After two years of belt tightening, shale drillers’ capital budgets are set to rise in 2022 Energize Weekly, December 29, 2021 The shale oil sector’s recent financial recipe of generating cash flow and tamping down capital expenditures may change in 2022 as drilling budgets increase due to factors ranging from…
BP to buy out U.S. pipeline partnership in $723 mln deal
BP to buy out U.S. pipeline partnership in $723 mln deal December 20, 2021 BP (BP.L) will acquire the remaining stake in its U.S. pipelines partnership BP Midstream Partners LP (BPMP.N) that it doesn’t already own in a more than $700 million deal, as the energy giant looks to simplify its structure. Read more
Permian oil output forecast to hit record high in January-EIA
Permian oil output forecast to hit record high in January-EIA DECEMBER 13, 2021 The largest U.S. shale basin’s output will surge to a record in January, according to a monthly forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Monday. Read more
U.S. set to become the world’s largest LNG exporter with Asia and Europe as its biggest customers
U.S. set to become the world’s largest LNG exporter with Asia and Europe as its biggest customers Energize Weekly, December 15, 2021 The U.S. is poised to become the world’s largest liquified natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2022 with the addition of two new liquefaction units coming online along the…
Exxon Looking Towards Permian Net-Zero Emissions By 2030
Exxon Looking Towards Permian Net-Zero Emissions By 2030 December 07, 2021 Supermajor ExxonMobil has revealed its plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from operated assets in the U.S. Permian Basin by 2030. Read more
Coal Creek carbon capture, hydrogen hub among projects seeking clean energy funding
Coal Creek carbon capture, hydrogen hub among projects seeking clean energy funding 11/30/2021 A new arm of state government tasked with vetting funding applications for clean energy projects will evaluate eight proposals in the coming weeks, including one involving a carbon capture system at Coal Creek Station and another related…
U.S. grid ready for winter, NERC says, New England and California may face fuel pinch
U.S. grid ready for winter, NERC says, New England and California may face fuel pinch Energize Weekly, December 1, 2021 Winter electricity-generating resources across the North American grid are forecast to be adequate, although weather and fuel access issues may create challenges for New England, California and parts of Canada.…
New natural gas pipeline capacity expands access to export and Northeast markets
New natural gas pipeline capacity expands access to export and Northeast markets NOVEMBER 17, 2021 In our recently updated Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Tracker, we estimate over 4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new natural gas pipeline capacity entered service in the third quarter of 2021, primarily supplying Gulf…
Traders Refocusing on Return of 2 Bearish Factors
Traders Refocusing on Return of 2 Bearish Factors November 16, 2021 The carnage on oil prices spilled into this week as the market now seems to be less concerned about the current supply tightness, expecting it to be short-lived. Read more
U.S. won’t share Europe’s natural gas woes this year, says gas pipeline chief
U.S. won’t share Europe’s natural gas woes this year, says gas pipeline chief 11/8/2021 Americans should have enough natural gas to keep homes warm and factories running, avoiding the kind of shortages that are crippling Europe and Asia, even if the coming winter gets particularly cold. That’s because surging prices…
Why Texas isn’t ready for another deep freeze
Why Texas isn’t ready for another deep freeze Nov 01, 2021 It’s been more than eight months since a glacial chill — the magnitude of which nobody quite anticipated — crept across Texas, forcing power plants offline, freezing natural gas wells and wreaking havoc on every part of the state’s…
UGI Utilities gets approval from Pennsylvania commission for RNG pilot program
UGI Utilities gets approval from Pennsylvania commission for RNG pilot program October 25, 2021 UGI Utilities got the okay from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to purchase renewable natural gas (RNG) as part of a five-year pilot program. The pilot program seeks to explore how UGI Utilities can integrate renewable…
Climate-driven weather disasters threaten global energy infrastructure, IEA says
Climate-driven weather disasters threaten global energy infrastructure, IEA says Energize Weekly, October 20, 2021 Energy and infrastructure systems built over the last century are becoming more vulnerable to the ravages of climate change-driven extreme weather events, according to a series of reports. “Extreme weather events over the past year have…
World energy consumption to rise 50 percent by 2050 with fossil fuels still dominant, EIA says
World energy consumption to rise 50 percent by 2050 with fossil fuels still dominant, EIA says Energize Weekly, October 13, 2021 Global energy consumption is forecast to increase 50 percent over the next 30 years if no policies or new technologies are introduced to curb demand, according to the U.S.…
OPEC+ Holds Both the Knife and the Cake
OPEC+ Holds Both the Knife and the Cake October 05, 2021 OPEC+ holds both the knife and the cake in the oil market, especially as the group boasts the lion’s share of the remaining unused supply capacity in the world. Read more
PennEast Pipeline Ceases Project Despite Victory in Supreme Court
PennEast Pipeline Ceases Project Despite Victory in Supreme Court 9/27/21 In June, the U.S. Supreme Court had “sid[ed] with [the PennEast Pipeline] company Tuesday in a dispute over New Jersey land needed for a natural gas pipeline.” The case overturned an earlier ruling that said PennEast Pipeline could not use eminent domain…
Oil and gas sector shows recovery in second quarter led by private companies, higher prices
Oil and gas sector shows recovery in second quarter led by private companies, higher prices Energize Weekly, September 22, 2021 The U.S. onshore oil and gas industry saw the beginnings of a rebound in the second quarter of 2021 buoyed by strong commodity prices, strategic mergers, and increased efficiency, according…
