Funding

The University of Calgary, in collaboration with Mexican universities and research institutes, has received C$44 million (MX$646.94 million) in funding for four knowledge networks to support energy reforms in Mexico. The funding commitment follows from a partnership the university signed in December 2015 with the Mexican Ministry of Energy (SENER). The research focuses on four areas: heavy oil, mature and unconventional oil resources, pipeline loss reduction, and industry and labor market development. Research networks will be created through the University of Calgary’sGlobal Research Initiative in Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resources. The networks will be led by the University of Calgary and the lead Mexican partner institutions: the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Funding is administered by CONACYT, a national funding organization in Mexico that works to advance science and technology. Research will be developed over the next three years.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is offering up to $15 million in support for community-based alternative fuel transportation projects, including natural gas vehicle (NGV) programs.

Houston-based Hi-Crush Partners LP, which provides northern white sand to pressure pumpers across North America, has secured partners to help fund an innovative logistics company for the proppant industry.

The Texas oil and natural gas boom might have turned to a bust for now, but that hasn’t slackened work at the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). Staff has shifted attention from permitting new wells to the need to plug nearly 10,000 abandoned wells. Meanwhile, revenues have dropped because of permitting fee and production tax declines.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will face a $60 million cut in its funding and will have to cut staff to the lowest level since 1989 if President Obama signs the $1.01 trillion spending bill that passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support.

A bill that would extend a pilot program that streamlines the permitting process at the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for oil and natural gas drilling was introduced in the Senate last week and has bipartisan support.

The Texas Transportation Commission has approved $225 million for work to repair roads damaged as a consequence of the state’s oil and gas boom. The funding, provided by the Texas Legislature (see Shale Daily, May 30), will allow the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)to begin repairing and rehabilitating roadways damaged by heavy trucks and increased traffic. It is estimated that energy sector traffic across the state has caused $400 million in immediate roadway safety concerns, such as severe edge damage on narrow roadways, deep rutting and pavement damage. Estimates show an additional $1 billion per year is needed to restore roadways heavily impacted by energy development to “good” or “better” conditions, the commission said. “Fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes in Texas rose by 11% in 2012 compared to the previous year,” said TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson. “We are pleased that our lawmakers saw fit to fund some of these safety-focused rehabilitation and repair projects, and we hope resources that enhance safety will continue to be a priority as our energy industry thrives.” With more than 80,000 miles of highway, Texas, home of the Eagle Ford and Barnett shales as well as the Permian Basin, has the largest highway system in the nation.

A diverse coalition of often opposing forces Wednesday launched a center to provide producers with certification of performance standards for shale development and established the first 15 standards designed to ensure safe and environmentally responsible development of the Appalachian Basin’s shale gas resources.

Contact Exploration Inc. and Pieridae Energy Ltd. have created Pieridae Production LP (PPLP) to focus on natural gas exploration and production in support of Pieridae’s proposed Goldboro LNG Terminal in Guysborough, Nova Scotia. PPLP, which, at least initially, will rely on shale gas in the Frederick Brook Shale.