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
NM could get billions in new federal funding
NM could get billions in new federal funding August 23, 2021 Congress is gearing up to approve the largest federal investments in infrastructure and social programs since the Great Depression in the 1930s, and New Mexico could reap huge benefits. Read more
U.S. shale sector rebounds in 2021 on higher oil prices and market discipline
U.S. shale sector rebounds in 2021 on higher oil prices and market discipline Energize Weekly, August 25, 2021 After years of red ink and a string of bankruptcies, the U.S. shale oil sector is staging a rebound, buoyed by higher oil prices and continued financial discipline, according to analyses by…
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…
Shell greenlights Gulf of Mexico ‘Whale’ oilfield project
Shell greenlights Gulf of Mexico ‘Whale’ oilfield project July 26, 2021 Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) announced plans on Monday to develop a new oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico, its first major project to get the go-ahead since a Dutch court ordered the energy company to accelerate its carbon emissions reduction targets.…
Oil industry mergers and acquisitions bounce back in the second quarter of 2021
Oil industry mergers and acquisitions bounce back in the second quarter of 2021 Energize Weekly, July 21, 2021 Mergers and acquisitions among oil and gas producers rebounded in the second quarter of 2021 with more than 40 deals totaling $33 billion, with seven deals each worth more than $1 billion,…
Baker Hughes Tallies More Drilling Rigs
Baker Hughes Tallies More Drilling Rigs July 10, 2021 The overall U.S. rotary rig count increased by four to 479 drilling units this week, Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR) reported Friday. Read more
Energy company wants $15 billion from the Biden administration for blocking the Keystone XL pipeline
Energy company wants $15 billion from the Biden administration for blocking the Keystone XL pipeline July 4, 2021 TC Energy Corporation, the company that developed the Keystone XL pipeline project, is seeking to recover more than $15 billion in damages from the United States, claiming the US government breached its…
Supreme Court won’t sidetrack plans for PennEast pipeline
Supreme Court won’t sidetrack plans for PennEast pipeline JUN 29, 2021 The Supreme Court sided Tuesday with a pipeline company in a dispute with New Jersey over land the company needs for a natural gas pipeline, portions of which would cut through nearly a dozen municipalities in Northampton County. 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
Activists Demand Biden Kill More Pipeline Projects
Activists Demand Biden Kill More Pipeline Projects June 14, 2021 Environmentalists emboldened by this week’s defeat of Keystone XL are pressuring President Joe Biden to revoke permits for other oil and gas pipelines, warning their votes depend on the administration blocking fossil fuel infrastructure. Read more
U.S. shale oil companies keeping production and budgets tight 2021 and beyond
U.S. shale oil companies keeping production and budgets tight 2021 and beyond Energize Weekly, June 9, 2021 U.S. shale drillers are continuing to limit production and spending with the return to pre-pandemic levels years off, according to Oslo-based energy analyst Rystad Energy. Oil output is projected to drop 5.2 percent, about…
Biden to Suspend Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling
Biden to Suspend Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling JUNE 1, 2021 The pendulum has swung again in the decades-long battle over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Biden administration is moving to suspend oil-and-gas leases in the sensitive Alaskan habitat, blocking a last minute rush by the Trump administration to…
Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack Prompts DHS to Issue New Cybersecurity Regulations
Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack Prompts DHS to Issue New Cybersecurity Regulations JUNE 1, 2021 Hot on the heels of an executive order aimed at standardizing federal response to cyber attacks and creating new reporting requirements for government vendors, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is establishing its own requirements specifically…
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…
U.S. shale oil output to climb for first time in 3 months in June – EIA
U.S. shale oil output to climb for first time in 3 months in June – EIA May 18, 2021 The biggest increase is set to come from the Permian, the top producing basin in the country, where output is expected to rise by 54,000 bpd to about 4.59 million bpd,…
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
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…
Oil Trader Sees Crude in $70 to $75 Range
Oil Trader Sees Crude in $70 to $75 Range by Bloomberg | Andy Hoffman | Tuesday, April 20, 2021 The head of Vitol Group, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, expects crude demand to come roaring back this year and next as the world emerges from the pandemic. Read more
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…
Texas oil pipelines face dry months as production languishes
APRIL 12, 2021 NEW YORK (Reuters) -Nearly half of all oil pipelines from the Permian basin, the biggest U.S. oilfield, are expected to be empty by the end of the year, analysts and executives said. Read more
Texas’ new set of electricity regulators begins to take shape in wake of deep freeze, power outages
By Robert T. Garrett, Apr 12, 2021 A new set of Texas electricity regulators began to take shape Monday, as Gov. Greg Abbott nominated a finance expert to be the next chairman of the Public Utility Commission while his earlier choice of a PUC member moved toward Senate confirmation. Read more
Northeast gas pipeline sparks FERC brawl
Carlos Anchondo, E&E News reporter, Tuesday, April 6, 2021 A fight over a major Northeast pipeline proposal is ramping up after developers asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for more time to complete the natural gas project. Oklahoma-based energy company Williams Cos. is seeking FERC approval for two more years to finish…
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.…
Four New Natural Gas Pipelines Come Online In The U.S.
