Storage
Cleanup of 2013 North Dakota Oil Spill Slowed by Lack of Natural Gas
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A state regulator said cleanup of a massive 2013 oil spill in northwestern North Dakota is being slowed due to the lack of natural gas needed to power equipment at the site. State environmental scientist Bill Suess said workers will be at the site near Tioga at least another two years baking oil from the soil using a process called thermal desorption.
Saudi Arabia Maintained Crude Market Share in Asia in First Half of 2015
In the first half of 2015, Saudi Arabia exported on average 4.4 MMbpd of crude oil to seven major trading partners in Asia, making up more than half of Saudi Arabia's total crude oil exports over that period. Even as global crude oil prices fell in 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia increased production and kept its export levels high, enabling it to maintain its market share in these countries. However, long-term trends within Saudi Arabia's energy sector may reduce its global crude oil market share.
Waterside Energy Looks to Expand Project on Columbia River
LONGVIEW, WA (AP) — A Houston-based energy company has unveiled plans to expand its proposed energy project along the Columbia River in Longview. In addition to an $800 million proposed oil refinery, Waterside Energy said it wants to build a $450 million liquefied petroleum gas on private property. The <strong>Daily News</strong> reported that about one train a day would bring propane and butane from Canada and North Dakota to the terminal. The facility could receive up to 75,000 bpd.
Southcross Begins Open Season on Propane Pipeline System
Southcross Energy Partners launched a binding open season to solicit commitments for its recently completed 20,000 bpd propane pipeline system connecting the company's Bonnie View Fractionator to the Corpus Christi. TX area for delivery to end-use customers.
Strategy Report Points to Improved Safety, Smart Pigs
With liquids pipeline incidents down by half since 1999, even as their use to transport crude oil pipeline has increased, there is little doubt among experts about what has led to this success on the safety front – preventive maintenance and integrity management programs.
Ex-Exxon Executive Discusses Lauch of 'Clean' Oil Sands Project
After decades of exhaustive attempts to overcome the dirty reputation of oil sands, we finally have an environmentally-friendly and low cost method to tap into these vast resources in the state of Utah – good news both for Mother Nature and all oil and gas investors. MCW Energy Group’s CEO, former Exxon president of the Arabian Gulf region, R. Gerald Bailey, talks about his hunt for an innovative technology that simultaneously makes money and cleans up the environment, and the race to capitalize on Utah’s vast oil sands resources.
2H Offshore Awarded Contracts for Stampede Development in Gulf
2H Offshore, an Acteon company, was awarded two separate contracts, one by Hess Corp. and a second by Enbridge Energy Co., to verify the design, fabrication and installation phases of the Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) for the Stampede field development in the Gulf of Mexico. The field is operated by Hess.
Canadas Oilfield Service Sector Battered by Low Prices
In some ways the numbers don’t look that bad. For a group of 25 diversified, publicly traded Canadian oilfield service (OFS) companies, combined revenue of nearly $9 billion in the first six months of 2015 was only 22.1% lower than $11.53 billion for the same period in 2014. With oil prices down 50 percent for the first half of 2015, a revenue decline of 22.1% looks misleadingly attractive.
Big Cities Scramble in Preparation for Possible Oil Train Disaster
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — They rumble past schools, homes and businesses in dozens of cities around the country — 100-car trains loaded with crude oil from the Upper Midwest. While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion.
Clean Up of Mississippi River to Begin after Tow Boat Collision Spills Oil
COLUMBUS, Ky. (AP) — Clean up crews planned to go into the Mississippi River on Friday in Kentucky after a collision between two tow boats caused an oil spill that prompted the closure of that part of the river. The collision Wednesday evening near Columbus, KY, damaged at least one barge carrying clarified slurry oil. The cargo tank ruptured, causing thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the river, the U.S. Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported. The river was closed Thursday from mile-markers 938 to 922, Petty Officer Lora Ratliff said.
Not Everyone Is Happy About Egypts Latest Gas Discovery
The Nile has been the source of life for the people of Egypt for all of recorded history. A blue stripe down the spine of Egypt’s desert terrain, one of the earliest civilizations known to man grew and prospered for centuries along its banks. But long before the first pharaoh, the Nile was laying the groundwork for a resource that would provide for her people today, one layer of organic material at a time.
