INDUSTRY NEWS
Texas O&G Sector Closes 2022 With Continued Employment Growth
According to TIPRO’s analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for December 2022 totaled 211,200, an increase of 1,300 jobs from November employment numbers, subject to revisions. Texas upstream employment in December 2022 represented the addition of 36,100 positions compared to December 2021, including an increase of 7,000 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction, and 29,100 jobs in the services sector.
Gas starts to flow to Freeport LNG export plant in Texas
U.S. LNG exports have been steadily increasing for years and Freeport, the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant, is one of a number of key facilities for shipments around the world, where demand has soared following Russia's decision to largely cut off piped gas supply to Europe after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Why Are Gasoline Prices Creeping Up?
Both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent oil prices have climbed notably since January 4, when WTI closed at $72.84 per barrel and Brent closed at $77.84 per barrel. On January 17, WTI closed at $80.18 per barrel, while Brent closed at $85.92 per barrel.
U.S. Department of Energy rejects initial bids to resupply oil stockpile
The U.S. Department of Energy has rejected the first batch of bids from oil companies to resupply a small amount of oil to the nation’s emergency crude oil stockpile in February, according to a DOE spokesperson.
EPA Clarifies Permian Redesignation Position
In a statement sent to Rigzone late last week, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) noted that, within a new regulatory agenda released by the Biden administration, the EPA “seemingly … dropped its pursuit of imposing ‘discretionary redesignation’ of air quality conditions in the Permian Basin”.
Exxon prepares to start up $2 bln Texas oil refinery expansion
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) in coming days will sharply boost gasoline and diesel production at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery, people familiar with the matter said, completing a $2 billion expansion first considered nine years ago.
Solar Energy Rejections Soared in 2022
You won’t read about this in The New York Times or The New Yorker, but 2022 was a record year for the number of solar energy projects that were rejected by rural communities in the United States.
U.S. Congress To Vote On Ending SPR Oil Sales To China
Senators James Lankford and Ted Cruz introduced a No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act over the summer—the bill would have banned the export of crude oil from the nation’s reserve stockpile to countries such as China.
Largest U.S. Refinery Back Up and Running
The nation’s largest crude oil refinery, Motiva Enterprises, shut down on December 23 as a cold snap ripped through much of the country. Motiva, located in Port Arthur, Texas, has a capacity of more than 630,000 bpd, according to the company website.
Louisiana, Texas To Gain Thousands of Energy Jobs At Start of 2023
LSU concluded by predicting that Louisiana is expected to gain about 3,500 jobs by the second quarter of 2023. Texas is forecasted to gain about 12,200 upstream jobs between August 2022 and the second quarter of 2023.
Germany Stops Importing Oil From Russia Via Pipeline
Germany halted imports of Russian oil via pipeline on January 1, following through on a previous pledge to stop buying Russian pipeline crude despite the fact that the EU embargo exempts pipeline flows from Russia to Europe.
Analysts Predict 1 Million Bpd Drop in Russian Crude Output
The European Union’s ban on Russian oil products set to come into force on February 5 could lead to a 1 million barrel per day drop in Russian crude oil output for the New Year, commodity analysts for UBS told Insider on Monday.
Oil Majors Exxon And Chevron Shift Focus To Americas
Both U.S. supermajors have said in their releases about the 2023 capital budget allocation that they would focus on the Permian and a handful of oil and gas projects in North and South America.
Title of Largest LNG Exporter In First Half Of 2022 Goes To The US
U.S. LNG exports continued to grow for three reasons – increased LNG export capacity, increased international natural gas and LNG prices, and increased global demand, particularly in Europe.
The 10 Most Influential Figures In The History Of Oil
While the history of oil can be traced back as far as 3000 BC, when builders in Mesopotamia began to use bitumen to strengthen bricks, the story of the modern oil industry really began in the 1850s. Since then, explorers, investors, kings, journalists, spies, and scientists have all attempted to leave their mark on the industry.
Oil Cos Could Turn Wastewater Into Revenue Stream
Exploration and production companies could turn wastewater into a revenue stream by leveraging direct lithium extraction (DLE).
2022: The Year ESG Fell to Earth
By restricting investment in production of oil and gas by Western producers, ESG increases the market power of non-Western producers, thereby enabling Putin’s weaponization of energy supplies. Net zero—the holy grail of ESG—has turned out to be Russia’s most potent ally.
Shale Giant Pioneer Explains Why U.S. Drillers Won’t Drill More
Speaking to the Financial Times in an interview, Sheffield said that returning to production growth now would cause an outflow of investors and energy stocks will plummet to the bottom of the stock market. And this is why no public oil driller would do it.
$100 Oil To Return In 2023
According to the analysts, many of the headwinds that have cut short the oil price rally this year including China’s zero-Covid policy and the coordinated SPR releases by several governments, will no longer be there in 2023. Coupled with sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas, this should elevate oil prices.
Big Oil Pours Billions In The Permian Basin
Some of the basin’s largest oil and gas producers have unveiled plans to ramp up extraction operations and investments in the region next year as production was forecast to increase despite oil prices projected to dip due to an impending global recession.