[peeker01]

Pops-Hugo Chavez just got out of the hospital. I bet he'd discuss that with you.

[Pops]

Pops-Hugo Chavez just got out of the hospital. I bet he'd discuss that with you.

Actually that is a perfect example, though as usual it argues the opposite conclusion from the one I think you intend.

Venezuela nationalized their oil in the '70s, opened it up in the '90s and then Chavez nationalized it again. After sucking down all the profits without reinvestment they had to again bring back the multinationals a couple years ago and also China for capital to develop the sorta-oil they've found.

"Chávez is celebrating the demise of capitalism as this international crisis unfolds," Pedro Mario Burelli, a former board member of PDVSA, told the International Herald Tribune. "But the irony is that capitalism actually fed his system in times of plenty."

Peeker, it surprises me that people here accuse you of being a paid shill, if you, are it would have to be by the owners of PO.com to serve up slow pitches.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/004e75d6 ... z1T92sg5NT

[peeker01]

What's American and European strategy? Other than chasing around Libya playing whack-a-mole?

Free TRADE! Less regulation! Drill Baby!

I wish someone would argue with me that while capitalism is the best system for exploiting expanding resources it ain't so great for peaking/dwindling resources.

I gave you the perfect opportunity to bash capitalism and you defaulted right to ad hom. Keep
your eye on the ball Pops.

[seahorse3]

According to this report, Iran is suffering from pretty big decline rates caused by lack of investment.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/08/24/Irans-drive-to-halt-oil-decline-falters/UPI-27401314208450/

I have some questions that hopefully Rockdoc and Sparky will answer:

1. The article attributes lack of investment as to the decline rates. It says Western companies are prohibited by sanctions from investing. However, do other countries like China and Russia have the expertise to stem the decline rates? I know China has the money, but don't they have the expertise to get in their and do something?

2. It says Iran is using "older methods" like NG injection to keep the flow rates going. Is there any risk of permanently damaging fields this way?

[rockdoc123]

The article attributes lack of investment as to the decline rates. It says Western companies are prohibited by sanctions from investing. However, do other countries like China and Russia have the expertise to stem the decline rates? I know China has the money, but don't they have the expertise to get in their and do something?

By Western companies being banned they are referring to ILSA or the Iran Libya Sanctions Act. It no longer applies to Libya but still does to Iran. It prohibits companies from investing in the oil and gas business…specifically US companies but the US State Dept argues they can enforce sanctions against other companies who aren’t US based. Most international law firms argue the US has no extra-territorial jurisdiction and the US has never tried to follow-up on their threat. Hence there has been German, Norweigian, British, French and Chinese companies involved in E&P ventures in Libya. The problem is that the type of contracts offered by the NIOC are not the sort that allow for technology transfer, essentially the foreign companies explore and develop and recover costs and are paid a fixed % ROR (usually 20%). So the NIOC is left there not having the new set of skills they need. Basically there has been little technology transfer.

It says Iran is using "older methods" like NG injection to keep the flow rates going. Is there any risk of permanently damaging fields this way?

Almost certainly not as the reason for gas injection is simply to maintain pressure in the reservoirs. Many of the large fields in Iran have saturated oils (high gas content) and as the oil is produced gas expands from the system. As long as the gas is reinjected it maintains pressure in the reservoir and recovery factor remains reasonably high. But in Iran, as was the case pretty much everywhere in the world at that time, the gas produced was flared and hence the oil in the reservoir lost the energy necessary for higher recovery. Injecting gas helps simply by refilling the gas cap and re-pressurizing the remaining oil.

[babystrangeloop]

This is news to me. I'll be exploring it more when I have the time.

Iran urges China to finish South Pars phase 11
PressTV / September 20, 2011

The issue was raised in a meeting between Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Qale'bani and top managers of the Chinese company in Tehran on Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported.

Stating that currently, the development plans of the South Pars' phases are underway in the form of 35-month contracts, Qasemi said, “CNPC lags behind the schedule to develop phase 11 of the shared South Pars (gas field).” ...

... The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 24 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources. ...

