Development

The rapid improvement in efficiencies to produce deepwater oil and gas, which usually has taken years and millions of dollars, has put the expensive offshore within reach of tight/shale oil development costs, according to Wood Mackenzie.

ExxonMobil Corp. on Tuesday increased its Permian Basin plans to produce more than 1 million boe/d by as early as 2024, an increase of nearly 80%.

West Texas pure-play Callon Petroleum Co. is trimming its 2019 capital spending and tightening its rig count, but it still expects to increase production by 20%, the Houston independent said Tuesday.

Marathon Oil Corp. has shifted into heavy development mode in Oklahoma’s stacked plays, even as it touts other basins and the diversity of holdings that include prolific basins in North Dakota and Texas-New Mexico.

Evolution Midstream LLC said it has broken ground on its Jewell natural gas processing plant in Converse County, WY, in the heart of the Powder River Basin (PRB).

A Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) campus has been selected by the state’s top economic development organization to be a lead partner in developing the business and market opportunities created by the Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC ethane cracker under construction in Beaver County.

Aera Energy LLC, a partnership between units of Royal Dutch Shell plc and ExxonMobil Corp., is bidding to become the largest solar energy developer in California with 850 MW of capacity to create steam for an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operation in the Belridge oilfield 40 miles west of Bakersfield.

A commercial real estate developer is clearing a 100-acre site in western Pennsylvania for a roughly $9 million project with the help of a $7 million loan from a regional development fund. Castlebrook Development Groupis working to get an industrial park ready in anticipation of the manufacturing opportunities that are expected to be created by Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC’s ethane cracker, scheduled to come online in the early 2020s. The cracker is under construction in Beaver County, 15 miles south of the Castlebrook site. The Power of 32 Site Development Fund, backed by local banks, nonprofits and private companies, made the loan for Castlebrook.

Spire’s five natural gas utilities — Alagasco, Laclede Gas, Missouri Gas Energy, Mobile Gas and Willmut Gas — have all begun operating under the St. Louis-based parent company’s name. Included in the launch of the united utility, Spire announced a new mobile-friendlywebsite for customers. Spire serves 1.7 million natural gas customers in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Non-utility operations include Spire Marketing, which provides natural gas marketing and related services.