North America

Pioneer Natural Jumps on Report of Buyout Talks with Exxon

Pioneer Natural Resources Co.'s shares rose as much as 8.5% on Monday following a report that Exxon Mobil Corp. held preliminary talks with the U.S. shale oil producer about a possible acquisition.

Hawaiʻi Gas Issues Request for Proposals for Renewable Natural Gas, Renewable Hydrogen

(P&GJ) — Hawaiʻi Gas is seeking proposals from local and national suppliers who can provide up to 65,000 therms of RNG or up to 2,300 kg per day of renewable hydrogen. This request is the equivalent of replacing nearly all of the utility’s synthetic natural gas with RNG.

WSJ: Exxon Eyes Potential Purchase of Shale Driller Pioneer

Exxon Mobil Corp. has held preliminary talks with Pioneer Natural Resources Co. about a possible acquisition of the U.S. shale oil producer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sources: New Exxon Beaumont, Texas Crude Unit Completes Startup

The new 250,000 bbl/d Crude C CDU lifts the Beaumont refinery's capacity to 619,024 bbl/d, second only to the Motiva Enterprises refinery in nearby Port Arthur, Texas, the people said.

Rare Shipments of Forties Crude Head to East Coast Refiners

U.S. and Canadian refiners have turned to North Sea "Forties" crude oil for the first time in seven years in the latest sign of changing global oil flows from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Tellurian to Sell Land for $1 Billion and Lease Back for Driftwood LNG Project

U.S. LNG developer Tellurian Inc. has entered into an agreement with an institutional investor to sell 800 acres of land in Louisiana for $1 billion, a regulatory filing by the company showed on Thursday.

WSJ: Dominion Energy, National Grid Pursuing Sale of Natural Gas Pipelines

Utility firms Dominion Energy and National Grid Plc are separately considering a potential sale of parts of their natural gas pipeline networks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Kinder Morgan's California Renewable Diesel Hubs Begin Commercial Operations

(P&GJ) — Kinder Morgan Inc. has begun full commercial operation of its Southern and Northern California renewable diesel (RD) hub projects, the company said on April 3. RD is an alternative fuel that allows trucks, trains and any equipment that uses diesel to operate with significantly lower life-cycle emissions.

Pipeline Operator Enbridge Expected to Enter Carbon-Capture Cement Partnership

Pipeline operator Enbridge and German firm Heidelberg are expected to enter a partnership to develop a facility to capture carbon emissions from cement production.

US Cities to Receive Nearly $200 Million to Upgrade Aging, Leaking Natural Gas Pipelines

(P&GJ) — The U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has awarded $196 million in grants to 37 projects spread across 19 states for the modernization of aging natural gas pipelines.

US Official: White House Got 'Heads Up' on OPEC Cut Plans, Disagreed with Move

The Biden administration told Saudi Arabia officials that it disagreed with OPEC’s surprise decision to cut oil production when it was given a ‘heads up’ on the move, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, told reporters on Monday.

Bid to Pause ConocoPhillips' Alaska Willow Project Fails

A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by environmentalists to temporarily suspend the U.S. government’s approval of ConocoPhillips' multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic.

EIA: US Crude Output Rose in January to Highest Since March 2020

The EIA said that among the top oil-producing states, monthly output in Texas rose 1.5% to 5.24 million bbl/d, the highest since March 2020. In North Dakota, output jumped 10.2% to about 1.05 million bbl/d, the highest since November 2022.

US LNG Exports Back on Rising Track, Reached Record in March

U.S. producers of LNG last month regained momentum as the country's second-largest exporter Freeport LNG ramped up output, sending total shipments to an all-time record of 7.73 million tonnes, data showed on Monday.

JDR Secures Umbilical Contract with Petrogas Transportation

(P&GJ) — JDR, the global subsea cable supplier and servicer, has been awarded a contract by Petrogas E&P Netherlands to supply two umbilicals for the A15 and B10 offshore conventional gas fields in the Netherlands.

Global News April 2023

US LNG exports hit record as Freeport production returns, Granholm says refilling US strategic petroleum reserve could take years, EU Nations seek legal option to stop Russian LNG imports, Oil firms halt or cut output in Iraqi Kurdistan, and more!

