Russian Arctic Claims

Russia continues to be the country possessing the largest proven natural gas reserves on the planet as well as the largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia. The mismanagement of their resources combined with limited technology has rendered may of their vast resources unsalvageable with their continued denial of foreign intervention further limiting successful extraction efforts. Current projected estimates show that Russia's large reserves, with no expansion or increased operations are dwindling, and will be nearly tapped by 2030. Instead of asking for assistance from highly experienced and specialized foreign oil outfits, Russia has instead opted for increasing their range by laying claim to a disputed 460,800 square mile swath of ice-covered Arctic seabed estimated to hold billions of unproven hydrocarbon reserves.

In 2001, Russia issued documents before the United Nations claiming that the Lomonosov Ridge, making up a large portion of the Arctic Ocean's seafloor, was actually an extension of the Siberian continental shelf and should be recognized as part of Russia, theirs to explore and exploit. The 1982 International Convention on the Law of the Sea established a zone of twelve miles off of all coastal countries and an even further reaching 200 mile economic zone for each country to have exclusive rights for drilling and exploration. Russia's claim to the Lomonosov Ridge extends far beyond this 200 mile economic zone however, and the United Nations has thus far denied their claims.

Russia continues their exploration of the Arctic in hopes to show the United Nations that they deserve to explore and begin drilling, for the rewards could be immense. In order to extend their 200 mile economic zone, Russia must prove the structure of the continental shelf of the ridge is similar to the geological structure of the underwater landmass extension within their territory. The lure of the ridge has to be its estimated 10 billion tons of untapped reserves. These reserves would provide Russia with the boom necessary to continue to flex its might as one of the world's most powerful natural resource holders. Not only would the petroleum and natural gas extracted help provide the energy needs of their citizenry, but the monies collected from exports would be tremendous as worldwide supplies continue to diminish and the price of oil continues to increase.

The United States and Canada are watching ever so closely, hoping Russia's claims are denied once again. Perhaps the United Nations will equally divide the Arctic giving drilling rights to all bordering countries. Until then, large natural gas and oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. will continue to develop new techniques for drilling deep beneath snow and ice in order to extract the bounty beneath.

About the Author

About the Author: Robert Jent is the president of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

Oil & Gas Industry

The Oil and Gas Industry is one of the most important and dramatically changing global industries there is.

Obtained naturally from beneath the surface of the earth, crude oil or petroleum is an inflammable liquid that is collected beneath the seas in the form of oil reservoirs through years of plant and animal decomposition as well as deposition of layers of silt and mud materials. From time immemorial, crude oil has been put to several uses and today, Oil accounts for a major portion of the world's energy consumption.

History If we were to trace the history of oil and gas, we would have to look way back to historical references of oil usage in Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. During the 8th century, tar (which is derived from petroleum) was being used for paving roads. By the 9th and 10th century, the discovery and exploration of oil reserves became eminent. Drilling below the sea beds for crude oil paved the path for the entrance and the rise in importance of the oil and gas industry in the overall world economy. The discovery and use of oil & gas by the 20th century led to an increase in the demand for commodities such as petroleum, now heavily traded among nations. In the UK, it is the Department of Trade and Industry that regulates the activities and development of the oil and gas industry.

Majors Players A number of entities together constitute the oil and gas industry.

1) Those involved in the exploration, overall development and production of natural gas or crude oil.

2) Those taking care of the transportation, retailing, and end users.

3) Other contracted drilling agencies and service companies. Some of the major Oil Companies operating in the world market today include BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil (Esso), ConocoPhillips, and Total S.A.

Oil Usage Developed countries use the maximum amount of oil and there is a growing demand for oil and natural gas by most developing countries as well. Though it is difficult to give an exact estimate, it has been stated that the world consumes over 30 billion barrels of oil per year. Oil Production Some of the biggest producers of oil in the world include

Russia Saudi Arabia USA Iran China

There has been a continuous rise in demand for oil and gas throughout the world leading to a rise in its prices. This was inevitable since petroleum is a non renewable resource and it is hard to match supplies with such a drastic increase in its demand year after year. Moreover, there are signs of negative effects on sea life as well as the overall environment through discharge of chemicals.

What Lies Ahead? Industry experts predict that in the future, such increasing demands on the supply reserves of oil will eventually lead to a decline in the overall global oil production as well as sky rocketing oil prices.

It is high time that the nation looks towards alternative sources of energy such as wave and tidal power, wind power, solar power and bio fuels to reduce such frightening pressures on oil and gas in the world.

