Business & Markets
Q&A: Wearing Many Hats No Problem for Ralph LaRossa
Ralph A. LaRossa is a busy man these days. His company, Public Service Electric & Gas Co. (PSE&G), is embarking on an extensive multi-year upgrading of its North Jersey and environs territory (see related article). His peers at the American Gas Association thought enough of his experience and abilit..
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..
OPEC Report Suggests Massive Oil Price Rebound
The headlines reacting to OPEC’s April Oil Market Report generally read “OPEC concerned about global oil demand” and as such, oil prices traded down slightly on April 13, despite an overall positive market. Well, I’m concerned about global oil demand also, so I thought I better read their report. C..
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..
Mexico Announces over $4 billion in Aid for Struggling Pemex
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The government announced more than $4 billion in aid Wednesday for state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, whose finances, production and exploration projects have been hit by the fall in crude prices. The package will include a direct infusion of $1.5 billion to the company bette..
Romania Discusses Black Sea Drilling with Russia's Lukoil
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s energy minister has discussed a Russian-U.S.-Romanian drilling project in the Black Sea where more than 30 billion cubic meters (1,060 billion cubic feet) of natural gas have been discovered. The office of Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu said Thursday that he m..
AP Source: New Rule on Offshore Drilling Safety Expected Today
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is planning to issue a final rule designed to enhance the safety of offshore oil drilling equipment. The rule, expected to be announced Thursday, comes in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 people and dumped millions of gallo..
Angola Could Be OPEC’s First Member To Fall
OPEC-member Angola, which is dependent on oil for 95 percent of its export revenues, is facing an urgent cash flow problem, and the only way out is external help as the dominoes start to fall. Angola has sought financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to weather the crisis engulfing..
US, Canada to Require $546 Billion in Gas, Oil and NGL Infrastructure Investment
WASHINGTON – The United States and Canada will require annual average midstream natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids midstream infrastructure investment of about $26 billion per year, or $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035, a new study found. The repo..
Canada Provides Record-High Share and Amount of U.S. Crude Oil Imports in 2015
Although total U.S. crude oil imports in 2015 continued to be lower than levels reached during the mid-2000s, imports from the United States’ top foreign oil supplier—Canada—were the highest on record, according to annual trade data from EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly. Canada provided 4 out of every..
Weak Oil Prices Prompt Fitch to Cut Saudi Arabia's Rating
LONDON (AP) — Saudi Arabia suffered another credit ratings downgrade on Tuesday after Fitch lowered its view on the oil-rich kingdom in light of the fall in energy prices. In a note, Fitch said it was reducing its rating on Saudi Arabia by one notch to AA- from AA and warned that another downgrade ..
TransCanada to Build Tula-Villa de Reyes Pipeline in Mexico
TransCanada has been chosen to build, own and operate the Tula-Villa de Reyes pipeline in Mexico. Construction is supported by a 25-year natural gas transportation service contract for 886 MMcf/d with the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s state-owned power company. TransCanada expect..
Thieves in Mexico Build Tunnel, Camouflage Trucks to Steal Oil
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in central Mexico say thieves built a camouflaged truck to transport fuel stolen from government pipelines. Police found a tunnel built by pipeline thieves in the same state of Guanajuato last week. The discoveries show the sophistication of thieves who drill taps int..
Iowa Panel Says Construction Can Begin on Oil Pipeline
DES MOINES (AP) — State utility regulators have deemed that construction can begin on the Bakken oil pipeline in Iowa as soon as federal permits are obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and two other plans are filed. The Iowa Utilities Board voted unanimously this past week to issue the o..
TransCanada Resumes Oil Shipments Through Keystone Pipeline
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. has resumed sending oil through the Keystone Pipeline after a weeklong shutdown prompted by a leak and oil spill in southeastern South Dakota. The pipeline came back online Sunday, but with a reduced pressure. The company says it is continuing cleanup and ..
Alberta's Taxes Precipitate Fall from Grace Within Oil Industry Circles
“Who will stand up for Alberta’s persecuted billionaire community?” the headline of a popular political blog site sarcastically blared after the story broke last month about how wealthy Calgary entrepreneur N. Murray Edwards had apparently relocated his residence to London for tax reasons...
Crestwood, Bluestone Enter into Barnett Shale Gathering Agreement
Crestwood Equity Partners entered into long-term commercial agreements with BlueStone Natural Resources II to gather and process natural gas across its Alliance, Lake Arlington and Cowtown systems in the Barnett Shale. Crestwood will provide services to BlueStone for 10 years under a fixed-fee and ..