Oil Glut That Covid Built All But Gone
Oil Glut That Covid Built All But Gone September 14, 2021 Global crude inventories that ballooned during the pandemic have shrunk to the lowest level in 20 months as an economic rebound in top consumers China and the U.S. drive a robust recovery in fuel demand. Read more
DOE to invest $10 million to reduce natural gas supply constraints, improve energy consumption
DOE to invest $10 million to reduce natural gas supply constraints, improve energy consumption September 13, 2021 A new funding opportunity announcement from the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) will offer approximately $10 million in funding for cost-shared research and development projects…
Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico After Ida Linked to Abandoned Pipeline
Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico After Ida Linked to Abandoned Pipeline Sept 7, 2021 More than a week after Ida hit the Gulf of Mexico, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the hurricane made a huge mess of the oil and gas activities there. The government is investigating hundreds of reports of oil spills…
Gas Prices Unlikely To Skyrocket As Oil Companies Assess Hurricane Ida Damage
Gas Prices Unlikely To Skyrocket As Oil Companies Assess Hurricane Ida Damage August 31, 2021 Oil companies are still assessing the damage at the oil rigs, platforms and refineries that were struck by Hurricane Ida. Read more
USA Holds Largest Oil Reserves Sale in 7 Years
USA Holds Largest Oil Reserves Sale in 7 Years August 24, 2021 The U.S. is holding its largest sale of oil from strategic reserves since 2014 at a time when the outlook for fuel demand is darkening amid the resurgent Covid-19 virus. Read more
Fight over ‘peaker’ plants poses grid climate test
Fight over ‘peaker’ plants poses grid climate test 08/24/2021 A proposed natural gas power plant and pipeline project in southwestern Indiana are drawing fire out of concerns that they will add more pollution to a region saddled with fossil fuel infrastructure. Read more
API Files Lawsuit Against Biden Administration
API Files Lawsuit Against Biden Administration August 17, 2021 The American Petroleum Institute (API) has announced that it, along with 11 other energy industry trade groups, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) indefinite pause on…
Permian Gets Confidence Vote with Infrastructure Plan
Permian Gets Confidence Vote with Infrastructure Plan August 10, 2021 The region at the heart of the once-booming U.S. shale industry is signaling confidence in a nascent recovery after the pandemic crushed demand and curtailed oil and gas drilling. Read more
Devon and Conoco Study $10B Shell Permian Assets
Devon and Conoco Study $10B Shell Permian Assets August 03, 2021 Devon Energy Corp. and ConocoPhillips are among potential suitors studying Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s portfolio of Permian Basin oil fields, which could be worth as much as $10 billion in a sale, people familiar with the matter said. Read…
Houston Oil Benchmark Responds to 2020 ‘Wake-Up Call’
Houston Oil Benchmark Responds to 2020 ‘Wake-Up Call’ June 22, 2021 Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P (NYSE: MMP) and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) on Monday unveiled a new futures contract for the physical delivery of crude oil in the Houston area. Read more
Oil and gas market rebound underpinned by market discipline at home and abroad
Oil and gas market rebound underpinned by market discipline at home and abroad Energize Weekly, May 26, 2021 Oil and natural gas have seen a rebound in 2021 but those gains are delicately balanced on market discipline in both global and domestic markets, according to an assessment by industry analyst…
Biden prepared to take additional steps after Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack
Biden prepared to take additional steps after Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack MAY 10, 2021 President Joe Biden said Monday that his administration was prepared to take additional steps as the energy sector grapples with a colossal cyberattack targeting one of the largest fuel pipelines in the nation. Read more
Black Hills Energy joins ONE Future Coalition, commits to reduce methane emissions
Black Hills Energy joins ONE Future Coalition, commits to reduce methane emissions May 03, 2021 by Chris Galford Black Hills Corp., operating utilities as Black Hills Energy, became the latest natural gas company to join the Our Nation’s Energy Future (ONE Future) Coalition last week, committing to reducing methane emissions throughout…
CenterPoint to sell Arkansas, Oklahoma gas utilities for $2.15 bln
CenterPoint to sell Arkansas, Oklahoma gas utilities for $2.15 bln April 29, 2021 U.S. electricity provider CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP.N) said on Thursday it has agreed to sell its natural gas utility businesses in Arkansas and Oklahoma to privately-held Summit Utilities for $2.15 billion in cash. Read more
Global energy demand is forecast to rebound in 2021, IEA says
Global energy demand is forecast to rebound in 2021, IEA says Energize Weekly, April 28, 2021 Global energy production and demand is set to rebound from their pandemic doldrums in 2021with energy consumption up 4.6 percent, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency said in its annual Global…
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says Energize Weekly, April 21, 2021 The cost of weatherizing the Texas electric power system – which faced a major collapse during a February freeze – could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, but the expense would…
U.S. onshore oil and gas drilling rebounds with smaller, private operators leading the way
Energize Weekly, March 31, 2021 U.S. onshore oil and gas drilling showed signs of recovery in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first few months of 2021 – sparked by a rebound in oil prices and strong activity among private companies, according to a Colorado School of Mines report.…
