Keith Schaefer's Contributions

Can shale oil and gas carry the U.S. to energy independence? The short answer is no, says Credit Suisse (CS) in a September 7 report, but North America as a whole could...

Japan spent US$75.4 billion on LNG last year, paying an average price of US$16.60 per million BTU—while gas prices in the United States averaged just US$2.75. No Japanese politician, economist, or grocer thinks that makes sense.

Many investors study supply and demand statistics to figure out where they think the oil price is going.

Can the Bakken produce one million barrels a day of oil? If so, it would join an elite group of oil fields able to produce at that rate. Only six other fields, including Saudi Arabia’s famed Ghawar field, have ever topped 1 million barrels per day...

US energy independence is a hot topic spurred by the rapid rise in shale oil production—the Shale Revolution. While it’s hard for anybody to guesstimate what such a dynamic industry will be doing 10 years from now, Credit Suisse data suggests that will remain an elusive goal.

Overall, Canadian gas exports to the US will drop 2 bcf/d over the next few years – almost 30% – and this impending loss of the northern California market builds upon the loss that western Canadian gas has in lower exports to the US northeast.

Natural gas prices in Canada are so low that end users are now trying to seduce producers to hedge, so they can lock in longer term low prices. But few producers are keen to lock in long term losses. RBC, Canada’s largest brokerage firm, suggested in a weekly comment that producers still have many reasons to hedge at $3.27 a gigajoule (GJ) now, and $4.11/GJ in April 2011. For context, the full-cycle cost for new gas in North America is $5.60/mmcf and in Canada is $6.85/mmcf, according to independent analysts Ziff Energy. So producers would be selling at a significant loss.

It’s no secret that Canadian gas prices are low right now, but few investors realize how low it is compared to the U.S. The spread is now over $1/mcf, when it’s usually about 70 cents – that’s nearly a 50% jump.

A large part of Canada’s massive oil sands deposits could become one of the most “green” energies on the planet, by using electricity to heat up and break down the heavy oil. EEOR, or Electrically Enhanced Oil RecoverySM is a new technology being field tested in Saskatchewan by a Canadian junior producer, Deloro Resources.