America’s “shale revolution,” combined with increased Gulf of Mexico oil production, the potential for major deposits in the Arctic, and growth in tight and heavy oil, including oilsands, makes North America’s energy picture much brighter than it was not that long ago, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser said recently at the Chief Executives Club of Boston.
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Industry Brief
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on April 9 to consider the nomination of Ernest Moniz to be secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE). Moniz would succeed current Energy Secretary Steven Chu (see Daily GPI, March 5). Moniz currently serves as science adviser in the administration and director of the MIT Energy Initiative. He is a familiar face to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where he has testified on a variety of energy issues. Moniz has a reputation of being supportive of natural gas development, calling it a “bridge fuel” even as he has called for more funding for renewable energy. In 2010 he co-authored an MIT study that concluded that gas would be a leader in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades, mostly by replacing older, inefficient coal plants with combined-cycle gas generation.
Ohio’s Utica Expands to 567 Permits Approved, 268 Wells Drilled
Carroll County and operators for Chesapeake Energy Corp. continue to hold the lion’s share of permits issued and producing wells in the Utica Shale, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) figures.
Industry Brief
California oil/natural gas officials will hold two day-long public workshops on draft discussion rules on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) established late last year. The first session conducted by the Division of Oil/Gas Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is set for Wednesday in Bakersfield, CA, dividing the draft rules into seven basic components and holding discussion and question-answer sessions on each during the day. A second session with a similar format will be held in Sacramento March 21. An initial workshop was held in Los Angeles Feb. 19 as part of DOGGR’s attempt to get widespread industry and general public input ahead of the start of the formal process for establishing a set of rules and guidelines for pre-fracturing well testing; advance notification; monitoring during and after fracturing operations; disclosure of materials used in fracturing fluid; trade secrets; and storage and handling of fracking fluids. Additional workshops are slated for the Santa Barbara and Monterey areas. The formal rules are not expected before next year.
Obama Officially Announces Picks for DOE, EPA
President Obama Monday gave his official nod to nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz as nominee for secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), and to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution official Gina McCarthy to head up the EPA.
Industry Brief
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold its annual Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula area-wide oil and gas lease sales, as well as a lease sale for geothermal resources on Augustine Island, on Wednesday, May 8. Terms can be obtained in the “Headlines” section of the DNR website. The Augustine Island lease sale is the fourth geothermal lease sale in state history. The last lease sale of this kind was held in 2008 for acreage on Mount Spurr. The Cook Inlet sale includes 815 tracts encompassing 4 million acres. The Alaska Peninsula lease sale includes 1,047 tracts covering 5.8 million acres. The Augustine Island geothermal sale includes 26 tracts on nearly 66,000 acres. In the past two years, the Cook Inlet hydrocarbon basin has seen a resurgence in investment by small, medium and large energy companies, DNR said. Bidders must be qualified by 4 p.m. May 3, and bids must be received no later than 4 p.m. May 6.
Sempra Eyes IPO, LNG Exports
San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s Mexico business unit plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) of up to 20% of stock as part of a long-range plan to increase natural gas investments on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. At the same time, the company senior management is talking bullishly about U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
Sempra Eyes IPO for U.S.-Mexico NatGas Investments
San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s Mexico business unit plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) of up to 20% of stock as part of a long-range plan to increase natural gas investments on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
BLM Extends Comment Time for Wyoming Gas Drilling DEIS
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Rawlins, WY, announced that it will hold a public open house next Tuesday and extend the public comment period into March on a draft environmental assessment for the proposed expansion of natural gas drilling in two counties.
BLM Extends Comment Time for Wyoming Gas Drilling DEIS
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Rawlins, WY, announced that it will hold a public open house next Tuesday and extend the public comment period into March on a draft environmental assessment for the proposed expansion of natural gas drilling in two counties.