Sources: Ovintiv Nears $4 Billion Deal to Acquire EnCap’s Permian Oil, Gas Assets

Ovintiv Inc. is nearing a deal to acquire oil exploration and production assets in the Permian Basin that are controlled by private equity firm EnCap Investments for about $4 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Perspective: Why US Natural Gas Output Keeps Rising as Prices Sink

U.S. natural gas prices last week plunged to a 30-month low, crossing below $2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for the second time this year, even as some producers have cut drilling to stave off further convulsions.

Spire Adds Storage in Rockies, Western US

(P&GJ) — To meet the growing energy demands in the Rockies and Western U.S., Spire Storage is expanding its facilities in Wyoming, with partial availability of additional natural gas storage capacity becoming available in 2024.

Pipeline Operator Enbridge to Invest $2.9 Billion to Build Ammonia Plant in Texas

Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara and Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge plan to invest up to $2.9 billion to build a low-carbon blue ammonia production plant in Texas, they said on Friday. The plant, which would be Yara's biggest, would be built at an Enbridge oil storage and export facility near Corpus Christi, with production to start around 2027-28.

Creative Coating Solutions Make for Smooth Pipeline Expansion

(P&GJ) — How does an ambitious gas pipeline expansion, running nearly half the width of Texas, get coated? One spiral weld section of pipe at a time. To protect the more than 250 miles of new pipe added to the Whistler Pipeline in the southwest of the Lone Star State, applicators got inventive – creating an efficient and resourceful approach that helped the job flow as smoothly as the energy resources the pipeline now carries to millions of customers.

Uganda Approves Construction of 898-Mile Crude Pipeline

Uganda approves construction of 898-mile crude pipeline, Biden backs scaled-back ConocoPhillips Alaska oil project, construction of 106-mile gas pipeline to Serbia underway, Coastal GasLink pipeline costs expected to top $10 billion and more.

US Could Buy Back Oil for Strategic Reserve Late This Year

The U.S. could start buying back crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve late this year after President Joe Biden last year directed the largest ever sale from the stockpile, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

Sources: Canada's ATCO Gives Mexico Troubled Pipeline After Damage Award

Canada's ATCO Ltd. has agreed to transfer ownership to Mexico of an unfinished pipeline bogged down in a dispute with the Mexican state power company, two officials told Reuters, marking a rare breakthrough in ongoing tensions over energy.

Mountain Valley Clears Permit Hurdle for 303-Mile Pipeline Project in Virginia

A federal appeals court on Wednesday backed construction authorizations for the $6.2 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline project in Virginia, after finding state regulators thoroughly reviewed the project's environmental impacts.

Fed Survey: Activity in Top US Oil Fields Stall, Outlook Sours

U.S. oil and gas activity stalled in the first quarter as production gains slowed and drillers' outlooks turned negative, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

SocGen Says It Has Pulled Out of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG Project

Societe Generale pulled out of Texas-based energy company NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG project last year, the French bank disclosed for the first time on Tuesday, in news that could help explain the project's repeated delays.

Energy Transfer to Acquire Lotus Midstream for $1.5 Billion, Adding 3,000 Miles of Permian Pipeline

By purchasing Lotus Midstream, Energy Transfer will gain the Centurion Pipeline and an additional 3,000 miles of crude gathering and transportation pipelines that stretch from New Mexico through the Permian Basin of West Texas to Cushing, Oklahoma.

Virginia Natural Gas Receives Approval for Renewable Natural Gas Pilot Program

(P&GJ) — The five-year pilot program will allow for the production and delivery of RNG into Virginia Natural Gas' pipeline system and support the procurement of both RNG and next-generation natural gas.

Capstone Green Energy Secures Microturbine Order for Wyoming Gas Compression Facility

(P&GJ) — Capstone Green Energy Corp. has announced that Horizon Power Systems secured a follow-on order for two Capstone C1000 Signature Series microturbines. The microturbines will power a remote natural gas compression facility in Wyoming’s Green River Basin and will run on high-pressure natural gas.