North America

Texas’ Midland Basin Accounts for 15% of US Crude Oil in 2020

Texas’s Midland Basin, part of the larger Permian Basin, which spans parts of western Texas and eastern New Mexico, is made up of many stacked hydrocarbon-bearing formations.

Methane Initiatives Place Emphasis on Rounding Up Fugitives

If the bipartisan infrastructure package passes and is signed into law, Bill Gates is prepared to throw in $1.5 billion for attempts to slow down climate change.

Top Federal Appeals Court Raps FERC’s Knuckles

FERC received new legal leverage from a top federal appeals court to do a more thorough job calculating greenhouse gas emissions and effects on minority communities for liquefied natural gas and pipeline construction applications.

California Lawmakers Vow to Investigate Offshore Oil Spill

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to call for investigations into why it took several hours before a pipeline operator reported the spill to federal authorities.

U.S. Northeast Update: Appalachian Basin Gas Production Still Outpacing Pipeline Construction

The Northeast power grid is the most natural gas-dependent of all U.S. regions, and the Appalachian Basin is setting record highs for gas production. But pipeline construction and expansion projects have failed to keep up.

Plains All American, Oryx Midstream Form Permian Basin Joint Venture

Plains Oryx Permian Basin (the joint venture) includes all of Oryx's Permian assets and, except for Plains' long-haul pipeline systems and certain intra-basin terminal assets, the majority of Plains' assets within the Permian Basin.

Dominion to Sell Questar Pipeline to Southwest Gas in Near $2 Billion Deal

Dominion Energy said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell Questar Pipeline to Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.975 billion.

California Port Where Spill Occurred had Numerous Ships Waiting to Unload

Ships in record numbers have jammed the port complex near this weekend's oil spill in California, according to port data, as investigators look into whether a ship's anchor could have hit a pipeline to cause the leak.

Canadian Energy Pipeline Association Ending Operations

The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) Board of Directors announced the organization will cease operations on Dec. 31 after 28 years due to changes in membership.

California Oil Spill Cause Probed; Storm Threatens Cleanup

Federal and state investigators were focusing on a 41-year-old pipeline as the likely source of an oil spill that killed wildlife and fouled the coast of southern California, and an approaching storm threatened cleanup efforts.

Future-Proofing US Pipelines with Hydrogen

The construction of additional natural gas, crude oil and fuel pipeline across North America is being challenged by environmental and climate action measures by the public as well as politicians.

Sentinel Midstream, ExxonMobil Form Enercoast Midstream to Serve Houston Energy Market

Sentinel Midstream Texas announced the formation of a joint venture with ExxonMobil Pipeline Company that owns crude oil pipelines and related transportation infrastructure in the Houston area.

SoCalGas Testing Hydrogen Blending in Infrastructure and Appliances in Closed Loop System

Technicians are measuring the performance of common household appliances like stoves, wall heaters and forced-air furnaces when they are fueled with a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.

Global News October 2021

EIA Expects U.S. Natural Gas Consumption to Decline Through 2022, Brazil Seeks Natural Gas Pipeline from Argentina’s Vaca Muerta and more.

U.S. Appalachian Gas Pipeline Projects Go by the Wayside

Many of the proposed pipelines to deliver gas to the Appalachian region have been scuttled in recent years, running into opposition to fossil-fuel infrastructure, regulatory problems, or protests from environmental groups.

Enbridge Announces Low-Carbon Fuel Deals with Vanguard, Shell

Enbridge Inc. said on Tuesday it had signed partnerships with Royal Dutch Shell and Vanguard Renewables to make low-carbon fuels, as the Canadian pipeline operator aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Tallgrass to Track, Measure Emissions on U.S. Interstate NatGas Pipeline

Tallgrass Energy Partners will begin monitoring emissions, including methane and other greenhouse gases, on its Rockies Express Pipeline, making it the first U.S. company to do so an interstate natural gas pipeline.

PennEast to End Development of Pennsylvania-New Jersey Natural Gas Pipeline

PennEast Pipeline said on Monday it would cease development of the natural gas pipeline it had proposed to build from Pennsylvania to New Jersey in part because the project has not yet received all the required permits.

Texas Railroad Commission: Statewide Gas Flaring Falls to Lowest Rate in Years

In July, the statewide flaring rate in Texas fell to its lowest rate in years according to Railroad Commission data, falling by more than 75% since August 2019.

U.S. NatGas Futures Rise on Cooler Weather, Rising Heating Demand

U.S. natural gas futures climbed to a one-week high on Friday as some parts of the country start to crank up their heaters with the coming of cooler weather and as near record global gas prices keep demand for U.S. LNG exports high.

Summit Midstream Partners Plead Guilty in Largest U.S. Inland Spill from Oil Drilling

Pipeline operator Summit Midstream Partners pleaded guilty in federal court in Bismarck, North Dakota, to criminal water pollution charges stemming from what prosecutors call the largest-ever land-based spill from oil drilling.

U.S. NatGas Futures Rise on Soaring Global Prices, Low Output

U.S. natural gas futures rose from a two-week low on Thursday as soaring global gas prices kept demand for U.S. LNG exports high and output remained sluggish after Hurricane Ida in late August.

INGAA Welcomes New Director of Security, Reliability and Resilience

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America announced that Maggie O’Connell has joined the organization as Director of Security, Reliability and Resilience.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Southwestern Energy Announce Methane Emission Reduction Plan

Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, and Southwestern Energy announced the initiation of a responsibly sourced natural gas strategic agreement, which should further reduce methane emissions across the natural gas value chain.

U.S. Hurricane Damage to Cut Shell Oil Output Through Year-End

Damage to offshore transfer facilities from Hurricane Ida will cut production into early next year, slashing deliveries of a type of crude oil prized by refiners. The prolonged shut-in of the WD-143 platform would also affect smaller operators which use the Mars pipeline.

GTI’s Hydrogen Technology Center to Research U.S. Clean Energy Distribution

Kristine Wiley was recently named vice president of GTI’s Hydrogen Technology Center, which will facilitate increased use of hydrogen in an integrated energy system to meet the challenges of decarbonization.

Shell Exits Permian with $9.5 Billion Texas Shale Sale to ConocoPhillips

Royal Dutch Shell said it would sell its Permian Basin assets to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash, an exit from the largest U.S. oilfield for the energy major shifting its focus to the clean energy transition.

Dakota Access Pipeline Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Scrap Environmental Study Order

Dakota Access asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the largest pipeline out of the North Dakota oil basin requires additional environmental review.

Enbridge Fined $3.32 Million for Failings in Line 3 Replacement Project

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fined Enbridge Inc. $3.32 million, citing the Canadian company's failure to follow environmental laws during the construction of its Line 3 oil pipeline replacement.

Oil Slips to $75 as U.S. Storm Threat Wanes

Oil slipped to about $75 a barrel on Thursday, falling from a multi-week high a day earlier, as the threat to U.S. Gulf production from Hurricane Nicholas receded.