About the Author

David Pritchard is webmaster for www.crest-enviro.com

Finding Oil

The United States, in 2005 alone, consumed per day an estimate of 9 million barrels of crude oil and 13.21 million barrels of imported oil. This oil is refined into gasoline, kerosene, heating oil and other essential products. To keep up with this demand, oil companies must constantly look for new sources of petroleum, as well as improve the production of existing wells.

The fossil fuel oil can be found in countries all over the world. It was formed from the remains of tiny plants and animals (plankton) that died in ancient seas millions of years ago. After the organisms died, they sank into the sand at the sea's bottom. Over the years, the organisms decayed in the sedimentary layers. Because there was little oxygen there, the organisms broke down into carbon-rich compounds. This material mixed with the sediments, forming fine-grained shale which known as the source rock. As new sedimentary layers were deposited, they put intense pressure and heat on the source rock which distilled the organic material into crude oil and natural gas. The oil flowed from the source rock and accumulated in thicker, more porous limestone or sandstone, called reservoir rock.

Movements and shifts in the Earth's surface trapped oil and natural gas in the reservoir rocks between layers of impermeable rock, or cap rock, such as granite and marble. These movements of the earth included folding when the rock moved horizontally inward creating a fold or anticline; faulting where the layers of rock cracked with one side shifting upward and the other downward, and pinching out when a layer of impermeable rock squeezed upward into the reservoir rock.

Oil companies like {a href=" http://tdecorp.blogspot.com/2007/11/finding-oil.html"}Triple Diamond Energy Corporation employ directly or under contract from a private firm, geologists who actually find the oil. Their task is to find the right conditions for an oil trap--the right source rock, reservoir rock and entrapment. They interprete surface features, surface rock, soil types, and small core samples obtained by shallow drilling and, nowadays, with the additional help of satellite images. They also can use sensitive gravity meters to measure tiny changes in the Earth's gravitational field that indicate flowing oil, as well as sensitive magnetometers to measure tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by flowing oil. They can detect the smell of hydrocarbons using sensitive electronic noses called sniffers. And they also most commonly use seismology, creating shock waves passing through hidden rock layers. In seismic surveys, a shock wave is created by a compressed-air gun which shoots pulses of air into the water for exploration over water, a thumper truck which slams heavy plates into the ground for exploration over land, and explosives drilled into the ground for exploration over both land and water.

Although modern oil exploration methods have made it easier for finding oil, geologists still only have a 10-percent success rate for finding new oil fields. Once a prospective oil strike is found, the location is marked.

About the Author

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of {a href=" http://tdecorp.blogspot.com/2007/11/finding-oil.html"} Triple Diamond Energy Corp. {a href=" http://tdecorp.blogspot.com/2007/11/finding-oil.html"} Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit htttp://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com

Pennant Energy Proves a Profitable Producer

Instead of running with risk in view of huge oil findings, the company maintains a conservative approach based on guaranteed opportunities and diversification on drill-ready or existing wells within Canada.

An August article in Canadian Business magazine titled “What’s Next for the Oil Patch?” included a brief discussion that portrayed a not-so-bright future of junior energy companies in Alberta. Intrigued by the news, ResourcexInvestor talked with Thomas Yingling, president of Pennant Energy Inc. [TSXV: PEN] a junior company successfully venturing into oil and gas. Yingling’s opinion is clear: Alberta has an excellent, unmatched environment for oil and gas exploration and production (E&P).

Contrary to the fragile environment the article presents, E&P opportunities in Alberta are better than ever before, he says. Rigs are available at realistic prices, the price of the oil mix is up, the legislation works, and the number of experienced workers, technicians and managers outnumbers most of the other producing locations in the world. Moreover, Yingling said that the current Canadian taxation scheme for income trusts benefits the junior companies because it freed up lots of Crown Land allowing juniors to access more projects. Under the new taxation law, many income trusts are pulling back from the arena.

At the time trusts restructured their assets bringing down the oil rig count, they released lots of the pressure on production costs too, due to availability of resources, both human and machinery. It is said that a steep decline in oil rig count has helped push the costs of drilling down 10% since last year. Venture capital may be the main vehicle junior resource companies use to finance their operations, but good financial and operations management are key in keeping a junior resource company afloat. These savings in production costs can translate into increased shareholder value.

For Yingling, profit strategies involve low cost growth but also industrious growth â€" “growth through drilling” as Yingling says, and it is paying off. As a venture capitalist and former president of an investment-consulting firm, Yingling decided to steer Pennant Energy towards strong financials rather than risk. He has taken this Canadian junior with a background in mining exploration for zinc in BC and turned it into a modest Canadian oil producer. His successes almost immediately brought revenues into the financial statements. By June 2007, Pennant reported a yearly production of approximately 3,019 bbl of oil.

