Operations
Schlumberger CEO: Rebound in Oil Will Take Longer than Many Expect
Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company, is revising its outlook for a recovery in energy prices, and says it plans to reduce spending, through more layoffs for example, in order to remain profitable. In July, Schlumberger’s CEO, Paal Kibsgaard, said he expected oil prices to begin recovering by the end of 2015. But in a conference call with analysts on Oct. 16 he said prices may not begin rising until 2017.
Interior Department Curbs Future Arctic Offshore Drilling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Interior Department announced Friday it is canceling future lease sales and will not extend current leases in Arctic waters off Alaska's northern coast, a decision that significantly reduces the chances for future Arctic offshore drilling. The news follows a Sept. 28 announcement by Royal Dutch Shell that it would cease exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas after spending upward of $7 billion on Arctic exploration. The company cited disappointing results from a well drilled in the Chukchi and the unpredictable federal regulatory environment.
Compression: Pumping It Up Toward Perfection
In today’s climate change-constricted world, engineers who are comfortable with the role compression can play in unraveling the mystery of how to eliminate methane leaks and still produce newly unlocked massive North American natural gas supplies will always be in high demand. It is this sort of industrial puzzle that keeps folks on their toes at organizations such as the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC), the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA).
Is Oil and Gas Fire Sale about to Start?
Much has been written about the mounting pile of debt for U.S. oil companies (not to mention the well-known Brazilian oil giant).
Oil Companies Pledge Support for Paris Climate Deal
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The chief executives of 10 of the world's biggest oil and gas companies have pledged support for an "effective" deal to fight global warming at a Paris conference next month. In a statement Friday, the CEOs of BP, Shell, Saudi Aramco, Total, Repsol, Statoil, Eni, Petroelos Mexicanos, Reliance Industries and BG Group said they recognize greenhouse gas emissions trends are inconsistent with the ambition to keep warming below a level many consider dangerous. Burning coal, oil and gas for energy is a key emissions source.
Snelsons New Leader Spreading the Word on Range of Pipeline Services
Snelson Companies opened its doors in 1946 as a small family-owned plumbing and heating business in Sedro-Woolley, WA. Frank Snelson, Sr. opened and ran the business with his three sons, Frank Jr., Jack and Bill. Bill, the youngest of the three, took over for his father in 1957. By 1966, Snelson was among the top hundred mechanical contracting firms in the U.S.
ANSI/API Recommended Practice 1173 Released; What Does It Means for Pipeline Safety?
On July 8, 2015, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released the first edition of ANSI/API Recommended Practice (RP) 1173 Pipeline Safety Management Systems. As an ANSI designated standards document, the RP became the national standard for pipeline safety management systems (PSMSs) in the U.S.
New Integrity Solutions Facing Many Same Old Problems
The protection of oil, gas and refined product pipelines against natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, not to mention human actions including construction excavations, illegal tapping and terrorist sabotage, is an ongoing concern for operators around the world. However, in the United States, the top three causes of pipeline failure reported by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are construction excavations, corrosion and equipment failure (Figure1).
Iran Prepares Oil Sector for Life after Sanctions
Iran says it is ready to offer more than 50 projects for energy exploration and production to investors so that it can return quickly to the global oil market as soon as it is free from Western sanctions. Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, the chief negotiator for Iran’s Oil Contracts Restructuring Committee, said Iran will introduce the contracts in Tehran in November and at an energy conference in London next February. He made the announcement on Oct. 6 at the Oil and Money conference in Britain’s capital.
Far More than Money at Stake
How do you measure the cost of a pipeline spill? The answer: you can’t. That’s what the upper management of Plains All-American Pipeline is learning these days. It’s been a bad year for the Houston-based outfit that, through a series of acquisitions, has quickly become one of the nation’s largest independent midstream operators with over 18,000 miles of oil products pipelines.
Mastering Inspection of Challenging Pipelines
Pipelines are a valuable asset and need protection. In order to achieve this, a modern pipeline integrity management program usually includes regular inspections followed by integrity assessment, and if required, repair and rehabilitation measures.
