INDUSTRY NEWS
Fuel prices fall again, but spike could loom after Saudi attack
Prices at the pump fell again last week, but a spike could loom in the days ahead following the weekend attack on Saudi Arabia's oil supplies.
The U.S. exports more oil than Saudi Arabia
Surging output from shale helped America ship almost 9 million barrels a day of crude and oil products in June, surpassing Saudi Arabia, the International Energy Agency said in a report, citing gross export figures. There’s room to send even more supply overseas as companies add infrastructure to transport the burgeoning production from fields in Texas and New Mexico to the coast.
Shippers Afraid To Give Venezuela Tankers To Export Crude
The Trump administration has been tightening the noose around Venezuela. The latest round of sanctions was signed in August and they spread to anyone doing business with the Maduro government. Following the signing of the order for the sanctions, the Shipowners’ Club told its members to “exercise caution” in their dealings with Venezuela.
Big Oil Circles Permian Riches
A bloodbath in energy stocks is creating a rich opportunity for Big Oil to dominate America’s hottest shale play. Independent producers in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico are trading much lower than when Chevron Corp. bid for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in April. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips have expressed interest in bulking up in shale at the right price. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s chief said Wednesday his company is keeping a “watchful eye” on the Permian for potential deals.
Satellites become latest tool for competitive shale play
At least a half dozen energy data firms are offering satellite imaging of the 75,000-square mile oil field to provide intelligence to energy companies on the activities ranging from the appearance of drilling pads and hydraulic fracturing ponds to the movements of drilling rigs and frac crews across Permian's expanse in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico..
Natural gas soon to be outlawed in almost all new Menlo Park buildings
By Jan. 1, 2020, heating systems in all new homes and buildings in the city must run on electricity, and all new commercial, office and industrial buildings, as well as high-rise residences, must rely entirely on electricity, the Menlo Park City Council decided Tuesday night.
Alaska Well Sets Onshore Record
The undisclosed international oil and gas producer drilled a 32,468-foot (9,896-meter) well in July in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska’s North Slope, according to Corva, whose real-time drilling and completion analytics technology was used during the operation.
$30 billion exodus: Foreign oil firms bailing on Canada
The drumbeat of exits, rare for such a stable oil-producing country, adds an extra layer of gloom for an industry that accounts for about a fifth of Canada's exports. The energy sector -- centered around Alberta's oil sands -- has struggled to rebound since the 2014 crash in global oil prices, with capital spending declining for five straight years and job cuts pushing the province's unemployment rate above 6%. Alberta is forecast to post the slowest growth of any region in Canada this year.
Permian State Faces Methane Test
Like a broad swath of West Texas, this sage-covered corner of New Mexico sits atop America's fastest-growing oilfield. On the Texas side, oil and gas producers can drill and frack with relatively few bureaucratic hurdles. In New Mexico, 90% of Permian production takes place on lands owned by federal or state government, meaning companies need additional approvals from either the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or the state’s Land Office and Oil Conservation Division.
OPEC’s market share sinks – and no sign of wavering on supply cuts
OPEC’s share of the global oil market has sunk to 30%, the lowest in years, as a result of supply restraint and involuntary losses in Iran and Venezuela, and there is little sign yet producers are wavering on their output-cut strategy.
EPIC delivers first Permian Basin crude oil to Port of Corpus Christi
EPIC is temporarily using the natural gas liquids pipeline to ship crude oil amid increased production in the Permian Basin but limited pipeline options to get it to market. The company is building a West Texas to Corpus Christi crude oil pipeline but in the meantime, the Y-Grade natural gas liquids pipeline will be able to deliver up to 400 thousand barrels of crude oil per day.
U.S. oil sector sets another record in another sign of energy independence
The U.S. surpassed Saudi Arabia last year to become the world's biggest petroleum producer, according to the Energy Department. Last year's increase in the United States was one of the largest absolute petroleum and natural gas production increases from a single country in history, the EIA said. It's another sign that the U.S. is quickly moving toward energy independence or as Trump likes to call "energy dominance."
Corn Industry Battered By Shocking Ethanol Decision
The Trump administration has tried to thread the needle between the corn ethanol and oil refining industries, as the two battle it out over federal policy. The EPA may have thought it came up with a balanced approach when it issued a series of recent decisions, but judging by market reactions, the agency seems to have decidedly come down on the side of oil over ethanol.
Permian Not on Its Way Out
A handful of industry insiders have speculated that the Permian may be on its way out, noting that well productivity in the region is declining. That’s what Rystad Energy highlighted in a company statement posted on its website on Friday. The energy research company emphasized in the statement, however, that the truth is “quite the opposite”.
Texas Crude Is Fetching Better Prices
Several major oil pipelines connecting West Texas to the Gulf Coast are set to come online in the next few weeks and months, allowing more Permian oil to hit the global market.
Drilling Down: Pioneer’s big bet on the Midland Basin
With the best acreage being drilled by an ever-growing number of companies, Sheffield said the Delaware Basin is expected to peak in 2024 while the Midland Basin is not expected to peak until the mid-2030s.
Kinder Morgan ordered to pay Hill Country landowner nearly $250,000 in property damages
Kinder Morgan faces similar challenges elsewhere along the Permian Highway Pipeline route in the Hill Country. In a Thursday morning statement, the Houston pipeline operator called the TREAD coalition a "not in my backyard group" and said that the company plans to appeal the commission's order.
Permian Fracking Continues to Break Records
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Permian broke old records in June, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy, who estimates there were as many as 18 wells fracked per day in June.
Russia Gains Stranglehold Over Persian Gulf
In a potentially catastrophic escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, Russia plans to use Iran’s ports in Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar as forward military bases for warships and nuclear submarines, guarded by hundreds of Special Forces troops under the guise of ‘military advisers’, and an airbase near Bandar-e-Bushehr as a hub for 35 Sukhoi Su-57 fighter planes
Berkeley Natural Gas Ban Signed Into Law By Mayor
“Gas is the clean energy relative to coal and diesel, but California has committed to the environmental requirement, in that is all gas has to be gone by mid-century,” Dan Kammen – Professor of Energy, U.C. Berkeley.