Keeping on top of the news that's generated every day by the oil and gas industry is no easy feat, but OGJ editors are up to the task. This year's batch of news stories was no exception.
This editor thought it would be interesting to take a look back at 2012 from the perspective of those stories that captured the most attention from OGJ's readership. What follows are the Top 10 OGJ Online stories—based on page views and average time spent on story pages—for 2012.
With this year seeing the winding down of a hotly contested and much-anticipated election in the US, it probably comes as no surprise that two of the top stories of 2012 are political in nature. Four top stories cover several of the rapidly developing unconventional oil and gas plays in the US and what industry players are doing in—and with—those areas. A couple of stories deal with some major, if not controversial, mergers and acquisitions. And a few other stories cover oil and gas demand.
The list
Following are the headlines of the most viewed online stories of 2012, in reverse order:
10. CNOOC Ltd. to acquire Nexen Inc. for $15.1 billion (July 23). When it broke, this story was mired in controversy. This month, the Canadian government approved this move by an international state-owned energy firm to purchase Canadian assets, but indicated that approval for future transactions by other state-owned enterprises for petroleum assets would be approved only under exceptional circumstances (see story, p. 27).
9. Oklahoma: Eastern Mississippi lime play spreads out (Aug. 6). The eastern limb of the Mississippi lime dewatering play in the US Midcontinent has attracted numerous small and large operators. The formation is being drilled horizontally after having produced through vertical wells for more than 50 years. The land play covers more than 17 million acres in northern Oklahoma, western Kansas, and southwestern Nebraska.
8. US on brink of strong oil, gas growth, Senate panel told (Jan. 31). Higher crude oil prices, breakthroughs in technology, and more access to prospective acreage are creating a US oil production revival that is a major break from nearly 40 years of declining production, two experts told the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in January.
7. Romney plan gets cheers, jeers from Democrats, industry groups (Aug. 24). Democrats quickly attacked presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's energy plan shortly after its release on Aug. 23 while certain oil and gas industry associations applauded it.
6. El Paso to sell E&P arm in $7.15 billion deal (Feb. 27). Houston-based El Paso Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to sell its exploration and production business, EP Energy Corp., to affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and Riverstone Holdings LLC, who are joined by Access Industries Inc. and other parties.
5. Oil, gas industry groups respond to Obama's reelection (Nov. 7). Leading US oil and gas trade associations said they were looking forward to working with a second Barack Obama administration after the president won reelection on Nov. 6. The groups' leaders suggested growing public awareness of the US's improved oil and gas outlook will influence policy decisions in the next 4 years.
4. Marathon to buy private Eagle Ford producer (May 9). Marathon Oil Corp. purchased Eagle Ford shale play participant Paloma Partners II LLC, Houston, for $750 million.
3. Chesapeake reports progress in wet gas window of Utica shale play (May 2). Chesapeake Energy Corp. outlined its drilling progress in the Utica shale in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northwestern West Virginia during an earnings call in which the company stressed that it is shifting its focus from natural gas toward liquids-rich plays.
2. EIA forecasts oil, gas demand increases through 2013 (Jan. 10). In early January, the US Energy Information Administration in its Short-Term Energy Outlook forecast worldwide oil consumption to increase by 1.3 million b/d this year and by 1.5 million b/d in 2013.
1. Mississippi lime play sprawls northward into Nebraska (Aug. 1). Horizontal wells in the US Midcontinent Mississippi lime oil play aren't as productive as those in the Williston basin Bakken, but shallower depths and cheaper drilling costs are driving increased interest in the Mississippi lime.
No doubt these and other events will continue to generate headlines in 2013 and beyond. And OGJ editors, meanwhile, stand at the ready to inform readers of any new developments.
Steven Poruban | Managing Editor-News
Steven Poruban was hired as staff writer for Oil & Gas Journal in October 1998. Two years later, he was promoted to senior staff writer. In October 2004, he was then promoted to senior editor. He now serves as managing editor-news.
Before working for OGJ, Steven was a reporter for Gas Daily and editor of Gas Transportation Report. He attended Boston University then transferred to and graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., with a BA in English in 1993.
