Piracy in Somalia Still Exists
The threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia looms large despite significant gains made against it, says Andrew McLaughlin, the Program Officer in charge of Global Maritime Security at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He told Xinhua that in Kenyan capital Nairobi that a fragile political, economic and security situation in Somalia could provide a fertile ground for piracy to thrive. The last wave of Somalia piracy peaked in 2011 with 176 attacks. It declined to almost nothing by 2015, thanks to an increased foreign naval presence and industry precautions like posting armed guards, moving faster, and following certain routes when passing through the area. "Piracy in Somalia has not been defeated but only countered.
US Oil Output May Stall in Late 2015 -IHS
U.S. oil production may stop growing in the second half of this year and could fall in 2016 as low oil prices make the majority of oil wells uneconomic, according to a report released on Tuesday by IHS Inc energy analysts. Global oversupply of oil has knocked 60 percent off prices since June last year, forcing a slowdown in drilling and putting the brakes on a five-year boom that pushed U.S. production to record highs. Production will likely grow in the next few months as oil producers honor contractual obligations and finish work on a backlog of wells that have already been drilled. But growth will halt in the second half of the year if oil prices remain below $60 a barrel, according to the IHS report based on a study of 39,000 oil wells. U.S.
Shipbuilding Orders to Surge on Energy Demand
According to a May 17 report from Bloomberg, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world’s second-largest shipyard by orders, aims to almost triple contracts for offshore facilities this year. The company may win $5b worth of orders for drilling rigs and floating production facilities this year, compared with $1.8b last year, Executive Vice President Brendan Jeong said. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. have also predicted a jump in offshore orders this year, undeterred by an oil-rig leak triggering a drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Petroleo…
Report: Producing Oil, Gas More Costly
The cost of producing oil and gas has risen about 53 percent the past two years, and the trend is expected to continue this year, according to a report released Monday. Business Week reported that those same costs have climbed 67 percent since 2000, but most of the increase has come since the end of 2004, according to an analysis by Cambridge Energy Research Associates and its parent, IHS Inc., which together have created what they call the Upstream Capital Costs Index. The index tracks nine key cost areas for offshore and land-based projects such as construction, equipment and personnel. The rising cost of doing business in the oilfield is expected to be a hot topic when dozens of industry leaders, academics and analysts gather this week for CERA's annual energy conference in Houston.
