[dorlomin]

Reports are now that about 8% of UK energy workers (4000 people) have walked out.

[dorlomin]

These strikes seem to be approaching resolution....

[Graeme]

Total CEO Talks on Peak Oil, the Future of the Oil Industry

Cristophe de Margerie, the CEO of French oil giant Total, is not one to bite his tongue—in September he said that oil should be priced below $60 a barrel. In an interview with the European Energy Review published on Wednesday, de Margerie weighed in on the future of hydrocarbon, peak oil, and working with oil-producing nations.

Where many experts claim that we are running out of oil, de Margerie says that’s not true. Instead, he says, we’re running out of the capacity to produce oil. There are plenty of areas with untapped oil reserves—Venezuela, Canada, Brazil, the Gulf of Guinea, and even the Middle East come to mind. He estimated that, within a few years, the world will need to produce over 100 million barrels a day to meet its energy needs; right now, about 84 million are generated. But unless there are investments in the aforementioned places, these reserves won’t be tapped in time to meet the growing demand, and, in his words, “without energy, there will be no growth.”

heatingoil

[frankthetank]

Ummm... Let me think here. There is a lot of oil left in the ground...sure...we could try to pump it all out at ONCE, but at a huge cost... I'm sure its physically possible to pump 100+ million a day if you put enough holes in the ground and dig up enough tar in Venezuela and Canada...and build enough platforms for Brazil.

[ian807]

I read this guy's article. Unfortunately, he comes across like a shallow buffoon. No quantitative thinking. No concept of EROEI. He just pontificates about the quantity of oil, which I guess he assumes will all magically contain big singular reservoirs of energy positive pay zones.

In short, he comes across as the ultimate pointy haired boss that can't be bothered with the details in an industry that's all about details.

[Ludi]

Well that's weird. Aaron said he's talked to the Total people and they are aware of peak oil.

What's the real scoop, Aaron?

[Tanada]

Paris – Total and Petrobras signed today an Assets Package Agreement in the framework of their Strategic Alliance announced in October 2016. This agreement reinforces the joint partnership and cooperation between the two companies, in the Upstream and Downstream sectors, covering operations, research and technology.

In the Upstream, the technical cooperation will be strongly reinforced between the two companies including joint assessment of the exploration potential in key prospective areas in Brazil and the development of new technologies.

Total will also become partner to Petrobras in two high-quality pre-salt licenses of the prolific Santos basin: the BMS-11 with the “Iara” fields currently under development where Total will acquire a 22.5% interest from Petrobras, and in the BMS-9 with the Lapa field which just entered into production and where Total will become the Operator of the license with the acquisition of a 35% interest from Petrobras. The two companies will combine their internationally recognized expertise in deep-water to jointly develop solutions for long subsea tie-backs, reservoirs with high CO2 content and digital geosciences data management. Total will also offer to Petrobras the option of taking a 20% stake in the Perdido Belt deepwater exploration Block 2 recently awarded in Mexico.

In the Downstream, Total will bring to Petrobras its worldwide experience by entering the integrated gas and power market in Brazil. Total will acquire from Petrobras some regasification capacity in the Bahia LNG terminal and a 50% interest in two co-generation plants located in the Bahia area as well as pipeline transport capacity, enabling Total to supply gas to the two co-generation plants.

Following today’s signature, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO, said: “I am delighted today to see the concretization of our Strategic Alliance with Petrobras. These agreements will reinforce Total’s position in Brazil through access to outstanding pre-salt resources while entering the promising gas value chain. I’m confident that both companies will be able to create significant value by sharing their technical expertise, leveraging operational excellence and further reducing costs.”

Under the terms of this assets package deal, the acquisition of the Upstream and Downstream interests in Brazil from Petrobras will represent a global value of around 2.2 billion dollars, made of cash, carry and contingent payments. It is subject to the final execution of the Sale and Purchase agreements, to the relevant regulatory approvals and to partners’ preemption rights only on the Iara transaction.

Total and Petrobras:

Currently, Petrobras and Total jointly participate in 19 consortiums worldwide in Exploration and Production. In Brazil, the companies are partners in the development of the giant Libra field which is the first Production Sharing Contract in the Brazilian pre-salt Santos basin. Outside Brazil, Petrobras and Total are partners on the Chinook field in the US Gulf of Mexico, on the deep-water Akpo field in Nigeria and on the gas fields of San Alberto and San Antonio/Itau in Bolivia, as well as in the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline.

* * * * *

Total in Brazil:

Total has been present in Brazil for over 40 years (since 1975), employs more than 2,500 people and operates through five affiliates in the Exploration & Production; Gas; Lubricants; Chemicals and Renewable Energies (solar and biomass) segments. In 2013, the company increased its presence in the country by acquiring 11 new exploration areas, including the Libra field, and currently has a large E&P portfolio comprised of 17 offshore blocks. Through this large and integrated portfolio, Total reaffirms its long-term commitment with the country and Brazil’s key-role for the company’s global growth strategy.

http://www.total.com/en/media/news/pres ... -agreement