Pennant earned 15-45% interest in nine wells from the Willinston Basin in southwestern Manitoba from Rideau Petroleum Ltd., which operates over 90 wells within the Daly field. In 2002, Rideau ranked sixth out of the top 25 operators in the province and reported a cumulative oil production from the operated wells of 1.88 million barrels by the end of 2003.

The Willinston Basin holds most of the oil produced in Manitoba. Discovered in the 50s, commercial light oil production commenced in 1985 with the discovery of the Bakken A Pool in the Daly Field. Exploration since then has extended the productive area to the north and south. Over 6,000 wells have been drilled at the basin by operators including Tundra Oil and Gas, Rideau Petroleum, Grand Banks Energy Corp. and Kiwi Resources.

Pennant’s light sweet oil pours from the Lodgepole and Bakken formations at an API gravity of 39° - 40° warranting a net back price that averaged $60.07 bopd for most of 2007. Initial production from the first well was recorded at 42.8 bopd while production from the second well drilled averaged 35.5 bopd. Production from the Bakken makes up 4% of the provincial total, which is estimated to be close to 18,000 bbl/d. The light sweet crude oil is easy to process and once refined is sold to local buyers or exported into the USA. Wells in this oil field are expected to produce for another 20 years paralleling the producing life of older neighbor wells.

Pennant’s investment in Manitoba proved to be low-risk and, more importantly, had a payback period of only six months, giving the company producer status, something rarely found after one deal. Pennant has no debt. Current cash-flow from its Manitoba operations allows the team to work with its own resources preventing share dilution and giving investors stronger potential for capital gains from future ventures. Although the company believes that Manitoba is a province with excellent conditions to find untapped oil and gas resources, it is also considering low-risk, quick-return opportunities in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

On March 1, 2005 Pennant announced test results of the Meekwap Well in Northern Alberta. During the first days of production, the oil free flowed on its own at rates of 400 to 1,100 barrels of oil per day and solution gas flowed at up to 350 mcf per day. By September 2005, the production rate stabilized at 100 bopd. The company earned the 8% to 4% (after payout) of the working interest to participate in this and another three additional wells on the Meekwap prospect by contributing with 8% of the costs to drill and test the field.

The E&P team at Pennant Energy integrates the joint efforts of leading exploration geologist James Britton, P. Geol. P. Eng., Alan Carswell, David Finn and Rod Morris. Britton’s experience spans over forty-five years and four hundred and thirty oil and gas wells, some of which are still abundant producers. He engineered Dynamic Oil & Gas Inc’s growth from 25 boepd to over 5,000 boepd. David Finn has been active in the oil & gas business for over 30 years. His experience in western Canadian sedimentary basins comes from working at the geological and engineering departments of Amoco Canada. From Amoco he moved to the British Columbia Petroleum Corporation where he was responsible for monitoring the development of northeastern British Columbia gas fields. Allan Carswell is an accomplished and well-renowned geophysicist with a multi-disciplinary geological background in the oil & gas business. He has also been involved in a number of important oil pool discoveries across North America and has earned various academic awards including being the beneficiary of a three-time Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists Scholarship and two-time holder of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) graduate scholarship.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

About the Author

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

Natural Gas-A Viable Answer

At a time when conflicts are raging all around the Middle East, the birthplace of civilization as well as the center of the richest oil fields in the world, the United States should take the time to look within. There is a fossil fuel that North America contains in abundance, a clean burning fuel that could answer all the problems faced by a nation dependent upon foreign oil. That plentiful fuel is natural gas.

There exist three different estimates by reputable sources concerning the amount of natural gas that still lies untapped in North America. The first estimate, compiled by the Energy Information Administration, a source of official energy statistics from the U.S. government itself, maintains that there exists 1190.62 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the United States alone. The second estimate by the National Petroleum Council is even higher, stating that 1779 trillion cubic feet of natural gas remains to be recovered and used in the United States. The lowest estimate was given by the Potential Gas Committee, but still maintains that there are over 1090 trillion cubic feet of natural gas remaining to be found.

Concerning the world, the U.S. maintains only 3% of known (proved) natural gas reserves. Proved reserves are reserves that have been located and are currently producing natural gas for consumption by the populace.

Natural gas companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp continue to search the land for more of this ultra-clean harvestable energy. Nationwide there are currently 1801 rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States. This number is up from the official count of a year ago at 1693. Of these rigs, 1459 are actively exploring for natural gas. It seems that the nation is catching on. In order to compete in the world market as the United States is accustomed to, the nation must continue this exploration within its borders. There is so much more natural gas to be located than is being tapped for use currently.

