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General Interest
Kuwait’s state-owned oil, gas, petrochemical, and services industries have new leaders.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has named Robert Douglas Lawler as chief executive officer and a member of the board, effective June 17.
The front-month natural gas contract rallied May 17 in New York, reclaiming most of its loss from the previous session, after the Department of Energy authorized Freeport LNG Development LP to export 1.4 bcfd of LNG to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the US (OGJ Online, May 17, 2013).
Heavy rain didn't dampen Western Energy Alliance members' enthusiasm the morning of May 7 as they posed for a photo on the US Capitol's eastern steps during their 2013 Washington call-up. They had too many places to go and people to see.
Canada's National Energy Board granted a commercial discovery declaration to Lone Pine Resources Inc., Calgary, with respect to the Upper and Lower Besa River shale intervals in the Pointed Mountain field area of the Liard basin in western Northwest Territories.
As polarization over global warming intensifies an important question emerges: If the apparent pause in observed warming becomes an established trend, will politics change? The regrettable answer: probably not.
The US Bureau of Land Management's Anchorage, Alas., office released a draft plan listing near-term priorities and actions to plug and clean up legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, but the draft quickly drew fire from the state's senior US senator.
US House Natural Resources Committee members from both sides of the aisle questioned whether Congress would be willing to fund a federal hydraulic fracturing regulatory regime at the US Bureau of Land Management.
The US Department of Energy conditionally approved Freeport LNG’s request to export domestically produced LNG from its Quintana Island, Tex., terminal to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the US.
US Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) introduced legislation on May 16 aimed at correcting what they said was unintentional subsidization of foreign ethanol imports under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard.
The world’s Arctic nations formally agreed to cooperate on marine oil pollution preparedness and response at the Arctic Council’s May 15 meeting in Kiruna, Sweden.
Oil prices continued rising with the front-month crude contract up 0.9% in the New York futures market May 16 despite a report from the US Department of Labor showing a rise in claims for unemployment benefits, stimulating worries about economic recovery.
The US Department of the Interior released a revised proposal to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands that it said would maintain important safety standards, improve integration with existing state and tribal rules, and increase flexibility for oil and gas producers.
US Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation to ensure states that normally receive half of federal onshore oil and gas royalties under the Mineral Leasing Act actually receive the money.
The US Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs, Wyo., field office began a 30-day public scoping period on May 6 before it prepares an environmental assessment of Devon Energy Production Co. LP’s proposal to develop up to 20 new oil and gas wells within the Horseshoe basin unit.
Front-month crude managed a minimal gain May 15 after four sessions of price declines in the New York market. Natural gas continued its increase, up 1%.
The lives of more than 1 billion people worldwide could be transformed if their governments managed their countries’ oil, gas, and mineral resources in a more open and accountable manner, a new Revenue Watch Institute analysis concluded.
Oil prices continued retreating May 14, with front-month crude down 1% in the New York market after the International Energy Agency cut its global demand estimates for the next 4 years.
Rosneft and Petrovietnam have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation in upstream and downstream oil and gas operations in Russia, Vietnam, and third countries.
Officials of the European Commission and European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority made unannounced inspections at offices of BP, Shell, Statoil, and Platts in a step the EC described as “a preliminary step to investigate suspected anticompetitive practices.”
Energy prices continued declining May 13 with crude down 1% in the New York futures market as the US dollar climbed against the yen and euro for the third consecutive session and the US Department of Commerce announced a surprise gain in April retail sales.
US Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced a bill on May 9 that aims to expedite construction of US natural gas pipelines by streamlining the permitting process and expediting approvals.
Energy prices declined May 10 with the benchmark front-month crude contract continuing its retreat in the New York futures market. For the week as a whole, crude traded flat while natural gas fell 3% on a bearish injection report.
Statoil AS and Total SA have agreed to swap 10% interests in two petroleum licenses in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.
San Leon Energy PLC agreed to buy Talisman Energy Inc.’s share of a shale gas joint venture in Poland. Talisman is the second international major oil company to withdraw from Poland, following a decision last year by ExxonMobil Corp. to exit Poland after early results failed to produce commercial wells.
The American Petroleum Institute urged the US Environmental Protection Agency to use a full Clean Air Act rulemaking process for its proposed Tier 3 rule instead of a rushed review process API says the agency is contemplating.
Advances in deepwater technology require financial commitment by oil companies and a willingness to form partnerships with vendors and regulators, panelists discussing the DeepStar research and development collaboration told an opening session of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
GL Noble Denton surveyed more than 100 senior oil and gas professionals regarding their comments on new US offshore regulations in the 3 years since the deepwater Macondo well blowout and resulting explosion and fire to the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oklahoma Atty. Gen. E. Scott Pruitt (R) and 12 more attorneys general from producing states urged the US Environmental Protection Agency to resist a threat by seven northeastern states to sue if EPA does not impose methane emissions limits under the federal Clean Air Act.
The US Bureau of Land Management’s Anchorage, Alas., office released a draft plan listing near-term priorities and actions to plug and clean up legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, but the draft quickly drew fire from the state’s senior US senator.
