Storage
Howard Energy Partners Completes Corpus Christi Liquids Terminal
Howard Energy Partners has commenced commercial operations at a new bulk liquid terminal facility in the Port of Corpus Christi.
‘New World Order’ Re-shaping Natural Gas Storage
As the International Energy Agency (IEA) observed in June, dramatic changes are underway in the world’s natural gas trade. Thanks to shifting demand patterns, suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from producing countries such as the U.S. and Australia increasingly will need to look for new homes..
Quake Near Oklahoma Oil Hub Causes Substantial Damage
CUSHING, Okla. (AP) — A magnitude 5.0 earthquake centered near one of the world’s key oil hubs brought down building facades and shattered windows in a central Oklahoma city, rendering century-old buildings unsafe and raising concerns about key infrastructure. As the sun rose Monday, television new..
Martin Midstream to Sell Corpus Christi Terminal Assets
NuStar Logistics to acquire Martin Midstream's pipeline assets in Corpus Christi.
EQT Midstream Acquires Transmission, Storage and Gathering Assets
EQT Midstream Partners acquired the Allegheny Valley Connector (AVC) transmission and storage system, along with several Marcellus gathering systems from EQT Corporation for $275 million in cash, effective Oct. 1. The assets include 209 miles of transmission pipeline and 11 Bcf of working gas storag..
The Downstream Frontline for Integrity Management
Recent news headlines around gas storage incidents highlight the fact that it is not only oil and gas-producing wells that need continuous real-time integrity monitoring to avoid catastrophic leaks. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) most recent forecasts, we can expect a sustaine..
Husky Energy to Portion off Midstream Assets for $1.7 Billion
Husky Energy will sell 65% ownership interest in select midstream assets in the Lloydminster region of Alberta and Saskatchewan to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings and Power Assets Holdings Limited (PAH). Husky, which will remain the operator, will receive $1.7 billion of gross cash proceeds, whi..
Mountaineer NGL Storage Open Season Underway
On April 11, 2016, Mountaineer NGL Storage, LLC began its non-binding open season for up to 1.6 million barrels of initial storage capacity with more than 25,000 bbls per day of load-in and load-out. The Mountaineer NGL Storage Project will provide storage services to a growing number of gas proces..
Bayou Bridge Pipeline Begins Nederland-Lake Charles Operations
Bayou Bridge Pipeline started commercial operations on the 30-inch segment of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline from Nederland, TX, to Lake Charles, LA. The project is owned by subsidiaries of Phillips 66 Partners, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners. In addition, as a result of successf..
Floridian Natural Gas Storage Announces Non-Binding Open Season for Firm Gas Storage Service
Floridian Natural Gas Storage Company, LLC (FGS) is soliciting non-binding bid proposals from interested parties for a firm liquefaction, storage, and redelivery by vaporization service to a new delivery point through an interconnect with Florida Gas Transmission Company (FGT) at a location at or ne..
U.S. Natural Gas Production Reaches Record High in 2015
U.S. natural gas production reached a record high level of 79 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2015, an increase of 5% from the previous year, even as natural gas prices remained relatively low. Production from five states—Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and North Dakota—was respon..
Natural Gas Storage Ends Winter Heating Season at Record High
Working natural gas inventories ended the winter heating season at 2,478 billion cubic feet (Bcf), exceeding the previous end-of-March record high of 2,473 Bcf, set in 2012, according to EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. Inventory withdrawals during the traditional heating season (November th..
Oil Majors Only Replace 75% of Oil and Gas Produced in 2015
The oil majors failed to replace all of the oil and gas reserves that they burned through in 2015, a worrying sign for the industry’s future. The Wall Street Journal reported that the seven largest oil and gas companies only replaced about 75 percent of the reserves on average that they produced la..
High Production, Low Prices Mean Little Change in Natural Gas Storage Capacity
High levels of natural gas production and relatively low natural gas prices are affecting markets for seasonal natural gas storage, including the value of additional storage capacity. For the second year in a row, no new natural gas storage facilities were added, and the slight changes, both positiv..
Ultrasonic Metering, Creative Insulation Engineering, Aid LNG Plant
A major East Coast storage facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) had a flow metering challenge on one line. The problem was directly related to the temperature of the product. LNG is liquefied to concentrate its volume for shipping and, as a result, the temperature of the liquid drops to a cryog..
Storage Site Leak Raises Environmental, Reliability Concerns
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) detected a major leak Oct. 23 at Aliso Canyon, an underground natural gas storage facility located 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Aliso Canyon storage facility, which has 115 wells, is the second-largest natural gas storage field in the western Unit..
Henry Hub, Marcellus Spread Narrows as Pipeline Capacity Grows
Natural gas spot prices around the United States are often compared to prices at the Henry Hub in Louisiana. At trading points in and around the Marcellus and Utica shale plays in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, natural gas prices consistently trade below the Henry Hub national benchmark pric..
OPEC Says $95 Oil Coming, But Not Until 2040
This week opened with the average global price of oil at an 11-year low, yet OPEC expects its own producers eventually will cut back on production, causing prices to rebound to $70 per barrel by 2020. That may seem a long time for producers to wait for oil to become more profitable, but in OPEC’s annual World Oil Outlook, issued Wednesday, the oil cartel does not see oil prices returning to the heights of $110 per barrel, where it was before the price crisis began in June 2014. Instead, it says it doesn’t expect prices to reach even $95 per barrel until 2040.
