Business & Markets
Memorial Day Gasoline Prices Lowest since 2009
The U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.30 per gallon (gal) on May 23, 47 cents per gallon (cents/gal) lower than at the same time last year, and the lowest average price just before Memorial Day weekend (the start of the summer driving season) since 2009. Lower gasoline prices reflect low..
Why $50 Oil Is Here To Stay
Now that oil prices have rebounded to $50 per barrel, will U.S. shale drillers turn the taps back on? That is the million dollar question that the oil markets still do not have a clear answer on. Last year, when oil prices rebounded from $44 per barrel in March to $60 in June, the rig count leveled..
Baltimore Gas and Electric Continues to Accelerate Natural Gas Infrastructure Replacement
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) continues to modernize the natural gas system serving customers in central Maryland, replacing more than 52 miles of gas mains in the first two full years under the company’s Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (STRIDE) plan. Another 45 miles of ga..
Reform Leads to Opportunities, says Mexico’s Energy Secretary
Mexican Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell used the launch of a regional oil and gas forum Thursday in the nation’s capital to reiterate his country’s commitment to the reform of its domestic energy market. Citing measures initiated by President Enrique Peña Nieto and approved by the nation’s ..
2015 Worst Year For Oil Discoveries Since 1952
A report by Rystad Energy has revealed that new oil discoveries in 2015 totaled 12.1 billion barrels, which is the least amount of new oil discovered in a single year since 1952. Last year was also the fifth year in a row in which the amount of new reserves discovered was smaller than in the previo..
Why Did Saudi Arabia Kill OPEC?
The OPEC meeting is only a week away, but the chances of a positive result are as remote as ever. Rising oil prices, the heightened rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Saudi Arabia’s willingness to go it alone will make a deal all but impossible. First of all, Iran is not in a cooperative mo..
Industrial, Electric Power Sectors Drive Projected Growth for US Natural Gas
U.S. consumption of natural gas is projected to rise from 28 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2015 to 34 Tcf in 2040, an average increase of about 1% annually, according to EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016) Reference case. The industrial and electric power sectors make up 49% and 34% of this gr..
Mozambique’s LNG Dreams Falling Apart
Mozambique is heading towards a major default on outstanding loans related to offshore natural gas infrastructure, symbolizing the deflating hopes for a major source of new natural gas production from East Africa. The state-owned Mozambique Asset Management is set to default on $535 million in loan..
India May Lose Prize Iranian Gas Field To Saudi Arabia
India’s state-owned oil and gas giant ONGC risks losing a massive Persian Gulf gas field in a contracting hurdle, as it races against Saudi Arabia to extract gas reserves from two fields spanning the Iran-Saudi Arabia border. India’s flagship explorer does not have the necessary contract to exploit..
France Tapping Fuel Stocks as Strikes Cause Gas Shortages
PARIS (AP) — France has started using its fuel reserves to deal with gasoline shortages caused by strikes and protests over a bill weakening worker protections. Unions are targeting the nation’s gas tanks, railroads and electricity network this week as they try to push the government to drop the la..
Shell: Pipeline Fixed after California Oil Spill
Officials at Shell Oil Co. say crews have repaired an underground pipeline after it broke and spilled up to 21,000 gallons of oil in rural Northern California. Company spokesman Ray Fisher said Tuesday that workers are running small amounts of oil through the pipeline to test it and are working on ..
BP Faces Setback in World’s Largest Unexplored Oil Basin
As if the current oil markets weren’t tough enough for producers, companies are increasingly finding that regulators are making it harder to drill new sources of oil. For instance, BP was recently told by regulators that it will need to revise and resubmit its plan to explore for oil off of the Sout..
ITC Seeks Shippers for Pipeline from Pasadena Terminal
ITC Pipeline Company announced it launched an open season for a new petroleum products pipeline system south of Houston in Pasadena, TX. The system consists of two 36-inch injecting pipelines and two 16-inch return lines running 1.7 miles between a terminal and interconnections with Colonial and Exp..
AP Interview: Qatar Energy Minister Wants 'Fair' Oil Price
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The oil market is slowly recovering from its steep drop over the past two years but crude is still not trading at a “fair price” to encourage necessary investment, Qatar’s energy and industry minister said Tuesday, ahead of next week’s meeting of OPEC producers. Speaking to The A..
Eni’s Nigeria Pipeline Attacked For The Fourteenth Time This Year
An Italian Eni pipeline has been attacked again, for the fourteenth time this year, putting 4,200 barrels of oil per day of Eni production offline amid a resurgence in militancy. An Eni spokesman contacted by UPI confirmed the attack late on Saturday on the Ogbaimbiri-Tebidaba pipeline in Bayelsa s..