Where do Oil Majors Really Stand on Climate Change?
Oil majors have been present in the renewable energy space for years. But with momentum building around the Paris COP21 climate talks at the end of the year, their focus has changed. Traditional energy players are positioning themselves in the debate on carbon pricing and emissions reductions, rather than wind and solar. Greater engagement by oil companies should be welcomed as cooperation between the public and private sectors will be critical to moving the conversation forward both in Paris and beyond.
Egypt Gas Find Sparks Panic in Israel about Israeli Reserves
Italian major Eni, on Aug. 30, announced the discovery of a supergiant gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt. The Zohr field is estimated to hold 30 Tcf of natural gas (5.5 Bbbls oil equivalent), though Eni believes more could be found. As it stands, the potential reserves represent the largest discovery in Egypt and the Mediterranean, topping Israel’s 16-Tcf Leviathan field.
House OKs Lifting 40-year-old US Ban on Oil Exports
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House on Friday approved a bill to lift a 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude oil exports. The House approved the bill on a 261-159 vote. Supporters said an ongoing boom in oil and gas drilling has made the 1970s-era restrictions obsolete. Lifting the export ban would lower prices at the pump, create jobs and boost the economy, said House Speaker John Boehner.
Mastering Inspection of Challenging Pipelines (1)
Pipelines are a valuable asset and need protection. In order to achieve this, a modern pipeline integrity management program usually includes regular inspections followed by integrity assessment, and if required, repair and rehabilitation measures.
Keystone XL Developer Seeks Different Approval for Route
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — TransCanada is taking steps to circumvent one of the major roadblocks in Nebraska to the building of the Keystone XL pipeline. But in seeking approval Monday for the same contentious route through the state, the company could create another round of lengthy delays in an already drawn-out process.
Study: No Fracking Bonanza for California's Monterey Shale
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. Geological Survey report out Tuesday downgrades the fracking potential of California's vast Monterey Shale oil deposits. The study is the latest to lower a 2011 federal energy estimate that billed the Monterey Shale as a game-changer for U.S. oil, with what was then estimated at 13.7 Bbbls of recoverable oil overall. Instead, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) new study said, the most oil-rich portion of the giant shale formation holds just 21 MMbbls of oil that can be recovered by intensive methods, such as hydraulic fracturing, better-known as fracking.
Oil Traders Finally Get some Bullish News
Crude prices are off to a good start this week, jumping by more than 2% on Oct. 5 following several pieces of bullish news. First, Baker Hughes reported a sharp contraction in the rig count last Friday, with oil rigs falling by 26, the largest decline in months. Oil and gas rigs are now down by more than 1,100 since October 2014.
NGPL, Cheniere Agree on Gas Transportation to Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) has an agreement with Corpus Christi Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc., to provide the Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project with 385,000 dekatherms per day of southbound natural gas transportation capacity on NGPL’s expanded Gulf Coast mainline system for a 20-year term.
North Dakota Taxable Sales Plummet as Rig Count Faulters
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases dropped more than 16% during April, May and June compared to the same quarter a year ago because of a decline in activity in the western oil patch. It is only the second such quarterly decline since 2009, but officials say they're not surprised nor too concerned given the tremendous growth in taxable sales and purchases the state has experienced in recent years.
Tall Oak Expands Processing Capacity in Oklahomas Stack Play
Tall Oak Midstream has secured a long-term, fee-based natural gas gathering and processing agreement with one of the largest acreage holders and natural gas producers in the Midcontinent’s Stack play. The company has dedicated production from all existing and future wells drilled on 40,000 net acres located in Oklahoma’s Kingfisher and Blaine counties. The associated production will be gathered and processed at Tall Oak’s Chisholm Processing Complex now being constructed in Kingfisher County.
US, States Finalize $20 Billion Settlement with BP over Gulf Oil Spill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and five states have finalized a settlement worth more than $20 billion arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials announced Monday. The deal resolves all civil claims against BP and ends five years of legal fighting over the nearly 134 million-gallon spill. It requires the company to commit to a widespread cleanup project in the Gulf Coast area aimed at restoring wildlife, habitat, water quality and recreation.
