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
Mexico’s AMLO Loses Lower House Supermajority in Largest Ever Midterm
Mexico’s ruling Morena party and its allies lost their supermajority in the lower congressional house in Sunday’s midterm elections, placing a check of sorts on President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s nationalist energy agenda. Preliminary results showed that the president’s coalition still holds simple majorities in the senate and the chamber of deputies, which is enough…
June 7, 2021
Emissions Performance Said to Vary Widely Among U.S. Oil, Natural Gas Producers
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emissions intensity vary substantially among U.S. onshore oil and gas producers, according to a new study by nonprofits the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Ceres. The report compiled data reported by 295 producers to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), and data calculated…
June 7, 2021
AMLO Energy Agenda Faces Test in Midterm Elections
Mexico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s nationalist energy agenda will face perhaps its biggest test yet on Sunday (June 6) when Mexicans head to the polls for midterm elections. Analysts suggest the results could determine whether the president’s Morena party and its allies have the majorities needed at the national and state levels to advance…
June 2, 2021
Biden Administration Suspends Alaska Coastal Plain Oil, Natural Gas Leasing Program
The Department of the Interior (DOI) on Tuesday suspended the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program launched by the Trump administration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The order signed by DOI Secretary Deb Haaland halts “all activities related to the implementation of” the program, including leases awarded in the program’s first and…
June 2, 2021
USFWS Seeking Enhanced Protections for Lesser Prairie-Chicken, which Calls Lower 48 Oil Patch Home
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is seeking additional protections for the lesser prairie-chicken, a ground-foraging grouse that inhabits large swaths of the Lower 48 oil patch and whose numbers are dwindling. Through a draft rule published Tuesday (June 1), USFWS is proposing to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken…
June 1, 2021
Diversified Energy Expanding Outside Appalachia Through Barnett, Haynesville Natural Gas Acquisitions
Appalachia-focused natural gas producer Diversified Energy Co. plc on Friday announced its second transaction in as many months to expand into a different gassy region of the United States. Birmingham, AL-based Diversified said it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire upstream assets in the Barnett Shale of North Texas from Blackbeard Operating LLC…
May 28, 2021
U.S. Natural Gas, Oil Pipelines Directed to Enhance Cybersecurity Following Colonial Hack
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday issued cybersecurity requirements for natural gas and oil pipeline owners and operators in response to the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. earlier this month. The directive requires critical pipeline owners and operators to report confirmed and potential cybersecurity incidents to the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure…
May 27, 2021
Mexico Private Sector Oil Output up 10.5% in April
Private sector oil production in Mexico averaged 61,501 b/d during April, up from 55,682 b/d in April 2020, a 10.5% year/year increase, according to data from upstream regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH). This marks the first time that monthly private sector production has surpassed 60,000 b/d since Mexico’s 2013-2014 constitutional energy reform ended state…
May 26, 2021
California Seeking Public Input on Planned Fracking Ban
California has begun the public comment period for a regulatory initiative to end the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) permits by January 2024. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month instructed the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to begin drawing up the measure. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) also was ordered to…
May 26, 2021
Pennsylvania Reports Resurgence in Natural Gas Prices, Production in Early 2021
Natural Gas production and prices in Pennsylvania both rebounded sharply during the first quarter after a pandemic-induced slump in 2020, according to a new report by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO). Gas production from horizontal wells totaled 1,863 Bcf during 1Q2021, up 5.4% year/year (y/y), researchers said. The report, based on data compiled by…
May 25, 2021