Jobs

A recently announced acquisition by California-based water handling company Heckmann Corp. is intended to expand the range of water and wastewater services available to producers in the Haynesville Shale in East Texas, and there are plans to take the business to other shale plays.

Shale Gas and America’s Future, a 30-minute, made-for-TV film about the country’s natural gas drilling boom, has been released by the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF), a pro-natural gas industry group.

Renewed vigor to tap into North America’s shales helped Schlumberger Ltd. to more than double its quarterly earnings, the oilfield services giant said Friday.

Royal Dutch Shell plc will streamline its operations, it said last week, and could slash thousands of jobs as the company continues to tangle with weak commodity prices, a flagging economy and project delays.

UBS became the latest casualty of the economic crisis Friday as the financial bank reported it is tightening its focus on its “core strengths,” cutting jobs and downsizing some businesses, while exiting others completely. The company, which was ranked by NGI as the twelfth largest North American natural gas marketer during the second quarter of this year, said it is exiting commodities trading — with the exception of precious metals — in its Fixed Income business.

UBS became the latest casualty of the economic crisis on Friday as the financial bank reported it is tightening its focus on its “core strengths,” cutting jobs and downsizing some businesses, while exiting others completely. The company, which was ranked by NGI as the twelfth largest North American natural gas marketer during the second quarter of this year, said it is exiting commodities trading — with the exception of precious metals — in its Fixed Income business.

Up to 60,000 new jobs annually and $55-85 billion in economic activity could be lost if new high-voltage electric transmission lines are not built, according to a report released last Wednesday by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The report was sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s (PNWER) Energy Horizon Project, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. INL recommendations include a call for a study of the region’s natural gas transmission pipeline capacity.

Up to 60,000 new jobs annually and $55-85 billion in economic activity could be lost if new high-voltage electric transmission lines are not built, according to a report released Wednesday by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The report was sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s (PNWER) Energy Horizon Project, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. INL recommendations include a call for a study of the region’s natural gas transmission pipeline capacity.

El Paso Corp. has completed the “creation of a fit-for-purpose organization” that resulted in job losses for about 40% of its corporate officers, 21% of its directors and 9% of the rest of the organization, not including field operations or field services businesses.