstream sites, and
analyzed the radioactive elements in the sediments. Samples were collected
annually from 2014 to 2017 at disposal sites on Blacklick Creek in Josephine, on
the Allegheny River in Franklin, and on McKee Run in Creekside.
In 2011, in response to growing public concern about the possible environmental

and human health effects of fracking wastewater, Pennsylvania’s Department of
Environmental Protection requested that the discharge of fracking fluids and other
unconventional oil and gas wastewater into surface waters be prohibited from
central water-treatment facilities that release high salinity effluents. However, the
disposal of treated wastewater from conventional oil and gas operations was
allowed to continue.
“Despite the fact that conventional oil and gas wastewater is treated to reduce its
radium content, we still found high levels of radioactive build-up in the stream
sediments we sampled,” Vengosh said. “Radium is attached to these sediments,
and over time even a small amount of radium being discharged into a stream
accumulates to generate high radioactivity in the stream sediments.”
“While restricting the disposal of fracking fluids to the environment was important,
it’s not enough,” he said. “Conventional oil and gas wastewaters also contain
radioactivity, and their disposal to the environment must be stopped, too.”
Nathaniel Warner, a former PhD student in Vengosh’s lab at Duke who is now an
assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State University,
coauthored the new study. Funding came from the National Science Foundation
(#EAR-1441497) and the Park Foundation.
Referencia: " Oil and Gas Online Newsletter" <info@news.oilandgasonline.com>";

https://www.oilandgasonline.com/doc/radioactivity-from-oil-and-gas-wastewater-pennsylvania-stream-
sediments-0001?vm_tId=2047488&user=324D1111-4B97-4249-B8EB-
2D34E8472BD4&utm_source=et_6214169&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OIL_01-31-
2018&utm_term=324D1111-4B97-4249-B8EB-
2D34E8472BD4&utm_content=Radioactivity+From+Oil+And+Gas+Wastewater+Persists+In+Pennsylva
nia+Stream+Sediments; 31/01/2018.

6
Fiscal General ordenó aprehensión de
expresidentes de Petropiar y Petrocedeño
(+Gerentes)
31.Ene.2018 / 03:36 pm / Con el mazo dando
El Fiscal General de la República, Tarek William Saab, informó sobre la solicitud

de aprehensión contra 7 ciudadanos por irregularidades ocurridas en Petropiar en
el área operacional y administrativa, entre los cuales destaca el Presidente de la
misma entidad.
El delito ocurre debido al maquillaje de las cifras de producción de crudo,

empleando agua para disfrazarlas. Por lo que solicitó la aprehensión contra el
presidente de Petropiar, Pedro Enrique Coronil Trejo. También se libraron otras
órdenes de aprehensión contra Lorenzo Del Valle Aguilera, director adjunto de
la Faja Petrolífera del Orinoco y Aníbal Velásquez, gerente general de Petropiar.
“Se trata de gerentes que buscaron desfalcar internacionalmente a la industria

petrolera para causar daño patrimonial”, indicó el Fiscal General. También pesan
órdenes de aprehensión contra Yecenia Del Carmen Alemán, gerente de
contratación; Evelin Quijada, gerente de finanzas, ambas de Petropiar; e
igualmente para Patricia Amundarain, socia de la empresa Servicios y
Construcciones Amunza y Javier Rengel Moros, propietario de Inversiones
Proluxo.
Agregó que por este hecho se solicitaron órdenes de allanamiento de las

empresas Clariant Venezuela, Constructora Tampa, Taller Vivolo, Construcciones
Locurcio, Servicios y Mantenimiento De Flota Colina Alta, Desarrollo Tecnologico y

7
Servicios (Dts), Producciones Alan, Inversiones Proluxo y Servicios y
Construcciones Amunza.
Informó también sobre la designación irregular del Gerente General

de Petrocedeño, Oswaldo Arrioja, por parte del expresidente de la empresa, Jesús
Figueroa; este nombramiento ilegal fue informado a los empleados vía correo
electrónico, el cual señalaba que Arrioja estaba facultado para firmar documentos
en su nombre. Por lo que se giraron órdenes de aprehensión contra el presidente
de Petrocedeño, Jesús Ramón Figueroa y contra el gerente general
de Petrocedeño, Oswaldo José Arrioja Álvarez, ambos por los delitos de evasión,
peculado doloso propio, usurpación y asociación.
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/fiscal-

general-tarek-william-saab-orden-aprehension-petropiar-petrocedeno/#.WnSucXrj90I; 31/01/2018.
Conozca el prontuario del hombre que

recomendó a Trump firmar sanciones contra
Venezuela (+CIA)
30.Ene.2018 / 09:05 am / Haga un comentario
Mike Pompeo, director de la CIA ha sido el hombre que recomendó a Trump

aplicar sanciones contra Venezuela.
Su prontuario pasa desde tener una contratista para el negocio de la guerra,

manejar empresa petrolera y poner en práctica las torturas en cárceles como la de
Guantánamo.
Este nefasto personaje admite abiertamente trabajar desde Colombia y México

para derrocar al gobierno del presidente Maduro.

8
Este el jefe de la CIA, el que el lunes pasado admitió haber “recomendado” a
Trump firmar sanciones contra Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/1WsJm0j7F3
— Misión Verdad (@Mision_Verdad) 30 de enero de 2018
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/mike-

pompeo-trump-sanciones-venezuela-guantanamo-carceles-negocio-guerra-colombia/#.WnS1sXrj90I;
31/01/2018.
Shell Sweeps Nine Of 19 Blocks Awarded In

Mexico Oil Auction
(Shell se alzó con 9 de los 19 bloques de licitación abierta del Golfo de
México)
by Reuters -- Adriana Barrera & Marianna Parraga -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Shell snapped up nine of 19 blocks in Mexico's prized Gulf of Mexico deep waters, emerging the clear winner in
the country's biggest auction.
MEXICO CITY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell snapped up nine of 19 oil and
gas blocks awarded in Mexico's prized Gulf of Mexico deep waters, emerging the
clear winner in the country's biggest auction since the energy sector was opened
up to foreign oil firms.
The stakes are high for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and his ruling party,
which is keen to showcase the results of the liberalisation ahead of a presidential
election in July.
Shell focused on blocks in the Perdido and Salina basins, which were expected to
be the most competitive of the 29 areas on offer in the auction. Perdido is close to
U.S. waters where oil firms already operate.

9
Shell won four blocks as a lone bidder, four more in a consortium with Qatar
Petroleum and another in a consortium with Mexican state oil firm Pemex.
"This is excellent news for Mexico and is a strong commitment from Shell in
Mexico. We are a big player in deep water worldwide," said Alberto de la Fuente,
president of Shell Mexico.
Shell would spend more than the minimum investment it pledged in the bids, he
said, but declined to give further details. Shell was operating in Mexico before the
auction. The firm won a block in an earlier sale in Mexico's shallow waters in 2017
and has a chain of 30 gas stations in Mexico, he said.
PC Carigali, a unit of Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas, won six blocks. The firm
won in consortia for four blocks and alone for two more.
"We're in, we want to explore and we want to find oil and gas," said Faisal Bakar,
Carigali's country manager in Mexico.
Carigali also participated in winning bids for two deep water fields in an earlier
auction.
Qatar Petroleum participated in winning consortia in five blocks.
Ten blocks received no bids, so were not awarded.
Oil Price Helps
With oil prices near a three-year high, energy firms are emerging from a recession.
They have more cash now than at any time since 2014, so conditions are better
than they were for any of the eight auctions Mexico has held since 2015.
The higher oil price helped Shell to put in solid bids, de la Fuente said.
Shell was also a big winner in an oil auction for blocks in Brazil's deepwater in
October, snapping up three blocks in the presalt region in the country's Atlantic
waters.
Mexico faces stiff competition from Brazil and other regional rivals keen to attract
cash from global oil majors. Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador are also auctioning
oil and gas fields this year.
Pena Nieto's 2013 energy reform was his highest-profile economic initiative, aimed
at attracting hundreds of billions of dollars of investment to turn around a state-run
oil industry in decline. The results of previous auctions to attract foreign investment
were mixed.

10
Firms that won in the previous auctions have pledged investments of $61 billion.
But Mexico needs 10 times that amount to raise oil output back to 2004 levels, the
country's Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said on Tuesday.
Some of the firms that won in previous auctions have made big finds, adding over
2 billion barrels of oil equivalent to reserves.
Mexico is expected to hold its first shale oil and gas auction by the end of 2018, the
head of the country's oil regulator said on Wednesday, potentially opening up one
of the world's top reserves of unconventional energy.
Referencia: "Rigzone.com",
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/shell_sweeps_nine_of_19_blocks_awarded_in_mexico_oil_auctio
n-31-jan-2018-153344-article/?pgNum=1; 31/01/2018.
Official: Lack of Industry Knowledge

Hampered EPA Study on Hydraulic Fracturing
and Drinking Water
(Oficial: Carencia de conocimiento industrial coartó el estudio de la
AGENCIA DE Protección Ambiental de EEUU sobre fracturamiento
hidráulico y disponibilidad de agua potable)
Matt Zborowski, Technology Writer | 26 January 2018
A frac pool holding water for use in hydraulic fracturing. Source: XTO Energy.

11
It has been a little more than a year since the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) issued the final report of its study on the potential impacts of hydraulic
fracturing on drinking water resources, and much of the oil and gas industry
remains confounded as to how the agency arrived at its conclusion.
Shari Dunn-Norman, associate professor in the petroleum engineering department

at Missouri University of Science & Technology, took the podium this week at
SPE’s Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, and
presented her observations on the findings. She was one of just three members
with industry experience who served on a 31-person Scientific Advisory Board
panel of “subject matter experts” that reviewed EPA’s work during the study.
Those three members coauthored a subsequent report summarizing the more than
1,000-page study through an industry lens (SPE-189873). Dunn-Norman explained
that a number of factors muddied EPA’s study process, namely a lack of oil and
gas industry consultation and knowledge, gaps in data, issues with data
interpretation, and pre-existing negative perceptions of the completions practice
and the industry as a whole, which led to the agency’s ultimate declaration that
“activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle can impact drinking water
resources under some circumstances.”
The final conclusion was a rewording that dramatically changed the meaning of the
EPA’s initial conclusion issued in the first draft of its final report, released in June
2015, that said the agency “did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led
to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,”
an assessment that prompted the industry to say, “Yes, of course,” Dunn-Norman
said.
The panel’s deficit of people familiar with the industry was a critical first strike that
plagued the multiyear process from the outset, she said. Her involvement included
a vetting process that consisted of full financial disclosure, divestment, thorough
background checks, and review of all publications as well as public positions taken
on related issues. This meant committee members were barred from owning stock
because it might have created the perception the members were “pro-industry,”
effectively blocking participation of oil and gas industry leaders.
Each phase of the hydraulic fracturing water lifecycle was examined—water

acquisition from the ground or surface, chemical mixing, well injection, produced
water, and disposal—and assigned specific concerns, which the EPA’s Office of
Research and Development modified and framed as research questions, enabling
the EPA to form a research methodology (Fig. 1). “Initially the belief was that this
study was going to be very, very focused, and that’s not exactly what happened at
the end of the day,” she said.

12
Interpretation, Wording Matter
EPA first focused on water withdrawals that have the potential to limit the
availability or reduce the quality of drinking water. However, just two papers
submitted to EPA outlining rare instances in which hydraulic fracturing affected
water availability, including one citing a single Eagle Ford well that suffered an
excessive drawdown and went dry during a drought, influenced the agency’s
assessment, Dunn-Norman said. This was in spite of a study from the US
Geological Survey from 2011-12 showing little-to-no local impacts on drinking
water availability (Fig. 2).

13
When it came to chemical mixing, EPA identified 457 spills in 11 states during
2006-12. Just 151 were related to mixing, “and they were relatively small,” she
said. Just 2% were more than 10,000 gal, “and most of them were small, short-
lived events. In other words, most of the spills are cleaned up on site. Most of them
leave the site in a truck.”
Analysis of produced water data, which again focused on spills, indicated half of all
spills were small with very few impacting water. Of 1,084 chemicals reported as
used in fracturing operations in national chemical disclosure registry FracFocus 1.0
during 2005-13, EPA identified oral toxicity for just 98 of those chemicals. In
produced water, 599 chemicals were detected with 120 indicating oral toxicity.
EPA also sought to catalog all the pathways through which fluids could travel in the
subsurface during well injection, but the agency ended up describing scenarios that
would have been caused by poor wellbore construction, such as a leak in casing
and tubing.
Dunn-Norman observed that “a lot of discussion was placed around fracture height
growth, and whether subsurface migration of fluids could go through pathways that
could reach drinking water.” She said multiple times she brought up studies by
Kevin Fisher and Norm Warpinski covering the natural limitations of fracture height
growth (SPE-145949). But, “If you read the summary of this study, you will not see
any of those [study] diagrams.

14
“Instead, it’s mentioned [in the EPA study] that 1% of the fractures reach heights of
over 1,000 ft. However, another way of looking at that is 99% of them don’t.” The
final summary also mentioned “the shallower we go in fracturing, the more risk
there is,” she paraphrased. “I guess because they assume that 1,000 ft of height
growth stays the same.”
Caving to External Pressure
Dunn-Norman said the public and certain nongovernmental organizations “went

wild” with complaints and protests after the first draft was published, causing the 31
members of the panel to have similar discussions. “Many members of the panel
considered this statement to be ambiguous. In particular, the phrase ‘widespread,
systemic impacts’ gave people indigestion,” she said. “A lot of people felt like that
was not an appropriate conclusion to come to.”
She and the two other authors of the paper analyzing EPA’s study thought the
initial conclusion was “accurate, clear, concise, unambiguous, and supportive of
the facts the EPA had reviewed.” Meanwhile, two other committee members felt
there was too big of a data gap to concur with any opinion related to the report.
Gaining consensus on the committee “was a major task” throughout the process,
Dunn-Norman explained.
“The whole panel process of the [Scientific Advisory Board] really needs to be
revisited,” she said. “I’m not hopeful that will ever happen. There are a lot of things
in terms of accessing state databases and how we make data available that could
really be improved.” She added, “One of my frustrations was that we had people on
the committee who could have spoken to” how fracturing works. “There was a
geomechanicist on the panel of 31 who said nothing. And my frustration was, I was
the flag having to go up, seeming like a pro-industry person saying fracture height
growth is affected by stress contrast in the subsurface.”
Ultimately, the study “never said anything about industry best practices” and what
was done by companies to prevent spills, Dunn-Norman said. It never quantified
risk or provided severity information. “Even more importantly, there was absolutely
no substantive discussion of how oil and gas hydraulic fracturing is regulated by
the states.” Meanwhile, the study “moved glacially” during the course of 5 years
while “industry practices moved at light speed. So much changed and this [study]
never captured it.”
Referencia: “ Journal of Petroleum Technology <no-reply@specommunications.org>

“;https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=3841&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email-
link&utm_campaign=jpt&utm_content=31jan_epastudyhampered&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWW1Wa1pESXhZM
lppTW1RMiIsInQiOiIzcUpKb0pmNFdmS05oRENHOSt4cGwxOGhteEYzQnZrZDBIemtTSG9QOEdMYmhr
TFJFaklcLzdONk5Pa21ibmNPYW8wRDlubzN2UzRVMlRieUo5cTZoOVR3ZlNsdUc3Z1lBWGpNVG5rT3N3
TGhZcmE1Mm5mQUVoeFhXWkZPR1ZReUoifQ%3D%3D; 31/01/2018.

