North America

Enterprise Products' Oil Pipeline Volumes Rise on Permian Basin Output Growth

Enterprise has remained bullish on oil production from the Permian basin, spread across Texas and New Mexico, and is looking to build a crude oil export terminal on the Gulf Coast to help push some of those barrels into the foreign market.

MPLX Reports Boost in Total Pipeline Throughputs in Q1 2023

The company's overall gathered volumes averaged 6.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), a 21% increase from the first quarter of 2022, it said. Gathered volumes in the Marcellus in Pennsylvania averaged 1.4 Bcf/d, or a 4% increase. Additionally, it announced that it is working to expand natural gas long-haul and crude gathering pipelines for the Permian and Bakken basins.

Mississippi Gas Pipeline Operator Lifts Contract Suspension After Repairs

Canadian energy pipeline operator TC Energy Corp. said on Saturday that unit completed repairs on a portion of its Columbia Gulf Transmission gas transmission line in Mississippi that was halted a day earlier.

US LNG Exports Go Full Steam Ahead, Sales to Latin America Rise

U.S. producers of LNG exported at top capacity in April for a second consecutive month, with over two-thirds of shipments bound for Europe and rising volumes to Latin America, data showed on Monday.

Global News May 2023

Latest industry developments.

Pipeline Operator Enbridge Acquires Gas Storage Facility in British Columbia for $295 Million

The storage facility, which is connected to all three major long-haul natural gas transportation lines in Western Canada including Enbridge's Westcoast Pipeline and Alliance Pipeline, has a working storage capacity of 77 Bcf, the company said.

TC Energy Declares Force Majeure on 3,300-Mile Columbia Gulf Pipeline After Fire in Mississippi

Canadian energy company TC Energy Corp. said on Friday that its Columbia Gulf Transmission unit declared a force majeure event at its Corinth natural gas compressor station in Mississippi due to a fire, which had been extinguished.

US Confiscates Iran Oil Cargo on Tanker Amid Tehran Tensions

The U.S. confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in recent days in a sanction’s enforcement operation, three sources said, and days later Iran seized another oil-laden tanker in retaliation, according to a maritime security firm.

Louisiana's Carbon Well Permitting Application Heads to Federal Register

Louisiana's application to obtain enforcement authority over carbon capture wells has gone to the Federal Register for public comment, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday, a key step in receiving "so-called" primacy and speeding up the permitting process.

Pipeline Operator TC Energy Beats Profit Estimates, Eyes Asset Sales to Fund Coastal GasLink Project

Canada's TC Energy Corp. beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday and said it was actively looking to sell $3.67 billion worth of assets this year to reduce debts and fund other projects, such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia that has seen major cost over-runs.

Shell's Zydeco Pipeline Shut on April 25 After Oil Leak

Shell Pipeline Co.'s Zydeco oil pipeline — which alleviates transportation bottlenecks of crude arriving in Houston from the Eagle Ford, Permian and Bakken regions — was shut on April 25 after a limited release of crude oil was detected in the Intracoastal Waterway.

US Venture Global Signs 20-Year LNG Supply Deal with Japan's JERA

U.S. company Venture Global LNG announced a deal to supply LNG to Japan's JERA for 20 years, where it agreed to sell 1 MTPA of LNG to JERA, Japan's biggest power generator and one of the world's biggest LNG buyers, from its CP2 LNG project.

Italy's Energy Dome Raises $44 Million to Focus on CO2 Storage in US

Energy Dome, an Italian startup focusing on CO2 energy storage solutions, said on Friday it had raised 40 million euros ($44 million) from investors to fund expansion in the U.S.

Unable to Process Venezuela's Heavy Oil, Cuba Turns to Russia, Mexico

Cuba increasingly is turning to Russia and Mexico for oil to ease an acute shortage of diesel and gasoline and supplement dwindling supplies of Venezuelan crude and fuel, according to shipping data and sources.

First Nations: Canada’s New Infrastructure Power Brokers

(P&GJ) — After decades of largely contentious relations between Indigenous groups and energy infrastructure developers, Canada’s First Nations are beginning to embrace the economic opportunities that pipeline and export projects can offer – a trend that could make it easier to approve and complete future projects.

