Energy Companies May Be On Cusp Of Uncorking Next Massive Oil, Gas Boon

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

These companies, all run by smart business people, continue to invest many billions of capital dollars in these risky, long-term projects even as “experts” like the bureaucrats at the International Energy Agency (IEA) continue to predict demand for crude oil is about to peak in the next few years.

Constantly advancing technology has always been the driver behind the advance of the oil-and-gas industry since the first successful U.S. well was drilled by Edwin Drake near Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. The Drake well was drilled to a then unheard-of depth of 69 feet using the most primitive equipment imaginable.

This week, 165 years later, U.S. oil giant Chevron announced it had achieved first production in its Anchor field in the Gulf of Mexico. At its shallow depth, underground pressure in the Drake well would have been negligible, just enough to force the oil up out of the ground. The Anchor semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) that was started up by Chevron this week enables the capture of massive volumes of oil and natural gas from underground formations up to 34,000 feet below sea level at pressures up to 20,000 pounds per square inch.

“The Anchor project represents a breakthrough for the energy industry,” said Nigel Hearne, executive vice president, Chevron Oil, Products & Gas. “Application of this industry-first deepwater technology allows us to unlock previously difficult-to-access resources and will enable similar deepwater high-pressure developments for the industry.”

Chevron says seven deepwater wells will be tied into the Anchor FPU, which has the capacity to capture, process and transport as much as 75,000 barrels of oil and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas every day. The company estimates reserves in the field of 440 million barrels of oil equivalent with current technology. But, again, the technology deployed by the industry advances every day, meaning a far bigger amount of oil and gas will ultimately be recovered over the coming years.

Other major oil companies, like BP, are also beginning to deploy similar high-pressure technology that they and analysts believe will help them tap into billions of new barrels known to exist in deep, high-pressure formations in various parts of the world. Globally, BP says it believes deployment of advanced technology could help it access up to 10 billion barrels of known high pressure reserves.

Reuters quotes Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Mfon Usoro as saying the new high pressure technologies could enable companies like BP and Chevron to unlock as much as 2 billion barrels of known reserves in the Gulf of Mexico alone. “The industry has done their bit to safely deliver the barrels, with the new technology,” she said, adding: “These ultra-high-pressure fields are going to be a big driver for production growth in the Gulf of Mexico.”

On the same day Chevron made its announcement, Chinese national oil company CNOOC announced the completion of what it believes is the largest offshore platform on Earth, the Marjan facility. The giant platform, which serves similar functionality as the Anchor FPO, will now be shipped 6,400 nautical miles to the Persian Gulf, where it will facilitate the full development of Saudi Arabia’s deepwater Marjan Field.

It is important to keep in mind that the mounting of these massive offshore facilities and drilling of the deepwater wells are all long-term, multi-billion-dollar projects. These are facilities designed to handle the production from these deepwater fields for decades, not just a few years until the vaunted energy transition takes away all the demand for the commodities being produced.

In addition to the projects in the Gulf of Mexico and Persian Gulf, all the companies mentioned here are involved in aggressive efforts to discover and produce oil and gas in deepwater regions around the world. CNOOC, for example, is a 20% owner in the prolific Stabroek block development offshore of Guyana operated by ExxonMobil. Chevron stands to become a 30% owner in that same development via its proposed buyout of Houston-based Hess Corp.

These companies, all run by smart business people, continue to invest many billions of capital dollars in these risky, long-term projects even as “experts” like the bureaucrats at the International Energy Agency (IEA) continue to predict demand for crude oil is about to peak in the next few years. Meanwhile, OPEC says it believes demand for crude will keep rising through at least 2045, perhaps longer.

Someone will be right, and someone will be wrong. Regardless, we can rest assured that advancing technology in the industry itself will ensure there will be no shortage of supply.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

Featured image credit: (Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour)

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Alberta’s grand bargain with Canada includes a new pipeline to Prince Rupert

Published on June 15, 2025

Todayville

From Resource Now

By Nelson Bennett

Alberta renews call for West Coast oil pipeline amid shifting federal, geopolitical dynamics.

Just six months ago, talk of resurrecting some version of the Northern Gateway pipeline would have been unthinkable. But with the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Mark Carney in Canada, it’s now thinkable.

In fact, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seems to be making Northern Gateway 2.0 a top priority and a condition for Alberta staying within the Canadian confederation and supporting Mark Carney’s vision of making Canada an Energy superpower. Thanks to Donald Trump threatening Canadian sovereignty and its economy, there has been a noticeable zeitgeist shift in Canada. There is growing support for the idea of leveraging Canada’s natural resources and diversifying export markets to make it less vulnerable to an unpredictable southern neighbour.

“I think the world has changed dramatically since Donald Trump got elected in November,” Smith said at a keynote address Wednesday at the Global Energy Show Canada in Calgary. “I think that’s changed the national conversation.” Smith said she has been encouraged by the tack Carney has taken since being elected Prime Minister, and hopes to see real action from Ottawa in the coming months to address what Smith said is serious encumbrances to Alberta’s oil sector, including Bill C-69, an oil and gas emissions cap and a West Coast tanker oil ban. “I’m going to give him some time to work with us and I’m going to be optimistic,” Smith said. Removing the West Coast moratorium on oil tankers would be the first step needed to building a new oil pipeline line from Alberta to Prince Rupert. “We cannot build a pipeline to the west coast if there is a tanker ban,” Smith said. The next step would be getting First Nations on board. “Indigenous peoples have been shut out of the energy economy for generations, and we are now putting them at the heart of it,” Smith said.