15
US, Poland oppose gas pipeline linking
Russia to Germany
(Estados Unidos y Polinia se oponen al gasoducto que conectará a Rusia
con Alemania)
January 29, 2018 -- By Matthew Lee, AP Diplomatic Writer
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, right, meets with Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a
visit to Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. Tillerson’s two-day visit to Poland was to include discussions
of security and other issues and a visit to a memorial site to martyrs of the Warsaw ghetto uprising on
International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday. (Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The United States and Poland on Saturday took a
strong stand against a planned gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany, saying it is
part of a Kremlin scheme to politicize energy and undermine attempts to make
Europe less dependent on Moscow.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Polish Foreign Minister Foreign Minister
Jacek Czaputowicz, after meeting in Warsaw, denounced the pipeline, which would
bypass Poland and leave Central Europe vulnerable to Russian pressure.
Tillerson said the pipeline was "not a healthy piece of infrastructure" for Europe's
energy stability.
"Like Poland, the United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline," Tillerson
said at a news conference with his counterpart. "We see it as undermining
Europe's overall energy security and stability and providing Russia yet another tool
to politicize energy as a political tool."
The pipeline would be the second to carry Russian gas directly to Germany and
Western Europe via the Baltic Sea instead of through Poland and Ukraine.
16
The U.S. has for years tried to wean its friends and allies in Europe from their
dependence on Russian natural gas, which Moscow is accused of using as
leverage in disputes with Ukraine and other countries.
Poland is wary of Russian intentions with the pipeline and "we share the view that it
is necessary to diversify energy supplies into Europe," Czaputowicz said.
Poland began importing liquid natural gas from the U.S. last year. Tillerson
encouraged further such sales and spoke in favor of a pipeline that would run from
Poland to Norway.
In addition to energy security, the diplomats pledged to boost military cooperation.

Poland, Czaputowicz said, would like to see the U.S. enhance its military presence
in the country.
"The stationing of American troops on our territory gives us, the Poles, a sense of
security and we are grateful for that," he said. "We want this presence to be even
bigger and we want it to be permanent."
The Poland-U.S. security relationship received a boost last year with the
deployment of some 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland as part of two separate American
and NATO missions. The deployments were intended reassure allies on NATO's
eastern flank that the alliance was serious about protecting them from Russian
aggression.
Referencia: "PennEnergy Petroleum", <news@pedb-media.com>;

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2018/01/oil-and-gas-us-poland-oppose-gas-pipeline-
linking-russia-to-germany.html?cmpid=enl_pennenergy_pennenergy_research_2018-01-
30&pwhid=7284e01aae8856bcad4ac8860daf7a1fd7bd43ae9ad807bafed6cee37c68e7717944f526e308309
7c86e43e72bc135b83d6a699bd73bc4a9303bec00be244f1a&eid=288268542&bid=1988106; 30/01/2018.
INTELIGENCIA EN HIDROCARBUROS III

Tuesday January 30, 2018
Oil prices posted some losses at the start of the week (Precios del
petróleo bajaron iniciando la semana). The sharp jump in the rig count on Friday
raised concerns about an acceleration in shale drilling. At the same time, the dollar
stopped shedding value, removing one of the main positive drivers for oil prices over the
past two months. Perhaps most importantly, there is growing speculation that inventories
will start rising again in the near future.

17
Poland wants U.S. sanctions on Nord Stream 2 (Polonia busca que EEUU
se intrometa en el gasoducto Rusia – Alemania). Poland’s Prime Minister said
that he wants the U.S. to put sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would carry
Russian gas to Germany, doubling the existing line’s capacity to 110 billion cubic meters
per year. “Yes, we talked about Nord Stream 2. We want the construction of the Nord
Stream 2 pipeline to fall under the U.S. sanctions bill ...which includes, among others,
sanctions against Russia,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, according to local
press. The comments came just a few days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
said the pipeline project was a threat to European energy security. Meanwhile, on Monday,
the Trump administration said it has decided not to put additional sanctions on Russia for
now.
Colorado oil and gas stocks lagging market because of regulatory threat
(Producción de petróleo y gas de Colorado se paraliza debido a
problemas de seguridad). Last spring, two sites run by Anadarko Petroleum
(NYSE: APC) exploded, killing three people. That has raised the specter of tighter
regulations to improve safety. As such, Bloomberg points out that while energy stocks of
all types have posted strong gains in recent weeks, Colorado-focused drillers are not
experiencing an upswing in their share prices. Extraction Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: XOG)
and SRC Energy Inc. (NYSEAmerican: SRCI) have undervalued share prices relative to
their peers, which analysts argue is the result of fears over forthcoming regulatory
pressure from the state.
ExxonMobil promises $50 billion in spending (ExxonMobil invertirá más

de 50 mil millones de dólares en EEUU). ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) said it plans
to invest more than $50 billion in spending in the U.S. over the next five years, a level of
spending that will be “enhanced by the historic tax reform recently signed into law.” Exxon
said much of the spending will go to the Permian Basin, along with petrochemical projects
along the Gulf of Mexico. The statement appears to be proof that the tax reform will entice
new investment, but there is a hefty dose of corporate spin in the announcement. Exxon
was already spending $10.5 billion in the U.S. per year from 2012 to 2016. The
announcement means spending levels will simply rebound to about those levels after
dipping in 2016 and 2017. It is unclear if the spending increase would have happened
anyway as Exxon steps up its focus on shale drilling. Hay que mantener a Trump
contento!
Saudi Arabia building refining empire (Arabia Saudita construye un

imperio en refinación). Saudi Arabia has ramped up its refining capacity by more
than a third to 5.4 mb/d over the past five years, according to the WSJ and Wood
Mackenzie. Combined with sizable refining assets in the U.S., Aramco now has more
refining capacity than the western oil majors. The huge increase in refining capacity will
also bolster the valuation of Saudi Aramco as it heads into its IPO.
Saudi Aramco IPO plagued by internal indecision (Saudí Aramco Ofertas

Públicas de Adquisiciones plagadas de indesiciones internas). Saudi
officials have been unable to settle on an IPO strategy, which has delayed the offering,
18
according to the FT. The plan seems to be a domestic listing potentially combined with a
simultaneous international listing. But there is disagreement over whether to launch in New
York, London or Hong Kong. “Internally, everyone is frustrated,” a source close to the
company told the FT. “They want this listing to move one way or another. The instability is
unhelpful when running an oil company.”
Shale revolution spreading to Canada? (¿Está la revolución del fracking

arribando a Canadá?). The Duvernay and Montney shales in Canada have garnered
a lot more interest lately, and could be as prolific as the major U.S. shale fields, according
to Reuters. For instance, Royal Dutch Shell’s (NYSE: RDS.A) investment in the
Duvernay is the second largest shale investment for the company outside of the Permian.
The two Canadian shale formations could hold as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas, 20 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, and 4.5 billion barrels of oil, according to
Canadian government statistics. As of now, Canadian shale production amounts to about
335,000 bpd, which could rise to 420,000 bpd within a decade.
California sues Trump admin over repeal of fracking rule (El Estado de
California demand al Gobierno de Trump por cancelar una regla sobre
fracking). The Trump administration repealed an Obama-era rule that put regulations on
hydraulic fracturing on public lands, but California is suing, arguing that there was no legal
justification for the repeal. California has successfully won 10 cases against the Trump
administration over the past year, six of which are related to energy and environmental
regulations, according to the Washington Post.
Energy M&A set to rise this year (Proyectos energéticos de Adquisiciones

y fisiones se incrementará este año). Analysts predict that 2018 will be an active
year for acquisitions and in the energy arena. Deal making in oil and gas reached $143
billion worldwide last year, the largest total since 2014, according to Wood Mackenzie.
"Larger companies with strong balance sheets will seek efficiencies of scale in higher-
return basins," Amol Joshi, senior analyst at ratings agency Moody's, said in a research
note. "Smaller, sometimes over-leveraged companies with decades of drilling inventory at
the current pace can create value by combining with larger producers to accelerate
development." Woodmac singled out BP (NYSE: BP) and Total (NYSE: TOT) as two likely
buyers.
North Sea revival (Mar del Norte Revive). The aging North Sea is seeing a bit of
a revival, aided by a rise in Brent oil prices to $70 per barrel. Some new fields have
recently come online, and some private equity-backed companies are making headway,
and the oil majors, such as Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) are pumping new money
into the region. Shell just gave a greenlight to redevelop its Penguins field. Premier Oil
(LON: PMO) started production at its Catcher field last month. Overall, North Sea costs
have declined in recent years, and production is ticking up, according to the FT.
Referencia: OilPrice Intel <admin@oilprice.com> ; OilPrice Intelligence Report: Oil Prices Begin Their
Retreat; 30/01/2018.

19
Confirmado: EEUU reconoce que las
sanciones buscan el colapso de Venezuela
Una tesis ya bastante repetida, pero que suma mayores dosis de realismo al escenario actual: a medida
que los partidos opositores hacen visible su incapacidad para dirigir el frente interno de la operación de
cambio de régimen, las potencias occidentales asumen la vocería y el curso de las acciones contra
Venezuela. Cada vez de forma más agresiva y brutal.
El Estado profundo en el confesionario
La semana pasada el jefe de la CIA, Mike Pompeo, confesó en un foro del think-
tank neoconservador American Enterprises Institute que el aparato de inteligencia
que dirige trabajó codo a codo junto a Trump los componentes operativos de las
sanciones contra Venezuela.
Los medios internacionales que reseñaron el pronunciamiento extrajeron de ello la

parte más rentable para su parrilla, encubriendo los detalles que por casi una hora
ofreció Pompeo sobre el trayecto que dio pie a la institucionalización de sanciones
financieras mediante una Orden Ejecutiva (13692) y varias designaciones de la
OFAC/Departamento del Tesoro a más de 30 funcionarios de alto nivel del Estado
venezolano.
Para instrumentar las sanciones la CIA, según su máximo jefe, preparó sendos
informes sobre el estatus actual de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana (FANB)
y su relación con el poder ejecutivo, de igual forma se elaboró un mosaico sobre
los puntos débiles en la deuda externa en cuanto a tiempos y capacidad de pago
20
del país, en busca de una mayor efectividad que se traduciría no sólo en forzar
una situación de default, sino distorsionar el esquema de comercio internacional
de Venezuela en productos básicos como alimentos y medicinas.
Quizás por el aplastante flujo de (des)información en Venezuela, donde

acontecimientos claves pueden ser remontados por alguna irrupción "noticiosa" de
sucesos ligados a la farándula o del espectáculo, las declaraciones del jefe de la
CIA pasaron por el redil de la indiferencia, promovida interesadamente por las
nuevas tecnologías de la información con respecto a la política. Y eso también
forma parte del plan: la individualización como proceso sistémico (el opuesto
absoluto a la política) es la última pincelada de la gran obra del poder global para
suprimir los vasos comunicantes de la sociedad.
De lo que dice Pompeo se desprenden, al menos, tres signos que van

enmarcando el conflicto político, y su transnacionalización consciente por razones
geopolíticas urgentes, luego de la instalación de la Asamblea Nacional
Constituyente (ANC) y el descalabro de la oposición interna:
1) La confesión de la CIA es un reflejo de que el poder duro (le llaman Estado

profundo al cónclave de grandes corporaciones que deciden la política exterior de
las potencias) deja atrás a la diplomacia, y en el mejor de los casos le impone sus
ritmos y formas de ejecución,
2) que organismos de seguridad estadounidenses entren en juego frontal devela

que el enfoque de las sanciones y sus derivaciones en el terreno corresponden a
un laboratorio prebélico, donde la vida de la población y el Estado-nación se
vuelven objetivos a ser destruidos por mecanismos de poder real (interrupción de
suministros alimentarios, sanitarios y financieros), forzando un escenario de
intervención preventiva por "razones humanitarias"; el tan anunciado "colapso"
final,
y 3) las agencias del poder ejecutivo de EEUU y el Congreso se ajustan a un

punto de giro operativo y narrativo donde "la salida" a la cuestión venezolana es
transnacional y a la fuerza; las elecciones y el Estado en ejercicio (la Constitución
nacional), en cuanto práctica social y marcos simbólicos de la nación venezolana,
se transforman en obstáculos para desarrollar el plan de fondo. La Administración
Trump es básicamente una Junta Militar. Por esa razón el "fraude" cantado a los
minutos de haberse anunciado que se convocarían próximamente las elecciones
presidenciales.
La creación de "Soy Venezuela" como vanguardia ideológica de la "intervención

humanitaria", nombrada ya sin ningún tapujo pues saben que desde el Congreso
recibirán algunos aplausos, debe verse como la ampliación de ese frente. El
vértigo que implica el aumento de las sanciones también requiere aparentar cierta
venezolanización.

21
El Departamento de Estado acata las órdenes
A través de una videoconferencia a periodistas de varios medios, un alto

funcionario del Departamento de Estado, referido sin mayores detalles como
"Oficial del Departamento de Estado Mayor", ofreció algunos detalles sobre la gira
que prepara el Secretario de Estado, Rex Tillerson, por Latinoamérica a partir del
1° de febrero. En la programación está pautada visitar México, Argentina,
Colombia, Perú y Jamaica, en donde se reunirá con las principales autoridades y
el cuerpo diplomático de países que forman parte del Grupo de Lima.
Como dato fundamental: esta gira se realiza a pocos días de que China, calificada
como una de las principales amenazas para EEUU en su Estrategia de Seguridad
Nacional y de Defensa del año 2018, presentara oficialmente su proyecto Iniciativa
de la Franja y la Ruta en el II Foro Celac-China. Un dato que no es menor, dado
que China viene aumentando su influencia financiera en la región y desplazando a
EEUU como principal socio comercial, donde Venezuela figura como un pivote
estratégico para la proyección del gigante asiático.
Los periodistas interrogaron al "Oficial" sobre los diversos temas que trataría
Tillerson en la gira. Las laberínticas negociaciones sobre el TCLAN con México, el
aumento de la producción de drogas en Colombia y otras negociaciones sobre la
apertura de mercados para las exportaciones estadounidenses asoman llevarse
buena parte de la agenda, aunque el tema Venezuela entrará por la cornisa y a la
fuerza en las primeras planas de la prensa mundial.
Así lo hizo ver en medio de las preguntas, debido a que el marco de desconfianza
e incertidumbre que ha generado la Administración Trump en los países de la
región pueden competir en condiciones de igualdad con el forzado tema
venezolano en términos de pertinencia.
A una pregunta de la periodista María Molina, de Radio Colombia, sobre la

efectividad de las sanciones contra Venezuela, respondió: "La campaña de
presión está funcionando. Las sanciones financieras que hemos impuesto al
Gobierno venezolano lo han obligado a comenzar a caer en default, tanto en
deuda soberana como de PDVSA, su compañía petrolera. Y lo que estamos
viendo (...) es un colapso económico total en Venezuela. Entonces nuestra política
funciona, nuestra estrategia funciona (…)". La declaración un crimen brutal. Y
también un mensaje para intentar debilitar la mesa de diálogo en República
Dominicana.
También resalta (con cierto tono de euforia) las sanciones coordinadas con la
Unión Europea y la creación del Grupo de Lima, a modo de configurar una
coalición que acompañe y aumente la capacidad de daño de la agenda de
sanciones de EEUU.