Research has shown the potential; companies must use all the technology, equipment, and resources they have to explore and develop this wealth lying dormant beneath the surface in order that the future of the country can be more secure, more self sufficient, always progressing and moving forward. This movement and progression can be traced back to the idea of “manifest destiny” that still holds its place at the very roots of American history. Perhaps the time has come to take up this optimistic endeavor once again.

About the Author
About the Author: Bob Jent is the president of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy
specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http:

The Costs of Natural Gas and Oil

Most Americans use is either oil or natural gas for energy. A supply and demand imbalance is currently driving up the costs of both oil and natural gas. Americans are demanding more energy and as this demand increases, our supply of oil and natural gas hasn't increased especially from domestically available resources. Actually, this production is on the decline. It is time to start exploring and tapping new supplies of oil and natural gas here in America. Oil is a worldwide commodity. Prices are bound to rise worldwide with the increased competition/demand and the present stagnant production. Higher prices are also a result of supply disruption "fears" from potential hot spots in the Middle East, Venezuela, and Russia. Worldwide spare capacity has reduced dramatically from 10 million barrels per day a decade ago to about 2 million barrels per day today. The natural gas used in the United States is primarily from North American resources. Importing natural gas in a liquefied state from overseas hasn't yet been fully developed. Natural gas is a preferred fuel choice that powers most new homes and buildings, as well as power plants mainly because it is clean-burning. Inconsistent government policies and regulations have discouraged the exploration and production of new domestic gas supplies. This creates another supply-demand imbalance. Because the increase in natural gas demand isn't being met with new supplies, prices for natural gas rise too. Some other reasons for the rising costs of natural gas and oil include: weather (cold weather will increase demand), hurricanes (can stop production in the Gulf of Mexico), litigation and regulations, lack of public support and government encouragement for new oil and gas wells, Geopolitical unrest around the world, and market speculation. The consequences of no new domestic production makes for fluctuation in consumer prices. Some of our factories are moving their businesses overseas to take advantage of cheaper energy costs meaning lost jobs and lost tax and royalty revenue. Today, 63% of our oil is imported today which is a high reliance on foreign countries, taking on a national and economic security risk. Having the supply controlled by other countries, of course, is not ideal. Plus the extremely high national trade deficit (one-third of which is represented in oil imports) has to stop soaring. The fuel industry needs to re-look at the federal policy recognizing the importance of domestic oil and natural gas. Some suggested changes are: allowing access to non-park, non-wilderness federal lands where abundant, lower cost domestic oil and gas is located, providing for more offshore oil and gas exploration, stopping unnecessary law suits and regulations, providing full federal funding for government agencies that have industry oversight and for oil and gas technology programs to do research, encouraging students to get involved in order to develop a new workforce for the coming years, and offering credits for unconventional resources to be used instead. Currently, in the United States, there are about 5,000 independent oil and natural gas producers. Independents can be small family companies or publicly traded companies. They operate in 33 states and the offshore. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation drill 90 percent of the wells here and produce 68 percent of America's oil and 82 percent of domestic natural gas.

About the Author
Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

Gas Discovery in Alberta Drives Montello toward 12-Month High

With oil prices over $80 per barrel, storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico and a cold winter predicted ahead elsewhere, not to mention worldwide demand for crude oil poised to rise again during the fourth quarter of 2007, now is a great time to be an oil and gas junior.

One company taking full advantage of the sector's upswing with successes of their own is Montello Resources (TSX-V: MEO). This emerging oil and gas company is engaged in drilling and exploration activities on their properties in Canada and the United States - with potential for blue sky payloads in both zones, particularly in Tennessee. Recent successes have garnered Montello a little increased investor attention in the past few weeks, with positive re-completion in Alberta and drilling approaching depth in Tennessee.

The company has a broad investor base, with approximately 150 million shares outstanding, and with new investors piling on, current trading volume is well up over one million shares a day. This increased volume is not surprising, considering that share prices in Montello have gained over 25% in the last month, not to mention the fact that Montello has now surpassed its 12-month high. Last Friday, more than 19 million shares MEO shares changed hands. On that day, the company was the leading volume trader on the TSX Venture exchange. On Monday, Montello was still trading exceptionally high at over 10 million shares.