Front-month crude dipped 0.7% May 9 in the New York market amid concerns over falling demand and rising supply despite a bullish report on commercial US oil inventories that boosted prices in the previous session.
Thirteen US House Republicans formed a working group to consider ways the federal Endangered Species Act is working, how it could be updated, and how to make it more effective. ESA matters to oil and gas producers as petitions to list species as endangered are filed with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, sometimes with the potential to severely restrict or outright prohibit exploration, production, and development.
MarkWest Energy Partners LP, Denver, has bought midstream assets in the Anadarko basin from a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp. for $245 million.
Inpex Corp., through a subsidiary, has agreed to acquire a 30% participating interest in Area 15 offshore Uruguay from a subsidiary of Tullow Oil PLC (see map, OGJ, May 7, 2012, p. 60).
The front-month US benchmark crude was up 1.1% in the New York market amid mixed trading May 8, following a bullish report on US inventories.
Petronas Brasil E&P Ltda. has agreed to buy interests in two blocks in Brazil’s Campos basin from OGX Petroleo e Gas SA for $850 million.
US House Natural Resources Committee members from both sides of the aisle questioned whether Congress would be willing to fund a federal hydraulic fracturing regulatory regime at the US Bureau of Land Management.
Canada’s minister of natural resources has warned officials of the European Union against “discriminatory treatment” of fuels made from products of Canadian oil sands.
Apache Corp. will sell properties worth $4 billion by the end of 2013 in what G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive officer, described as a program to “divest noncore assets while retaining those that drive long-term growth and generate cash from operations.”
A test deployment of well control equipment was completed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Noble Energy Inc., and the Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) to assess Noble’s ability to respond to a potential subsea blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil prices generally retreated May 7 with front-month crude ending a three-session rally in the New York market as Middle East conflict failed to heat up.
Safety was a priority for engineers planning the first floating production, storage, and offloading vessel installed in the Gulf of Mexico, Petrobras America Inc. executives told a May 6 technical session of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Jack Schanck, president and chief executive officer of Sonde Resources Corp., Calgary, has formally notified the board of his intention to retire from Sonde for personal reasons.
The American Petroleum Institute urged the US Environmental Protection Agency to use a full Clean Air Act rulemaking process for its proposed Tier 3 rule instead of a rushed review process API says the agency is contemplating.
Debate over whether the US should authorize more LNG exports has been too narrowly focused on potential domestic impacts, an energy and geopolitical expert told a US House subcommittee.
HRT Oil & Gas Ltd., Rio de Janeiro, will acquire BP PLC’s 60% interest in Polvo oil field in shallow water in the southern Campos basin offshore Brazil for $135 million cash.
News of a second Israeli air strike on Syria during the weekend pulled the oil market out of a morning slump May 6 with front-month crude up nearly 1% by the end of the New York market session.
GL Noble Denton surveyed more than 100 senior oil and gas professionals regarding their comments on new US offshore regulations in the 3 years since the deepwater Macondo well blowout and resulting explosion and fire to the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible in the Gulf of Mexico.
EQT Corp. agreed to buy 99,000 net acres in southwestern Pennsylvania and 10 horizontal Marcellus wells in Washington County, Pa., from Chesapeake Energy Corp. and partners.
A private independent oil and gas company with interests in Alabama will purchase the Alabama coalbed methane properties of GeoMet Inc., Houston, for $63.2 million. The buyer’s name has yet to be released.
Statoil says a proposal by the Norwegian government to lower an allowance against the special petroleum tax would hurt the allure of future offshore projects.
Sveinung Svarte, chief executive officer of Athabasca Oil Corp., Calgary, will function also as president after the departure of Bryan Gould and formation of an executive operational and development committee to be chaired by Ronald Eckhardt, a director.
Growing public scrutiny of oil and gas operations has forced the American Petroleum Institute to broaden its technical program coverage to suppliers of goods and services, API executives said.
Oklahoma Atty. Gen. E. Scott Pruitt (R) and 12 more attorneys general from producing states urged the US Environmental Protection Agency to resist a threat by seven northeastern states to sue if EPA does not impose methane emissions limits under the federal Clean Air Act.
Advances in deepwater technology require financial commitment by oil companies and a willingness to form partnerships with vendors and regulators, panelists discussing the DeepStar research and development collaboration told an opening session of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Oil prices continued climbing May 3 with crude up 1.7% in the New York futures market, pulled along by the strong performance in the equity market following a favorable jobs report.
Four agencies are moving ahead and continuing to coordinate federal hydraulic fracturing research despite missing a pair of deadlines, officials told a pair of US House Science, Space, and Technology Committee subcommittees on Apr. 25.
TransCanada Corp. is pushing back the in-service date for its Keystone XL pipeline from late-2014 or early-2015 to second-half 2015.
Congressional approval of the 2012 US-Mexico Trans-Boundary Hydrocarbons Treaty would produce significant benefits for both countries, witnesses told a US House Natural Resources subcommittee.