22
De esta forma EEUU reconoció una obviedad, pero que suena distinta cuando
emana de la boca del poder: las sanciones impuestas contra Venezuela no tenían
como objetivo "restaurar la democracia" u ofrecer incentivos para una "negociación
seria" con la oposición, sino el colapso financiero y económico del país para enfilar
una situación de caos perpetuo que pudiera abrir una salida militar. La privación
de alimentos y medicinas, el boicot del dólar paralelo y el bloqueo financiero, son
pasos previos y reconocen sus ejecutores que van por buen camino. Y ya el
tiempo de ocultar las agendas pasó.
Mientras tanto el Congreso de EEUU ya aprobó en su cámara baja un proyecto de

ley de "asistencia humanitaria" a Venezuela, que obliga a la diplomacia
estadounidense a buscar en el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU las medidas
coercitivas que permitan hacer llegar esa "ayuda" bajo mecanismos militares y
privados. El Departamento de Estado reconoce que las políticas de sanciones
representan un conjunto de agresiones previas para que dicha ley imponga como
única opción viable para Venezuela.
Un cuadro que parece estar lo suficientemente cerrado.
Las giras de altos funcionarios de EEUU como método
Parece que Tillerson tiene bien marcada su agenda y hacia dónde dirigir la brújula
y las presiones, no en balde Pompeo se adjudica las sanciones y el "Oficial"
entrevistado del Departamento de Estado le fabrica un molde a los objetivos que
persiguen las sanciones. Una maniobra que transparenta a los actores de peso
que están detrás operando los controles.
En este sentido, y a la luz de los componentes del frente interno (diálogo,

Asamblea Nacional en manos de actores como Un Nuevo Tiempo, la
descomposición de la oposición de partidos políticos y la convocatoria a
presidenciales) todo sugiere que la gira de Tillerson no sólo anuncia una ronda de
sanciones más agresivas contra la economía -desde el medio Diario de las
Américas se proyecta un posible embargo petrolero-, sino la construcción de las
bases de apoyo regional para su sostenimiento y legitimidad. Para eso fue creado
el Grupo de Lima, que en esta primera etapa ha fungido como garante del cerco
político, diplomático y financiero contra el país. Habrá que ver cuántos países son
arrastrados para romper relaciones comerciales y diplomáticas con Venezuela,
pues más allá de los comunicados EEUU necesita enviar un mensaje de fuerza y
aumentar la efectividad del cerco diplomático y financiero.
Un mínimo asomo prospectivo de las variables comentadas permite mantener la

probabilidad de que a medida que avance el colapso inducido por las sanciones,
esa coalición podría transformarse en un frente militar para presionar por una
intervención "humanitaria". La resistencia que generó las palabras de Trump sobre
que no descartaba la "opción militar" en Venezuela, suena distinto si la
"alternativa" es una intervención para supuestamente proteger/salvar una nación

23
colapsada o la apertura de "corredores humanitarios" por países fronterizos, con
fines de balcanización. En ese cambio de sentido está trabajando la CIA y el
Congreso, ante lo cual el Departamento de Estado y su "jefe" bajan la cabeza.
Medios con amplias relaciones comerciales y políticas con la CIA, piense en The
Washington Post y The New York Times, aceleran a todo dar una intensa
campaña para homologar a Venezuela con Somalia o El Congo, países también
víctimas de recursos de guerra similares. Los crímenes no son sólo económicos,
también informativos.
Las giras de altos funcionarios de EEUU como mecanismo para preparar una
agenda de asedio más amplio, tienen su antecedente en la gira de Mike Pence en
agosto, semanas después de instalada la ANC y con una coalición opositora
devastada, donde trató de integrar apoyos regionales en pro de aumentar las
presiones contra Venezuela.
Unas semanas más tardes una Orden Ejecutiva firmada por Donald Trump
institucionalizó el bloqueo financiero contra Venezuela, una acción que hoy caotiza
todos los aspectos de la vida social, económica y política del país. Un crimen que
hoy rebasa toda la legalidad internacional y local y que pone en el paredón el
estómago de la población.
Referencia: "Misión Verdad", <misionverdad.com>; http://misionverdad.com/la-guerra-en-

venezuela/eeuu-reconoce-publicamente-que-busca-llevar-a-venezuela-al-colapso; 30/01/2018.
BP invests in mobile electric vehicle

charging company FreeWire to deliver rapid
charging at retail sites
(BP invierte en una empresa de recargo eléctrico para vehículos –
FREEWIRE - a fin de promover servicios de recarga rápidas en sus
estaciones de servicios – EL MUNDO ESTÁ CAMBIANDO)
Date: 30 January 2018

24
 BP Ventures invests $5 million in FreeWire, manufacturer of mobile rapid
charging systems for electric vehicles
 BP to trial technology at selected retail sites in the UK and Europe during
2018
 Mobile system will allow flexible deployment of charging facilities while
building understanding of fast-evolving market
BP today announced that its venturing business has invested $5 million in

FreeWire Technologies Inc. (FreeWire), a US-based manufacturer of mobile
electric vehicle (EV) rapid charging systems, and plans to roll out FreeWire’s Mobi
Charger units for use at selected BP retail sites in the UK and Europe during 2018.
Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive, BP Downstream, said: “Mobility is changing and

BP is committed to remaining the fuel retailer of choice into the future. EV charging
will undoubtedly become an important part of our business, but customer demand
and the technologies available are still evolving.
“Using FreeWire’s mobile system we can respond very quickly and provide
charging facilities at forecourts where we see the greatest demand without needing
to make significant investments in today’s fixed technologies and infrastructure.
The opportunity also to explore options for providing charging services away from
our existing retail sites makes FreeWire an ideal partner for BP.”
“We applaud BP’s commitment to providing a wide range of charging methods for
its global customer base,” said Arcady Sosinov, CEO of FreeWire Technologies.
“The Mobi Charger can be quickly and cost effectively scaled across vast
transportation networks — flexibility that delivers benefits all along the EV charging
value chain. We are thrilled that BP, which is such a significant provider of
transportation infrastructure, has acknowledged the promise of our solution through
this investment and partnership.”

25
BP is committed to supporting the transition to a lower carbon economy through
focusing on reducing its own operational emissions, improving its products to
enable customers to lower their emissions and creating low carbon businesses. BP
Ventures supports each of these areas by identifying emerging trends and
businesses, making strategic investments and testing technologies and solutions
for their scalability. The investment in FreeWire is an example of how BP Ventures
is working alongside BP’s Downstream business.
David Gilmour, vice president of BP Ventures, added: “BP first worked with
FreeWire through the RocketSpace Tech Mobility Accelerator, and we believe its
mobile fast charging technology will be one of a number of fuelling options that will
be needed to address the future of lower carbon mobility. We were encouraged by
FreeWire’s expertise and their product. We are excited to be making this
investment and to continue working with them, testing customer demand for the
product and further developing the offering for the fast growing EV supply
equipment market.”
About BP Ventures:
BP Ventures identifies and invests in private, high growth, game-changing

technology companies, accelerating cutting edge innovations across the entire
energy spectrum. Since 2006, BP Ventures has invested over $400 million in
corporate venturing and has 42 active investments in its current portfolio.
BP Ventures’ portfolio is primarily focused on emerging technologies in oil and gas

exploration and production and downstream conversion processes. In addition, it
has a renewed strategic focus on five key areas: bio & low carbon products, carbon
management, power & storage, advanced mobility and digital transformation.
About FreeWire Technologies Inc.:
FreeWire is a technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that
specializes in mobile and networked energy storage. The company offers solutions
for electric vehicle charging and mobile distributed power through the Mobi product
line, which combines first-of-its-kind hardware with a user-focused software suite.
FreeWire has established itself as a leader in the development, marketing, and
distribution of affordable energy storage systems.
Referencia: "BP", <bp.com>; https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/media/press-releases/bp-

invests-in-freewire-rapid-
charging.html?utm_source=BP_Global_GroupCommunications_UK_external&utm_medium=email&ut
m_campaign=9114430_BP%20invests%20in%20mobile%20electric%20vehicle%20charging%20compa
ny%20%20FreeWire%20to%20deliver%20rapid%20charging%20at%20retail%20sites&dm_i=1PGC,5FC
QM,AM632A,L0959,1; 30/01/2018.

26
Have Oil Prices Hit A Ceiling?
(¿Está el precio del barril tocando techo?)
By Tom Kool - Jan 30, 2018, 2:00 PM CST
Precios del petróleo al 30 de enero de 2018.
The spike in Friday’s rig count has rekindled some old concerns regarding the
acceleration of shale drilling, putting downward pressure on oil prices.

27
- Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S. in late August, knocking a lot of refining capacity
offline. That led to a record level of crude oil exports.
- In October 2017, U.S. oil exports average 1.7 million barrels per day, a record
high. That was up from about 0.8 mb/d in August.
- The disruptions led to a wide disparity between WTI and Brent, making U.S.
crude very competitive. Much of the increased exports went to Asia and Europe.
Market Movers
• Parsley Energy (NYSE: PE) fell by about 4 percent in after hours on Monday
after it posted an operational update, which detailed higher levels of spending for
the year.
• Antero Resources (NYSE: AR) said that it would “evaluate various potential
measures to address the discount in trading value of [its stock] relative to some of
the premier U.S. large capitalization upstream independents.” Antero’s CEO said it

28
has received “constructive input” from some of its largest shareholders. The
company’s share price jumped nearly 3 percent in after hours on Monday.
• Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) reported that oil production began at its Fort Hills oil
sands project in Alberta. By the end of 2018, the project should reach 180,000 bpd.
Oil prices posted some losses at the start of the week. The sharp jump in the rig
count on Friday raised concerns about an acceleration in shale drilling. At the
same time, the dollar stopped shedding value, removing one of the main positive
drivers for oil prices over the past two months. Perhaps most importantly, there is
growing speculation that inventories will start rising again in the near future.
Referencia: OilPrice Intel <admin@oilprice.com> ; https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Have-

Oil-Prices-Hit-A-Ceiling.html; 30/01/2018.
Three Factors That Could End The Oil Rally

(Tres factores que pueden acabar con el proceso de incremento del
barril)
By Nick Cunningham - Jan 29, 2018, 6:00 PM CST
The bullish forces helping to push crude benchmarks up to their highest levels in
years could be running into trouble.
There is a confluence of factors that conspired to push Brent above $70 and WTI
to $66, but several of those could be coming to an end.
First, the dramatic weakening of the U.S. dollar over the past year, and especially
over the past two months, has buoyed oil prices. Because oil is denominated in
dollars, a weaker greenback helps lift demand – and thus, prices – for crude. The
29
dollar’s role in driving the oil price was punctuated last week when Secretary of
Treasury Steven Mnuchin offered some support for a weak dollar, comments he
had to somewhat walk back. Oil prices surged after Mnuchin’s comments raised
speculation about a change in the U.S.’s preference for a strong-dollar policy.
The steep decline of the dollar took a breather on Monday, which removed some
bullish momentum from crude benchmark prices. Meanwhile, Iran’s oil minister
expressed concern about oil prices rising too high, and Baker Hughes reported a
large increase in the rig count, pushing prices down. During midday trading, WTI
was down more than 1.25 percent and Brent was off a similar amount.
If the dollar begins to regain ground, it could kneecap the oil price rally. “Further
pronounced strength in the greenback could threaten crude’s recent mojo,” Baird
Equity Research analysts said in a research note.
Arguably the largest factor fueling the rally over the past two months has been the
substantial drawdown of oil inventories. That too may soon run its course.
Forecasters such as the IEA and OPEC have long predicted that inventories would
begin rising again in the first half of this year. Thus far in 2018, the markets
seemed to have derived some confidence from the past few weeks of drawdowns,
perhaps overlooking the prospect of a return to storage increases.
There could soon be a reckoning. Last week offered some early signs that the
inventory builds could be upon us. API reported a surprise build of 4.75 million
barrels for the week ending on January 17, a report that was offset by the slight
drawdown from the EIA. However, a growing number of market watchers are
expecting crude stocks to start rising in the near future.
“That’s the biggest reason why you are seeing pressure on crude -- it’s a function
of the reverse correlation to the dollar,” Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho
Securities USA Inc., told Bloomberg. “There is the expectation among a sizeable
amount of the energy space that there will be a storage build for the first time in
eleven weeks.”
Finally, another important driver of higher oil prices in the past few months has
been the speculative positions staked out by hedge funds and other money
managers. I have repeatedly cited this phenomenon as a serious short-term
bearish threat to prices, but so far the bullish bets have continued to climb.
However, the overwhelmingly one-sided positioning from major investors has not
gone away. In fact, hedge funds and other money managers continued to break
new records for the volume of bullish bets on crude oil.
If investors start unraveling some of these bullish positions, crude prices could see
a sudden and sharp selloff. “Considerable correction potential has meanwhile built
up for all these energy sources — which may provoke a marked price correction at

30
any time,” Commerzbank said in a note, referring the extraordinary buildup in
speculative positions.
The unwinding of bullish bets could accelerate if a series of worrying headlines

emerge. It isn’t inconceivable that EIA weekly reports in the next few weeks start to
show ongoing gains in U.S. oil production, while simultaneously reporting a
rebound in inventories. That is particularly true if refineries start to cycle down or go
offline for some maintenance, as is typical before warmer months. Up until now,
the inventory declines have helped distract from U.S. shale growth.
To be sure, there are plenty of reasons why oil prices could continue to rise. OPEC
compliance remains high. Deeper unexpected outages from Venezuela, Libya
and/or Nigeria are entirely possible. Demand is still strong.
But the increase in oil prices in recent months has been turbocharged by a weaker
dollar, falling inventories and speculative bets on rising prices. If those factors
disappear, the oil price rally will face a test.
Referencia: OilPrice Intel <admin@oilprice.com> ; https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Three-

Factors-That-Could-End-The-Oil-Rally.html; 30/01/2018.
Google, Facebook 'Wouldn't Have a Clue' How

to Run Oil, Gas Industry
(Ni Google ni Facebook tienen idea de cómo “se bate el cobre” en la
industria de los hidrocarburos)
by Andreas Exarheas -- Rigzone Staff -- Monday, January 29, 2018
Companies like Google and Facebook wouldn't have a clue about how to run the oil and gas business,
according to Rapidan Energy Group CEO Bob McNally.

31
Companies like Google and Facebook wouldn’t have a clue about how to run the
oil and gas business.
That is the view of Rapidan Energy Group CEO Bob McNally, who made the
statement in response to a question posed by Robert Gordon University’s Oil and
Gas Institute director, Paul de Leeuw, in a panel discussion at BHGE’s annual
meeting in Florence, Italy.
When asked what the sector would look like if it was run by firms like the
technology giants, McNally suggested the oil and gas industry needed a particular
skillset that was alien to companies like Google and Facebook.
“This is about upfront, heavy, capital expenditures to draw out toxic liquids and
gas, clean it up, move it to refining centers, turn it into products that consumers
need and compete in the global market. It is physical, it is dirty, I don’t think these
companies know how to do that,” McNally said in the panel discussion, which was
attended by Rigzone.
“I think the oil and gas industry is unto itself, it takes decades of experience to
know how to do this and do it right. I think you do have to have historical
perspective, you have to have lived through these boom and bust cycles,” he
added.
McNally also highlighted the differences in pace between the oil and gas world and
the business environments Google and Facebook are used to dealing with.
“Change doesn’t happen that fast in the oil and gas industry. It takes several
decades for new entrants to take over incumbent energy systems so I
think…[these companies] wouldn’t be of too much help,” McNally stated.
Rapidan Energy Group provides ‘differentiated and actionable insights on energy

markets, policy and geopolitics,’ according to its website. The company has bases
in New York, Washington DC and London.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/google_facebook_wouldnt_have_a_clue_how_to_run_oil_gas_industry
-29-jan-2018-153305-
article/?utm_campaign=DAILY_2018_01_29&utm_source=GLOBAL_ENG&utm_medium=EM_NW_F1;
29/01/2018.

