Faces

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) CEO Pete Miller believes a slump in North American onshore drilling will continue through this year, but the international energy equipment business is high on his radar, particularly in China.

Riding high on record profits and continuing efficiencies, the contract drilling sector nevertheless faces uncertainties during the first half of next year that require patience and flexibility, said the CEO of Tulsa-based Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP).

Riding high on record profits and continuing efficiencies, the contract drilling sector nevertheless faces uncertainties during the first half of next year that require patience and flexibility, said the CEO of Tulsa-based Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP).

As California faces its first real heatwave of the summer, the fate of the 2,200 MW San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Songs) remains a mystery, and the only sure bet is that more natural gas-fired electric generation within and outside the state will have to be called upon to make up for the absence of the huge plant along the Pacific Coast in North San Diego County.

After hundreds of years of being the dominant source for electrical power generation, commodity analysts said the coal industry faces an uncertain future as natural gas prices remain low and utilities build new power plants fueled by natural gas.

Even with the Marcellus Shale fueling new growth across the region, Pennsylvania still faces barriers to building natural gas vehicle (NGV) infrastructure, in part because of public fueling needs and high vehicle costs, according to a recent report by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, a nonprofit organization focused on economic development in the state.

Davy Jones, considered one of the biggest natural gas discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico’s shallow waters, faces several weeks of delay before commercial production begins after operator McMoRan Exploration Co. reported that a blockage has prevented a measurable flow rate in the first well.

BP plc still faces legal hurdles, but it jumped a big one after clinching a hard-fought settlement earlier this month with the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee (PSC) to resolve a “substantial majority of legitimate economic loss and medical claims” from the Macondo well blowout two years ago in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The PSC acts on behalf of thousands of individuals and businesses in the multi-district litigation (MDL) proceedings pending in New Orleans (MDL 2179).

BP plc still faces legal hurdles, but it jumped a big one late Friday after clinching a hard-fought settlement with the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee (PSC) to resolve a “substantial majority of legitimate economic loss and medical claims” from the Macondo well blowout two years ago in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The PSC acts on behalf of thousands of individuals and businesses in the multi-district litigation (MDL) proceedings pending in New Orleans (MDL 2179).