unconventional oil: filling in the gap or flooding the market?

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Unconventional Oil: Filling in the Gap or Flooding the Market?

DOE NEMS APRIL 12, 2005Michael C. Lynchlynch@energyseer.com

URBAN LEGENDS (OIL DIVISION)

l CONVENTIONAL OIL NEAR A PEAK– DISCOVERIES ARE INADEQUATE

l TAR SANDS TOO DIRTY TO BE PRODUCEDl EROEI ON ETHANOL IS NEGATIVEl SHALE OIL ALWAYS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN

CONVENTIONAL OILl EASY OIL IS GONE, COSTS ARE RISINGl OIL MARKET ANALYSTS ARE YOUNG AND

HANDSOME

PERTINENT ISSUES

l VOLUMES ARE HUGEl COSTS MODERATE—COMPARED TO PRICES,

NOT CONVENTIONAL OIL– VERY CAPITAL INTENSIVE– FUEL INTENSIVE

l RECOVERY RATES LOWl CONTAMINANTS/EMISSIONS SIGNFICANT l WHAT RATE OF CHANGE POSSIBLE?

HURDLES

l NIMBY/GHG AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS– BUSH CAN OPEN IRAQ, BUT CAN HE OPEN

COLORADO?

l RELATIVELY HIGH COSTS– ARE HIGH PRICES PERMANENT?

l WILL GOVERNMENTS ACCEPT LOW RETURNS IF PRICES DROP?

CONVENTIONAL OIL SUPPLY CURVES

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

MB/D

1996

$/B

BL

ADELMAN & SHAHI (89) STAUFFER (93) DEMAN (85) MNOC (99) IOC(01) FAGAN 2001

UnconventionalOil Costs

Unconventional oil is cheaper than conventional oil prices, but aboveMost conventional oil costs.

ADVANTAGES

l NO EXPLORATION RISK, MODERATE POLITICAL RISK

l INCREMENTAL VOLUMES MEANS LOWER PRICE RISK

l CONTINUING TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS– NON-VIABLE RESOURCES MOVE INTO

VIABLE CATEGORY– LESS PRICE RISK AS COSTS DROP

MAIN SOURCES

l CANADIAN TAR SANDSl VENEZUELAN HEAVY OIL

– ORIMULSION

l ETHANOL, MTBE, ETC.l GTLl US SHALE OIL

“OTHER” LIQUIDS(ETHANOL, MTBE, ORIMULISION, ETC.)

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

TB

/D

U S BRAZIL VENEZUELA SAUDI S AFRICA ASIA GERMANY

HEAVY OIL/TAR SANDS

l RESOURCES 5 TRILLION, 10-15% RECOVERABLE

l PRODUCTION BOOMINGl COSTS ARE APPROXIMATELY $8-12/BBL,

$15-18 IF ADJUSTED FOR QUALITY– EXCHANGE RATE SENSITIVE

l CANADA/VENEZUELA MAIN ARENASl HIGH FUEL USE

OGJ 7/28/03

SHALE OIL

l ENORMOUS RESOURCE, MUCH IN US– 3 TO 10 TRILLION BARRELS

l COSTS REMAIN HIGH, RESEARCH ONGOING

l WHAT COST MODEL?– “CRUDE OIL +$5/BBL” (i.e., Manana)– OR TAR SANDS DECLINE?

GAS-TO-LIQUIDS

l LARGE POTENTIAL RESOURCE– STRANDED GAS OF >1 TRILLION BBLS– ULTIMATE GAS MUCH MORE

l TECHNOLOGY ‘PROVEN’ BUT EVOLVINGl 500 TB/D IN 5 YEARSl CAPITAL COSTS ARE DROPPING:

$50K/BBL TO $25K/BBL (c. $10/BBL)l SENSITIVE TO OIL PRICES, TAXES

INVESTMENT APPROACH

l HIGH-COST MEGA-PROJECT– HOPE PRICES STAY UP – TAR SANDS/SHALE OIL 1970S

l GO FOR SWEET SPOTS– CBM, ORINOCO, TAR SANDS

l DRIVE COSTS DOWNl NEW TECHNOLOGIES

– SAGD

SAMPLE COST TRENDS

Oil & Gas Journal 7/28/2003.

Revolutionary

Evolutionary

EQUIPMENT COST TRENDS

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

EXPECTED OIL PRICE TREND(ANNUAL REAL CHANGE 2010-2025)

-4%

-3%

-2%

-1%

0%

1%

2%

DOE IEA GII CGES SEER DB

DOE IEO 2004, expect increase next year.

LESSONS

l SHORT-TERM PROBLEMS ARE LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES– ENGINEERS ARE SMART– HIGH PRICES MOTIVATE THEM

l RESOURCES ARE CONTINUOUS – CONVENTIONAL OIL– UNCONVENTIONAL OIL

l QUALITY, DENSITY, EASE OF EXTRACTION

Most people think of engineers as nothing but geeks.

Okay, they are geeks, but don’t undersell them.

Microsoft founders c. 1978.

FUTURE TRENDS

l WILL HIGH PRICES SEE HEAVY INVESTMENT, THEN COST-CUTTING AS IN TAR SANDS IN 1970S?

l WILL LOWER PRICES CAUSE ABANDONMENT OF GTL AS IN 1980S?

l HOW WOULD GOVERNMENTS RESPOND TO LOWER PRICES?– PUSH VOLUMES OR REACH INDIFFERENCE

TO INCOME?

POTENTIAL COST TRENDS

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

2005

$/B

BL

HEAVY OIL GTL SHALE OIL EVOLUTIONARY SHALE REVOLUTIONARY 2010

EXPECTATIONS

l HEAVY OIL/TAR SANDS TO ADD 200-350 TB/D PER YEAR

l GTL TO ADD 75-150 TB/D/YRl “OTHER” TO ADD 50-100 TB/D/YRl SHALE OIL NOT BY 2010l PRICE PRIMARY FACTOR DETERMINING

LEVEL– TECHNOLOGY, POLICY SECONDARY

THEREFORE…

l MAINLY GAP FILL, BECAUSE OF ‘INERTIA’– CAN’T ADD CAPACITY FAST ENOUGH TO SWAMP MARKET

UNLESS DEMAND WEAKl PRIMARY UNCERTAINTY TO 2010 IS PRICE

– FOLLOWED BY GTLl SHALE OIL COULD BECOME IMPORTANT BY 2015l HIGH INVESTMENT NOW IS THE SEED FOR LOWER

COSTS, HIGHER VOLUMES IN NEXT DECADE– HIGH PRICES FOR 2 MORE YEARS COULD BE BIG TROUBLE

FOR OPEC LATER

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