Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 47 2022
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NorthAmOil                                       POLICY                                          NorthAmOil


       BLM announces lease sale in Nevada, Utah





        NEVADA, UTAH     THE US Bureau of Land Management (BLM)  rates were originally set in 1987.
                         has announced the lease sale of nearly 100,000   Additionally, the BLM has issued policy guid-
                         of acres (405 square km) in Nevada and Utah.  ance to implement the oil and gas leasing provi-
                           The 35 parcels in Nevada total almost 63,604  sions in the IRA and provided updated direction
                         acres (257 square km) and the 18 parcels in Utah  on other programme components.
                         cover almost 31,808 acres (129 square km).  According to the American Petroleum Insti-
                           The BLM is initiating a scoping period to  tute (API), oil production from US federal land
                         receive public input.                and waters provides around 24% of the country’s
                           Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be  oil production. Additionally, natural gas produc-
                         $10 per acre ($2,500 per square km), an increase  tion from federal land and waters accounts for
                         from the $2 per acre ($500 per square km) mini-  roughly 11% of total US gas production.
                         mum bid set in 1987.                   In April, the administration of US President
                           Royalty rates will be 16.67%, up from the pre-  Joe Biden said that it would re-start auctioning
                         vious minimum of 12.5%.              leases to drill for oil and gas on federal land start-
                           Rental rates will be $3 per acre ($750 per  ing next week, but with less acreage auctioned
                         square km) for the first two years, $5 per acre  and higher royalty rates. Biden had issued a mor-
                         ($1,250 per acre) for years 3-8, and $15 per  atorium on oil and gas drilling on federal land
                         acre ($3,750 per square km) in the ninth and  shortly after he came into office. However, his
                         tenth years. Prior to the Inflation Reduction  administration has since moved back towards
                         Act (IRA), rental rates were $1.50 per acre  allowing on federal acreage, in part as a result of
                         ($375 per square km) for the first five years  legal action by states and groups opposed to new
                         and $2 per acre for each year thereafter. Those  restrictions on federal drilling.™


                                             PROJECTS & COMPANIES

       CNOOC seeks buyers for US oil assets





        TEXAS            CNOOC has alerted buyers it is interested in
                         divesting its US oilfields, sources told Reuters
                         last week, as the Chinese national oil company
                         (NOC) looks to pull back from the West amid
                         sanctions fears and focus more on domestic
                         investment.
                           Reports first emerged that CNOOC was
                         eyeing an exit from the UK, Canada and the
                         US in April, because of concerns that the West
                         could slap sanctions on those assets in response
                         to Beijing’s refusal to condemn Russia’s war in
                         Ukraine. At the same time, the Chinese govern-
                         ment is ramping up efforts to improve the coun-
                         try’s energy security, issuing quotas to CNOOC
                         and others to step up production, including by  has an interest in oil and gas operations con-
                         spending on new, more expensive and hard-to-  trolled by US player Chesapeake Energy, Ches-
                         recover resources to offset decline at more con-  apeake has put its own stakes in the fields up for
                         ventional reservoirs.                sale, but Reuters reported that this was not antic-
                           According to Reuters, CNOOC has hired  ipated to affect CNOOC’s plans.
                         JPMorgan to advise it on a potential withdrawal   CNOOC is also in talks with UK energy
                         from the US shale gas sector, with the sale report-  group Harbour Energy on the sale of its Gulf of
                         edly anticipated to raise about $2bn. There is no  Mexico operations.
                         guarantee of a deal, the news agency said, not-  Meanwhile, the Norwegian press reported
                         ing that CNOOC could decide to keep hold of  in October that CNOOC was mulling the
                         the assets if it did not receive suitable offers or if  sale of UK oil assets to Norway’s Equinor
                         political circumstances changed quickly.  for an expected NOK20-30bn ($1.9-2.9bn),
                           In the US, CNOOC has stakes in projects in  although neither company has confirmed
                         the onshore Eagle Ford and Rockies shale regions,  this. CNOOC holds interests in a number of
                         as well as interests in two large offshore deposits,  UK North Sea fields, including Buzzard, one
                         Appomattox and Stampede, in the Gulf of Mexico.  of the largest in the region, as well as Golden
                         In the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas, CNOOC  Eagle, Scott and Telford.™



       Week 47   24•November•2022               www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P9
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