CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
January 23, 2018, by Bailey Schulz
(Bloomberg)
Rising oil prices are helping shrink a backlog of delayed drilling projects that reached a peak of 111 in January 2017.
From production vessels tapping Brazil’s deep-water reserves to pipes connecting rigs to underwater wells in China, the number of ventures that received final financial approval after a delay grew to 18 last year, according to a report by consultant Rystad Energy.
“Every dollar uptick in oil prices has increased profitability for those (projects) to move ahead,” said Readul Islam, a research analyst at consultant Rystad Energy. “As oil prices improve, it’s only a positive.”
Among big oil projects that received the go-ahead last year, Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA, France’s Total SA and their partners approved the next phase of development of the multibillion-barrel Libra field off Rio de Janeiro’s coast. The plan includes adding a floating production, storage and offloading ship, or FPSO, by 2021 and another by 2022.
BP Plc also saw a delayed project named MadDog 2 move forward in 2017. The oil field is estimated to cost $9 billion and will be in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
“The industry has put in a lot of spadework to advance these delayed projects,” Readul Islam, a research analyst at Rystad, said in the report. “With over 100 projects still in our tracker as we enter 2018, the hard work must continue to maintain 2017’s momentum.”
Share This:
COMMENTARY: Oil Market Balances Only Get Worse From Here