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
Fertilizer as Flaring Cure Flames Out in North Dakota
Three years ago, as the amounts of associated natural gas being flared continued to soar in the Bakken Shale, North Dakota industry and state officials saw hope…
April 4, 2014
Industry Brief
A new anti-hydraulic fracturing (fracking) legislative proposal (SB 1132) will be reviewed by the California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on Tuesday, its first hurdle. The proposal would undo and go beyond the state’s months-old fracking law (SB 4) signed last fall and supported by the state senators who are now co-authoring the new…
April 4, 2014
South Dakota Sand Deemed Not Suitable for Fracking
Although South Dakota officials had been hoping to cash in on the oil and natural gas boom in the Williston Basin, there is little chance operators…
April 3, 2014
BLM Initiates New Environmental Review of Already-Leased Thompson Divide in Colorado
Two producers in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado that could be an onramp to unleashing Mancos Shale supplies Tuesday received a two-year extension on their natural gas leases, to allow time for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct a new and unprecedented post-leasing environmental review of a broader region, according to the Western Energy Alliance (WEA).
April 3, 2014
Two State Studies Tout Oil/Gas Economic Benefits
Separate academic studies in California and Colorado emerged Tuesday supporting the macroeconomic benefits of oil and natural gas development and warning against bans on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
April 3, 2014
Information, Site Access Restricted at Washington Gas Blast Site
Information and access to the site of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank explosion and fire in Washington state was restricted on Tuesday as company, state and federal representatives waited for an "all-clear" from facility operator Williams' Northwest Pipeline Co.
April 2, 2014
PG&E Facing 12 Criminal Charges Regarding San Bruno Tragedy
A federal grand jury in San Francisco late Tuesday indicted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) on 12 criminal counts related to its actions leading up to the September 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and explosion in San Bruno, CA, that killed eight people and injured dozens more.
April 2, 2014
North Dakota Gas-Fueled Fertilizer Plant Delayed
A multi-billion-dollar project that has promised to help cut the increasing volumes of flared wellhead natural gas in North Dakota has been delayed indefinitely by ideveloper CHS Inc., based in St. Paul, MN, which is the nation's largest farmer-owned cooperative. There is no timeline for the project being restarted.
April 2, 2014
Industry, PHMSA to Share Results of Bakken Crude Tests
The federal government's independent testing of Bakken crude oil's content and chemical composition is ongoing after its launch last fall, and the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) has launched its own testing program. Indications Tuesday were that eventually the government and the industry will share their respective test results.
April 1, 2014
Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Resigns
Less than two years after his predecessor resigned, Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Grant Black on Monday took the same exit route, following a closed meeting of the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC).
April 1, 2014