Andrew joined NGI in 2018 to support coverage of Mexico’s newly liberalized oil and gas sector, and his role has since expanded to include the rest of North America. Before joining NGI, Andrew covered Latin America’s hydrocarbon and electric power industries from 2014 to 2018 for Business News Americas in Santiago, Chile. He speaks fluent Spanish, and holds a B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the University of Minnesota.
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Articles from Andrew Baker
Equinor ‘Quite Bullish’ on European Natural Gas Market, Decarbonization
Europe’s recent energy shortages have laid bare the continent’s need for stable natural gas supplies as it decarbonizes its economy, according to the management team of Norway’s Equinor ASA. CEO Anders Opedal helmed a conference call earlier this month with analysts to discuss the majority state-owned energy major’s fourth quarter and full-year 2021 earnings. “The…
February 15, 2022
Ruling by Mexico’s CRE Said Detrimental to Natural Gas Market Competition
Mexico energy regulators last week approved a rule change that would make it more difficult for private sector natural gas shippers to secure transport capacity on the Sistrangas national pipeline network. The Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) unanimously approved modifications to Resolution 968 passed in 2016. The 2016 measure was meant to level the playing…
February 8, 2022
Whiting to Expand Operated Bakken Footprint, Pursue Modest Growth in 2022
Whiting Petroleum Corp. has two agreements in hand to expand its operated leasehold in the Bakken Shale, and it has raised its capital budget for 2022. Management of the Denver-based independent said Tuesday the agreements entail acquiring nonoperated assets in the Bakken’s Sanish field from two undisclosed private companies for $273 million total. “These transactions…
February 8, 2022
North American Oil, Natural Gas Bankruptcies Plunge in 2021 as Industry Bounces Back from Downturn
Bankruptcy filings by North American exploration and production (E&P) firms declined dramatically in 2021 versus 2020, so much so that Haynes and Boone LLP is calling an end to the bankruptcy cycle that began during the 2015 oil market downturn. The law firm has been tracking these filings ever since, via its Oil Patch Bankruptcy…
February 7, 2022
White House Touts Measures to Curb Methane Pollution from Orphan Wells, Natural Gas Pipelines
The White House on Monday announced a series of measures to reduce methane emissions, including a $1.15 billion program for states to plug orphan oil and gas wells and to enforce tighter emissions rules for natural gas pipeline operators. The funds are part of a $4.7 billion orphan wells cleanup program authorized under the recently…
February 1, 2022
Sempra, CFE Sign MOU to Advance LNG, Natural Gas Pipeline Projects
Mexican state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and Sempra Infrastructure have signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop two liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and complete the Guaymas-El Oro natural gas pipeline. The LNG projects comprise the Vista Pacífico liquefaction terminal envisaged for Topolobampo, Sinaloa, and a regasification project in La…
February 1, 2022
Biden Administration Clamping Down on Methane from Orphan Wells, Natural Gas Pipelines
The White House on Monday announced a series of measures to curb methane emissions from oil and gas activity, including a $1.15 billion program for states to plug orphan oil and gas wells and to enforce tighter emissions rules for natural gas pipeline operators. The funds are part of a $4.7 billion orphan wells cleanup…
January 31, 2022
Valero CEO Says Gasoline Demand at Pre-Pandemic Levels, Forecasts Tight Global Supply
Refining heavyweight Valero Energy Corp. ended 2021 with gasoline demand at pre-pandemic levels and diesel demand higher than pre-pandemic levels across its system, CEO Joe Gorder said Thursday. “We also saw a significant jet fuel recovery as domestic and international travel opened up, increasing from approximately 60% of pre-pandemic levels at the beginning of the…
January 31, 2022
Mexico’s CFE Poised to Launch Natural Gas Pipeline Tender for Salina Cruz LNG Export Project
Mexican state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is seeking private sector firms to build new natural gas infrastructure and utilize capacity on its existing pipelines, executives said last week. Speaking at Industry Exchange LLC’s 7th Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum in Monterrey, Nuevo León, CFE Internacional (CFEi) operations director Carmen Serdán and CFEnergía operations…
January 27, 2022
Los Angeles to Prohibit Oil, Natural Gas Drilling, Phase Out Existing Production
The Los Angeles (LA) City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a motion to prohibit drilling new oil and gas wells, phase out production from existing wells, and establish a plan for plugging and remediating all wells in the city. “From Wilmington to the San Fernando Valley, gas drilling and oil wells have disproportionately affected the…
January 27, 2022