News
Chevron Acquiring Atlas Energy For $4.3 Billion
Chevron will acquire Atlas Energy for cash of $3.2 billion and assumed pro forma net debt of $1.1 billion in a deal that will provide Chevron with an attractive natural gas resource position primarily located in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale.
EPA Sets Final Rule for GHG Measurement of Compressors and other Equipment, Mandates PCB Removal
The EPA made several concessions to the natural gas industry in its final greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring and reporting rule which the agency published at the end of October. The so-called "Subpart W" rule - 288 pages of complex technical language and charts - lays out the equipment in various natural gas and petroleum sectors which must be monitored for a group of GHGs, and prescribes the methods for that monitoring.
Energy Solutions Report: Natural Gas Prices May Begin To Rise By Mid-2011
On November 15, Energy Solutions, Inc. published its most recent educational analysis, <em>Natural Gas Price Outlook</em>. President Valerie Wood provided a summary of the contents: "Natural gas prices are at eight-year lows, and plentiful supplies have caused some analysts to predict sub-$5 natural gas prices as far out as 2015. If one is looking solely at supply and demand, that forecast may be relevant. But today, the price of natural gas is about so much more than just supply and demand.
Marcellus To The Rescue
Growing up in Pennsylvania, there was one thing you were sure of: you had to go elsewhere for a job that paid decently. I grew up in a small town in the once-bustling Lehigh Valley – an industrial powerhouse typified by its biggest employer, the now defunct Bethlehem Steel Corp.
EIA Releases Winter Energy Outlook: Predicts WTI Oil $83/Barrel
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released new short-term outlook figures Nov. 9, predicting some changes in prices and conditions in the energy market. The report projects that the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil will average about $83 per barrel this winter (October 1 to March 31), a $5.50-per-barrel increase over last winter and $3 per barrel more than in last month’s outlook. Other highlights of the report include:
Western Energy Security: Will There Be A Gas OPEC?
Russia, the world’s top producer and exporter of natural gas, is spearheading Gas Exporting Countries Forum’s (GECF) efforts to inflate its profile and mission amid a global gas glut. Russia and fellow member countries Iran and Qatar form a troika that controls over half of global reserves. The troika is looking to extend trilateral cooperation and wants to ensure gas prices are vulnerably linked to those of oil.
U.S. Oil And Gas Merger/Acquisition Activity Shows Strong Gains
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the U.S. oil and gas sector reached its highest level in more than six quarters during the second quarter 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). With improved credit markets and buyer-seller expectations finally aligning, coupled with increased CEO confidence and stabilized commodity prices, the U.S. oil and gas sector saw a total of 142 announced deals in the second quarter – the highest volume for deals seen since the third quarter of 2008, when the total numbers of announced deals was 190, according to PwC.
New Business Model Re-Invents Pipeline And LDC Recruitment
With tens of thousands employed directly in the pipeline industry, and an associated total of more than 9 million jobs supported by the overall oil and gas industry, ongoing recruitment of professionals and management is no small task. In many ways, the challenge has always been intensified by wide-ranging geographical locations, typically remote and even hostile, where skilled pipeline personnel are required on an ongoing basis.
$7 Billion Keystone XL Labor Agreement Announced
A $7 billion project labor agreement (PLA) was signed September 14 between the United Association and TransCanada Corporation to begin construction on the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline (Keystone XL).
Small Business Jobs and Credit Act Extends Depreciation Credit
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act passed by the U.S. Senate Sept. 16 will extend the 50 percent bonus depreciation deduction for 2010. Additionally, it includes approximately $12 billion in tax relief for small businesses and a $30 billion lending fund that will be administered by the Treasury Department.
How Rod West Overcame the Challenge from Hell
Five years have passed since the monster named Katrina wreaked unprecedented destruction and death upon the grand old city of New Orleans. A worldwide audience watched transfixed by horrific images of misery, destruction and death. Those who rushed in to provide emergency aid were left speechless by the scenes that greeted them.
P&GJs Mid-Year International Pipeline Report
<em>P&GJ</em>’s mid-year international/offshore report shows planned pipeline miles remain higher than actual pipeline construction mileage. Figures show the international sector accounts for 81,752 miles of crude oil, natural gas and refined products pipelines under construction and planned. Of these, 50,355 miles represent pipelines in the feasibility and front end engineering design phase while 31,215 miles account for pipelines in various phases of construction.
Costs Of Building, Operating Oil & Gas Facilities Bottoming Out
The costs of building and operating upstream oil and gas facilities — which fell drastically in Q1 2009 after a prolonged period of escalation — hit bottom and were beginning to show signs of an upward trend at the end of Q1 2010, according to two cost indexes developed by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA).
Why Over-Conservatism In Line Pipe Specifications Should Be Challenged
Modern line pipe design is a complex business; the various demands of corrosion management, fatigue resistance, deepwater collapse and any other failure modes can place a lot on the robustness of that design. The final details of the design make certain assumptions about the steel pipe that is going to be used to make the pipeline.