Fluor Wins Front-End Contract for Ohio Petrochemical Complex
PTT Global Chemical Public Company (PTTGC) selected a Fluor-led team to perform front-end engineering and design work for its proposed petrochemical complex in Belmont County, OH. The team includes Fluor, Technip and SK E&C. The project will encompass an ethane cracker and derivatives units by leveraging the availability of feedstock from gas taken from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in the region to create chemical products. Front-end activities are expected to be completed in 2016.
EIA Says Effects of Removing Crude Export Limits Depend on Price, Resource Assumptions
A new study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the potential implications of allowing more crude oil exports finds that effects on domestic crude oil production are key to determining the other effects of a policy change. Gasoline prices would be either unchanged or slightly reduced. Trade in crude oil and petroleum products would also be affected.
In the News: Crude Oil Prices Poised to Drop Further
Since the oil price collapse, global oil production has risen, not fallen. Since the fateful Nov. 27, 2014 OPEC meeting, aggregate production from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Iraq is up 2 MMbop/d – far more than demand. November is also when the U.S. inadvertently became the swing oil producer. Prices have not yet fallen far enough or for long enough for an appreciable U.S. supply adjustment to occur. It may not be far off, especially if oil prices fall further with new Iranian supplies, says a study from IHS Energy that notes:
Shell President Says Exploratory Drilling off Alaska Going Well
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days. And in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company's plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels.
ConocoPhillips Safely Delivers 1st Oil at Surmont 2
ConocoPhillips delivered first oil at its Surmont 2 in-situ oil sands facility in Canada, marking a significant milestone for the megaproject. Construction of the single-phase, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project began in 2010. Earlier this year, the company announced first steam, which has heated the reservoir to a point at which the well pairs could be converted to a SAGD configuration, allowing the oil to flow. Production will ramp-up through 2017, adding about 118,000 bpd of gross capacity. Total gross capacity for Surmont 1 and 2 is expected to reach 150,000 Bpd.
Cost, Length of Exxon's Cleanup Still Unclear after Deal
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The $225 million settlement between ExxonMobil and New Jersey reached this week confirms the oil giant must clean up more than 1,500 contaminated properties from gas stations to refineries — but exactly how much they'll spend or how long it'll take remains murky.
Government: PHMSA Sets Standards for State Excavation Policies
House members of both parties drubbed the latest top PHMSA official to appear before Congress to answer questions about lagging pipeline safety rule implementation.
EIA Refines Method for Reporting Monthly Crude Oil Production
With the release of the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM), EIA is incorporating the first survey-based reporting of monthly crude oil production based on an expansion of its survey program earlier this year. The PSM includes EIA's first reporting of June crude oil production. EIA also begins using new survey data from multiple states and regions within the United States, and revises figures previously reported for January through May 2015.
Maersk to Develop Large North Sea Gas Find off British Coast
HELSINKI (AP) — Maersk Oil says it has permission from British authorities to develop a gas field off the British coast in the largest find in the North Sea in a decade. The Danish company said Monday the Culzean field, discovered in 2008, has an estimated 250 to 300 MMBBls of oil equivalent, or enough to produce about 5% of Britain's total gas demand at peak production in 2020-2021. Production is expected to start in 2019 and continue for at least 13 years. Maersk Oil, JX Nippon and BP (Britoil) are investing $4.5 billion in the development.
Why So Much Oil Price Volatility? Blame the Speculators
Oil prices crashed lonly to rebound at lightning speed. On Aug. 28, oil prices surged 10%, the largest one-day gain in seven years. So, what happens next for oil prices? On the face of it, the crash and massive rebound makes little sense, with many oil market analysts undoubtedly left shaking their heads.
JV Constructing Texas-to-Louisiana Crude Line
Phillips 66, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners have formed a joint venture to build the Bayou Bridge pipeline that will deliver crude oil from the Phillips 66 and Sunoco Logistics terminals in Nederland, TX to Lake Charles, LA. The venture will also launch an expansion open season for service to the market hub in St. James, LA. Phillips 66 holds a 40% interest in the joint venture and Energy Transfer and Sunoco Logistics each hold a 30% interest. Sunoco Logistics will be the operator of the system.