Alberta currently produces about 4.3 million barrels of oil per day. Had the Northern Gateway, Keystone XL and Energy East pipelines been built, Alberta could now be producing and exporting an additional 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. The original Northern Gateway Pipeline — killed outright by the Justin Trudeau government — would have terminated in Kitimat. Smith is now talking about a pipeline that would terminate in Prince Rupert. This may obviate some of the concerns that Kitimat posed with oil tankers negotiating Douglas Channel, and their potential impacts on the marine environment.

One of the biggest hurdles to a pipeline to Prince Rupert may be B.C. Premier David Eby. The B.C. NDP government has a history of opposing oil pipelines with tooth and nail. Asked in a fireside chat by Peter Mansbridge how she would get around the B.C. problem, Smith confidently said: “I’ll convince David Eby.”

“I’m sensitive to the issues that were raised before,” she added. One of those concerns was emissions. But the Alberta government and oil industry has struck a grand bargain with Ottawa: pipelines for emissions abatement through carbon capture and storage.

The industry and government propose multi-billion investments in CCUS. The Pathways Alliance project alone represents an investment of $10 to $20 billion. Smith noted that there is no economic value in pumping CO2 underground. It only becomes economically viable if the tradeoff is greater production and export capacity for Alberta oil. “If you couple it with a million-barrel-per-day pipeline, well that allows you $20 billion worth of revenue year after year,” she said. “All of a sudden a $20 billion cost to have to decarbonize, it looks a lot more attractive when you have a new source of revenue.” When asked about the Prince Rupert pipeline proposal, Eby has responded that there is currently no proponent, and that it is therefore a bridge to cross when there is actually a proposal. “I think what I’ve heard Premier Eby say is that there is no project and no proponent,” Smith said. “Well, that’s my job. There will be soon. “We’re working very hard on being able to get industry players to realize this time may be different.” “We’re working on getting a proponent and route.”

At a number of sessions during the conference, Mansbridge has repeatedly asked speakers about the Alberta secession movement, and whether it might scare off investment capital. Alberta has been using the threat of secession as a threat if Ottawa does not address some of the province’s long-standing grievances. Smith said she hopes Carney takes it seriously. “I hope the prime minister doesn’t want to test it,” Smith said during a scrum with reporters. “I take it seriously. I have never seen separatist sentiment be as high as it is now. “I’ve also seen it dissipate when Ottawa addresses the concerns Alberta has.” She added that, if Carney wants a true nation-building project to fast-track, she can’t think of a better one than a new West Coast pipeline. “I can’t imagine that there will be another project on the national list that will generate as much revenue, as much GDP, as many high paying jobs as a bitumen pipeline to the coast.”

Canadian Energy Centre

Cross-Canada economic benefits of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project

Published on June 15, 2025

Todayville

From the Canadian Energy Centre

Billions in government revenue and thousands of jobs across provinces

Announced in 2006, the Northern Gateway project would have built twin pipelines between Bruderheim, Alta. and a marine terminal at Kitimat, B.C.

One pipeline would export 525,000 barrels per day of heavy oil from Alberta to tidewater markets. The other would import 193,000 barrels per day of condensate to Alberta to dilute heavy oil for pipeline transportation.

The project would have generated significant economic benefits across Canada.

The following projections are drawn from the report Public Interest Benefits of the Northern Gateway Project (Wright Mansell Research Ltd., July 2012), which was submitted as reply evidence during the regulatory process.

Financial figures have been adjusted to 2025 dollars using the Bank of Canada’s Inflation Calculator, with $1.00 in 2012 equivalent to $1.34 in 2025.

Total Government Revenue by Region

Between 2019 and 2048, a period encompassing both construction and operations, the Northern Gateway project was projected to generate the following total government revenues by region (direct, indirect and induced):

British Columbia

Provincial government revenue: $11.5 billion
Federal government revenue: $8.9 billion
Total: $20.4 billion

Alberta

Provincial government revenue: $49.4 billion
Federal government revenue: $41.5 billion
Total: $90.9 billion

Ontario

Provincial government revenue: $1.7 billion
Federal government revenue: $2.7 billion
Total: $4.4 billion

Quebec

Provincial government revenue: $746 million
Federal government revenue: $541 million
Total: $1.29 billion

Saskatchewan

Provincial government revenue: $6.9 billion
Federal government revenue: $4.4 billion
Total: $11.3 billion

Other

Provincial government revenue: $1.9 billion
Federal government revenue: $1.4 billion
Total: $3.3 billion

Canada

Provincial government revenue: $72.1 billion
Federal government revenue: $59.4 billion
Total: $131.7 billion

Annual Government Revenue by Region

Over the period 2019 and 2048, the Northern Gateway project was projected to generate the following annual government revenues by region (direct, indirect and induced):

British Columbia

Provincial government revenue: $340 million
Federal government revenue: $261 million
Total: $601 million per year

Alberta

Provincial government revenue: $1.5 billion
Federal government revenue: $1.2 billion
Total: $2.7 billion per year

Ontario

Provincial government revenue: $51 million
Federal government revenue: $79 million
Total: $130 million per year

Quebec

Provincial government revenue: $21 million
Federal government revenue: $16 million
Total: $37 million per year

Saskatchewan

Provincial government revenue: $204 million
Federal government revenue: $129 million
Total: $333 million per year

Other

Provincial government revenue: $58 million
Federal government revenue: $40 million
Total: $98 million per year

Canada

Provincial government revenue: $2.1 billion
Federal government revenue: $1.7 billion
Total: $3.8 billion per year

Employment by Region

Over the period 2019 to 2048, the Northern Gateway Pipeline was projected to generate the following direct, indirect and induced full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs by region: