US crude, NGL production broke records in November. US crude oil and natural gas liquids production broke records in November and the first 11 months of this year, the US Energy Information Administration reported. November’s total US crude production averaged nearly 11.7 million b/d, 15.7% higher than a year earlier, as NGL production for the month climbed 11.2% to an average of almost 4.6 million b/d during the same period, EIA said.
Oil price drop partially erases previous gains. Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled down by more than $1.60/bbl on the New York market Dec. 27 while Brent crude for February dropped more than $2/bbl in London.
Analysts attributed volatile oil prices to uncertainty about the world economic outlook amid thin holiday trading volumes.
Tethys gains interest in Mukhaizna oil field onshore Oman. Tethys Oil AB will gain a minority interest in Mukhaizna oil field through an agreement to acquire a 2% participating interest in Block 53 onshore Oman from Total E&P Oman for $32 million.
Kosmos, partners reach Tortue offshore gas field FID. Kosmos Energy and its partners have made a final investment decision to proceed with Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim natural gas project offshore Mauritania and Senegal. The project will produce gas from a deepwater subsea system and mid-water floating production, storage, and offloading vessel to a 2.5-million tonne/year (tpy) floating LNG unit at a nearshore hub on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border. Kosmos estimates total recoverable gas in the field at around 15 tcf.
New Mackinac Straits authority approves agreement to replace pipeline. The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority (MSCA), which outgoing Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) established a week earlier, approved an agreement with Enbridge Energy LP on Dec. 19 to build a multi-use utility tunnel which will include a new crude oil and products pipeline beneath the waters of the straits between Lakes Michigan and Huron.
