Release date: April 15, 2015  |  Next release date: April 22, 2015 According to annual reports for 75 global oil and natural gas companies, oil proved reserve additions totaled 10.4 billion barrels in 2014, the lowest since 2010 (Figure 1). Reported finding and lifting costs for these companies continued to rise. Benchmark prices averaged across the first trading day of the 12 months of 2014, which are used in characterizing existing economic conditions in the oil market for purposes of reporting proved reserves, were only slightly below their 2013 level despite the sharp decline in oil prices towards the end of last year. For 2015, the prices used for assessing proved reserves are forecast to be much lower. Oil and natural gas companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges are required to report their proved reserves every year to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Proved reserves are defined as estimated quantities of oil and...

Release date: April 29, 2015  |  Next release date: May 6, 2015 A review of the cash flow statements for 75 global oil and natural gas companies finds that annual cash flow in 2014 was similar to 2013 and 2012, which is not unexpected given that North Sea Brent crude oil prices in 2014 averaged close to their levels in 2012 and 2013 despite a sharp decline in the last quarter. Combined cash from operations for this group of companies totaled $456 billion and capital expenditures totaled $449 billion (Figure 1). Capital expenditures for the full year decreased compared with 2013, driven by large cuts in planned investment spending in the fourth quarter. Low first-quarter 2015 crude oil prices suggest first-quarter results, which will be released over the next month, will likely show steep declines in cash flow and investment spending for this group of companies. The companies in this set focus mainly on...

Release date: April 22, 2015  |  Next release date: April 29, 2015 In the April Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), EIA estimates that total crude oil production from the seven U.S. regions analyzed, which together accounted for about 95% of domestic crude oil production growth during 2011-13, will fall by 57,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in May. This is the first time the DPR has indicated a decline in expected production levels since the report was first issued in October 2013. When crude oil prices began to fall sharply in mid-2014 as the global balance between oil supply and demand loosened, there was much discussion about how the market might respond. U.S. tight oil production, in part because of shorter development lead times and steep decline rates, was widely viewed as more likely than other production streams to be curtailed in response to lower crude prices. However, the timing and location of such reductions was uncertain....

Recent and projected increases in U.S. crude oil production have sparked discussion about how current limitations on crude exports affect prices, including world and domestic crude oil and petroleum product prices, and the level of domestic crude production and refining activity. ... Original link

This week, EIA launched a redesigned International Energy Portal that will provide new and expanded tools and capabilities to examine trends in global energy markets. The International Energy Portal consists of several components: an overview page highlighting key global energy statistics; a data browser that allows interactive access to the full range of EIA's international data in both graphical and table form; an analysis section that links to EIA reports on countries, regions, and special topics; and an application programming interface (API) for users to retrieve international data as it is updated. ... Original link

In the May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released on May 12, EIA raised its 2015 price forecast for North Sea Brent crude oil to an annual average of $61/barrel (b), $1/b higher than in the April STEO. At the same time, EIA lowered its 2016 forecast of Brent prices to $70/b, $5/b lower than in the April STEO. ... Original link

This Week in Petroleum has previously examined crude oil supply patterns on the West Coast, noting the increase in unaccounted-for supply, and then linking the increase to movements of crude by railroad. EIA’s recently launched crude-by-rail data enable a more detailed analysis of emerging crude oil supply patterns on the West Coast. The data indicate that most crude-by-rail deliveries into PADD 5 are destined for refineries in Washington state, and that despite recent delays in crude-by-rail projects in California, refineries in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas are not entirely without access to domestic crude oil from other regions. ... Original link

U.S. oil production has grown rapidly in recent years. EIA data, which reflect combined production of crude oil and lease condensate, show a rise from 5.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2011 to 7.5 million b/d in 2013, and a record 1.2 million b/d increase to 8.7 million b/d in 2014. Increasing production of light crude oil in low-permeability or tight resource formations in regions like the Bakken, Permian Basin, and Eagle Ford (often referred to as light tight oil) account for nearly all the net growth in U.S. crude oil production. Roughly 90% of the nearly 3.0 million b/d growth in production between 2011 and 2014 consists of sweet grades with an API gravity of 40 or above. ... Original link

U.S. operable atmospheric crude distillation (CDU) capacity increased by 0.2% in 2014, reaching 18.0 million barrels per calendar day (b/d) according to EIA’s recently released annual Refinery Capacity Report (Figure 1). This was the second consecutive year of modest capacity growth following the 2.9% increase in 2012 that resulted from the restart of East Coast refineries that had closed in 2011. The capacities of secondary units that support heavy crude processing and production of ultra-low sulfur diesel and gasoline, including thermal cracking (coking), catalytic hydrocracking, and hydrotreating/desulfurization, also increased. ... Original link

Due to the EIA conference this week, there is no feature article for This Week in Petroleum today. The conference presentations are now available. ... Original link