To Interfere, or Not to Interfere?
By Isabella Mroczkowski / The Diplomat (blogs) / September 22, 2011

... Recent reports reveal that Chinese State Owned Enterprises have put the brakes on oil and gas investment in Iran. CNPC, China’s largest state oil and gas group has delayed drilling exploration wells on the South Pars natural gas field, the country’s most significant energy development project. Sinopec Group, China’s second largest oil and gas firm, delayed the start date of the $2 billion Yadavaran oil development project and CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) pulled its team from the North Pars gas venture. ...

... A US National Academy of Sciences study estimates that Iranian oil exports could drop to zero by 2015. With South Korea and Japan having abandoned Iran, China could be the last straw for Iran’s strategic oil sector. ...

China curbs Iran energy work under shadow of U.S. sanctions
By Chen Aizhu and Chris Buckley / Reuters / September 2, 2011

(Reuters) - China has put the brakes on oil and gas investments in Iran, drawing ire from Tehran over a pullback that officials and executives said reflected Beijing's efforts to appease Washington and avoid U.S. sanctions on its big energy firms.

... The slowing of China's energy investments in Iran was prompted, at least partly, by Beijing's efforts since late 2010 to ease tension with the Obama administration and cut the risk of Chinese oil firms being hit by U.S. sanctions that Congress has vigorously backed, said officials. ...

... "The Chinese are quietly taking credit with U.S. officials for being cooperative" on Iran, a senior U.S. Congressional aide who closely follows U.S.-China relations told Reuters.

"I really date it back to mid-to-late 2010, when they began to signal to us very clearly: 'We can't say it publicly, but you will notice that we're not proceeding with these new contracts,'" said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of diplomacy with China. ...

US report shows Iran's oil drops to zero by 2015? China not proceeding with with contracts? What if sanctions against Iran were merely being used as a smokescreen for Iranian oil being in decline and therefore contracts with them being foolish to pursue?

Craters On the Oil Supply Road
Kelvin Throop III / OilVoice / September 26, 2011

... And somewhat against expectations, Iran and its NIOC can point to the fact that crude production has reached 4.2m barrels per day, way down from the 6m barrels per day peak of 1974 but the highest level since the 1979 revolution. ...

[babystrangeloop]

Explosion on Iranian oil rig kills 1, injures 3
By NASSER KARIMI / Bloomberg / October 28, 2011

An explosion on Friday killed one worker and injured three other on a decades old land-based oil rig, semiofficial Mehr news agency reported. ...

... Increasing incidents of explosions have hit Iran's oil and gas sector recently, but authorities rarely provide explanations for them.

The [Mehr] news agency said another fire Friday at Iran's Arak refinery some 180 miles (300 kilometers) southwest of Tehran set off an explosion. There were no reports of casualties. ...

... Most of Iran's pipelines are decades old and suffer from lack of maintenance and frequent technical failures. Also, there have been occasional cases of sabotage, mostly in northwest Iran, near the Turkish border. ...

... In August, an explosion hit an oil pipeline in Iran's oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, a week after an explosion struck a major pipeline carrying gas to Turkey. ...

... In April, three explosions hit gas pipelines near the holy city of Qom in central Iran, briefly cutting the flow from Iran's gas refineries in the south to the country's northwest. ...

[Keith_McClary]

U.S. Joins EU Pressing to Cut Iran Oil Sales Over Nuclear Effort

The Obama administration and European governments are seeking help from Arab and Asian allies to reduce Iran’s oil revenues in the dispute over its nuclear program, while trying to avoid causing a surge in prices that may threaten the global economic recovery
...
The Obama administration sent high-ranking officials to Saudi Arabia and Israel in the last few days to discuss targeting Iran’s energy exports,
...
The U.S. is also urging Japan, the No. 2 buyer of Iran’s oil, to reduce its reliance on imports from the country and discourage refiners from buying the crude by imposing tariffs
...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba in Washington on Dec. 19 and “discussed new sources of oil that are coming online -- Iraq, Libya, etcetera"

The real reasons for attacking Iraq and Libya?

[Cloud9]

A cornered rat may gnaw off its own leg if it thinks it will help it escape.

[dissident]

A cornered rat may gnaw off its own leg if it thinks it will help it escape.

Would that be Hillary?