Energy policymakers worldwide should look beyond supply security and environmental questions and consider water resource availability if they expect to succeed, experts said May 3 during a forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Front-month benchmark crude prices jumped 3% in both the US and UK futures market May 2, wiping out losses from the previous session, after the European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.5% from 0.75%.
Mark Dingley has joined Horn Petroleum Corp. as chief operating officer effective May 1, and also has been appointed president of Africa Oil Ethiopia BV, a subsidiary of Africa Oil Corp. Both firms are based in Vancouver, BC.
Oil prices dropped sharply May 1 with the front-month crude contract down 2.6% in the New York futures market after federal officials reported oil inventories at the highest level since 1982.
US voters strongly support domestic oil and gas development and recognize its significant benefits to the general economy, a survey released by the Western Energy Alliance in Denver indicates.
The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled May 2 that townships in New York state can ban hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling within municipal borders.
Global marketed natural gas production and “apparent” consumption in 2012 grew slowly, according to a new report from Cedigaz, the international natural gas association based near Paris.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Ann Pickard, currently vice-president, Australia and New Zealand, upstream international, will be moved to the position of executive vice-president, Arctic, upstream Americas, effective June 1.
Oil prices fell Apr. 30 with crude dropping 1.1% in the New York futures market after the Euro-zone reported record high unemployment of 12.1%. There also was continued concern of possible US intervention in Syria.
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Tex.—The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Community and Business Research reported in March 2013 that Eagle Ford shale development added more than $61 billion in total economic impact during 2012.
FAULKNER COUNTY, Ark.—In January, the USGS announced results from its year-long groundwater study in the central portion of Arkansas' Fayetteville shale.
ALBANY, NY—Marcellus Shale production reached 7 bcfd, surpassing the Haynesville to become the largest gas producing play in the US, according to a recent report from IHS.
Given the demanding schedules oil and gas professionals must maintain, it is easy to lose sight of the positive progress the industry continues to make—and what these collective efforts, aimed at safely producing clean-burning domestic natural gas, mean for the Northeastern US and the country as a whole.
The Tuscaloosa Marine shale, located along the Gulf Coast in both Louisiana and Mississippi, is underexplored. "We're in the midst of trying to develop the commercial potential of the Tuscaloosa Marine shale resource," said Doug Hock, spokesman for Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. "Our focus is on reducing well costs."
Saudi Arabia is encouraged by the dramatically improved US crude oil production outlook because it could help stabilize global markets, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali I. al-Naimi said.
Noble Energy Inc. reorganized its executive structure to support the company’s anticipated growth over the next several years.
US Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes announced he will leave his post June 30 to become a senior fellow at the Hewlett Foundation and teach at Stanford University’s law school.
The front-month crude price was up 1.4% Apr. 29 on the New York futures market, pulled along by an equity market that anticipated the European Central Bank will reduce interest rates at its May 2 meeting while the Federal Reserve Bank won’t raise its rates.
The Bakken and Three Forks formations in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana hold an estimated mean of 7.38 billion bbl of undiscovered, technically recoverable crude oil, the US Geological Survey announced.
Alberta Energy has selected leaders of the Alberta Energy Regulator, a new independent agency consolidating activities of the Energy Resources and Conservation Board with the ministerial department Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.
Hess Corp. wants to divest its exploration and production assets in Indonesia and Thailand where it also is trying to sell its remaining downstream businesses, including terminals, retail, marketing, and trading divisions.
The number of US unconventional oil and natural gas wells drilled in 2011 totaled 10,173 with an expenditure of $65.5 billion, estimated API’s 2011 Joint Association Survey on Drilling Costs report.
Southwestern Energy Co. plans to buy natural gas assets in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale from Chesapeake Energy Corp. and its partners for $93 million.
Range Resources Ltd. has made an off-market share takeover offer for International Petroleum Ltd. Both companies are based in Perth.
Energy prices slumped Apr. 26, following the stock markets down after the Commerce Department reported the US gross domestic product grew 2.5% in the first quarter, falling short of analysts’ outlook for a 3% rise.
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has order BP PLC to review its managements systems, and PSA gave BP until September for the review regarding a September 2012 leak at Ula oil field off Norway in the North Sea.
Officials of Canada and Israel have called for proposals for research and development projects to be supported by the Canada-Israel Energy Science and Technology Fund, established last year.
US Rep. E. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) introduced legislation on Apr. 26 that would make the US Department of the Interior hold an oil and gas lease sale off Virginia’s coast as soon as it was practicable.
Aberdeen-based Dana Petroleum has appointed Paul Barnett as the new managing director of its Egypt business.
US average consumer spending on home energy fell $12 billion in 2012 compared with 2011, the Energy Information Administration reported.
The international oil and gas industry escaped a legal hazard on Apr. 17 when the US Supreme Court narrowed the geographic scope of an antique law on civil infractions involving noncitizens.
The US should carefully consider how it can best help Latin American and Caribbean countries address their energy problems, witnesses told a US House subcommittee on Apr. 11.
Calls for the Obama administration to authorize construction of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline's final segment increased as the US Department of State began hearings on the project in Grand Island, Neb., on Apr. 18.
