Storage
Judge OKs $119 Million Royalty Settlement Against Chesapeake Energy
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge has approved a $119 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit that claimed a Chesapeake Energy Corp. affiliate underpaid natural gas royalties to owners in the past decade. A Chesapeake Energy spokesman said on Monday that the company is pleased that Beaver County District Judge Jon K. Parsley approved the settlement agreement. He said that the company looks forward to further strengthening its relationships with its Oklahoma royalty owners. The company didn't admit fault and denied that it did anything under the law in the agreement.
Price Gregory President Discusses Accomplishments, Semi-Retirement
Price Gregory President Michael Langston recently announced his retirement after a 35-year career in the pipeline construction sector. Langston joined H.C. Price in 1981. Following a merger between H.C. Price and Gregory & Cook Construction, Price Gregory was formed. Price Gregory was later purchased by Quanta Services and Langston was named president of the company.
Fewer Passenger, Freight Rail Delays Attributed to Drilling Decline
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Delays in Amtrak service and agricultural product shipping have eased across the Upper Midwest in part because weak oil prices have prompted a drilling slowdown in North Dakota, officials said. Along with recent track upgrades, a recently completed pipeline and a new North Dakota refinery also has resulted in fewer oil-laden trains, freeing up rail space and lessening the potential for another disastrous derailment, like the 2013 explosion in Quebec that killed 47 people, involving crude from western North Dakota's oil patch.
PHMSA Issues Rules for State Pipeline Excavation Damage Prevention, Enforcement
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced the issuance of a final rule to establish the process for evaluating State excavation damage prevention programs and enforcing Federal standards in states where such requirements are inadequate or do not exist.
California Gas Prices May Top $4 a Gallon Despite National Downward Trend
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — While gas prices nationwide are on a downward trend, California is experiencing a spike that could see prices top $4 a gallon before easing again, according to analysts. A shortage in oil and other components used in refining California's unique blend of less-polluting gas was one of the reasons for the price jump, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said. A slowdown in imported crude and a refinery shutdown in Torrance also caused wholesale prices to skyrocket, experts said.
World News: Report Outlines Climate Framework, Spending
Development of a clear climate framework and a global emissions target is essential if $48-53 trillion for a new sustainable energy infrastructure is to be delivered, according to a new report from the World Energy Council. The findings are discussed in the fifth edition of the energy leaders’ dialogue series, the World Energy Trilemma Report, ‘Priority actions on climate change and how to balance the energy trilemma,’ released by the World Energy Council and project partner Oliver Wyman, along with the Global Risk Centre of its parent Marsh & McLennan Companies.
EIA: Annual Energy Outlook Through 2040
The latest <em>Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015)</em> prepared by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents long-term annual projections of energy supply, demand and prices through 2040. This analysis focuses on six scenarios: a reference case, low and high economic growth cases, low and high oil price cases, and the high oil and gas resource case.
Company Blamed for 31-Acre Sinkhole Sues Oil Company
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The company blamed for a 31-acre sinkhole that forced 350 rural Louisiana residents out of their homes has sued Occidental Petroleum Corp., claiming that negligent drilling and production contributed to the damage. Texas Brine Co. said Occidental and Oxy USA Inc. should have to cover more than $100 million in damages that Texas Brine has paid or will have to pay. Occidental did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Assumption Parish.
SGA Chairman Says Bring on the Challenges
For every opportunity in the natural gas business there is an equal challenge, and conversely, every challenge can be turned into an opportunity. That’s the nature of the gas business today, but as any industry observer will tell you, that’s been the nature of the beast for the last 15 years.
Effectively Using New Data Technologies for Pipeline Routing
Oil and gas companies are using information technologies and resources now accessible on desktops for planning new pipeline routes. Technologies and resources include geographic information systems (GIS), mobile information technology, satellite imagery, topographic maps, environmental data and tax data.
Not Deterred By Huge Risks, Shell Opts For Megaprojects
U.S. shale has offered the oil industry a business model that is different from conventional drilling of the past. High initial decline rates, especially compared to conventional wells, requires companies to continuously drill to keep up production. But with lower upfront costs and shorter ramp up times, shale drilling is arguably less risky than a multibillion-dollar megaproject that the oil majors had become accustomed to over the past decade.