Tellurian Receives US Approval for Driftwood Gas Pipelines

Liquefied natural gas developer Tellurian Inc. said on Monday the U.S. energy regulator had authorized Line 200 and Line 300 of its $1.4 billion Driftwood natural gas transmission pipeline project.

Delfin Signs 20-Year LNG Supply Deal with Hartree

(P&GJ) — Under the agreement, Delfin LNG will supply 0.6 MTPA on a free-on-board basis at the Delfin Deepwater Port, 40 nautical miles off the coast of Louisiana, to Hartree for a 20-year period.

Pipeline Operator TC Energy Says Keystone Oil Spill Caused by Fatigue Crack

Canada's TC Energy on Friday said a 14,000-barrel oil spill from its Keystone pipeline in rural Kansas in December was primarily due to a progressive fatigue crack, which originated during the construction of the pipeline.

Liberty Energy Says 15 New Frac Fleets to Hit US Market This Year

The second-largest U.S. shale fracturing firm Liberty Energy on Thursday said service firms have about 30 new frac fleets in development and about half of those will hit the market this year.

Williams, MPLX, WES DJ Gathering Reach Settlement with EPA, DOJ Over Methane Leaks

The settlements announced by the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency require the three natural gas processors to pay a combined $9.25 million in civil penalties and make about $16 million in improvements at plants and compressor stations.

PG&E Reduces Emissions from Gas Pipelines by More Than 20%

(P&GJ) — PG&E's Gas Operations and Engineering teams took a comprehensive approach to reduce emissions from the natural gas system, including enhancing the leak survey program that now assesses more than 42,000 miles of natural gas distribution pipeline every three years versus the previous every-five-years rotation.

Biden Administration Says Republican Concerns About Oil Reserve Damage Unfounded

The Biden administration said concerns of Republican lawmakers that last year's record drawdown of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve damaged the system's delicate salt caverns were unfounded, a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.

Kinder Morgan Beats Profit Estimates on Higher Natural Gas; Permian Pipeline Expansion Delayed

Kinder Morgan Inc. on Wednesday beat profit expectations for the first quarter as the U.S. pipeline operator transported higher volumes of natural gas primarily from Haynesville and Eagle Ford systems.

Japan's Mitsui Buys US Gas Asset in 'Pragmatic Solution' for Energy Transition

Japan's Mitsui & Co. Ltd. has bought a 92% stake in an unconventional gas asset in Texas and plans to promote its gas business as a "pragmatic solution" for the energy transition, it said on Thursday.

Permian In Spotlight as Energy Dealmaking Gathers Steam

Companies with a focus on the oil-rich Permian basin are likely to be at the center of the next wave of consolidation in the U.S. energy sector as favorable oil prices prompt cash-rich drillers to tap into the largest source of shale oil.

Official: Louisiana on Track for Carbon Well Permitting by Year-End

Louisiana likely will receive permitting authority over wells designed to capture and store greenhouse gases by the end of the year, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, who represents a southern section of the state, said on Tuesday.

Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project to Nearly Triple Current Capacity to 890,000 bpd

(P&GJ) — When the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline begins operating next year, it will provide access to new markets in Asia for Canadian oil producers that have suffered from years of limited pipeline capacity. The expansion project will add approximately 980 km (609 miles) of new pipeline and bring the nominal capacity of the system from approximately 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 890,000 bpd.

California City Can't Enforce Natural Gas Ban, Appeals Court Says

Berkeley, California, cannot ban natural gas hookups in new buildings because a U.S. federal law preempts its rule, a federal appeals court said Monday, siding with a challenge the state's restaurant industry made.

US Warns Companies Over Russian Oil Price Cap Evasion Via ESPO Pipeline

The U.S. Treasury published a warning to U.S. companies on Monday of possible evasions of the Russian oil price cap exported through the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and ports in eastern Russia.

US Oil Activity in Colorado, Wyoming Slips, Further Slowing Ahead

Oil and gas activity in the U.S. Midwest and Mountain West states declined in the first quarter and is expected to continue to slow, according to a survey released on Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.