2013

“This is a 2013 development. It’s not a 2012 development. The next year is about evaluation. It’s about getting your head around the rock,” said Michael Bodino with Global Hunter Securities LLC.

The race to break through the Midcontinent bottleneck and flow expanding supplies of crude oil, bolstered by shale production to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and world markets moved up by about 300,000 b/d with separate announcements Wednesday of plans to reverse the flow of the Seaway crude oil pipeline, and a possible go-ahead for the Cushing to the GOM southern section of the stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Shell Pipeline Co. LP received a “very encouraging response” in a nonbinding open season for capacity on its proposed Houma, LA, to Houston (Ho-Ho) oil pipeline system reversal, which would take advantage of growing oil shale production, the company said Thursday.

FERC Friday gave Empire Pipeline Inc. the green light to place into service a major interconnection on its Tioga County Extension Project to transport Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania to the U.S.-Canadian border.

Purestream Technology has contracted with Whiting Oil and Gas Corp. to deploy its Avara System, which can process up to 2,000 bbls of flowback water daily, for a water treatment project in Mountrail County, ND, to support Whiting’s operations in the Williston Basin. The clean finished water will be returned for continued use in hydraulic fracturing. The Avara system was developed in partnership with Utah State University’s Energy and Space Dynamics Labs.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has called on FERC to withhold approval for Empire Pipeline Inc. to begin service on its Tioga County Extension until it has complied with state soil disturbance and stabilization requirements.

Despite a large supply of ethane in the Appalachian Basin and no nearby place to put it, several projects to ship the commodity out of the region are challenged by the complexities of the marketplace, according to several project sponsors.

UGI Energy Services Inc., a subsidiary of UGI Corp., said it plans to spend $150 million to build a 30-mile extension of its Auburn Gathering System. The project calls for extending Auburn from its terminus in Wyoming County, PA, to Luzerne County, PA, and for building a connection to the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line. The extension is expected to be in service in the second or third quarter of 2013.

EOG Resources Inc. said William R. (Bill) Thomas has been promoted to president and Gary L. Thomas has been promoted to COO. The men will report to CEO Mark Papa until June 2013, when Papa will retire and be succeeded by Bill Thomas. “Although I will continue in my role as day-to-day hands-on chairman and CEO through 2012, I plan to gradually turn over my responsibilities to Bill Thomas six months before I retire,” Papa said. “I am very comfortable transitioning my leadership role to Bill and our very experienced, long-tenured and exceptionally talented team.” Bill Thomas formerly was senior vice president of exploration and has worked for EOG for 32 years. Gary Thomas, formerly senior executive vice president of operations, has been an EOG employee for 33 years. “I consider a key responsibility of an effective chairman is managing a seamless executive transition,” said Papa. “I certainly intend to accomplish that goal. Bill and Gary both exhibit what I characterize as ‘EOG DNA.’ Reflecting EOG’s corporate culture, they are innovative, share a great sense of urgency and are dedicated to working together to make EOG an even more successful company in the future.”