Just one month after Russia’s state-owned OAO Rosneft claimed a stake in 20 deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration blocks held by ExxonMobil Corp., the partners said they plan to spend as much as $15 billion to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on Russia’s Pacific Coast that would ship fuel to Asia-Pacific markets. A final investment decision is set for June, and if it’s approved, the plant could begin exporting LNG by 2018, according to Rosneft, which is the world’s largest listed oil producer (see Daily GPI, March 22). Rosneft and ExxonMobil in 2011 struck a cooperation agreement to swap access in Russia’s Arctic offshore and other areas; Rosneft gained access to U.S. and Canadian plays in the onshore and GOM (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31, 2011). Rosneft acquired a 30% interest in the 20 deepwater GOM blocks last month (see Daily GPI, March 13). The partners expanded the strategic agreement in February, which gave Rosneft the option to take a stake in the Point Thomson, AK, gas project (see Daily GPI, Feb. 14). At that time, they signed a memorandum of understanding to study the economic viability of a LNG development in the Russian Far East.
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Industry Brief
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled three forums on natural gas issues in May. The forums, which would be held in a roundtable format “to encourage discussion and allow flexibility to find areas of agreement,” would include input from members and a variety of stakeholders, according to committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Topics for the forums are “Infrastructure, Transportation, Research and Innovation” (May 16), “Domestic Supply and Exports” (May 21) and “Shale Development: Best Practices and Environmental Concerns” (May 23).
Arkansas Attorney General Looking Into ExxonMobil Oil Spill
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation of a crude oil spill near Mayflower, AR, which ExxonMobil was working to clean up. The cause of the spill is still under investigation, but Exxon said the spill did not involve tar sands oil.
GTL Facility Planned for Blair County, PA
Privately-held Marcellus GTL LLC plans to build a natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) processing plant in Blair County, PA, in the heart of the Marcellus Shale.
Cash Uninspired By Futures Lift-Off
Cash natural gas prices held steady on average Thursday with most traders electing to get deals done ahead of the morning inventory report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Rosneft Takes Stakes in ExxonMobil’s GOM Properties
A subsidiary of Russian state-owned OAO Rosneft has acquired a 30% interest in 20 deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration blocks held by ExxonMobil Corp.
Pipeline Would Link Eagle Ford Gas to Mexico Power Plants
NET Midstream unit NET Mexico Pipeline LP plans to build a 124-mile, 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to carry gas produced in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas to the Texas-Mexico border.
Industry Brief
A recently combined and publicly held exploration and development company, Salt Lake City-based Richfield Oil and Gas Co., announced a purchase in the Graham Reservoir oilfield in Uinta County, WY. Richfield bought a shut-in well in the Wasatch National Forest (Well #16-15) from Frontier Energy for $610,000, including 640 acres of mineral leases. The company said the purchase gives it 100% working interest in a mineral lease in the Graham Reservoir, located approximately 120 miles northeast of Salt Lake City in southeastern Wyoming. The well has been shut in since 2003 and was completed in the Dakota Formation at 15,600 feet. Flow testing and production operations will get underway later in the first quarter. For Richfield, which is the product of the merger of Hewitt Petroleum Inc. and Freedom Oil & Gas Inc. in 2011, the acquisition is part of the process of “methodically building our reserve and production base” through graded acquisitions,” said CEO Douglas Hewitt.
Fracking Supporters, Opponents Testify in New York
A trio of New York legislators opposed to high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) held court over a lengthy public hearing Thursday on rules that would govern the practice, but officials with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) were not in attendance.
Audi to Pursue Hydrogen, Synthetic Gas for Vehicles
Audi AG held a topping-out ceremony recently for a new plant in Germany that will be the world’s first manufacturing facility for producing synthetic methane, or “e-gas,” along with renewable electricity. The facility is scheduled to begin operations early in 2013 and begin feeding e-gas into the local natural gas distribution network by summer.