32
Texas adds 13 rigs as U.S. rig count rises to
947 (Texas adicionó 13 taladros al conteo de los Estados Unidos que
crece a 947 taladros)
January 26, 2018 -- The Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S.
rose by 11 this week to 947.
That exceeds the 712 rigs that were active this time a year ago.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday that 759 rigs
drilled for oil this week and 188 for gas.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas added 13 rigs, West Virginia
increased by four, and New Mexico increased by three. Oklahoma lost four rigs,
Louisiana lost three rigs, and Ohio and Utah each lost a single rig. Alaska,
California, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wyoming were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404
Referencia: "PennEnergy Petroleum", <news@pedb-media.com>;

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2018/01/oil-and-gas-texas-adds-13-rigs-as-u-s-rig-
count-rises-to-947.html?cmpid=enl_pennenergy_pennenergy_research_2018-01-
Why Canada Is The Next Frontier For Shale Oil

(¡Porqué Canadá será la nueva frontera para la producción de petróleo
de lutita con fracking?)
by Reuters -- Nia Williams -- Monday, January 29, 2018
Canada is the first country outside the United States to see large-scale development of shale resources.
33
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The revolution in U.S. shale oil has battered
Canada's energy industry in recent years, ending two decades of rapid expansion
and job creation in the nation's vast oil sands.
Now Canada is looking to its own shale fields to repair the economic damage.
Canadian producers and global oil majors are increasingly exploring the Duvernay
and Montney formations, which they say could rival the most prolific U.S. shale
fields.
Canada is the first country outside the United States to see large-scale
development of shale resources, which already account for 8 percent of total
Canadian oil output. China, Russia and Argentina also have ample shale reserves
but have yet to overcome the obstacles to full commercial development.
Canada, by contrast, offers many of the same advantages that allowed oil firms to
launch the shale revolution in the United States: numerous private energy firms
with appetite for risk; deep capital markets; infrastructure to transport oil; low
population in regions that contain shale reserves; and plentiful water to pump into
shale wells.
Together, the Duvernay and Montney formations in Canada hold marketable

resources estimated at 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 20 billion barrels of
natural gas liquids and 4.5 billion barrels of oil, according to the National Energy
Board, a Canadian regulator.
"The Montney is thought to have about half the recoverable resources of the whole
oil sands region, so it's formidable," Marty Proctor, chief executive of Calgary-
based Seven Generations Energy, told Reuters in an interview.
Canada's shale output stands at about 335,000 bpd, according to energy

consultants Wood Mackenzie, which forecasts output should grow to 420,000 bpd
in a decade. The pace of output growth could quicken and the estimated size of the
resources could rise as activity picks up and knowledge of the fields improves,
according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Seven Generations and Encana Corp, also based in Calgary, are among leading
producers developing the two regions. Global majors including Royal Dutch Shell
and ConocoPhillips - who pulled back from the oil sands last year - are also
developing Canadian shale assets.
Chevron Corp announced its first ever Canadian shale development in the
Duvernay in November. Spokesman Leif Sollid called it one of the most promising
shale opportunities in North America. ConocoPhillips sees potential for the
Montney to deliver significant production and cash flow to the company, executive
vice president of production drilling and projects Al Hirshberg said in November.

34
Shell will invest more money this year in the Duvernay than any other shale field
except the Permian Basin in West Texas, the most productive U.S. shale play,
spokesman Cameron Yost said.
"We may learn something in the Permian that becomes applicable in the Montney,
and vice versa," Yost said.
The oil sands boom dates back two decades, when improved technology, rising
crude prices and fears of global oil shortages sparked a rush to develop the world's
third-largest reserves. But in the last five years, much of that investment has
migrated south as U.S. shale firms pioneered new drilling techniques and flooded
global oil markets with cheaper-to-produce crude.
The oil sands currently account for two-thirds of Canada's 4.2 million barrels per
day of crude. They will continue to contribute heavily to Canada's energy output
because oil sands projects, once built, produce for decades.
But the era of oil sands mega-projects will likely end with Suncor Energy's 190,000
barrel-per-day Fort Hills mining project, which started producing this month.
Canadian energy officials are now counting on shale, also known as "tight" oil, to
lure new investment.
"Increasingly we are going to see light tight oil and liquids-rich natural gas forming
a key part of Alberta's energy future," said Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, energy
minister for the province where the oil sands and much of the nation's shale
reserves are located.
A Future In Fracking
Oil sands development drove Alberta's economic growth at a rate of 5.5 percent
annually between 2010 and 2014, about twice the national rate. But the oil price
crash in 2014 sent the region into a recession and has since prompted producers
to scrap at least $32 billion in planned projects.
Oil sands capital spending fell for a third straight year in 2017 while other oil and
gas investment rose 40 percent from 2016 to about C$31 billion, according to the
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Spending outside the oil sands is
expected to grow again this year to C$33 billion, nearly three times the amount
predicted for oil sands investment.
Hydraulic fracturing of shale oil and gas can yield quicker returns on smaller
investments than extracting tar-like bitumen from the oil sands. Shale production is
also less carbon-intensive, addressing a major concern among international
investors reluctant to finance what environmental groups deride as the "tar sands".

35
"The last decade has been dominated by conversations about the oil sands, and
people have maybe missed the opportunities" in shale fields, Encana Chief
Executive Doug Suttles told a conference in British Columbia in November. "All
these things have a much lower carbon footprint than the average barrel refined
today."
'Absolutely Huge' Potential
The Duvernay in central Alberta is a shale play, while the Montney, straddling
northern Alberta and British Columbia, is technically a formation of siltstone, a
more porous rock. Drilling and extraction techniques are the same, however, and
many in the industry use the term shale for both.
Drillers face challenges in both fields because of their distance from key markets,
but the high potential of their reserves is unquestioned.
The Duvernay is comparable to the Eagle Ford shale field in South Texas. The
Montney is unique, with its enormous gas resources and extremely thick rock
formation containing several different levels at which oil and gas can be drilled,
said Mike Johnson, technical leader of hydrocarbon resources for the National
Energy Board.
Weak prices in an oversupplied natural gas market have hampered development,

along with added costs of shipping from the far-flung fields and limited capacity on
pipelines. That makes it harder to compete with producers in shale gas plays such
as the Marcellus in the northeastern United States.
Meanwhile, proposed Canadian liquefied natural gas export terminals on the west
coast, which were expected to provide a huge source of demand, have been
cancelled or stalled due to weak prices.
Such obstacles, however, have not stopped producers from staking claims in the
region. Last year, Alberta oil and gas land sale prices reached levels not seen
since 2014 because of a rush to buy land in the Duvernay East Shale Basin.
"The potential is absolutely huge," said Mark Salkeld, president of the Petroleum
Services Association of Canada. "The only thing holding us back is access to
market and the cost."
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/why_canada_is_the_next_frontier_for_shale_oil-29-jan-2018-
153306-article/?pgNum=1; 29/01/2018.

36
Minister: Iraq To Comply With OPEC Deal
Despite Oil Export Capacity Rise
(Ministro: Irak se compromete con la decisión OPEP aun cuando su
exportación se incrementa)
by Reuters -- Alex Lawler & Dmitry Zhdannikov -- Monday, January 29, 2018
Iraq will comply with the OPEC-led deal on reducing output even though Baghdad is working hard to increase its
oil export capacity.
LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Iraq will comply with the OPEC-led deal on reducing
output even though Baghdad is working hard to increase its oil export capacity
from the north and south of the country, its oil minister said on Monday.
Jabar al-Luaibi told a Chatham House conference in London that Iraq's export
capacity was nearing 5 million barrels per day (bpd), including 4.6 million bpd from
the south.
Iraq, the second largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries, has had to limit output in line with OPEC's commitment to cut output by
about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) as part of a deal with Russia and others.
"Iraq has made it clear at every time and every event that Iraq will comply with
OPEC declarations in good spirit, genuine spirit," the minister said. "We are
determined that we will reach 5 million bpd export capacity by the end of this year."
The OPEC cut has boosted oil prices, which last week topped $71 a barrel for the
first time since 2014. OPEC members are enjoying the rally and extra revenue, and
say prices are not too high. Luaibi described prices as "reasonable" so far.
He said Iraq hoped to more than double production from the northern Kirkuk
oilfields with the help of BP.
Iraq said this month it had signed a memorandum of understanding with BP to

boost capacity at the fields. While exports from the south are at record levels,

37
output in northern Iraq is down after falling in mid-October when Iraqi forces retook
control of oilfields from Kurdish fighters who had been there since 2014.
This has had the side-effect of boosting Iraqi compliance with the OPEC cuts in
recent months. Last year, Iraq's compliance lagged Saudi Arabia and other large
OPEC producers.
The minister said the market was nearing "good stability" and Iraq was pumping
4.35 million to 4.36 million bpd of oil.
Assuming Iraqi output of that level in January, the country has cut supply by
206,000 bpd and delivered 98 percent of its pledged reduction of 210,000 bpd
under the OPEC deal, according to a Reuters calculation.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/minister_iraq_to_comply_with_opec_deal_despite_oil_export_capacity
_rise-29-jan-2018-153309-
29/01/2018.
Secretario de gobierno de EEUU viajará a

América Latina para arreciar campaña
contra Venezuela
27 Ene 2018 / 08:13 am / Haga un comentario

38
El secretario de Estado del Gobierno de Estados Unidos (EEUU), Rex Tillerson,
viajará por primera vez a Argentina, Perú y Colombia, para intensificar las
acciones injerencistas contra Venezuela.
A través de un comunicado, la portavoz del Departamento de Estado, Heather

Nauert, informó que Tillerson viajará en febrero a los mencionados países y a
México para promover un “hemisferio seguro” y hablar sobre Venezuela, reseña
Telesur en nota de prensa.
Detalló que el secretario de Estado durante las visitas, en el que se reunirá con los
presidente y cancilleres de los mencionados países, en donde “abogará por una
mayor atención regional a la crisis en Venezuela”, cita el medio.
En agosto, durante una rueda de prensa, Tillerson reveló que diversas agencias
estadounidenses “están estudiando la forma de obligar al presidente de
Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, a abandonar el poder”.
Desde el pasado año, EEUU arrecia su ataque en contra de Venezuela,

expresado en sanciones contra Petróleos de Venezuela y a funcionarios del
Estado venezolano, así como un asedio financiero y económico —que imposibilita
la compra de medicinas y alimentos al pueblo—, hasta una amenaza militar por
parte del presidente de ese país, Donald Trump.
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/secretario-

gobierno-estados-unidos-campana-guerra-venezuela-peru-argentina-colombia-acciones-injerencia-
poder/#.Wm97B3rj90I; 27/01/2018.
INTELIGENCIA EN HIDROCARBUROS II
Saudi oil minister accuses IEA of overhyping shale (Ministro de petróleo
de Arabia Saudita acusan a la AIE de abusar de la situación del
fracking). Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih made headlines on Thursday when
he said at the World Economic Forum that the IEA had an “oversized focus” on
U.S. shale growth. He implied that the IEA was hyping the threat of U.S. shale. “I
was not disputing the amazing revolution of shale . . .[but] in the overall global
supply demand picture it’s not going to wreck the train,” al-Falih said in Davos. “We
should not be scared,” he added. “That’s the core job of the IEA, not to take it out
of context.” The statement prompted retorts from top IEA officials that shale was
indeed one of the biggest “game changers” in the energy industry in the past
decade. Al-Falih noted that it was highly unlikely that OPEC would abandon the
production cuts before the end of the year.

39
Energy stocks up, more room to run? (¿Puede el almacenamiento de
energía continuar, con más espacio para crecer?). Energy stocks lagged
the broader S&P 500 last year, but are up more than 20 percent in the past six
months. With demand rising, some market analysts see more gains ahead, even if
oil prices fail to move higher. Because of the poor performance last year, energy
stocks have some catching up to do and could continue to outperform the broader
market. “[W]e don’t think oil needs to move higher,” Ben Kallo, energy analyst at
Baird, told the WSJ. “Rather, oil just needs to avoid another correction.”
ExxonMobil ordered to keep production limits on Russian oil project (A

ExxonMobil le fue ordenado mantener lítites en la producción en su
Proyecto en Rusia). Russian authorities ordered ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) to
return to previous lower production limits at its Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far
east, according to Reuters. The justification was not exactly clear, but likely it was
the result of Russia trying to maintain compliance with the OPEC production cuts.
Exxon had initially received approval to ramp up production from 200,000 bpd to
250,000 bpd, but Russian authorities ordered the company to scale it back.
Five workers killed in Oklahoma (Cinco trabajadores petroleros muertos

en Oklahoma); deadliest accident since beginning of shale boom. Five workers
were killed by a well explosion in Oklahoma on Monday, which is the deadliest
incident in more than a decade of shale drilling. The well was drilled by Patterson-
UTI Energy Inc., based in Houston.
Aramco IPO date to slip? (¿Se corrió la Oferta Pública de Adquisición de

Saudí Aramco?). Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said that Aramco’s IPO would
take place “when the time is right,” a comment that many analysts interpreted as
an acknowledgement of a slipping timeline. “We hope that 2018 will be the right
time, but ultimately we have to make sure the market is ready,” Al-Falih said the
World Economic Forum in Davos. The IPO was thought to be on track for a late
2018 launch, but al-Falih’s comments suggest it could get pushed back.
Aramco to invest in U.S. (ARAMCO invertirá en los Estados Unidos). Saudi

Aramco said that it would expand in the U.S. after the Trump administration’s
blockbuster tax cuts. Aramco’s CEO said that the tax cuts combined with clear
political support for the oil industry makes investing in the U.S. much more
attractive. Aramco already controls the Motiva refinery in Texas, the country’s
largest. “The whole oil industry is benefiting from the current administration,” Saudi
Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said.
Natural gas prices jump on inventory decline (Precios del Gas Natural
saltó debido a un declive en inventarios en EEUU). Natural gas inventories
fell sharply last week, taking total stocks down to 2,296 Bcf, which is lower than
40
even the lower range of the five-year average. The market is tighter than it has
been in years, and Nymex prices for front-month delivery jumped to $3.50/MMBtu
this week, surging on fears of tight supplies. However, that price is still relatively
moderate compared to how high prices spiked in the past. The sanguine outlook
stems from the expected tidal wave of fresh supply coming this year from shale
gas fields.
Bakken shale drillers moving to less desirable locations (Perforadores de

formación de Lutita Bakken se mudan a locaciones menos ventajosas).
Higher oil prices and improve drilling technology are allowing shale drillers in North
Dakota to venture out into Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations. Up until now, drilling has
been concentrated in “the core of the core” – essentially just a few of the best
counties. Not only have WTI prices climbed, but the discount for Bakken crude has
narrowed as well. "What we would've considered a fringe area a year ago are now
considered economic territory in the state of North Dakota," Justin Kringstad,
director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said last week during a conference
call, according to S&P Global Platts. The only caveat is that these lesser locations
will likely have lower initial production (IP) rates, and may ultimately produce less
oil.
Oil industry profits up, spending could rise (Ganancias en la industria

petrolera se incrementó y se espera increment en inversión). Earnings
season is upon us and the oil industry is about to report its best quarter in years.
The fourth quarter of 2017 saw higher oil prices and falling production costs,
fueling a wave of optimism not seen in years. Flush with cash, spending could rise
by more than previously expected. A survey by Norwegian consultants DNV GL
found that more than two-thirds of the 813 oil executives interviewed said they
expect increased capital spending in 2018. The tension is that so many shale
drillers have promised investors to exercise restraint, emphasizing profits instead
of production growth.
World’s first electric container barges to operate in Netherlands (Primer