Some of this success can be attributed to Montello recently announcing (October 4th 2007) positive re-completion results for its jointly owned Pincher Creek project - Montello owns a 25% interest with Paramount Resources holding 25%, a private company owning 12.5%, and the remaining 37.5% being retained by the operator, Pennine Petroleum Corp (TSX-V:PNN). The project, which covers over 4,800 acres, is located approximately 175 kilometres south of Calgary, in the prolific Pincher Creek Field. Since 1947, the field has produced approximately one million bbls of oil and 600 BCF (billion cubic feet) of gas, with estimates of over 220 BCF of gas still remaining to be produced. The region itself, which includes such fields as: Lookout Butte, Turner Valley, and Jumping Pound, have produced more than one trillion cubic feet gas and over 100 million bbls of associated liquids.

Montello's JV partner Pennine recently completed (September 27th 2007) two 60-tonne fracture simulations on the Brown Sand and Cadomin/Kootenay section of the Pincher Creek project, with results uncovering two condensate zones. Both tested between 40 and 46 degrees, plus associated gas, with initial extended flow test results of over 330 boepd where none were pumping before.
The Brown Sand zone yielded an average production of 140 barrels of fluid a day with an initial water cut of 60% for a net 56 boepd and is expected to increase as frac fluid further drains. Montello is planning further exploration in the Brown Sand zone to assess feasibility.

Preliminary swab and flow results for the Cadomin/ Kootenay formation were more promising, having returned an average of 225 barrels of fluid a day with no water cut, and as much as 500 mcf of gas per day which can potentially translate to an additional equivalent of over 70 boepd. Pennine has announced that they intend to install pumping equipment and the required production facilities to test the Cadomin/ Kootenay zone, and following positive results, may submit a Commingling Application to the Alberta Energy Utility Board, in order to take full advantage of the well. An existing pipe line is accessible to transport the gas, with plans for liquids to be taken out by truck to a processing facility. Pennine plans to announce the stabilized liquid and gas production rates following stabilized production.

With the success of recent drilling activities in Alberta, Montello and Pennine plan to follow sand development across the Pincher Creek structure and access hydrocarbon-baring sand via existing well-bores.

Montello is also involved in exploration and drilling activities (with JV partners Great Northern Oil Sands Inc. and Austin Developments Corp.) on its Morgan Highpoint project, located in the Tennessee Appalachians. The project is situated in a precarious but prolific region, near the spot where in 2002 Pryor Oil suffered a massive blow-out on its Howard-White #1 well when its drill penetrated an area containing highly pressurized oil. Incredibly, hydrocarbon fluids spewed up and out of the ground at a rate of 12,000 bbls a day and caught fire. The government stepped in and halted work on the project - permanently.

On its neighbouring property, Montello is using advanced techniques to literally "dig deep", in an attempt to find the source of the Pryor Oil blow out or similar pockets. Montello recently announced that drilling at its John Bowen # 2 well had passed 7,780 feet in the Rogersville Formation and entered the Rome formation at 7,850. The location of the monster payload that caused the blow-out at the nearby Howard-White #1 remains illusive, but a possibility as the company continues toward basement, which is a first for the area - and is believed to be between 8,500 and 9,500 feet deep.

Resourcex Investor asked Marc Davis, a director for Montello, if he was happy with the rate of progress for the Tennessee project, and why no one else had ever tried or been able to drill this deep in this area before.

"It has been tough going, you know. This is a difficult environment to work; the rock is very dense. At the same time, we've seen very encouraging results and believe ourselves to be a few days away from hitting basement."

Davis continued, "As for how we have been able to drill deeper than anyone before in this part of Tennessee, it has everything to do with money. Other companies in Tennessee simply have not had the opportunity to go that deep. But we think we could be close to a sizable pay off here."

The cost of the well, initially estimated at $3 million US, (Montello paid 10% of this) has escalated to US $5 million, to date. Early in October, the company announced, "A Supplementary Authorization For Expenditure ("AFE") of USD $1.7 million has been issued to the partners based on their earned interests in the Test Well being Montello as to 55%, Austin as to 40% and Great Northern as to 5%. All partners have paid their proportionate share of the cash call associated with the Supplementary AFE."

When asked which property he thinks is most important to Montello at the moment, Davis replied, "Tennessee as it has the greatest potential, but Pincher Creek [in Alberta] is money in the bag."

With the recent activity at both their Tennessee and Alberta projects, Montello seems to be garnering more investor interest than ever before. On October 12, volume trading surged past 13 million shares, pushing the stock price past $0.20 for the first time in 12 months. And the volume has continued to be very heavy. Whether this activity is due to speculation of success in Tennessee or Alberta (or both) is hard to say. But the excitement in MEO's stock charts is palpable.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

About the Author
Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com