Hydrocarbon

Construction of industrial infrastructure and production of liquid hydrocarbon resources near Point Thomson, AK, by ExxonMobil Corp. and affiliate PTE Pipeline LLC is one step closer with the release of a draft environmental impact study (DEIS) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Cleveland-based Chart Industries Inc., a manufacturer of equipment to handle hydrocarbon and industrial gases, said it is expanding manufacturing capacity for liquefied natural gas (LNG) equipment to meet growing North American infrastructure demand. “We are expanding capacity to meet current customer needs and to remain ready to serve the rapid growth we are seeing in North America for LNG equipment for applications such as fueling stations, transportation and remote power generation,” said Tom Carey, president of Chart’s distribution and storage unit. “We believe we are in the early stages of a substantial LNG infrastructure buildout in North America that we expect will last for many years, similar to opportunities we are pursuing in China and elsewhere.” The company said its first phase of investment will be about $4 million at a site in the Upper Midwest during the fourth quarter.

In response to technical advances that have expanded Ohio’s hydrocarbon resource potential, The Ohio State University (OSU) has created the Subsurface Energy Resource Center (SERC) with a goal to conduct and facilitate relevant shale research.

Whether one loves or hates hydrocarbon fuels, “they are here to stay,” an energy lecturer and author told a Houston audience. “They provide nine out of 10 units of energy, nine out of 10 units of power…That will remain the case for decades to come. Energy transitions happen over decades or centuries, not over years.” The transition under way now is to natural gas, particularly that from shale plays, he said.

Natural gas drilling in West Virginia’s Marcellus Shale already has enriched the state through new jobs and more revenue and is on track to create up to 20,000 jobs by 2015, according to a study by West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER).

Worldwide upstream investment fell 23% in 2009 from the previous year, but total hydrocarbon reserves increased 3%, with both oil and natural gas reserves up for the first time in five years, IHS Herold reported on Monday.

Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co., which up to now has focused its exploration efforts in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas, plans to test new hydrocarbon basins in New Brunswick (NB) after winning bids in a tender call for licenses covering more than 2.5 million acres (1.02 million hectares).

Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co., which up to now has focused its exploration efforts in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas, on Monday said it would test new hydrocarbon basins in New Brunswick (NB) after winning bids in a tender call for licenses covering more than 2.5 million acres (1.02 million hectares).

Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co., which up to now has focused its exploration efforts in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas, on Monday said it would test new hydrocarbon basins in New Brunswick (NB) after winning bids in a tender call for licenses covering more than 2.5 million acres (1.02 million hectares).