World News: Polarled to Take Norwegian Gas Infrastructure Across the Arctic Circle
Work has begun on the Polarled project – the first pipeline crossing the Arctic Circle – for a consortium of Statoil-led companies. The 482-km, 36-inch pipeline will run from Nyhamna in western Norway to the Aasta Hansteen field, creating a new "gas highway" from the Norwegian Sea to Europe. The world’s largest pipelaying vessel, Solitaire from Allseas, is carrying out the job, In July, Pipelines International reported work was advancing with crews working around the clock.
In the News: Phillips 66, Spectra Energy Bail Out Troubled DCP Midstream
Phillips 66 and Spectra Energy, 50/50 joint venture owners in DCP Midstream, LLC, have entered into a nonbinding letter of intent for contributing assets to strengthen DCP Midstream. This transaction is expected to provide DCP Midstream with a stronger balance sheet and increased financial flexibility, and positions DCP to grow through commodity price cycles.
Feds: Proposed Pipeline Rules could Have Prevented Accidents
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — New federal rules proposed for pipelines that carry oil and other hazardous liquids could have prevented more than 200 accidents since 2010, including a Michigan rupture that ranks as the costliest onshore spill in U.S. history, federal officials said. The U.S. Transportation Department proposal announced Thursday covers more than 200,000 miles of hazardous liquids pipelines that crisscross the nation — a network that expanded rapidly over the past decade as domestic oil production increased.
Phillips 66, partners begin open season on Bayou Bridge Pipeline
Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP) launched a binding expansion open season to assess additional interest in service from Nederland, TX to refining markets in Louisiana. Bayou Bridge is jointly owned by subsidiaries of Phillips 66, Energy Transfer Partners, and Sunoco Logistics Partners.
Natural Gas Production Records from Idaho Well Made Public
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The first batch of production records from a natural gas well in Idaho have been made public following a new rule approved by lawmakers. The Idaho Department of Lands earlier this week released the monthly records that span from February 2013 to July for a well named State 1-17 in southwest Idaho and operated by Houston-based Alta Mesa. Records show the well is producing a comparatively small amount of natural gas — 290,000 cubic feet in July. The gas is being sent to Intermountain Gas and used in the nearby town of New Plymouth.
New Pipeline Safety Rule Pending after Increase in Accidents
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A long-delayed rule to strengthen safety requirements for pipelines that move oil and other hazardous liquids will be unveiled this month following a recent surge in accidents, the U.S. government's pipeline safety administrator said. More than five years in the making, the rule will determine if extra safety measures that are required in environmentally sensitive and populated areas should be expanded to new locations.
EIA Finds U.S. Propane Inventories Reach All-Time High
U.S. inventories of propane and propylene reached 97.7 million barrels as of September 11, the highest level in the 22 years that EIA has collected weekly propane inventory statistics. In the first six months of 2015, U.S. propane and propylene inventories were 24.3 million barrels higher on average compared to the same period in 2014. In the past year, nearly all of the increase in inventories occurred in the Gulf Coast region (PADD3).
Debt Service Using Rising Share of U.S. Onshore Oil Producers Operating Cash Flow
Results from second-quarter 2015 financial statements of a number of U.S. companies with onshore oil operations suggest continued financial strain for some companies. Low oil prices have significantly reduced cash flow for U.S. oil producers, and to adjust to lower cash flows, companies have reduced capital expenditures and raised more cash from debt and equity.
- Trump Aims to Revive 1,200-Mile Keystone XL Pipeline Despite Major Challenges
- Phillips 66 to Shut LA Oil Refinery, Ending Major Gasoline Output Amid Supply Concerns
- FERC Sides with Williams in Texas-Louisiana Pipeline Dispute with Energy Transfer
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Pipeline Permits
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Marathon Oil to Lay Off Over 500 Texas Workers Ahead of ConocoPhillips Merger
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- Another Major U.S. Oil Refinery Shutting Down as Lyondell Confirms Houston Closure
- Chevron CEO Wirth Under Fire as Hess Deal Delay Drags Down Stock Performance