Kinder Morgan Awards Contract for LNG Export Facility
Kinder Morgan subsidiaries awarded a contract for engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and startup of its Elba Island LNG export facility to IHI E&C. Located near Savannah, GA, the $2 billion project will consist of 10 trains using Shell proprietary technology. The new units will ..
Turkmenistan-South Asia Pipeline Gets $200 Million Investment
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — An ambitious project to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India has received $200 million in new investment. Under an agreement signed Thursday in the Turkmen capital, the investment comes from Turkmenistan’s state gas compan..
Sabal Trail Transmission Project Receives FERC Certificate
Sabal Trail Transmission, a joint venture of Spectra Energy Partners, NextEra Energy, and Duke Energy, received a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate the Sabal Trail interstate natural gas pipeline project. ..
BP Sets Up Shale Gas Operation in China
UK-listed BP and China’s CNPC aren’t exactly strangers, already jointly developing Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield, but BP’s new shale gas deal with CNPC is the British company’s first foray into China – and it’s a major strategic move that gauges which way the winds are blowing in today’s energy sector. L..
Judge Wants Southern California Gas Pipeline Rejected
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A judge has recommended that state regulators reject a $621-million pipeline to carry natural gas to Southern California. Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric want to build a 63-mile pipeline and pass on the cost to customers. Karl J. Bemesderfer, an..
Oil Speculators Run Out of Reasons to Bet on Rising Prices
Oil prices plunged to their lowest levels in a month on April 4, falling back from recent highs to the mid-$30s per barrel. Oil traded down on the sinking prospect of an outcome from the Doha summit April 17, where several key OPEC countries will meet with Russia to discuss the pending production f..
US Judge OKs $20 Billion BP Oil Spill Settlement
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval Monday to an estimated $20 billion settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resolving years of litigation over the worst offshore spill in the nation’s history. The settlement, first announced in July, in..
AP Source: US Trying to Block Halliburton Purchase of Baker Hughes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is expected to sue this week to stop Halliburton from acquiring Baker Hughes, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the lawsuit had not yet been announced. Halliburton and Baker Hughes hel..
Spectra to Sell Empress NGL to Plains Midstream Canada
Spectra Energy said its indirect subsidiary, Westcoast Energy Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ownership interests in Spectra Energy’s Canadian NGL business to Plains Midstream Canada ULC, a large-scale, operator, for a cash purchase price of about C$200 million plus customa..
Weather, Ample Supply Tamp Down Northeast Winter Natural Gas Prices
Wholesale natural gas and power prices in the Northeast United States remained relatively low this winter, absent the large spikes that have occurred during recent winters. A combination of increased deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the region, a fuel adequacy winter reliability progra..
TransCanada Says Spill Shut Down Keystone Pipeline
FREEMAN, S.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. says the Keystone pipeline will likely remain shut down for the rest of the week while officials investigate an apparent oil spill in southeastern South Dakota. Oil was discovered on a 300-square-foot area in a ditch near a Freeman-area pump station. About 1..
FERC Approves Transco’s Garden State Expansion
TULSA, OK – Williams Partners announced the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an application for Transco’s Garden State Expansion Project, a fully contracted expansion to deliver 180,000 dekatherms a day of additional natural gas capacity for local distribution to thousands of cus..
Natural Gas Combined-Cycle Plant Use Exceeded Coal Plants in 2015
Last year marked the first time on record that the average capacity factor of natural gas combined-cycle plants exceeded that of coal steam plants. The power industry has been running natural gas combined-cycle generating units at much higher rates than just 10 years ago, while the utilization of th..
- Trump Aims to Revive 1,200-Mile Keystone XL Pipeline Despite Major Challenges
- ONEOK Agrees to Sell Interstate Gas Pipelines to DT Midstream for $1.2 Billion
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- Boardwalk Approves 110-Mile, 1.16 Bcf/d Mississippi Kosci Junction Pipeline Project
- Kinder Morgan Approves $1.4 Billion Mississippi Crossing Project to Boost Southeast Gas Supply
- Tullow Oil on Track to Deliver $600 Million Free Cash Flow Over Next 2 Years
- GOP Lawmakers Slam New York for Blocking $500 Million Pipeline Project
- Enbridge Should Rethink Old, Troubled Line 5 Pipeline, IEEFA Says
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- Polish Pipeline Operator Offers Firm Capacity to Transport Gas to Ukraine in 2025