Ferry carguero totalmente eléctrico operará en los Países Bajos) . The
world’s first fully electric container barges will operate in the ports of Antwerp,
Amsterdam and Rotterdam this summer, according to The Guardian. The vessels
could eliminate the need for an estimated 23,000 trucks, most of which run on
diesel.
Upcoming Mexico oil auction expected to attract high interest (Próxima

ronda de licitaciones petroleras de México despiertan gran interés).
Mexico’s January 31 auction for 29 deepwater tracts is expected to attract a lot of
interest from the oil majors because of low upfront bonus payments and low
commitments. “Mexico has done all it could to attract companies,” Horacio Cuenca
of Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg. “It’s going to drive interest. The blocks are
41
very cheap.” The timing is also good – oil prices are significantly higher compared
to previous rounds.
Referencia: OilPrice Intel <admin@oilprice.com> ; OilPrice Intelligence Report: The Oil Rally Continues
Unabated; 26/01/2018.
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil holds above

$65/bbl, Brent above $70/bbl
(Estado del Mercado: WTI se estabiliza sobre los US$ 65/B, mientras en
Brent se encuentra por encima de US$ 70/B para el día 26 de enero)
HOUSTON, Jan. 26/2018 --- By Paula Dittrick, OGJ Upstream Technology Editor
Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery declined slightly but still settled above
$65.50/bbl on the New York market, supported by confusion about varying
statements from US President Donald Trump and his administration about the US
dollar’s value.
Oil trades in US dollars so a falling dollar makes oil less expensive for buyers using
other currencies. Brent crude oil for March delivery fell slightly but settled above
$70/bbl.
President Trump “did attempt…to dispel the impression that his government
prefers a weak US dollar…but he didn’t really succeed,” Commerzbank analysts
said. “For as long as the US dollar remains on the defensive, no more pronounced
price fall on the oil market is likely to ensue.”
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, US Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin
said his comment that “a weaker dollar is good for trade” was never intended to
violate US commitment to refrain from competitive devaluation.
Mnuchin’s initial comment came during the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland (OGJ Online, Jan. 25, 2018).
Mnuchin later told the WSJ that his weaker dollar statement did not intend to
“endorse it or encourage it in any way,” adding the dollar’s short-term direction is
“not a concern of mine one way or the other.”
After Mnuchin’s comment on Jan. 24, the dollar’s value in relation to other
currencies dropped to 3-year lows, its biggest one-day drop in 10 months.

42
Barclays revised upward its Brent crude oil forecast for 2018 to average $60/bbl,
up $5 from its earlier forecast. Barclays analysts citied higher oil demand growth
and continuing Venezuela oil production as the reasons for the updated forecast.
Energy prices
The March light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange
dropped 10¢ on Jan. 25 to settle at $65.51/bbl. The April contract increased 1¢ to
$65.37/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for February dropped 6¢ to a rounded $3.45/MMbtu.
The Henry Hub cash gas price climbed 1¢ to $3.57/MMbtu.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February edged up less than 1¢ to a rounded $2.12/gal.

The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February edged down less than
1¢ to remain at a rounded $1.92/gal.
Brent on London’s ICE for March fell 11¢ to $70.42/bbl. The April contract was
down 5¢ to $69.97/bbl. The gas oil contract for February reached $627.25/tonne,
up $6.75.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes was

$68.48/bbl on Jan. 25, up 87¢.
Fuente: "Oil & Gas Journal", <news@ogjo-media.com>; http://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/01/market-

watch-nymex-oil-holds-above-65-bbl-brent-above-70-bbl.html?cmpid=enl_ogj_ogj_daily_update_2018-
01-
Biggest US East Coast Oil Refinery Files for

Bankruptcy
(Una de las más grandes refinerías de la costa este de EEUU se acoge al
capítulo 11 de bancarrota).
by Bloomberg -- Tiffany Kary & Barbara Powell -- Monday, January 22, 2018

43
Philadelphia Energy Solutions files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
(Bloomberg) -- Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, owner of an oil refinery that

supplies more than a quarter of the U.S. east coast’s crude refining capacity, filed
for bankruptcy with a plan that could allow it to shed some environmental costs.
The restructuring would allow PES to emerge a new company with the same
stakeholders, according to the firm’s chief executive. Court filings show it intends to
do so through a sale that will erase $300 million to $350 million of compliance
costs. Those expenses helped spur the Chapter 11 filing by PES, which runs the
largest oil refinery serving the New York Harbor gasoline and diesel market. It’s a
joint venture between Carlyle Group LP and Energy Transfer Partners LP
subsidiary Sunoco Inc.
The compliance costs include "renewable identification numbers" or RINs, which

the company was forced to buy under a federal program that has cost $832 million
since 2012, the court filing shows. The purchases create an “unpredictable,
escalating and unintended compliance burden" that amount to twice the cost of
payroll and almost 1-1/2 times capital expenditures, the company said.
“Absent RINs, we’re competitive with anyone in the world,” Chief Executive Officer
Greg Gatta said in telephone interview Monday.
Biofuel Costs
Independent U.S. refiners that lack the infrastructure to blend biofuel into gasoline
and diesel have been hit hard by surging costs for the credits they must buy to
meet Environmental Protection Agency quotas for ethanol and biodiesel. The
Trump Administration in late November rejected a bid by fuel-makers including
Valero Energy Corp. to relieve refiners of the obligation. Billionaire Carl Icahn, the
majority owner of CVR Energy Inc., has complained that the program structure is
"rigged."

44
“RINs going forward continue to be an issue for independent merchant refiners,”
Gatta said. “We continue to work with the government to find a solution that works
for everyone.”
Under terms of the filing in Delaware late Sunday, PES seeks to sell off assets
while leaving behind $300 million to $350 million worth of the compliance liabilities,
effectively erasing them. It might also opt not to sell its assets and reorganize on a
stand-alone basis. But in that case, the company will have $225 million less in cash
and $275 million more in debt, according to court records.
The PES plan already has support from key lenders, according to court
documents. The Chapter 11 filing allows the company to keep operating while it
works out a recovery. Assets sale could be subject to competing bids as well court
approval, which PES is seeking by Feb. 23.
Lender Support
Lenders to two term loans were unanimously in favor of the preliminary plan,
according to court filings. On term loan A, $97.5 million in debt including large
stakeholders such as Goldman Sachs Lending Partners and PNC Bank National
Association voted for the plan. For term loan B, $486 million voted for it, including
several funds of Credit Suisse Group AG and Halcyon Capital Management.
More than $260 million in new funding will be infused, giving current lenders debt
or equity in a new company. Term loan B lenders are financing a $120 million
bankruptcy operating loan that will convert to an exit loan. A non-bankrupt parent,
Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, will invest $65 million in exchange for 25
percent of equity in a new company and Sunoco will also put $75 million in new
money into the company, court papers show.
Formed in 2012 as a result of a partnership between Carlyle and Sunoco, PES

drew government aid and was hailed by state, city and union leaders as it worked
to save the plant, which faced shutdown due to dwindling margins. The company
was able to ride the back of the U.S. shale boom, building a terminal to take in
trainloads of cheap oil from North Dakota that couldn’t be sold elsewhere.
1,100 Employees
The end of the U.S. crude export ban in late 2015 and the start of the Dakota
Access pipeline last year forced East Coast refiners to turn back to more expensive
imports.
The refinery, a 1,300-acre tract near downtown Philadelphia, will keep operating
and there will be no impact on jobs, salaries and benefits of the company’s 1,100
employees. It is operated as two plants -- Girard Point and Point Breeze -- with a

45
combined processing capacity of 335,000 barrels a day of crude oil. It remains the
largest oil refining complex on the U.S. Eastern seaboard.
The plan brought in PJT Partners Inc. as the company’s investment adviser.
Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC is a restructuring adviser and Kirkland & Ellis
LLP is legal adviser on the plan, according to court papers.
The case is PES Holdings LLC, 18-10122, BBLS DD X1Q6NUPPP282 U.S.

Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Delaware.)
Referencia: " DownstreamToday", <newsletter@rigzonemail.com> ",

https://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/153222/Biggest_US_East_Coast_Oil_Refinery_Files_for_Bank
ruptcy?utm_campaign=DST_WEEKLY_EDI_REFINING_1&utm_source=GLOBAL_ENG&utm_medium=E
M_NW; 26/01/2018.
As Siberian Gas Awaits US Landing, a Second

Ship May Be Coming
(El primer cargamento de gas de Siberia espera su desembarco en EEUU,
mientras un segundo cargamento va en camino. ¿No y que eran
autosuficientes?).
by Bloomberg -- Naureen S. Malik & Rob Verdonck -- Friday, January 26, 2018
"(N)o one has been able to build pipelines from the shale plays in the Northeast to demand centers," said a
Houston-based analyst.
(Bloomberg) -- A second tanker carrying Russian natural gas may be on the way to
the U.S., following in the footsteps of a ship now sitting near Boston Harbor with a
similar cargo.

46
The Gaselys tanker, which has been sitting for two days in the waters outside of
Boston, carries liquefied natural gas originally produced in Siberia, according to
vessel tracking data. The ship, poised to dock at Engie SA's Everett import
terminal, would be the first LNG shipment from anywhere other than Trinidad and
Tobago in about three years.
Now Engie is poised to pick up a second Russian cargo from northern France that
may land in Massachusetts on Feb. 15, according to Kpler SAS, a cargo-tracking
company. The tankers would arrive at a time when New England is paying a hefty
premium for supplies as pipeline capacity limits flows of cheap shale gas from
other parts of the country in the peak demand season.
The tanker named Provalys was sailing to France's Dunkirk terminal to pick up
LNG on Friday and unload a small amount of it nearby in Belgium before heading
across the Atlantic, the cargo tracker said. Engie couldn't be immediately reached
for comment about this shipment.
Gaselys loaded its cargo at the Isle of Grain terminal near London, where another
tanker had unloaded the Russian LNG. French energy giant Engie bought the
cargo on the spot market "due to the high natural gas demand during the recent
record cold snap,"• Carol Churchill, a spokeswoman at Engie's Everett terminal
said in an email Wednesday.
LNG produced from Trinidad was already committed, so Engie looked for
uncommitted cargoes with the proper fuel quality that could be delivered by tankers
compatible with the Massachusetts terminal, she said.
"Boston needs it because there are constraints on pipeline capacity from the Gulf
Coast to the Northeast and no one has been able to build pipelines from the shale
plays in the Northeast to demand centers,"• said Jason Feer, head of business
intelligence at ship-broker Poten & Partners Inc. in Houston. For the global gas
trade, "it signals the continuing evolution of the LNG market from a point-to-point
kind of market to a more fully commoditized market."•
Spot gas for delivery on Enbridge's Algonquin pipeline into Boston and other New
England city gates jumped 28 percent on Wednesday to $15.17 per million British
thermal units after tripling the previous day, according to the Bloomberg assessed
price. By contrast, the Dominion South Point spot price, a proxy for the country's
most prolific gas producing region in Appalachia, was at $2.79. The price at Henry
Hub in Louisiana, the U.S. benchmark, was $3.54.
It's hard to know how much Russian gas is in the Gaselys shipment. The actual
molecules were a mix of gas of varied provenance, coming as they did from a
storage tank in the U.K. that also contained fuel from Algeria, Trinidad and Tobago
and Qatar, among others. What we do know is that Engie bought the cargo from

47
Petroliam Nasional Bhd and that the Malaysian company in turn bought it from
Yamal LNG operator Novatek PJSC. It was the first cargo from the Siberian plant.
The Gaselys tanker was sailing toward Boston when it made a u-turn in the Atlantic
toward Spain before reversing to resume its original course. Its schedule since
leaving the Isle of Grain, a global hub to import and reexport LNG from almost
exporting countries, was determined by available storage space at Everett and
shipping and safety protocols, Engie's Churchill said. A typical LNG tanker carries
about 3 billion cubic feet.
"If there is a controversy, it should be that there is no way to move a cargo of LNG
from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast because of the Jones Act,"• Feer said. There
are no U.S. built, flagged and crewed LNG carriers, and the law prohibits fuel
chilled on the Gulf Coat being loaded onto a ship for Boston. Feer noted that the
U.S. already imports other Russian commodities, including Urals crude.
Engie hasn't expressed concerns about the 1920 shipping law. "No, we are not
pursuing a Jones Act waiver,"• Churchill said previously in a Jan. 8 email.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/as_siberian_gas_awaits_us_landing_a_second_ship_may_be_coming-
26-jan-2018-153295-
26/01/2018.
Crumbling Refinery Profits Threaten OPEC-

Led Crude Rally
(La caída de los márgenes de refinación, amenaza el rally de precios de
la OPEP).
by Reuters -- Ron Bousso & Libby George -- Monday, January 22, 2018
LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The recent OPEC-led rally in crude prices is hitting
refinery profits hard, flashing warning signs over oil's bull run.
A wave of refinery maintenance scheduled in spring could also put downward

pressure on crude, analysts said.
Higher oil prices typically quench consumption and squeeze profit margins at
refiners that convert the feedstock into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels.

48
Benchmark profit margins in key refining hubs dropped sharply in recent weeks -
by over 50 percent in the U.S. Gulf Coast and northwest Europe, Reuters data
shows - increasing expectations that some refiners will reduce operating rates.
"Margins have suffered and the biggest factor behind the weak margins we've seen
is the run-up in crude prices," said Jonathan Leitch, research director with
consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Crude prices have gained more than 50 percent since June, as production cuts by
OPEC and a number of non-OPEC oil producers increasingly bite into global
inventories.
But while crude stocks tumbled at increasingly higher rates throughout 2017,
refineries around the world continued to run at record levels to meet demand and
lock in strong margins.
The lag between the gain in crude prices and the decline in refining margins led in
turn to a rise in stocks of products.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, refinery runs hit a record 81.5 million barrels per day
(bpd), International Energy Agency data shows, tipping fuel supply into excess and
sending cargoes into storage tanks after a year of drawdowns.
And according to analysts FGE, fuel stocks in Europe, Singapore and the United
States built by some 27.5 million barrels in the first two weeks of 2018.
Stocks are expected to grow further in coming weeks, a trend exacerbated by the
rising oil price, which Wood Mackenzie says leads shippers to save fuel by
reducing vessel speed and prompts power plants to use cheaper energy sources
instead of fuel oil.
"Refining margins are looking very shaky," a European trader said. "Everyone's
asking each other about run cuts."
The crude price also has a major impact on the operating costs of refiners, which
consume more than 5 percent of the feedstock to power their plants.
Maintenance Boost
Margins are expected to receive a boost in coming months as plants close for
seasonal maintenance before demand peaks in summer.
But that will likely put further pressure on crude prices as demand ebbs, while
freeing up crude oil supplies.

49
This year, a large slate of maintenance closures in the Middle East, particularly
Saudi Arabia, will take fuels off the market – underpinning margins worldwide.
In March, more than 900,000 bpd of refinery capacity will go offline in the Middle
East, according to Energy Aspects, due in large part to work at Saudi Arabia's
400,000-bpd Yanbu refinery.
"Refineries are going to need to run flat out to meet that and they're going to need
a good margin to do so," Leitch said. "Our forecast is that crude prices have hit the
top and prices will come down."
Referencia: " DownstreamToday", <newsletter@rigzonemail.com> ",

https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/crumbling_refinery_profits_threaten_opecled_crude_rally-22-jan-
2018-153225-article/?pgNum=1; 26/01/2018.
Oil's Heavy Hitters Line Up to Dive Into

Mexico's Deep Waters
(Los mayores pesados de la industria petrolera se aprestan a sumergirse
en las aguas profundas de México con la “Apertura Petrolera”).
by Bloomberg -- Adam Williams & Sabrina Valle -- Friday, January 26, 2018
The sale will be Mexico's biggest, in terms of fields and expected investment, since Pemex's monopoly
ended in 2013.
(Bloomberg) -- If you're a super-major oil explorer, Mexico says it's got a bargain
for you.