By Charles Kennedy – Mar 16, 2021 The United States increased its natural gas pipeline transportation capacity by around 4.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in just three months as four new pipelines entered into service, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday. Read more
Federal lands drilling moratorium could tip activity toward Texas and away from New Mexico
Energize Weekly, March 10, 2021 The Biden administration’s moratorium on federal lands oil and gas leasing and its review of future leasing could lead to a stark shift in activity to Texas from New Mexico in the Permian Basin, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas analysis. Half of…
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
Court rejects latest effort to stop Mountain Valley Pipeline
Laurence Hammack, Feb 20, 2021 An appellate court has declined to stop work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, dealing the latest blow to arguments that there is no public need for the natural gas that is to be transported by the line. 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…
U.S. energy consumption will take years to rebound from pandemic, EIA says
Energize Weekly, February 10, 2021 It will take years for U.S. energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to return to 2019 levels after the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy and the global energy sector, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy consumption in…
Oil and gas merger activity rebounds in Q4, but a pandemic hangover lingers
Energize Weekly, January 20, 2021 After being hobbled by an economy and commodity prices weakened by the novel coronavirus pandemic, merger activity among oil and gas production companies rebounded in the second half of 2020, according to Enverus, an industry analytics firm. Total activity for 2020 was $52 billion, powered…
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…
Gas flaring is a problem from Texas’ Permian Basin to Russia’s Siberian oil fields
Energize Weekly, January 6, 2021 The U.S set a record for flaring of gas at well sites in 2019 and was part of a global pollution problem created by a handful of oil-producing countries, according to two energy agencies. An average of 1.48 billion cubic feet of gas was vented…
Colorado adopts sweeping oil and gas rules, banning flaring, creating a 2,000-foot setback
Energize Weekly, December 2, 2020 Colorado has adopted the strongest oil and gas regulations in the country and reoriented its oversight agency from “fostering” oil and gas development to “regulating” the industry to protect public health, safety, the environment and wildlife. After more than a year of hearings and negotiations,…
Voters weigh in on local and state energy issues from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes
Energize Weekly, November 11, 2020 Election returns on state and local energy issues were both literally and figuratively all over the map last week on issues ranging from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes. Voters in Alaska rejected a tax on oil operations while the industry was denied a…
Weak oil and gas markets forcing mergers and bankruptcies among shale operators
Energize Weekly, November 4, 2020 After weak third quarter in 2020 for oil and gas industry mergers and acquisition, one of the worst in 10 years, the fourth quarter opened with a string of big deals – a sign that the sector remains under pressure to consolidate, according to analysts.…
A Biden plan would speed a clean energy transition, but have limited impact on oil
Energize Weekly, October 28, 2020 As Election Day nears, analysts are starting to focus on what the administration of front-running Joe Biden will mean for energy and find it could accelerate the decline of coal, stabilize near-term oil markets, as well as boost renewables and new jobs. A Biden administration,…
Could a Biden presidency be a boost to both the power sector and the oil and gas industry?
Energize Weekly, September 9, 2020 Joe Biden becoming president of the U.S. could be a boost for clean energy and perhaps somewhat ironically, for oil and gas – at least in the short run. That was the conclusion of energy industry consultants Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy in separate analyses.…
Oil companies need to investment more in the global energy transition, IEA says
Energize Weekly, January 29, 2020 The oil and gas industry needs to be major player in the global transition to cleaner energy, in part to maintain its social license to operate, but barely 1 percent of its capital investment is going to alternative technologies, according to the International Energy Agency…
Oil and gas investments of $1.4 trillion by 2024 will lock in greenhouse gas emissions, report says
Energize Weekly, December 18, 2019 Worldwide investment in oil and gas production, estimated at $1.4 trillion over the next five years, will lock in carbon emissions that will make it impossible to meet the goals to limit global warming, according to a report by a coalition of environmental groups. “While…
Employment picture cools in the Permian Basin, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says
Energize Weekly, December 11, 2019 Employment in Texas’ Permian Basin – in a sign of cooling oil and gas activity – declined by 400 jobs through the first 10 months of 2019 after adding 16,700 jobs in 2018, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. For the year, employment…
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…
