Fuel

As oil and natural gas companies worldwide face tighter scrutiny on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, two key indicators are trending the wrong way for Mexico’s state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex). Natural gas flaring and production of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) both have increased substantially for the national oil company in recent years,…

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is proposing changes to its Monthly Crude Oil and Lease Condensate, and Natural Gas Production Report, including publishing separate estimates for Alabama, Federal Offshore Pacific, Michigan, Mississippi and Virginia. Data from those states/area would no longer be included in the “Other States” category, EIA said in a notice published on Oct. 2 in the Federal Register. EIA would publish data for a total of 21 states/areas and “Other States,” which would include 14 states. EIA is seeking public comment on the proposed changes through Nov. 1. Comments should be sent to DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Bldg., Room 10102, 735 17th St. NW, Washington, DC, 20503, or by e-mail to Chad_S_Whiteman@omb.eop.gov.

Abundant U.S. shale energy supplies have created the false impression that energy independence is near, while in the transportation sector nearly half of U.S.petroleum supplies are still imported, an oil analyst/editor told an industry conference Tuesday in Long Beach, CA.

National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG) subsidiaries have have asked a federal court to review the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) decision to deny the Northern Access expansion project a water quality certification and other permits. NFG filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday. DEC rejected the project’s permits earlier this month, saying construction would negatively impact the environment. The 490,000 Dth/d Northern Access project would expand the Empire and National Fuel systems to move natural gas from wells in northwest Pennsylvania to markets in New York, Canada, the Northeast and the Midwest.

With Earth Day as a backdrop, alternative fuel advocates, including natural gas vehicle (NGV) proponents, put on their party hats and marked a variety of milestones in the clean fuel sector, starting with the metropolitan transit authority in San Antonio, TX.

BP plc agreed Wednesday to pay $155 million to acquire the upstream portion of Clean Energy Fuels Corp.’s renewable natural gas (RNG) business, and it has signed a long-term supply contract with the nation’s largest supplier of fuels for the natural gas vehicle (NGV) market.

Beleaguered German automaker Volkswagen AG has found itself in a new public controversy among its natural gas-powered vehicles in Europe, which are part of a large recall of VW natural gas vehicles (NGV). VW has no NGV sales in the United States.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded more than $1.6 million to schools and businesses in the state for projects that will use alternative fuels and infrastructure. Ten grants were awarded, mostly for alternative fuel vehicle purchases and retrofits. Those include 41 propane-fueled buses for a school district in Montgomery County and 20 United Parcel Service trucks that will run on compressed natural gas. In all, 111 alternative fuel vehicles will be put into service through the grants and utilize seven new alternative fuel stations. The grant program remains open throughout 2016. Applications will be accepted until Dec. 30 for “innovative, advanced fuel and vehicle technology projects,” the agency said.

A second phase of fuel-saving requirements for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV) will reduce diesel fuel use and will also discourage switching to natural gas and other alternative transportation fuels, according to a report released by the Energy Information Agency (EIA).