50
The once-giant crude nation whose output plunged in the past decade is enticing
the world's richest explorers with cut-rate prices for drilling rights to its most
coveted offshore fields. The Jan. 31 auction for access to 29 deep-water tracts
comes as $70-a-barrel crude lifts foreign drillers from the worst market slump in
decades.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. are among the 21
entrants registered to bid next week, the National Hydrocarbons Commission,
known as CNH, announced Thursday in a webcast. The sale will be Mexico's
biggest, in terms of fields and expected investment, since government-controlled
Petroleos Mexicanos's monopoly ended in 2013.
Mexico's demand for low upfront bonus payments probably accelerated interest in
the auction, Horacio Cuenca, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd., said in an
interview in Rio de Janeiro. The blocks also don't require large initial investment
commitments.
"Mexico has done all it could to attract companies,"• he said. "It's going to drive
interest. The blocks are very cheap."•
Pemex, as the state-owned oil producer is known, is set to bid individually and as a
partner in six groups with companies such as Chevron and Shell. Malaysia's
Petroliam Nasional Bhd also qualified as a lone bidder and as a part of five
consortium groups with partners such as Cnooc Ltd. and Repsol SA.
"This is good news,"• Hector Acosta, CNH commissioner, said during Thursday's
webcast. "The fact that we have so much variety in the integration of the
consortium groups -- 17 bid groups and nine individual bidders -- seems like good
news and that we will have a good presentation of offers for the different blocks."•
https://www.rigzone.com/news/oils_heavy_hitters_line_up_to_dive_into_mexicos_deep_waters-26-jan-
2018-153293-
26/01/2018.
Venezuela y Trinidad y Tobago negocian

acuerdo en energía

51
Foto:
Cortesía de @PDVSA
Venezuela y Trinidad y Tobago desarrollan agendas de trabajo en pro de alcanzar

un acuerdo en materia energética, que está “muy cerca” de firmarse, indicó la
oficina del primer ministro de la isla caribeña, Keith Rowley.
La autoridad caribeña recibió el miércoles a la delegación venezolana, que estuvo

encabezada por la presidenta de la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (ANC),Delcy
Rodríguez, y el ministro de Petróleo, Manuel Quevedo.
La delegación de alto nivel venezolana está en plenas negociaciones para activar

un suministro de gas natural al país de habla inglesa.
“Trinidad y Tobago y Venezuela estamos destinados a afianzar nuestros lazos

históricos y a consolidar nuestra amistad”, afirmó Rodríguez en su cuenta de
Twitter.
En la red social añadió que visitan la isla “con miras a afianzar los lazos históricos
y a consolidar la amistad entre ambas naciones”.
Además de Rowley, los venezolanos fueron recibidos por el ministro de Energía e

Industrias Energéticas, Franklin Khan, el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores y asuntos
de la Comunidad del Caribe (Caricom), Dennis Moses, entre otros.
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/venezuela-

trinidad-y-tobago-agenda-trabajo-acuerdos-materia-energetica-ministro-keith-rowley/#.WnMklHrj90I;
26/01/2018.

52
Texas Oil Economist Predicts Record Output
in 2018
(Economista petrolero texano predice record de producción en EEUU en
el año 2018).
by Valerie Jones -- Rigzone Staff -- Thursday, January 25, 2018
Oil production in 2018 is set to break records, according to oil economist Karr Ingham.
There were talks of record-breaking oil production in 2018 during the Texas Petro
Index (TPI) 2017 end-of-year briefing.
During the briefing held in Houston Jan. 23, Karr Ingham, oil economist for the
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and creator of the TPI, said while 2017 was a
story of recovery and growth for upstream oil and gas in Texas, 2018 is set to
break previous oil production records.
Ingham said daily posted prices surpassed $60 per barrel in January and will
stimulate further rig count growth, more drilling permits and quicker industry
employment growth.
It will also push Texas and U.S. crude production upward.
“Production bottomed out in September 2016 and has been on the rise since. We
are on the cusp of blowing by the production levels in the 1970s in the next few
months,” said Ingham.

53
The previous production record was in 1972 when Texas’ oil production was 1.263
billion barrels of oil.
“I do not see how we don’t break this record in 2018,” he said.
Regarding industry employment, the TPI Dec. 2017 statistics show that an
estimated 31,400 of the more than 100,000 jobs lost during the downturn had been
restored in the current recovery.
“We’ve recovered several tens of thousands of jobs, but employment growth as a

beginning of this industry recovery has leveled off,” said Ingham. “As the industry
matures in its processes, it will certainly almost take fewer employees than it has
taken in the past.”
https://www.rigzone.com/news/texas_oil_economist_predicts_record_output_in_2018-25-jan-2018-
153273-
25/01/2018.
Big Oil Flush With Cash Again, But No Party

Yet
(Las grandes corporaciones petroleras tendrán un raudal de billetes este
año, pero la fiesta no es aún).
by Reuters -- Ron Bousso -- Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The world's top oil companies are expected to generate more cash in 2018 than at any other time this decade, but it
isn't party time yet.

54
LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The world's top oil companies are expected to
generate more cash in 2018 than at any other time this decade after three painful
years of cuts, but it isn't party time yet.
The shift in sentiment has been rapid as crude prices have risen by more than 50
percent over the past six months to reach $70 a barrel, a level not seen since the
crash year of 2014, thanks to global supply cuts led by OPEC.
Only a year ago, many investors still fretted over the sustainability of the sector's
lavish dividend payouts in a weak energy market. Now the focus on company
boards is gradually switching from slashing jobs and investment to boosting
shareholders' returns and growth.
With memories of the 2014 price collapse still fresh and oil forecast to recover only
slowly, frugality remains high on the agenda of boards and investors to ensure that
the energy majors produce enough cash to pay dividends while reducing debt that
ballooned during the downturn.
"The companies will need to demonstrate over time that lower capital spending can
be sustained and that their dividends will remain fully covered," said Jonathan
Waghorn, energy fund manager at Guinness Asset Management, which holds
shares of Chevron, Total and BP.
"We are cautiously optimistic on their ability to do this, given the dramatic cost
reductions in the industry."
Oil majors responded to the crisis by transforming their businesses, nearly halving
spending, culling tens of thousands of jobs and diluting share value.
In 2017, most companies showed they can adapt to a world of lower prices and
even generate thin profits with oil at $50-$55 a barrel, without borrowing.
This year, when prices are expected to hold around $60 a barrel, the majors will
generate more cash than they did in 2011 when a barrel of crude traded at an
average of $112, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Brendan Warn.
Dutch Shell appears the strongest performer among the group in terms of organic
free cash flow - money available to return to shareholders in dividends and share
buybacks after deducting capital spending, excluding revenue from disposals.
Shell alone will account for a quarter of the roughly $80 billion of organic free cash
flow that the top seven oil majors are expected to generate in 2018, Warn said.
This follows the Anglo-Dutch company's scrapping at the end of last year of its
scrip programme. These allow investors to opt to receive dividends in shares,
saving the companies cash upfront but diluting their earnings per share.

55
Shell's organic free cash flow yield, the ratio between cash flow and market
capitalisation, is set to double in 2019 from 2011-2014 to 8.84 percent, according
to BMO.
The comparative yield for Exxon, though a larger company than Shell, will be only
5.39 percent, BMO forecast. BP's yield will rise in 2019 to 6.55 percent while that of
Chevron will reach 7.16 percent.
Growth
The priority for boards and many investors is boosting share value through buying
back stock, reversing the years of dilution caused by the scrip programmes. For
Exxon and Chevron the focus will be more on boosting dividends.
"With the scrips coming off and share buybacks to commence, we expect an uplift
in shareholder distributions by around $24 billion, led by Shell," Warn said
Executives will also try to reduce debt levels that soared in recent years as
companies borrowed to maintain dividends.
"The best use of excess fund flow now would be a little further debt reduction for
those companies that need it, and then an end to the scrip dividend," said Darren
Sissons, partner and portfolio manager at Toronto-based Campbell, Lee & Ross
Investment Management.
With whatever is left, Sissons expects boards to invest a "small but increasing
allocation to growth initiatives" such as exploration for new oil and gas resources,
renewables and chemicals.
Despite the past cuts in exploration budgets, the majors' output will increase until
2020 as projects approved during the boom years earlier in the decade come on
stream. Thereafter, the outlook is less certain but chief executives have made clear
their current focus is on raising returns, not volume.
Forecasts of a sharp rise in electric vehicle purchases have weighed on the long-
term outlook for the oil companies, many of which are increasingly focusing on
supplying gas to the power sector as well as making small investments in
renewables.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/big_oil_flush_with_cash_again_but_no_party_yet-24-jan-2018-
153260-article/?pgNum=1; 25/01/2018.

56
California City Files Lawsuit Against Chevron,
Others For Climate Damages
(La ciudad de California demando a CHEVRON y otras grandes
corporaciones por el cambio climático).
By Farron Cousins • Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - 11:33
Main image: A Chevron truck. Credit: David Neubert, CC BY 2.0
The city of Richmond, California is the home of oil giant Chevron’s domestic
headquarters. It also happen to be the ninth city in the United States to file a
lawsuit against fossil fuel companies for their contributions to global
climate change.
The lawsuit filed by the city lists Chevron as the lead defendant, but 28 other oil,
gas, and coal companies are listed in the suit as co-defendants. Richmond
joins eight other municipalities in the United States in filing similar climate-related
charges against fossil fuel companies. All but one of the communities are in the
state of California.
Richmond Mayor Tom Butt explained that the city has roughly 32 miles of
shoreline, which makes the city especially vulnerable to the threat of rising seas.
The city is surrounded by water on three sides.
The grievances listed in the suit by the City of Richmond are as follows:
Sea level rise endangers City property and infrastructure, causing coastal
flooding of low-lying areas, erosion, salinity intrusion, higher risk of
liquefaction during seismic events, and storm surges. Several critical City
facilities, existing roadways, wastewater treatment facilities, residential
57
neighborhoods, industrial areas including the Port of Richmond and the
Chevron Refinery, highways, rail lines, emergency response facilities, and
parks have suffered and/or will suffer injuries due to sea level rise expected
by the end of this century …
Defendants have known for nearly 50 years that greenhouse gas pollution
from their fossil fuel products has a significant impact on the Earth’s climate
and sea levels … Instead of working to reduce the use and combustion of
fossil fuel products, lower the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, minimize
the damage associated with continued high use and combustion of such
products, and ease the transition to a lower carbon economy, Defendants
concealed the dangers, sought to undermine public support for greenhouse
gas regulation, and engaged in massive campaigns to promote the ever-
increasing use of their products at ever greater volumes … Defendants are
directly responsible for 215.9 gigatons of CO2 emissions between 1965 and
2015, representing 17.5 percent of total emissions of that potent
greenhouse gas during that period.
Richmond, along with the other cities that have filed lawsuits against the fossil fuel
industry, are using the same tactics that were used to hold tobacco companies
accountable for the effects of smoking.
The ultimate costs for the care of citizens who developed deadly illnesses due to
smoking fell onto cities and states, which were the ones that sued the companies
to recover those costs incurred over decades.
The cities involved in the recent climate lawsuits are seeking the same kinds of
financial damages for the costs these communities expect to incur due to climate
change. Meanwhile, the same scenario is currently playing out in the lawsuits
against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
No stranger to suing Chevron, the City of Richmond filed a major suit against the
company in 2012 after a massive fire at its refinery resulted in thousands of people
seeking treatment for respiratory disorders, including smoke inhalation, after the
fire covered the city in a blanket of thick smoke.
That suit alleged that the company operated with a complete disregard for safety
standards and public health while doling out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses
to its executives.
That very same argument can and will be made against the fossil fuel
companies targeted in these climate damage lawsuits.
Referencia: "DESMOG", <desmog.uk>; https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/01/23/richmond-california-

files-lawsuit-against-chevron-climate-damages?utm_source=dsb%20newsletter; 25/01/2018.

58
Environmental Activist Sued for Libel Over
Facebook Comment About Oil and Gas
Company
(Activista ambiental fue demandado por realizar un comentario
difamatorio en FACEBOOK acerca de una compañía de petróleo y gas).
By Simon Davis-Cohen • Saturday, January 20, 2018 - 03:58
Main image: Pete Kolbenschlag (center). Credit: RB Lehman, used with permission
On November 17, 2016, a Colorado environmental activist named Pete

Kolbenschlag used Facebook to leave a comment on a local newspaper article, the
kind of thing more than a billion people do every day.
However, most people don’t get sued for libel over their Facebook comments.
(Although some do.)
The Post Independent story that Kolbenschlag commented on was about oil and
gas extraction on federal lands near his home, in western Colorado’s North Fork
Valley. It announced that the Obama administration’s Bureau of Land Management
was canceling all oil and gas leases on the iconic Thompson Divide, a large,
rugged swath of Forest Service land.
In retaliation, the article reported, a Texas-based oil and gas company called SG
Interests (SGI), which owned 18 leases in the Thompson Divide area, was
planning legal action against the federal government. The decision to cancel
Thompson Divide leases was one of Obama’s last while in office.

59
SGI claimed it had obtained documents that “clearly show” that the decision to
cancel the leases “was a predetermined political decision from the Obama
administration taking orders from environmental groups.”
Kolbenschlag, who has opposed drilling in the region and engaged in

environmental advocacy for some 20 years, responded to SGI’s allegations by
posting the following comment:
“While SGI alleges “collusion” let us recall that it, SGI, was actually fined for
colluding (with GEC) to rig bid prices and rip off American taxpayers. Yes, these
two companies owned by billionaires thought it appropriate to pad their portfolios at
the expense of you and I and every other hard-working American.”
Shortly thereafter, SGI sued Kolbenschlag for libel (which generally refers to
defamatory written statements).
SGI Investigation and Settlement
Kolbenschlag’s comment was in reference to a settlement SGI and Gunnison

Energy Company (GEC), another oil and gas firm active on federal lands in the
region, signed with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012.
According to court documents filed by SGI, the settlement followed a two-year

investigation into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two oil and
gas companies in which “SGI would bid on certain federal oil and gas leases …
and … SGI would assign GEC a 50 percent interest in any leases for which it was
the successful bidder.” In other words, rather than compete in the bidding process,
SGI would do the bidding, and then give GEC half of the mineral rights.
According to these court documents, the Justice Department’s two-year

investigation led it to determine “that SGI’s and GEC’s agreement to bid jointly
pursuant to the MOU constituted a per se violation of Section 1 of the Sherman
[Antitrust] Act.”
The original settlement “required” the companies to pay $550,000 for “antitrust and
False Claims Act violations.” It was the first time the federal government
challenged an “anticompetitive bidding agreement for mineral rights leases.” That
settlement, however, was later rejected by a federal judge, who approved a new
settlement of $1 million and did not require the companies to admit to wrongdoing.
Libel or Retaliation?
SGI argues that Kolbenschlag’s statement that the company was fined for colluding
with GEC is libelous because it is “contrary to the true facts, and reasonable
persons … reading … the statement would be likely to think significantly less
favorably about [SGI] than they would if they knew the true facts.”
60
The company argues that it was never convicted of or admitted to wrongdoing, and
the settlement agreement did not require it. SGI further argues that it was not
“fined,” but rather agreed to pay the government money to settle the case.
Moreover, SGI claims that “agreements such as the ones entered into between
SGI and GEC are common place in the oil and gas industry.” And therefore,
presumably, there’s nothing wrong with what they did.
Kolbenschlag’s attorney not only argues that his client’s comment was
“substantially true” in the eyes of ordinary readers, but also that SGI’s lawsuit
against him is in retaliation against his environmental activism. In legal briefs, his
attorney writes that “this lawsuit is SGI’s transparent and blatant effort to punish
Mr. Kolbenschlag for his public speech and advocacy that are not to SGI’s liking.”
For example, Kolbenschlag was part of a group called Citizens for a Healthy
Community that focused on BLM rulemaking related to hydraulic fracturing
(fracking) on federal lands. “SGI is misusing the judicial system as the means to
silence its critics,” claimed Kolbenschlag’s attorney.
“I feel like harassment is the intent,” Kolbenschlag told DeSmog. “Like I don't know
how it's going to play out, but it hasn’t prevented me from speaking up and
remaining active.” For Kolbenschlag, the real issue centers on local concerns
about the effect that proposed new drilling could have on the future of the region’s
drinking and irrigation water.
“I haven’t done anything unusual in my activism,” he said, “but I have been

successful in mobilizing people in the community. Things that should be lauded in
a democracy, not harassed by hardball tactics.”
SGI characterizes Kolbenschlag as “a media savvy entrepreneur who has

developed expertise over the years in working on public lands, energy, and
recreation resource issues and organizing effective grassroots advocacy
campaigns.” SGI did not respond to DeSmog’s requests for comment.
Oil and Gas Lawsuits Against Environmental Activists
In December, a judge denied Kolbenschlag’s motion to dismiss the case but

decided to expedite the court proceedings. Shortly after that, SGI filed a motion to
force Kolbenschlag to submit to questioning. The case is still pending in court, with
a decision expected sometime in the coming weeks or months.
Kolbenschlag isn’t the only person facing legal action from the oil and gas industry
in the past year. As DeSmog has reported, Energy Transfer Partners, owner of the
Dakota Access pipeline, is suing the groups Greenpeace and Banktrack, and the
grassroots movement known as EarthFirst! for alleged racketeering and conspiracy
for their activism against the pipeline.