BP To Sell Minority Stake In Forties Pipeline
Oil Major BP is reportedly considering the sale of a minority stake in the Forties pipeline in the North Sea. The company said that it opened negotiations with potential buyers but failed to reveal details on the sale. The pipeline system is capable of carrying and processing some 1 million bar..
U.S. Oil Rig Count Holds Fast, Breaks 8-Week Freefall Streak
The total U.S. rig count (both oil and gas) fell again this week from 406 to 404. While the U.S. oil rig count held fast at 318 as reported by Baker Hughes’ latest oil rig count, the U.S. gas rig count fell from 87 to 85. Last week, it was the number of U.S. oil rigs that had fallen, with U.S. gas ..
Why The Arctic Oil Dream Is Not Over Yet
The race to discover oil and gas in virgin Arctic waters is now on, as Norway offered oil majors a lifeline on Wednesday by opening up what experts say could be home to 15 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 33 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas. Norway officials on Wednesday a..
If Confirmed, Native American Site May Delay $3.8 Billion Pipeline
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Discovery of an archaeological site that may have cultural significance to Native Americans could further delay construction of a $3.8 billion oil pipeline if government officials require the route to be moved. Houston-based Dakota Access LLC wants to build the pipeline — de..
Iran, India Sign Port Deal, Other Economic Agreements
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — India said Monday it will invest up to $500 million in a deal to develop a strategic port in Iran and both countries planned a number of projects they say are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The deal and plans were announced during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendr..
New Hampshire a Big Step Closer to Getting $236 Million from Exxon
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire is a big step closer to getting a $236 million judgment after the U.S. Supreme Court said this week it wouldn’t hear Exxon Mobil’s appeal regarding its use of a gasoline additive that contaminated groundwater in the state. The case involved MTBE, or methyl tertiar..
Crews Excavating North Dakota Land after Large Spill
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Crews in North Dakota excavated pastureland after more than 120,000 gallons of oil and drilling wastewater overflowed from a tank, the state Health Department said Friday. The spill happened Wednesday morning near Marmarth in southwestern North Dakota at a site operated by Pla..
Former Brazil Energy Minister New CEO at Troubled Petrobras
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former Brazilian energy minister Pedro Parente has been named by acting President Michel Temer as the new CEO of state-run oil giant Petrobras. Parente was picked Thursday to replace Aldemir Bendine, an appointee of now suspended President Dilma Rousseff. The new Petrobras CEO..
New Horizons in LNG: New Opportunities and Threats in Rapidly Changing Industry
Global gas prices have continued to sink, with European and Asian import prices falling 30% over the last year,[1] and Henry Hub prices reaching a more than 16-year low.[2] So after multiple years of construction and some delays, it has been a less than auspicious year for many of the United States ..
ROIC: Latest Metric to Gauge Oil Patch Stock Performance
Investors pondering their choices as oil prices continue to recover must attempt to determine which firms are the best investments. The problem is that every company management team is trying to put the best spin on their results in quarterly conference calls and investor presentations. As a result,..
International Markets Prove Hard To Conquer For U.S. LNG
The latest drilling productivity report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has shown that the Marcellus shale continues to be the largest source of natural gas in the U.S. by a wide margin, with daily amounts that put it on par with leading international producers such as Iran and Qata..
Canada Regulators OK Pipeline Expansion Project
SEATTLE (AP) — Canada energy regulators on Thursday recommended approval of a pipeline-expansion project that would dramatically increase the number of oil tankers moving through the waters between the U.S. and Canada. The National Energy Board recommended the federal government conditionally appro..
Construction Underway in 3 States on $3.8 Billion Dakota Access Oil Pipeline
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Construction is underway in three of four states on a $3.8 billion pipeline that will carry oil from western North Dakota to Illinois. Work on the Dakota Access Pipeline has begun in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois, spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger told the American News (ht..
PHMSA: Pipeline Company Failed to Detect California Oil Spill
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An oil pipeline company responsible for a massive spill on the California coast a year ago didn’t do enough to prevent corrosion and its operators didn’t detect and react to the spill quickly enough, federal regulators said Thursday. Plains All American Pipeline also didn’t have ..
Sorting Out Inspectors’ ‘Box of Chocolates’ Quandary
While conducting a client interview after we provided inspection services for a pipeline project, I posed this question to gain feedback: “How’d we do?” He responded with, “You are just like all of the other third-party natural gas pipeline inspection companies and inspectors. I don’t trust any of ..
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