Morgan Evans

Early 2023 could lead to more natural gas use than normal, with heavy snow predicted for two big oil and natural gas states, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the Farmers’ Almanac’s 2022-2023 Extended Winter Weather Forecast.  In the recently published edition, the 200-plus-year-old periodical said it expects snow and an “active storm track” to run…

Amid the Golden State’s latest strike against oil and natural gas leasing, the state’s largest producer, California Resources Corp. (CRC), said it would launch a carbon capture, storage and sequestration (CCS) venture to curb 5 million metric tons/year (mmty). Last week, CRC disclosed a joint venture (JV) with Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, which contributed $500…

After breaking three new summer peak loads for its Wyoming electric subsidiary this summer, management for Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. highlighted the utility’s interruptible service tariff agreement with a cryptocurrency miner. Black Hills Energy’s Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Co. “completed its first agreement for service under our blockchain tariff in Wyoming with…

As Portland, OR-based utility NW Natural continues hydrogen testing, management put the spotlight on investments into renewable natural gas (RNG) during the quarterly earnings update. Through separate contracts with Archaea Energy Inc., BP Products North America Inc. and Element Markets LLC, NW Natural has procured about 2.1 MMBtu of RNG. When paired with investments to…

SM Energy Co.’s oil and gas production outperformed expectations in the second quarter, with CEO Herb Vogel highlighting the “high quality” of the Austin Chalk results in South Texas.  Forty-six Austin Chalk wells scored strong initial production rates over 30 days (IP30). Vogel said the “South Texas operations continued strong through the quarter.” Production volumes…

President Biden is expected to sign into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 once it reaches his desk, legislation that Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm said would be “monumental” for clean energy investments. Under the legislation, which cleared the Senate on Sunday and is expected to be approved by the House later…

With global energy storage deployments poised to hit 500 GW by 2031, the U.S. energy storage market leads its peers on the world stage, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Global Energy Storage Outlook.  While average installations are expected to hover around 54 GWh/year through 2031, analysts said they project 2022 and 2023 energy storage additions would…

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy Inc.’s natural gas and electric utility is “on track to meet our current capital investment plan for the year, having invested over $2 billion in the first six months of 2022,” said CEO Dave Lesar.  During the second quarter conference call, the CEO said CenterPoint has increased its $19.3 billion, five-year capital…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week turned up the heat on climate change initiatives with a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in which he stressed state agencies to prepare for an energy transition that involves no new natural gas plants.  “The state’s draft carbon neutrality road map doesn’t go far enough or…