61
In addition, natural gas company Eversource Energy is threatening suit against the
advocacy organization Environmental Defense Fund. Its concerns relate to the
group’s analysis which concludes Eversource and another utility legally
manipulated gas pipeline markets to force hikes in New England gas prices.
Finally, Marcellus shale drilling company Cabot Oil and Gas has filed a high-profile
suit against Dimock, Pennsylvania, landowner Ray Kemble, whose groundwater
was contaminated by Cabot drilling activity. The company settled with Kemble in
2012 but alleges he is violating that agreement by publicly discussing any
supposed harm by the company, and thereby “disparaging” it.
The next year will be one to watch as these court battles between the oil and gas
industry and their critics play out.
Referencia: "DESMOG", <desmog.uk>; https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/01/20/colorado-activist-

pete-kolbenschlag-libel-facebook-comment-sgi-oil-gas?utm_source=dsb%20newsletter; 25/01/2018.
The UK’s Oil Industry is Increasingly in the

Hands of Unaccountable US Companies -
That's a Problem
(La industria de los hidrocarburos de Reino Unido está en las manos de
empresas estadounidenses sin transparencia ni gobernabilidad).
By Simon Roach • Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - 21:01
Photo: Stig Nygaard via Flickr | CC2.0 Updated 24/01/2018: The reference to 'privately listed' companies was
corrected to say 'private companies'. The £316 million figure in the penultimate paragraph was updated for clarity.
The link in the 'net loss' figure in the third to last paragraph was changed to link to the source.

62
After global oil prices slumped dramatically in 2014, many energy giants such as
Shell and BP decided to sell off their “mature assets” in the North Sea. Now, the
operation of aging fossil fuel infrastructure in the once profitable region is
increasingly being taken over by private companies, analysis by DeSmog UK
shows — raising concerns over transparency and accountability in the region.
Four of the five largest sales since 2015 have been to private
companies, DeSmog UK has found, with three of those backed by money from US
private equity firms.
Whereas companies listed on public stock exchanges are accountable to their

shareholders and the public – through legal requirements such as annual reports
and corporate financial disclosure – privately held companies have fewer legal
obligations and can aggressively pursue long-term profit.
The industry talks of its fortunes turning a corner, as private companies are
stepping up to the high-risk, capital-intensive late stages of North Sea fossil fuel
production – something public companies have been less willing to do.
But the changing investment landscape could mean that job losses continue and
the environmental damage from the industry is prolonged, with divestment and
climate campaigns less able to influence the new, smaller cohort of private
company owners.
“Transparency is the big issue here,” said Joseph Dutton from climate think tank
E3G.
“Perhaps it’s a reflection of how the wider investment community and shareholders
view fossil fuels, as part of the clean transition and the Paris agreement: publicly
listed companies are selling off their older fossil fuel assets, and it’s then private
firms that don’t have the same level of social responsibility who are picking up
assets.”
Selling up
When oil prices tumbled from more than $100 per barrel in 2014 to under $50 just
a year later, energy companies already benefiting from UK government subsidies
started losing money.
Research immediately after the slump conducted by oil and gas consultants 1Derrick
indicated that over £6bn worth of North Sea assets went on sale, as some large
companies including E.On publicly declared exits from the North Sea.
Research on the biggest deals since then by DeSmog UK shows that around
£13.5bn worth of mergers and acquisitions have been made, as companies
scrambled to sell off their least profitable assets.
63
A major trend is the emergence of new, lesser known companies like Neptune Oil
& Gas, Chrysaor and Siccar Point Energy in place of global giants like BP.
And while the older companies are still major players in the North Sea – BP, Shell
and Total are still some of the largest producers in the region – the recent sales are
part of a global pattern of companies focusing their businesses into specific
activities or geographies, Dutton said.
Part of the North Sea exodus is due to the age of its infrastructure, with old
platforms and rigs facing high decommissioning costs. The Oil and Gas Authority
gives a “starting point” estimate that it could cost £59.7bn to decommission the
UK’s oil and gas infrastructure.
But while there are often various factors at play in any business deal – Shell, for
example, has made plans to sell $30 billion of its global assets by 2018 as it seeks
to balance debts following its takeover of BG Group in 2015 – many of the sales
have been in response to the fall in oil price, Mangesh Hirve, head of 1Derrick, told
DeSmog UK.
“Some companies are strategically getting out and some are strategically getting
in,” he said. “If you have big money, big pockets, and want to really focus on these
assets long-term – that’s how the North Sea is panning out as a game now.”
And that’s why so many smaller private companies are now getting into the North
Sea business.
Revolving Doors
Many of the executives running the new North Sea players are previous employees
of the old energy giants, part of what E3G’s Dutton called the “revolving doors” of
the fossil fuel industry. Others have links to fracking companies, or investors known
to have a history of supporting climate science denial.
Both Sam Laidlaw of Neptune Oil & Gas and Jonathan Roger of Siccar Point
Energy, for example, were at Centrica before running their companies,
while Chrysaor’s Linda Cook was at Shell. There are direct links to high finance
too, with Premier Oil’s CEO Tony Durrant coming in from the most infamous
casualty of the 2008 financial crisis, the investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Similarly, head of RockRose Energy, Andrew Austin, who has overseen a slew of
acquisitions in recent years, was former head of fracking firm IGas who are one of
the companies leading the UK’s foray into shale gas extraction, despite widespread
public opposition.
Behind some of the companies is a global network known to invest in climate

science denial.

64
Siccar Point Energy are jointly backed by US private equity firm The Blackstone
Group, whose billionaire CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman is a close ally
of US President Donald Trump and has numerous interests in US fracking and the
wider fossil fuel industry.
DeSmog has previously reported on Schwarzman’s ties with well-known climate

science denier David Koch, and on how Blackstone has invested in controversial
pipeline infrastructure in the US such as the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Dutton said that while there is a lot of money still to be made in the North Sea, the
increased costs of late-stage fossil fuel production and of decommissioning mean that the
more risk-averse public companies are looking elsewhere to make their money.
This leaves gaps for private finance companies to buy up the assets, he said.
“Companies who’ve lost lots of money, who’ve been most exposed to the fall in the
oil price, are not so keen to hang on,” said Dutton. “Whereas the private equity
groups feel they can extract that value.”
While public companies are beholden to the will and pressure of shareholders,
private companies are driven by fewer people, and often by those putting up the
money. That allows them to take greater risks.
Mary Church, head of campaigns for Friends of the Earth Scotland, said these
companies are taking a “huge gamble” with their money.
“Keeping global temperature rises within two degrees means leaving the vast
majority of fossil fuels in the ground, soon rendering these assets almost
worthless,” she said.
“We should be planning for a fair transition away from North Sea oil and gas
that supports workers and communities instead of subsidising operators and equity
firms solely driven by the bottom line.”
Just transition
As tax revenues continue to dive and North Sea assets become concentrated in
the hands of a few individuals with patchy environmental and workers’ rights
records, the North Sea’s future as a public good is firmly on the rocks.
Across the whole of the North Sea, profits have been sustained by slashing
operation costs, which for some operators have halved since 2014. But while the
oil and gas sector boasts of “efficiency gains”, the reality on the ground has meant
around 150,000 job losses since 2014, squeezing wages, and catalysing numerous
disputes over working conditions.

65
Ineos, one of the key movers in the recent North Sea changes, were embroiled in a
highly public dispute with its Unite union workers over pay at the Grangemouth oil
refinery in 2013. The bullish private firm threatened to close the facility
permanently, risking the loss of 800 jobs, and forced Unite to eventually back
down.
As the dispute with Ineos at Grangemouth continues, recent mergers in the North
Sea, such as Total’s acquisition of Maersk Oil, have raised concerns among unions
that further jobs will be lost in the North Sea despite the supposed upturn in
business.
“We should be planning for a fair transition away from North Sea oil
and gas that supports workers and communities” - Mary
Church, Friends of the Earth Scotland
Nonetheless, the UK government has been clear on its commitment to prolonging

the life of the industry, despite legal obligations to cut its carbon emissions by 57
percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
As the cost of production increases with the North Sea’s age, the government’s
primary response has been to offer increased subsidies in the form of tax breaks
— around £2.3bn worth since 2015.
The government slashed taxes for North Sea operators in 2016. And, most
significantly for the mature areas of the North Sea, in the November 2017 budget,
the government made it easier for companies to transfer accrued tax benefits as
part of new mergers and acquisitions.
The latest move will make the sale of mature assets more attractive to buyers,
the government said, and was welcomed by the industry who had lobbied hard for
the changes. According to the head of trade body Oil & Gas UK the move will “help
extend the lives of many mature fields and postpone decommissioning”.
But while the government claims the move will benefit the national economy in
years to come, tax revenue from the North Sea has fallen dramatically in recent
years.
After highs of £10.9 billion worth of tax revenue in 2011, in 2016 the North Sea
actually made a net loss for the UK national budget as falling profits meant tax
rebates could be claimed on previous years.
Latest government figures suggest a further loss was made in 2017, with
preliminary reports showing that taxpayers effectively handed the sector
£316 million.

66
With private companies increasingly running the show, there are serious questions
about whether the government should continue to support the industry.
Referencia: "DESMOG", <desmog.uk>; https://www.desmog.uk/2018/01/24/uk-s-oil-industry-

unaccountable-us-companies; 25/01/2018.
Norway’s Record Offshore License Award

Attracts Major Operators
(Un record de licencias para costa afuera de Noruega atrajo un enjambre
de MAJORS).
Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer | 17 January 2018
The Transocean Spitsbergen semisubmersible was recently contracted to drill several Statoil developments in the
North Sea. Statoil recently received 31 licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf as part of the APA 2017
round.
Norway’s energy ministry awarded a record 75 offshore oil exploration licenses in

the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Barents Sea to jumpstart exploration and
development of discoveries near existing infrastructure.
The awards went to several major operators, including Statoil, Aker,

ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, and ConocoPhillips. The licenses were awarded in the
annual predefined areas (APA) licensing round, a program created by Norway to
encourage exploration and development.

67
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy awarded licenses to 34 different
oil companies ranging from multinational majors to smaller domestic exploration
companies. Statoil was one of 19 companies awarded one or more
operatorships—its 31 shares are the most of any company. Aker’s 23 shares are
the second-highest total, and Lundin has 13.
“The APA rounds are important to maintaining the exploration activity on the
Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS),” Jez Averty, Statoil’s senior vice president for
exploration in Norway and the UK, said in a statement. “New discoveries are
needed in order to offset the declining production on existing fields.”
The licensing rounds cover the most-explored areas on the NCS. In a statement,
the energy ministry said one of the primary challenges in operating these mature
fields is the expected decline in discovery size. While minor discoveries will not
carry standalone developments, the ministry said they may be profitable if
operators can exploit existing and planned processing equipment and
transportation systems, or be seen in context with other discoveries or planned
developments.
For one of its licenses, PL921, Statoil will drill the Gladsheim prospect test to see if
oil can be moved eastward from the Troll area. In another license, PL942, the
company says it will drill through the Ørn prospect to see if new resources can be
produced through the Norne installation. Statoil is also participating in the drilling of
a well in PL916 at the Utsira High, which will be operated by Aker.
“Over the past 2 years we have replenished our portfolio with a number of
interesting prospects,” Averty said. “This enables us to maintain and increase our
exploration efforts.”
Referencia: “ Journal of Petroleum Technology <no-reply@specommunications.org>

“;https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=3813&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email-
link&utm_campaign=jpt&utm_content=24jan_norwayoffshorelicense&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTnpRek5ETTR
ORFUxTm1SaCIsInQiOiJRdzN0R3FhMHRPNHVkUGlQNkdmdmNlcXRaUUtITnhoVkZBOWp1aHd5MnNM
cCt4Q2QybFJ3RTJYNzdZaGlCVXNySXYyYUFsUldmTTFnUTFqUjIzN0o1RnBnaVJkM1owZ1g0UkFvQmp
TYm50cjhwdkZ0eWFjUXVzR2d4NEpTazVOKyJ9; 24/01/2018.
What to Look for in Oil, Gas in 2018

(Qué esperar de la industria de los hidrocarburos en 2018).
by Valerie Jones -- Rigzone Staff -- Tuesday, January 23, 2018

68
Brian Williams of Carl Marks Advisors shares insights on what the industry can expect regarding E&P
investment, M&A deals and trends for 2018.
Ushering in 2018 were some welcome higher oil prices and hopes that early
indicators will signal a recovery on the horizon after three agonizing years of the oil
and gas industry downturn.
In early January, Rigzone spoke with Brian Williams, partner at Carl Marks
Advisors, an investment banking and financial restructuring firm, to acquire insight
on what to expect in terms of investments, deal-making and more. Williams, who
has more than 20 years of experience, which includes oil and gas investment
banking, oilfield services mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructurings and
principal investing, sets the stage for a very interesting year in oil and gas.
Rigzone: What’s the climate now for exploration and production (E&P)
investment?
Williams: It’s dramatically improved just in the last few weeks. At $60 oil, there are
numerous non-core areas of the hot plays that become very economic and you
have a lot of E&P companies that have positions sitting on the sideline waiting for
this event. You’ve seen this play out in oilfield service stock valuations that have
skyrocketed so far in 2018. It’s been a traumatic run-up as essentially investors are
betting that the consensus estimates for oilfield service revenues and profitability in
2018 and 2019 are too low. E&P companies have been benefiting from continued
low oilfield service prices. I think you will start to see some of these operators that
didn’t have the perfect assets in the perfect places picking up rigs and as a result,
prices are going to rise. It’ll be back to that constant tension of E&P companies
trying to push efficiencies and cost-saving through on the back of their service
companies. Opportunities to do that are going to be much less so in the beginning
of 2018. I think that story is going to play out a lot here in the first few quarters of
2018. Who wins the battle? The E&P guys are going to be loathed to give up these
low costs that they’ve essentially been thriving under for the last year. Something’s