Reduced offshore share in U.S. oil and natural gas production lowers risk from hurricanes
Offshore energy production in the Gulf of Mexico has experienced relatively minor disruptions because of tropical storms and hurricanes in recent years, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a below-normal 2015 hurricane season in its updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook, released on Aug. 6.
State Says Ohio Oil, Natural Gas Production at Historic High
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources says historic amounts of oil and natural gas are being produced by Ohio shale wells. Statistics released by the department Thursday show more than 10 MMbbls of oil and 405 Bcf of natural gas were produced during the second quarter of the year. The department says those amounts were more than in any previous three-month reporting period. During the same period in 2014, the state's wells produced about 4.4 MMbbls of oil and 156 Bcf of natural gas.
Ecuador's President Says Country Now Producing Oil at a Loss
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadoreans are already contending with a rumbling, ash-spewing volcano and rising living costs because they use the appreciating U.S. dollar as their currency. Now they've been told that Ecuador's oil — its principal export and a vital source of government funding — costs more to produce than it earns. President Rafael Correa explained on Tuesday, during a visit to areas threatened by the Cotopaxi volcano, that it costs the OPEC nation $39 to produce a barrel of oil for which it only receives $30.
3 Contract Workers Injured after Pipeline Ruptures in Gulf
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three workers were injured after a natural gas pipeline ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles south of Marsh Island. Petty Officer Ryan Tippets said the rupture caused the pipeline to catch fire. He said the injured crew members were taken to a hospital in Houma, LA with minor injuries. He said the Coast Guard received notification of the rupture at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over Decade-Old Gulf Oil Leak
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Environmental groups and a New Orleans energy company have reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit stemming from the company's failed efforts to stop a decade-old, slow-motion oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Some Small But Welcome Relief For WTI
BP’s Whiting refinery, the largest refinery in the Midwest, made a quicker-than-expected return to action this week. BP released a statement saying that the large crude distillation tower that went offline and caused gasoline prices to spike in the Midwest has “safely restarted,” and that output would ramp up over time.
US Crude Flirts with Close of Under $40 a barrel
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are continuing to slide on fears of a slowdown in the world economy, with U.S. crude on pace to close at under $40 a barrel for the first time since the days of the global economic crisis. Already trading around six-year lows on a prolonged slump, U.S. crude fell $1.48, or 3.7%, to $38.97 per barrel Monday afternoon. Earlier it dropped to $37.75. Oil hadn't closed below $40 a barrel since February 2009, although it briefly traded below that level on Friday.
First US Tar Sands Mine Set to Open for Business
BOOK CLIFFS, Utah (AP) — A Canadian company is about to embark on something never before done commercially in the United States: digging sticky, black, tar-soaked sand from the ground and extracting the petroleum. The impending opening of the nation's first tar sands mine has become another front in the battle across the West between preservationists and the energy industry. U.S. Oil Sands has invested nearly $100 million over the last decade to acquire rights to about 50 square miles, obtain permits and develop what it says is a brand-new, non-toxic method of separating out the oil.
- Trump Puts Keystone XL Pipeline Back in Discussion, Though Revival Faces Developer Resistance
- Army Corps Lists Enbridge’s Line 5 as ‘Emergency’ Project Eligible to Bypass Environmental Review
- Missouri Loses Control Over 1.5 Million-Mile Gas Pipeline Network as Feds Step In
- Energy Transfer Wins New York Court Ruling in $150 Million Pipeline Fraud Case
- $3 Billion Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion to Add 1.3 Bcf Capacity in Southeast Region
- Kinder Morgan Approves $1.4 Billion Mississippi Crossing Project to Boost Southeast Gas Supply
- Army Corps Lists Enbridge’s Line 5 as ‘Emergency’ Project Eligible to Bypass Environmental Review
- India’s GAIL Eyes U.S. LNG Deals Following Trump’s Policy Shift
- TC Energy Beats Q4 Profit Estimates, Driven by Mexico Pipelines' Success
- Michigan Court Backs Permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 Pipeline Tunnel Project