Louisiana Offshore Oil Port Loadings Crash to Zero From Record
By Sheela Tobben (Bloomberg) — March 2, 2021 Crude exports from Louisiana’s offshore supertanker port tumbled to zero as Asian buyers limited purchases to manage high inventories that threaten to overwhelm storage facilities. Read more
Collapse of the natural gas system from wellhead to turbine fueled Texas’ blackout
Energize Weekly, February 24, 2021 The near collapse of Texas’ electric grid was caused in the main by a failure of the natural gas system from the wellhead to pipeline to gas turbine, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). “Texas has a power shortage because it…
European oil companies changing names and shifting their focus to alternative energy
Energize Weekly, February 17, 2021 European oil companies are continuing their push to reorient and rebrand themselves as comprehensive energy companies and not just producers of oil and natural gas. On Feb. 9, French oil company Total announced it was changing its name to TotalEnergies to reflect a broader strategy…
Oil and gas activity rebounds in the Permian Basin but economic pressure persists
Energize Weekly, January 13, 2021 After a punishing year, oil and gas activity in a swatch of oil county from Louisiana through Texas to New Mexico rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a survey by Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. The bank queried oil company executives in its…
Fossil fuel demand drops in 2020 with a limited rebound in 2021, IEA says
Energize Weekly, October 21, 2020 The global pandemic will cut worldwide energy demand 5 percent in 2020 and result in an 18 percent decline in energy investment, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts. If the novel coronavirus is brought under control in 2021, energy demand will return to its…
Oil demand has peaked and won’t recover from the pandemic, BP and DNV GL say
Energize Weekly, September 23, 2020 One casualty of the novel coronavirus pandemic – which will not recover – is the global oil market, according to analyses by oil major BP and consultant DNV GL. BP in its 2020 Energy Outlook projects that the market hit its peak in 2019 and…
FERC approves three Texas LNG facilities despite climate and excess capacity concerns
Energize Weekly, December 4, 2019 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved three new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Texas at its November meeting over the objections of one commissioner, who said the decisions failed to take into account their impact on climate. The commission also rejected arguments from…
Distillate oil and propane prices begin winter heating season at lower prices than last year
Energize Weekly, November 27, 2019 Prices for home-heating oil and propane are starting this winter heating season at lower prices than a year ago, with heating oil 10 percent cheaper and propane down 22 percent, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The winter heating season runs from October…
New natural gas pipelines added in 2019 boost exports and sales to Eastern markets
Energize Weekly, November 20, 2019 New natural gas pipelines are projected to add between 16 billion cubic feet a day and 17 billion cubic feet a day of capacity in the U.S. in 2019, with most of that as takeaway capacity from supply basins, according to the federal Energy Information…
Jet fuel demand projected to soar by 2050 with Asian markets leading the way, EIA says
Energize Weekly, November 13, 2019 Global demand for jet fuel will continue to be the fastest-growing transport fuel through 2050, with the biggest growth coming in China and Southeast Asia, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook. The EIA projects that jet fuel consumption will more…
Natural gas exports doubled in the first half of 2019 aided by new terminals and pipelines
Energize Weekly, November 6, 2019 U.S. natural gas exports – bolstered by new terminals and pipelines – averaged 4.1 billion cubic feet a day for the first half of 2019, more than double the rate for 2018, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2017, the U.S. became…
U.S. is exporting a record amount of oil to a record number of markets, EIA says
Energize Weekly, October 30, 2019 U.S. crude oil exports increased to an average 2.8 million barrels a day for first seven months of 2019, sending oil to as many as 31 different markets per month, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The U.S. is now exporting oil to…
Gas demand and production set to hit record highs this winter bolstered by LNG exports
Energize Weekly, October 16, 2019 U.S. natural gas demand and supply are both forecast to hit record highs this coming winter – the result of growing exports, more gas-fired power generation and increased production from Texas’ Permian Basin, according to the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA). The association’s Winter Outlook…
EIA forecasts a 50 percent increase in energy demand by 2050 driven by Asian economies
Energize Weekly, October 2, 2019 World energy consumption is projected to grow by 50 percent by 2050, with most of that demand coming from growing Asian economies, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook. “Energy consumption was greater in Asia than in any other region in…
High inventories and high corn prices squeeze ethanol producers’ margins
Energize Weekly, August 14, 2019 High corn prices and high inventories have squeezed operating margins for Midwest ethanol plants to multiyear lows in the first half of 2019, with an average margin of 3.5 cents a gallon, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The high prices and inventories…
Oil demand will see a shift with transportation using less and petrochemicals using more, Barclays says
Energize Weekly, May 15, 2019 Global oil demand—under current economic and energy development trends—is projected to peak between 2030 and 2035 and then plateau through 2050, according to a new analysis by the London-based investment bank, Barclays. That peak could come as early as 2025 if more aggressive energy policies…