Pennsylvania legislators failed once again to advance a bill to the governor’s desk that would impose an impact fee on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
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Driller: Old Rigs Can’t Hack the Shales
Contract driller Helmerich & Payne Inc. has been repositioning its rig fleet or the last 10 years, well in advance of the shale revolution that has swept the oil and gas patch. Back then it wasn’t known how well suited the firm’s FlexRigs would be to horizontal drilling in the shales. As it turns out, they work quite well, H&P CEO Hans Helmerich told financial analysts during a fiscal fourth quarter earnings conference call.
Driller: Old Rigs Can’t Hack the Shales
Contract driller Helmerich & Payne Inc. has been repositioning its rig fleet or the last 10 years, well in advance of the shale revolution that has swept the oil and gas patch. Back then it wasn’t known how well suited the firm’s FlexRigs would be to horizontal drilling in the shales. As it turns out, they work quite well, H&P CEO Hans Helmerich told financial analysts during a fiscal fourth quarter earnings conference call.
Unconventional Drilling Activity Up Slightly
NGI’s Unconventional Rig Count edged up ever so slightly for the week ending July 22, rising to 987 rigs from 984 the previous week. Despite the pedestrian weekly advance, the current unconventional rig count remains a full 3% higher than the 961 rigs that were at work one month ago.
Critical Onslaught Against NYT Methods Continues
The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) views on shale gas, which were provided in advance to the New York Times (NYT) for an article it was preparing, “differ in significant respects” from those published by the newspaper on Monday, according to the director of the Office of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Analysis within the EIA’s Energy Analysis office.
GM, Westport to Advance Natural Gas Engine Technology
Vancouver, BC-based Westport Innovations Inc., a natural gas engine technology provider, has agreed to work with General Motors (GM) to advance engine technology for light-duty vehicles. It underscores that technology advances being made in gasoline and diesel transportation also can be applied to natural gas engines.
People
Sempra Energy named a new CEO, Debra Reed, 55, more than a year in advance of CEO Donald Felsinger’s mandatory retirement at age 65 late next year. A 33-year employee with the Sempra companies, Reed was also added to the board of directors where Felsinger will continue as executive chairman until his retirement. Sempra COO Neal Schmale will remain in his current role until his planned retirement later this year. Felsinger said the Sempra board early on identified Reed as a top candidate to succeed him, and with all of the business units “performing well financially, we felt the timing was ideal to begin our transition to a new generation of leadership at the company.” Reed had been executive vice president since April last year and was CEO of the Sempra California utilities before that. She is an engineering graduate from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and began her career as a systems engineer with Sempra’s Southern California Gas Co. utility.
New York Assembly Once Again Pushes Fracking Ban
The New York Assembly has overwhelmingly approved legislation to limit hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale, but whether the latest attempt to limit drilling will be approved in the state Senate remained a question on Tuesday.
Prices Up Strongly as Eastern Cooling Load Spreads
With Philadelphia temperatures expected to peak around 90 Wednesday, the combination of a mini-heat wave in the East, a 15.8-cent advance by July futures on the previous Friday and the restoration of industrial demand that had been missing during a long holiday weekend caused double-digit price gains across the board Tuesday in the launch of the June aftermarket.
Apache Eyes Upstream Opportunities
Apache Corp. is pouring more money into its upstream projects this year to advance a backlog of North American and overseas opportunities, CEO Steve Farris said last week.