ETRM Goes to School
With the aging of the workforce, the energy industry in the United States is facing the loss of the experienced and skilled resources that have developed, deployed and maintained the complex systems that underpin our energy infrastructure and the markets that operate within it.
Energy Solutions Forecasts Second Quarter Price Rally from Natural Gas April Lows
The April 2010 natural gas futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) recently hit a new low of $4.036 per MMBtu. “Last week, price support at $4.25 per MMBtu crumbled quickly following the release of the storage report,” says Valerie Wood, President of Energy Solutions, Inc.
BENTEK: Marcellus Shale Production Poised to Disrupt U.S. Natural Gas Market
BENTEK Energy, LLC, predicts that growth in natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin will result in widespread disruption to regional flow patterns and downward pressure on prices in the Northeast region.
GL Noble Denton Plans To Hire 700 Technical Experts
Over the next two years GL Noble Denton plans to hire more than 700 new technical personnel, engineers and marine operations specialists.
Natural Gas Price Forecast Confusing; Close to $6/MMBtu Industry Consensus
Forecasting the prices of commodities such as natural gas and crude oil is far from a scientific endeavor. Sure, statistics, computer modeling, mathematics and more scientific means play a role in the eventual outlook, but it is pure art. A ouija board would be an ideal instrument in the forecasting business.
BP Expects Oil Price To Hold Steady
Oil is set to hold in its current range this year, although some upward movement could be possible, BP's chief economist Christof Ruehl said recently.
Sailing Into Unknown Waters: A New World Order For Natural Gas?
It only seems like a short time ago that oil prices were over $100 a barrel, natural gas prices in the U.S. and UK were high, spot LNG cargoes into the Far East were priced at over $20 per MMBtu and experts in the energy industry were mainly concerned about whether the world could afford the high prices.
Harnessing Entrepreneurial Energy: Houston Technology Center Boosts Texas Innovators
Since the Houston Technology Center (HTC) opened for business ten years ago, it has pushed dozens of companies through its client program. In 2007 HTC President Walter Ulrich cited the HTC’s impact on the Houston-area economy as $225 million a year.
Natural Gas Is The Key To Our Low-Carbon Future
From Copenhagen to the U.S. Congress, policymakers are deeply engaged on climate change and looking for innovative solutions to advance a low-carbon future. Not enough of the conversation has focused on the vast opportunity found right here in North America in clean, abundant natural gas.
PRCI Announces $8M Research Program for 2010
Pipeline Research Council International, Inc. (PRCI), announced Dec. 16 the 2010 Research Program as approved by its board of directors at its fall 2009 meeting. Under the process, members vote their annual subscriptions to the projects of greatest interest and value to them. The 2010 program is funded at just over $8 million.
Lincoln Electric Awarded Recovery Dollars for Wind Installation
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced Nov. 29 that 25 Ohio solar and wind projects will receive more than $13 million in grants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's State Energy Program.
With Detroit In Crisis, Engineers Seek New Possibilities
The Global Training Academy of Troy, MI, a joint project between Talascend and Macomb Community College, offers six-week courses to retrain automotive and manufacturing engineers and designers to work in more robust fields.
Energy CFOs expect six more months of recession conditions
BDO Seidman, LLP, surveyed a random sample of energy CFOs for a new study and concluded that 40 percent of CFOs at oil and gas exploration and production companies don’t expect access to credit to improve until the second half of 2010.
Study Tallies Cost of Climate Legislation
The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), an alliance between 26 major corporations and several environmental organizations, has analyzed the economic effect of its recommendations to Congress concerning climate legislation and projected that the U.S. GDP would grow 70 to 71 percent by 2030 under the proposed scenario.
Gulf of Mexico gas production dives by 2020
In a report released Nov. 30, Ziff Energy forecasts that natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico will fall to 4 Bcf/d in 2020 from 14 Bcf/d in 2001.
Prices down, supply up: Natural gas cost bounces predicted in North America
Wood Mackenzie released an update on the North American natural gas outlook Nov. 20, with a grim prognosis for the future of natural gas prices through 2011.
- Texas Waha Hub Gas Prices Plunge to Record Lows, Hit Negative Territory
- Williams Seeks Emergency Certificate to Operate $1 Billion Mid-Atlantic Gas Pipeline After Court Reversal
- Texas Oil Pipelines Near Max Capacity, Threatening Future Export Limits
- Energy Transfer Subsidiary Selects KTJV for Lake Charles LNG Export Project
- FERC Sides with Williams in Texas-Louisiana Pipeline Dispute with Energy Transfer
- Malaysia’s Oil Exports to China Surge Amid Broader Import Decline
- Four Petroleum Liquids Pipelines Completed in U.S. Since 2023
- Lighter U.S. Permian Crude Risks Losing Favor with Refiners Due to Processing Challenges
- Saudi Arabia Looking to Expand Pipeline to Reduce Oil Exports via Gulf
- Report: Houston Region Poised to Become a Global Clean Hydrogen Hub