69
got to give and they know it. They know that they’ve been beating up the service
companies.
Rigzone: Will the industry see more M&A activity this year?
Williams: With higher commodity price activity, it’s always easier for people to do
deals around optimism rather than pessimism. Given that fact, you’re going to see
a lot of activity where people have been looking to consolidate. In the E&P world,
we’ve seen several deals pop up here lately where we’re going to help people buy
non-core assets from larger E&P companies that might have, for example, had
some acreage in South Texas that they developed in 2012 and 2013. There are
still a lot of drilling prospects on it, but during the course of the downturn, they
refocused their operations in the Permian. These companies are now saying, ‘wait
a minute. I can sell that South Texas acreage. There’s going to be money to buy it
and the wells are going to be much more economic. But it’s not for me. I’ve got all
my people, brainpower and capital focused in another market.’ You’re going to see
a lot of that. People now have a reason to rationally prosecute their core acreage.
We may see some of the larger major oil companies get exposure to the Permian.
There’s only a few that have meaningful plays there. This is much more likely to
occur as the valuations rise and boards of directors think they can do right by their
shareholders by combining or selling out to somebody if the values are available to
them. You’re also going to see a lot of IPO activity, particularly in the oilfield service
market. I think that’s going to lead to more service company M&A.
Rigzone: A recent Rigzone survey found that almost half of respondents globally
expect the upstream sector to have the most growth opportunities this year. What
opportunities do you foresee in upstream?
Williams: There was a real movement and real flurry of midstream activity,
building pipelines connecting Permian oil down to the Gulf Coast and massive
pipelines that are going to be finished soon. We’re doing some work with
companies who have exposure down in the Port of Corpus Christi. We’re seeing
that play out in real time. There’s still opportunities to get crude and liquids out of
the Permian, given all the activity that is there and the abundance of the resource.
But I think it’s more of an upstream story for this year as people respond to the
higher oil price.
Rigzone: What’s your outlook for demand for oil and gas in 2018?
Williams: Everything I see and hear tells me demand is probably much higher than
people have been initially predicting. I think supply is going to be more challenged
than people realize. My intuition is one of the things that OPEC does is whenever
they agree to trim production, what they’re also doing is hiding the fact that they
haven’t been investing in their production in terms of maintaining it or growing it.
It’s almost a way to kind of save face. They don’t want to be viewed as having lost
control of the oil markets when in actuality they’ve been under investing and their
production was going to be lower than they talked about anyway. I think there’s
70
always a bit of that going on and there’s going to be a bit of surprise at the inability
of OPEC to raise production – or some countries within OPEC specifically, like
Venezuela. Demand has a good chance of being better than people expected. I’m
of the view that we’re in for what looks to be a pretty robust oil price … where the
best market in the world to be investing your time into the industry is the United
States right now.
Rigzone: What trends should we look for this year?
Williams: Tensions between E&P companies that have been addicted to lower
service costs and the need for service companies to increase pricing to provide the
equipment and to attract the labor force. I think that leads us to believe for the
service industries, prices do have to rise over the course of 2018.
Referencia: "Rigzone.com", https://www.rigzone.com/news/what_to_look_for_in_oil_gas_in_2018-23-

jan-2018-153237-
23/01/2018.
INTELIGENCIA EN HIDROCARBUROS I
OPEC Drives Oil Prices Back Up (La OPEP llevó nuevamente los precios
hacia arriba). Oil prices have recovered after suffering losses late last week.
Statements emerging from the OPEC meeting in Oman seemed to shore up
confidence in the group’s efforts this year, after a long list of oil analysts raised the
prospect of wavering compliance and cohesion.
Saudi Arabia pushes for OPEC coordination beyond 2018 (Arabia Saudita
empuja la coordinación OPEP actual hasta después del 2018). Saudi oil
minister Khalid al-Falih said over the weekend that the coordination among OPEC
and with Russia and other non-OPEC partners should continue beyond this year.
“We should not limit our efforts to 2018. We need to be talking about a longer
framework for our cooperation,” he said. The comments eased fears of faltering
compliance with the production cuts. But al-Falih said his desire was to solidify
long-term coordination to bolster confidence among the oil industry to invest in new
upstream projects. The comments suggest that OPEC and Russia, at a minimum,
could keep the cuts in place into 2019. “Keeping some level of production cuts into
2019 is the kind of thing that makes sense,” Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy,
told Bloomberg. “Just abandoning the deal at the end of 2018 would put a lot of oil
back on the market.”

71
Bank of America: Peak oil demand 12 years away (Según Bank of
America: el cenit petrolero se alcanzará en 12 años). Adding another voice
to the peak oil debate, Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts that the world will hit
peak oil demand by 2030. At that point, EVs will account for 40 percent of auto
sales. “Electric vehicles will likely start to erode this last major bastion of oil
demand growth in the early 2020s and cause global oil demand to peak by 2030,”
the analysts wrote in an emailed report.
China boosts global gas demand (China levantó la demanda mundial de

gas natural). China’s switch from coal to natural gas is adding a lot of demand to
the global gas market, pushing up LNG prices to three-year highs. China has made
significant headway in shutting down dirty coal plants, but as gas consumption
ramps up, the country has had trouble finding enough gas. As China gobbles up
more LNG cargoes, LNG prices are rising quickly. “We were optimistic on the
opportunity in China, but the magnitude surprised us,” Anatol Feygin, chief
commercial officer at U.S. LNG exporter Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG), told the
Wall Street Journal. LNG prices in Asia rose to $11.70/MMBtu, the highest price
since November 2014.
Russia to invest in Saudi Aramco (Rusia invertirá en Saudi ARAMCO). In a

move to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Saudi Arabia,
Reuters reports that Russian pension funds are planning on investing in Saudi
Aramco when it goes public. That could reinforce efforts for the two top oil
producers to coordinate their oil production efforts for years to come. “Extending
such cooperation for many more years would be very useful for the market. It has
proven its efficiency, when we were targeting balancing supply and demand rather
than targeting a particular oil price,” the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund,
Kirill Dmitriev, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Trump slaps tariffs on solar panels (TRUMP le metió freno al impulse de

energía removable con tarifas altas). The Trump administration moved
forward with tariffs on imported solar panels, dealing a blow to the rapidly growing
renewable energy industry. The duties will reach as high as 30 percent on solar
equipment and will be ratcheted down in the years ahead. The White House also
said that additional tariffs will be forthcoming on steel, aluminum and other
products from China. The solar industry has warned that the decision could drive
up the cost of solar projects, threatening to undermine the sector’s
competitiveness.
East Coast refiner declares bankruptcy (Refinería de la costa Este de

EEUU se declara en quiebra). Philadelphia Energy Solutions, the owner of the
largest refinery on the U.S. East Coast, said on Monday that it would declare
bankruptcy. The company said that its emergence from bankruptcy depends on its
ability to shed liabilities related to its requirement to purchase credits related to the
72
renewable fuels standard. The 335,000-bpd refinery will continue to operate
through bankruptcy.
Investment approvals for new oil projects rising (Las inversions para
nuevos proyectos en petróleo se eleven). Major oil projects that were delayed
when oil prices crashed are starting to receive approvals. Rystad Energy says that
the number of delayed projects that have now received a greenlight doubled in
2017 from the combined number in 2015 and 2016. Those projects span Brazil,
Angola China and elsewhere and are a sign of rising confidence in new upstream
investments.
Hedge fund sees $80 oil; others see falling prices (Fondos de cobertura
ven el petróleo a 80US$/B; otros lo ven caer). BBL Commodities LP, one of
the world’s largest oil-focused hedge funds, predicts oil prices will rise to $80 per
barrel this year on the back of falling inventories. "We think the market is vastly
overestimating the near term inventory buffer," Jonathan Goldberg, the founder of
BBL Commodities, told Bloomberg. "Given the rise in demand over the past five
years, inventories are especially low as a measure of forward cover." On the other
hand, Barclays says the current focus on falling inventories is myopic. “The market
is dangerously focused on newly published backwards-looking data and, in our
view, is not paying attention to the stockbuilds that are likely to emerge later this
year and in 2019.” The investment bank says oil prices are probably at their high
point for the year, and the bank predicts Brent will average just $60 per barrel in
2018.
Libya restores 55,000 bpd in output (Libia restauró 55 MBD de

producción petrolera). Production at Libya’s As-Sarah field resumed on
Sunday, expecting to add about 55,000 bpd of capacity.
Halliburton voices optimism about oil market (Halliburton resuma

optimism sobre el Mercado petrolero). Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) reported
earnings of 53 cents per share in the fourth quarter, up sharply from 4 cents from a
year earlier. The better-than-expected performance came as North American
drilling activity picked up, boosting both demand for its services and its pricing. Jeff
Miller, the company’s new CEO, said the fourth quarter was “excellent,” and that
2017 was “a dynamic year for the oil and gas sector that marked another step on
the road to recovery for our industry.” He also said that he was “optimistic about
what I see in 2018.”
Referencia: OilPrice Intel <admin@oilprice.com> ; OilPrice Intelligence Report: OPEC Drives Oil Prices
Back Up; 23/01/2018.

73
Comité Opep+ reafirmó voluntad de
estabilizar el mercado petrolero
El Comité de Monitoreo Ministerial que vigila el acuerdo de recorte petrolero

(Opep+) constató este domingo en Muscat, Omán, un nivel de cumplimiento de
107% del pacto en 2017 y reafirmó el compromiso de trabajar por estabilizar el
mercado petrolero.
En un comunicado oficial, el comité integrado por Venezuela, Rusia, Kuwait, Omán

y Argelia, expresó su satisfacción con los resultados generales del convenio e
instó a los firmantes a intensificar sus esfuerzos colectivos e individuales para
estabilizar el precio del crudo.
El ministro de Petróleo venezolano, Manuel Quevedo, enfatizó que el comité

reconoció el éxito conjunto de los países productores, consumidores y de la
economía global.
“Se reafirma el compromiso para rebalancear el mercado mundial petrolero para

beneficio de la economía global. Los excelentes resultados del año 2017
prepararon el camino para el futuro exitoso en el año 2018”, indicó en Twitter.
En el texto, el comité informó que el año pasado los recortes de suministro se

cumplieron en 107%, mientras que en diciembre la ejecución alcanzó el 129%, el
más alto desde su implementación.
“Los niveles de conformidad han aumentado mensualmente, del 87% en enero al

nivel actual sobresaliente. Una vez más, la determinación inquebrantable de los
países participantes de reequilibrar el mercado ha quedado ampliamente
demostrada”, afirmó la instancia.

74
El comité se comprometió a esforzarse por “mantener o superar la plena
conformidad de todos los países participantes durante 2018”, y observó con
satisfacción que “el mercado había respondido positivamente a las acciones
concertadas”.
“Este rendimiento estelar de los países participantes en 2017 inicia el nuevo año
con una base extremadamente positiva, preparando el camino para nuevos éxitos
en 2018”, añadió.
La próxima reunión del Comité OPEP+, en Arabia Saudí, está programada para
abril de 2018.
El acuerdo de recorte fue suscrito por la Organización de Países Exportadores de

Petróleo (Opep) y 11 productores externos a finales de 2016, y fija una reducción
de un millón 758.000 barriles diarios.
Aunque vencía a mediados de 2017, los firmantes han ido prolongando el pacto y
se acordó a finales de noviembre del año pasado extenderlo por todo 2018.
Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/comite-

monitoreo-acuerdo-recorte-petroleo-estabilizacion-mercado-convenio-precio-
compromiso/#.WnTVMHrj90I; 23/01/2018.
El material contenido en este ALERTA fue recopilado, analizado

y preparado por Daniel E. Páez.
Si desea recibir copia del mismo, envíe correo a:
paezd@pdvsa.com, 0212-3306240

75

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TUBAZO- ¿Qué esperar de la industria petrolera en 2018?

15 DE ENERO 2018, N° ÚNICO

1. Gira de Tillerson augura peligros para la paz de América Latina 02

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

En la primera semana de Febrero, el secretario del Departamento de Estado

Luego de una breve escala en la Universidad de Texas en Austin, donde disertará

A partir del 3 de Febrero, el turno será de Argentina. Tillerson viajará primero a

Acto seguido, el secretario viajará a Lima, para encontrarse con el presidente

El día 6 Tillerson visitará Colombia. En la reunión con Juan Manuel Santos y su

Por último, Tillerson se encontrará con el primer ministro jamaiquino Andrew

Nada bueno augura esta gira para la región

A la luz del anuncio de la realización de elecciones presidenciales en Venezuela

Un propósito similar tuvo el recorrido que emprendió el vicepresidente Mike Pence

Por lo demás, el viaje de Tillerson apunta a dar continuidad a la estrategia de

Esta es la primera vez que el secretario de Estado recorre la región y obedece

Asimismo la inminente concreción del Tratado Transpacífico entre once naciones

El comunicado emitido por el Departamento de Estado informando sobre la gira

Más allá de códigos formales, “seguridad” implica venta de armas y tecnología de

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Alarmante, más allá de los aspectos de retórica diplomática y propaganda, es la

En un momento de recrudecimiento de los asesinatos a líderes campesinos y

Del mismo modo debe interpretarse el aspecto de “seguridad energética”. Es

Es difícil creer con seriedad que el ex ejecutivo de Exxon, ahora canciller de un

Otro escenario a tener en cuenta es la Cumbre de las Américas de la OEA

Radioactivity From Oil And Gas Wastewater

The contamination is coming from the disposal of conventional, or non-fracked, oil

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

In 2011, in response to growing public concern about the possible environmental

Referencia: " Oil and Gas Online Newsletter" <info@news.oilandgasonline.com>";

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

El Fiscal General de la República, Tarek William Saab, informó sobre la solicitud

El delito ocurre debido al maquillaje de las cifras de producción de crudo,

“Se trata de gerentes que buscaron desfalcar internacionalmente a la industria

Agregó que por este hecho se solicitaron órdenes de allanamiento de las

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Informó también sobre la designación irregular del Gerente General

Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/fiscal-

Conozca el prontuario del hombre que

Mike Pompeo, director de la CIA ha sido el hombre que recomendó a Trump

Su prontuario pasa desde tener una contratista para el negocio de la guerra,

Este nefasto personaje admite abiertamente trabajar desde Colombia y México

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

— Misión Verdad (@Mision_Verdad) 30 de enero de 2018

Referencia: Boletin PSUV <boletin@psuv.org.ve>; http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/mike-

Shell Sweeps Nine Of 19 Blocks Awarded In

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Qatar Petroleum participated in winning consortia in five blocks.

Ten blocks received no bids, so were not awarded.

Oil Price Helps

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Official: Lack of Industry Knowledge

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Shari Dunn-Norman, associate professor in the petroleum engineering department

Each phase of the hydraulic fracturing water lifecycle was examined—water

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

Caving to External Pressure

Dunn-Norman said the public and certain nongovernmental organizations “went

Referencia: “ Journal of Petroleum Technology <no-reply@specommunications.org>

ALERTAS ENERGÉTICOS Y GEOPOLÍTICOS 2018

In addition to energy security, the diplomats pledged to boost military cooperation.

Referencia: "PennEnergy Petroleum", <news@pedb-media.com>;