Richard Nemec began writing for NGI in 1995 and has 30 years experience in the energy industry. He holds BA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; and a MA in journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; and completed MBA courses at Northwestern's Evening Graduate School of Management.
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Articles from Rich Nemec
North Dakota Examining Potential for Bakken Natural Gas, Liquids Storage
North Dakota’s Industrial Commission (IC) has asked the state legislature to authorize pursuing options to add oil and natural gas storage for the Bakken Shale. The governor-led commission “pre-filed a bill for next year’s legislature to take on permitting of oil, gas and natural gas liquids storage,” said Department of Mineral Resources director Lynn Helms.…
December 17, 2020
Bakken Oil Output Flat in October, but Natural Gas Up 2% from September
Oil production in the Bakken Shale during October remained flat month/month at 1.22 million b/d while natural gas output increased by 2% to 89 Bcf, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) reported Monday. Oil production levels are not likely to grow until 2022, DMR director Lynn Helms said during a monthly webinar. “The…
December 15, 2020
Bakken Natural Gas Capture in North Dakota Said Improved from 2019, Stable Until 2025
North Dakota is this year better equipped to capture vented and flared natural gas from the Bakken Shale than in 2019, and processing capacity is said to now be adequate for the next five years. North Dakota Pipeline Authority director Justin Kringstad discussed the outlook during an interview with NGI’s Shale Daily. “The gas capture…
December 14, 2020
Northwest Natural Gas-to-Methanol Project Dealt Another Setback
Environmental groups and Chinese-backed sponsors of a natural gas-fueled methanol production and export project in Washington are knocking heads after a district court late last month voided some federal permits for the project. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington referred the permits back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for…
December 10, 2020
NGV Boosters Seeking Neutral Tailpipe Emission Standards
Ford Motor Co. is calling for major automakers to align with California’s stringent tailpipe emission standards, with a natural gas vehicle (NGV) trade organization cautioning that potential standards that could come during the Biden administration should not favor one technology over another. On Tuesday, Ford President Kumar Galhotra asked automakers to support the California fuel…
December 3, 2020
Two More California Cities Look to Go All-Electric as Natural Gas Bans Enacted
The city councils in Oakland and San Jose, CA, on Tuesday adopted natural gas bans in new residential and commercial buildings, joining dozens of municipalities in California and elsewhere around the country that have proposed or adopted similar measures. The Northern California city councils cited climate change as one reason to ban the use of…
December 3, 2020
California Regulators Warn PG&E of Safety Lapses
California’s chief utility regulator last week warned Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) that it may face more oversight because of alleged shortcomings in its safety practices. California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Marybel Batjer warned the San Francisco-based combination utility that it may be in violation of some of the six-part enhanced oversight as…
December 2, 2020
Sempra Utilities Ready Plan to Mix Hydrogen into Natural Gas Systems
Sempra Energy’s two California utilities have formed a demonstration program aimed at mixing hydrogen into their natural gas distribution pipeline systems. Calling it a first for the state, Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. plan to use surplus renewable power supplies to produce hydrogen that would be mixed into the…
November 30, 2020
PG&E Sued for Northern California Kincade Wildfire
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) last week was sued by a group of government agencies and Sonoma County officials for allegedly causing the 77,000-acre Kincade Fire that ravaged Northern California in October 2019. PG&E is still in the early months of Chapter 11 reorganization, but earlier this year, the California Department of Forestry and…
November 24, 2020
Bakken’s Robust Production Threatened by Low Prices and Biden Presidency, North Dakota Officials Say
North Dakota officials estimate that 25% of the Bakken Shale’s output could be negatively impacted by a change in energy policy under President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., threatening the 7,000 state-drawn, two-square-mile spacing units that contain all of the state’s future drilling sites. Nearly half (48%) of those units include federal-owned land and/or mineral rights,…
November 20, 2020