Iran is not cornered as long as Russia and China are behind it. Every time Hillary opens her trap to spew bile at Russia (such as her inane comments about the Duma election in Russia) she makes more and more sure that there will be no cooperation. Libya and Iraq were considered expendable but Iran is a different story.

[MD]

Iranians with a long view would welcome such an embargo.

[Stuck]

OMG! Do they really think they can put an absolute oil embargo on Iran? I doubt it, Japan is already rejected to participate – tehrantimes.com/economy-and-busniess/93719-japan-not-to-stop-importing-iran-oil – and I think more countries will follow its example. US aspiration for cutting Iran’s oil revenues will probably collapse European economies because only Europe blindly follows every US decision on Iran and ready to sacrifice profitable contracts just to please US. Instead of stopping oil import from Iran Europe should take example of Japan which can assert its rights no matter what Obama’s administration think. Why Europe so lame and voluntary corners itself? Can’t understand...
P.S. IAEA inspections never reported any specific evidences that Iran’s nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production. So there is no need in oil embargo on Iran, but US rejects to recognize the nude facts and forces Europe to follow the wrong path.

[KingM]

Stuck - Please return to the forum after you have learned English. Thank you.

[Keith_McClary]

Stuck - Please return to the forum after you have learned English. Thank you.

MODERATORS:
Do you want an Anglo-American only site?

[dissident]

Stuck - Please return to the forum after you have learned English. Thank you.

His English is better than a lot of native speakers I have encountered. This is not some grammar fag site.

[radon]

“The ultimate goal is not to take every barrel of Iranian oil off the market but to significantly decrease the revenue Iran receives for its oil sales,” said Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, who has been advising Congress and the administration on targeting Iranian energy revenues.

So they would kindly allow Iran to export its oil for free. How merciful of them.

[eXpat]

Iran’s navy begins drill in international waters, close to U.S. vessels

TEHRAN, Iran • Iran’s navy began a 10-day drill Saturday in international waters near the strategic oil route that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The exercises, dubbed "Velayat 90," could bring Iranian ships into proximity with U.S. Navy vessels in the area.

The war games cover a 1,250-mile (2,000-kilometer) stretch of sea off the Strait of Hormuz, northern parts of the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Aden, near the entrance to the Red Sea, state TV reported.

The drill will be Iran’s latest show of strength in the face of mounting international criticism over its controversial nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Tehran denies those charges, insisting the program is for peaceful purposes only.

Navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari said Iran is holding the drill to show off its prowess and defense capabilities.

"To show off its might, the navy needs to be present in international waters. It’s necessary to demonstrate the navy’s defense capabilities," state TV quoted Sayyari as saying.

The Strait of Hormuz is of strategic significance as the passageway for about a third of the world’s oil tanker traffic. Beyond it lie vast bodies of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet is also active in the area, as are warships of several other countries that patrol for pirates there.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53180530-68/iran-navy-sea-strait.html.csp

[M_B_S]

http://debka.com/article/21673/

India is the first buyer of Iranian oil to agree to pay for its purchases in gold instead of the US dollar, debkafile's intelligence and Iranian sources report exclusively. Those sources expect China to follow suit. India and China take about one million barrels per day, or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd. Both are superpowers in terms of gold assets.

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Po ... bargo.html


***********************

This is the news of the day!

No more printed paper money for iranian oil!

The nuclear powers India and China will jumb in and fill their oil tanks with european oil exports.
They will pay with gold instaed of worthless US or EU paper money....

I predict that Pakistan offers Iran a similar deal maybe a uranium bomb for iranian oil and gas!

M_B_S

[dolanbaker]

It's silly to boycott a resource that you depend on, especially if there are others who will snap up your share of it and most likely pay better for it as well. Plus the fact that once they have signed long term contracts for it you'll never to be able to buy back into it in the future.

Chances are, that oil will be lost to the west indefinitely! (barring military action of course)

[dolanbaker]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16701013
An escalation of a dispute with Iran could see Britain sending military reinforcements to the Gulf, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

Sending HMS Argyll as part of an international warship flotilla through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday was a "clear signal" to Tehran, he said.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in retaliation for sanctions against its oil exports.

Looks like it's going that way.