California Beach to Reopen 2 Months after Oil Spill
GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — A California beach fouled by an oil spill will reopen to swimmers and campers two months after a pipeline ruptured and spewed thousands of gallons of crude along the coast, officials said. State Parks rangers toured the shoreline west of Santa Barbara on Thursday and cleared Refugio State Beach to reopen July 17.
A Call for Crude Oil Exports and Pipelines
The U.S. shale revolution has created jobs, improved the balance of trade, spurred billions of dollars of foreign and domestic investment, reduced carbon emissions and lowered oil and gas prices. From the shale gas fields in Williamsport to the refineries around Philadelphia, new energy technologies have had a profound local impact. This revolution could do even more if the U.S. allowed crude oil exports and expanded its pipeline system.
Permits Granted for Bakken Pipeline Beneath ND Lake
The North Dakota Public Service Commission unanimous backed a Hess Corp. crude oil pipeline that will run under Lake Sakakawea. The $105 million project will convert an 8-inch pipeline to transfer Bakken crude oil along a 2.4 mile section of pipe buried 6 feet under the lake bottom in 1992.
Enterprise to Build 416-Mile, Texas-Based Pipeline
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has executed long-term agreements that support development of a 416-mile, 24-inch pipeline to transport crude oil and condensate from the company’s Midland, TX terminal to its Sealy storage facility west of Houston. From Sealy, the new pipeline would link to Enterprise’s ECHO terminal through an interconnect with the Rancho II pipeline, which is scheduled to be in service shortly. Through ECHO, customers will have direct access to every refinery in Houston, Texas City, Beaumont and Port Arthur as well as Enterprise’s dock facilities.
DOEs Gant: Shifting Energy Policy to Stewardship of Abundance
Although we are already 15 years deep into the 21st century and women working at the top rungs of professional life no longer turn heads, when it comes to the “hard” numbers-crunching parts in the global economy – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – women still get asked why they selected this way to earn a buck. This same question is occasionally put to Paula Gant, holder of a doctorate degree in economics and the deputy assistant secretary for oil and natural gas in the federal Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy.
House Committee Subpoenas Kerry for Keystone XL Documents
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House of Representatives panel has issued a subpoena to Secretary of State John Kerry for department documents, reports and letters related to the contentious push to build the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline. Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced the subpoena on Wednesday. The pipeline would transport oil from Canada's tar sands to pipelines linked to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
Declining Rig Count in U.S. Tight Formations
The count for both horizontal and vertical rigs in U.S tight formations has declining drastically from October 2014. This article discuss the declining rig count in the seven major Energy Information Administration (EIA) U.S. oil and natural gas regions.
Summer Gas Prices in the Northeast: Why So Low? Why So Unpredictable?
As summer approaches, there are two things to know about natural gas prices in the New York/New England area. First, it is a difficult time to predict gas price movements in the Northeast. But in general, prices are down – and are likely to stay that way for this summer. It’s hard to predict prices because there are a lot of new and unpredictable supply-and-demand dynamics across the country that are particularly pronounced in the Northeast. For instance, the explosion of shale gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions.
Tall Oak Midstream Expands Service in Oklahomas STACK Play
Tall Oak Midstream, LLC is constructing an oil gathering, storage and transportation system to serve producers in Oklahoma’s Sooner Trend (STACK) play. Tall Oak is already gathering and processing natural gas on its STACK system for multiple customers. Anchored by a long-term agreement with Felix Energy, LLC, the system will connect to multiple downstream pipelines that provide direct access to the market center at Cushing, OK. Tall Oak expects to bring the system into service later this year.
EIA: Annual Energy Outlook Through 2040
The latest Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) prepared by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents long-term annual projections of energy supply, demand and prices through 2040. This analysis focuses on six scenarios: a reference case, low and high economic growth cases, low and high oil price cases, and the high oil and gas resource case.
