Range Resources Corp.’s management team is “convinced” that its best wells are still to come in the Marcellus Shale after some new wells punched into a previously drilled area with five years of production history were “substantially better than previous wells,” COO Ray Walker said.
Near
Articles from Near
Industry Briefs
HollyFrontier Corp. and Holly Energy Partners LP are collaborating to construct a rail facility that will enable crude oil loading and unloading near HollyFrontier’s Artesia and/or Lovington, NM, refining facilities. The rail project, which will be connected to Holly Energy’s crude oil pipeline system in southeastern New Mexico, will have an initial capacity of up to 70,000 b/d and will enable access to a variety of crude oil types including West Texas Intermediate, West Texas Sour and Western Canadian Select. The project will provide additional crude oil takeaway options for producers as crude production in the region continues to grow, and an expanded set of crude oil sourcing options for HollyFrontier. Completion is expected by early 2014.
Industry Brief
Ridgeline Energy Services Inc. said it plans to construct a water treatment facility in the Marcellus Shale near Punxsutawney, PA. The Calgary-based company said it had executed an agreement for an initial single train commercial installation (STCI) that would concentrate on produced water, with an anchor customer providing about 2,500-4,000 b/d of wastewater. Ridgeline said it was looking to build additional permanent installations in the same production area and expand its presence in western Pennsylvania. Installation of the first STCI is to begin in about a month.
EIA: March Cold, Sluggish Production Bump Price Forecast Higher
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) joined a growing list of analysts raising 2013 natural gas price forecasts, saying in a Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released Tuesday that it expects spot prices, which averaged $2.75/MMBtu at the Henry Hub last year, to climb to an average of $3.52 this year and $3.60 in 2014.
Well Freeze-Offs Muddling NatGas Production Data, Says Barclays
Determining whether Lower 48 state natural gas onshore production is falling is proving to be a difficult task because of the variable winter, but the aggregate amount of production curtailments from well freeze-offs “point to peak supply losses of as much as 1.8 Bcf/d,” according to Barclays Capital.
Industry Briefs
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) has contracted with Methanex Corp. to support the construction of methanol storage capacity near its Geismar Liquids Terminal (GLT) in Geismar, LA, and will embark on a $58 million expansion of its chemical storage. KMP said it will invest about $58 million to build, own and operate the storage tanks and related infrastructure, including improvements to its existing dock at GLT. The assets will provide marine, rail and truck access in support of a 1 million tonne per year methanol production plant being relocated by Methanex from Chile. The terminal infrastructure is expected to be in service during the second half of 2014, coinciding with the anticipated startup of the relocated plant. Separately, KMP has also acquired Quality Carriers Inc.’s 26-acre terminal located in Chester, SC. The 19-tank facility currently provides storage for a single customer of 35,000 bbl and receives product by rail and distributes by truck.
Industry Brief
Construction is under way on Intercontinental Terminals Co. LLC’s (ITC) new bulk liquids terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, which will provide storage and handling for petrochemicals and petroleum products as well as petrochemical gases and natural gas liquids (NGL). ITC, a unit of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc., has been operating on the channel since 1972 and owns and operates a 12.8 million bbl liquid bulk terminal facility in Deer Park, TX. The greenfield terminal is in Pasadena, TX, on the south side of the channel. Start up of operations is expected during the second quarter of 2015 with 10 tanks of 100,000 bbl each. The terminal will have two deep-water ship docks and four barge docks capable of handling large oceangoing tankers as well as inland barges. Multiple product pipelines are adjacent to or near the new terminal, which will also have rail and truck facilities.
Industry Briefs
A train derailment near the town of Parkers Prairie, MN, Wednesday morning spilled 20,000-30,000 gallons of crude oil into a field, but frozen, snow-covered ground was “a saving grace” that should keep environmental damage to a minimum, a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) spokesman told NGI’s Shale Daily. Fourteen of the Canadian Pacific Railroad train’s 94 cars derailed and oil from three of them was leaked, the spokesman said. “They’re going to be able to recover most, if not all” of the oil, according to MPCA spokesman Dan Olson. No injuries were reported.
Rail Terminal Planned to Serve Texas, New Mexico Producers
Rangeland Energy is buying land near Loving, NM, where it plans to develop a large terminal facility to handle crude oil, frack sand, pipe and other products; plans for a crude oil pipeline to the terminal also are in the works, the company said Monday.
Tug Collides with Chevron LPG Pipeline in Louisiana
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) on Tuesday responded to a collision between a tug pushing a barge and a Chevron Pipe Line Co. liquid propane gas (LPG) pipeline near Bayou Perot, 30 miles south of New Orleans.