Everything You Know About Energy Is Wrong, Installment 173

Next time you hear that Republicans are in the pockets of Big Oil...

The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday said it was 'disappointed' by actions of the U.S. Senators to oppose ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty.  An API spokesperson said that the treaty would have provided the certainty and predictability provided by the treaty "to commit the billions of dollars of resources needed to develop some of our vast offshore resources."

"It could also cause companies to be ineligible to compete for resources around the global in areas that are party to the treaty," the spokesperson said.  The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) – which also supported the treaty due to the enhanced certainty and assurance it provided for frontier oil and gas exploration in areas under U.S. protection – hopes the Senate will continue its dialogue on the treaty and efforts for ratification.

"While areas addressed by the Treaty will be technically accessible in the near future, the fact remains that our current national policy prohibits oil and gas exploration in approximately 85 percent of our outer continental shelf, preventing us from knowing precisely how many resources may lie in wait in these vast areas," the NOIA spokesperson told Rigzone in an email.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Monday declared victory for U.S. sovereignty after gathering support from 35 U.S. senators to oppose ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty, which will ultimately impact boundaries in regions such as the Arctic and future oil and gas exploration and production activity worldwide. With Senate ratification of a treaty requiring 67 votes in favor, the Law of the Sea Treaty will not be ratified.

Republicans killed the LOTS Treaty, rightly so.

Oh, and remember that war we fought for all that oil somewhere...um, er, can't remember.

HALFAYA, Iraq - China National Petroleum Corp. or CNPC, the largest Chinese oil producing company, has so far invested $3.3 billion in developing oil projects in Iraq, the firm's vice president said Wednesday.

CNPC and its subsidiary PetroChina Co Ltd. are developing three large oil fields, CNPC Vice President Wang Dongjing said during the start of output at an Iraqi oil field developed by the company.  CNPC is developing along with BP PLC Iraq's largest oil field, Rumaila, in the southern Basra province where production is currently hitting 1.35 million barrels a day.