Canadas Carbon Emissions Rules Spark Hope for Keystone
TransCanada Corp. has written to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arguing that new Canadian rules on emissions should persuade him to approve the construction of the much-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed $6.4 billion project would carry an estimated 830,000 bpd of Canadian crude oil per from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, NE, then link up with Keystone’s existing line, which would take the oil on the final leg to the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
In The News: EPA Says Fracking Not Widespread Problem in Drinking Water
The federal Environmental Protection Agency on June 4 released a much-anticipated study of whether hydraulic fracturing contaminates drinking water supplies, concluding that while there have been some cases of contamination, the issue is not widespread.
Gulf States Reach $18.7 Billion Settlement with BP over Oil Spill
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana announced an $18.7 billion settlement with BP on Thursday that resolves years of litigation over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The settlement announcement comes as a federal judge was preparing to rule on how much BP owed in federal Clean Water Act penalties after millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf. Individual states also were pursuing litigation. Most of those penalties were to be distributed among the states for environmental and economic restoration projects along the Gulf Coast.
Sunoco Logistics Plans Pipeline to Marcus Hook
Sunoco Logistics Partners announced June 4 plans to build an additional pipeline to deliver Marcellus Shale products to Marcus Hook, reflecting a growing market for liquid fuels derived from the region's shale drilling. <em>The Philadelphia Inquirer reported</em> Sunoco Logistics said it intends to build two pipelines simultaneously as part of its Mariner East 2 project. The project, announced in November, is the second phase of a plan to move materials including propane, butane, and ethane from Appalachian shale-gas fields to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex southwest of Philadelphia.
Wood Group Wins Onshore Pipeline Work for Origin Energy
Wood Group has secured a $1 million contract with Origin Energy to provide detailed design engineering for the onshore pipelines related to the Halladale, Black Watch & Speculant (HBWS) Natural Gas Project in South West Victoria, Australia. The HBWS gas fields are located in the offshore Otway Basin in Victoria but due to their proximity to shore, and to avoid sensitive marine environments, they are being drilled using extended reach drilling (ERD) techniques from onshore location and tied back to the existing Otway Gas Plant.
Analysis: Williams Takeover Bid Portends Moves to Come
In the wake of Energy Transfer Enterprises’ (ETE) thus far unsuccessful takeover bid of Williams Cos., some in the industry are predicting more of the same type of activity as cheap energy spurs stronger companies to look for less sound rivals to gobble up.
California Oil Spill Gushed Like Hose 'Without a Nozzle'
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters investigating a reported petroleum stench at a California beach last month didn't take long to find a spill — oil was spreading across the sand and into the surf. Tracing the source, they found crude gushing from a bluff like a fire hose "without a nozzle," records show.
Colombia's President Blasts Rebels for Causing Oil Spill
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Juan Manuel Santos says an oil spill triggered by a rebel attack on a pipeline the worst environmental disaster in Colombia's history. Santos made the comments Friday while visiting the southern port city of Tumaco to survey damage from the June 22 bombing by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Magellan, LBC to Build Terminal, Pipeline Infrastructure on Gulf Coast
Magellan Midstream Partnersand LBC Tank Terminals, LLC ("LBC") announced they formed a 50/50 limited liability company. Seabrook Logistics, to own and operate crude oil storage and pipeline infrastructure in the Houston Gulf Coast area. The assets will include more than 700,000 bbls of new crude oil storage and other distribution infrastructure located adjacent to LBC’s existing terminal in Seabrook. In addition, the JV will build an 18-inch pipeline, which will connect the new storage to an existing third-party pipeline that will transport crude oil to a Houston-area refinery.
- Keystone Oil Pipeline Resumes Operations After Temporary Shutdown
- Biden Administration Buys Oil for Emergency Reserve Above Target Price
- Freeport LNG Plant Runs Near Zero Consumption for Fifth Day
- Enbridge to Invest $500 Million in Pipeline Assets, Including Expansion of 850-Mile Gray Oak Pipeline
- Williams Delays Louisiana Pipeline Project Amid Dispute with Competitor Energy Transfer
- Evacuation Technologies to Reduce Methane Releases During Pigging
- Editor’s Notebook: Nord Stream’s $20 Billion Question
- Enbridge Receives Approval to Begin Service on Louisiana Venice Gas Pipeline Project
- Mexico Seizes Air Liquide's Hydrogen Plant at Pemex Refinery
- Russian LNG Unfazed By U.S. Sanctions