Oil Jobs Drive North Dakota to Lead US in Population Growth Again
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota is once again leading the nation in population growth, and the number of residents in the state is at an all-time high, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau's most recent estimate put the state population at 756,927 in July, an increase of 16,887 residents — or about 2.3% — compared to July 2014. That percentage, far higher than the national average, is largely driven by people in search of jobs in oil-rich western North Dakota.
Columbia Pipelines Looking to Spend $1.1 Billion on Modernization
Columbia Gas Transmission has filed a customer agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend its long-term system modernization program by three years, through 2020.The agreement, with a requested approval by March 31, would provide for $1.1 billion of additional investment. Parent company Columbia Pipeline Gas (CPG), has invested about $1 billion under the modernization programs over the past three years, placing more than 100 projections into service. These include: • Replacement of more than 130 miles of bare steel pipelines and wrought iron facilities
AP Investigation: US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyber-attackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
Crestwood Equity Completes Open Season on Pipeline Expansion
Crestwood Equity Partners completed a non-binding open season on Dec. 7 seeking shipper support for the Delaware Takeaway crude pipeline system (Delta), a 164-mile crude and condensate pipeline header system originating at a Crestwood terminal to be built north of Pecos, TX. The pipeline would have potential downstream connections to multiple downstream interconnects that will provide shippers access to end markets including El Paso, Midland, Cushing, Houston and Corpus Christi.
Dont Expect Crude Exodus Because Export Ban Ending
Congress is on the verge of passing a major budget deal that includes some of the largest changes to energy policy in some years. Tucked into the budget bill is a repeal on the ban on crude oil exports from the United States, a highly sought after goal on behalf of the oil and gas industry. In exchange for lifting the export ban, Republicans agreed to extend tax credits for wind and solar for five years.
Mexico Oil Sector Sees Most Successful Auction So Far
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's third auction to open oil and gas blocks to private investment was the most successful yet, with all 25 blocks drawing bids Tuesday. Officials awarded exploration and production rights to mostly Mexican companies, as well as one Canadian firm plus consortiums involving U.S. and Dutch investments. No major multinational oil companies participated in the bidding.
AP Analysis: Why US Will Export Oil for 1st Time in Decades
NEW YORK — The United States, seemingly awash in crude oil after an energy boom sent thousands of workers scurrying to the plains of Texas and North Dakota, will begin exporting oil for the first time since the 1973 oil embargo. The lifting of the embargo is part of a spending deal expected to be pushed through the House and Senate by the end of the week. Here's a brief look at why the ban was in place, and the reasons why that ban is now being lifted after four decades.
Fuel Thefts from Mexican Pipelines Rise 55% Despite Pemex Efforts
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities say illegal taps drilled into government pipelines by fuel thieves have risen by about 55% this year, reaching almost 500 per month. Fuel theft is skyrocketing despite efforts by the Pemex oil company to make it less attractive, by shipping fuel that lacks final additives through some pipelines. According to government figures made public Monday, 3,286 clandestine taps were found in the first 11 months of 2014, compared to 5,091 in the same period of 2015. The thefts averaged 497 taps in the last five months of 2015.
Bourdon Named Chairman of American Midstream
Lynn L. Bourdon III was appointed as chairman, president and CEO of American Midstream Partners LP, the company said Dec. 14. Steve Bergstrom retired from those positions, effective Dec. 10, the company added. Bergstrom will continue serving as a director on the board of directors. Most recently, Bourdon was president and CEO of Enable Midstream Partners LP. Prior to that, he was group senior vice president of NGL and natural gas marketing, petrochemical, refined products and marine services at Enterprise Products Partners LP.
Company Plans Gravel Island to Extract Arctic Offshore Oil
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC drew protests on two continents this year, but a more modest proposal for extracting petroleum where polar bears roam has moved forward with much less attention. While Shell proposed exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea about 80 miles off Alaska's northwest coast, a Texas oil company wants to build a gravel island as a platform for five or more extraction wells that could tap oil 6 miles from shore in the Beaufort Sea.
Deliveries to Sabine Indicate Train 1 Commissioning Well Underway
The first substantial deliveries of 46 MMcf to Sabine Pass LNG took place Dec. 10 from Creole Trail’s Creole Trail-SPLIQ-D meter location. This increase in deliveries came from a 33.6 MMcf receipt off of the TETCO pipeline. The point has an operational capacity of 1.7 Bcf. Nominations at this point were first seen Oct 1; since then it has averaged 2.74 MMcf/d. This correlated with consistent flaring activity seen by Genscape’s proprietary monitors.
Countries Added to Shale Oil, Natural Gas Resource Assessment
EIA continues to expand its assessment of technically recoverable shale oil and shale natural gas resources around the world. The addition of four countries – Chad, Kazakhstan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – to a previous assessment covering 42 countries has resulted in a 13% increase in the global assessed total resource estimate for shale oil and a 4% increase for shale gas.
- Keystone Oil Pipeline Resumes Operations After Temporary Shutdown
- Freeport LNG Plant Runs Near Zero Consumption for Fifth Day
- Biden Administration Buys Oil for Emergency Reserve Above Target Price
- Mexico Seizes Air Liquide's Hydrogen Plant at Pemex Refinery
- Enbridge to Invest $500 Million in Pipeline Assets, Including Expansion of 850-Mile Gray Oak Pipeline
- 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
