Michael Economides, 64, a University of Houston (UH) energy expert, died of a heart attack on Saturday. Economides was the founding director and chief scientist of the Global Petroleum Research Institute at Texas A&M University before becoming a chemical engineering professor at UH. As a consultant, Economides worked for Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell plc and Petroleos Brasilerio (Petrobras), as well as in Russia and China. He published more than 300 journal articles and more than a dozen books, including The Color of Oil, which he co-authored. He also founded and was editor-in-chief of Energy Tribune, an online publication. In 1969, Economides, then 19, moved to the United States from Cyprus as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Kansas. He became a U.S. citizen in 1982 and went on to receive a doctorate from Stanford University in 1984. He is survived by his wife Christine Ehlig-Economides, also a petroleum engineering expert, and two sons.
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A northeast Ohio company has plans to open one of the state’s first third-party water treatment facilities to process flowback, brine and other wastewater that collects during the drilling process. Ohio favors injection wells to dispose of its oilfield waste, with nearly 98% of all brine water being disposed of in Class II injection wells. Iron Eagle Enterprises LLC, of Liberty Township is the first to receive a third-party permit. Plans call for constructing a 14,000 b/d, or 588,000 gallon, facility in Carroll County, where drilling activities have been robust. The plant is expected to employ as many as 50 people once it’s operational. No completion date has been announced.
Senate Bills Address Repair, Replacement of Old, Leaking Gas Pipelines
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) has introduced a pair of bills to speed up the repair and replacement of the nation’s natural gas pipelines, and to set up a funding mechanism designed to motivate utilities and states to complete the projects, with the federal government shouldering some of the costs.
Texas Gas Offering Ohio-Louisiana Capacity
Texas Gas Transmission is holding a binding open season through Jan. 13 for primary firm natural gas backhaul transportation service from Ohio’s Marcellus and Utica shales into Lebanon, OH, pipeline interconnects, with an ultimate destination to serve utilities in the Midwest and South.
Broad Declines Offset Northeast Strength; December Expires Firm
Spot gas for Wednesday delivery on average fell a penny in Tuesday’s trading. However, if one is willing to assume that market dynamics in the transportation-challenged Iroquois-Algonquin corridor distort the broader national market, removing those prices shows a 6-cent decline overall.
Shale Oil Fattens Wallets In Texas, North Dakota
Operators have turned to shales because that’s where the oil is. So it’s not surprising to find that shale towns are also where the money is, according to personal income data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Technical Issues Push CME to Revise Certain Energy Settlement Prices
CME Group reported last week that due to a “technical issue” fractional changes have been made to the contract expiration prices of 10 Nymex energy products and related instruments settled between May and October 2013. This is the second time in less than a month that CME has had to issue an energy contract-related settlement revision.
Fracking Interests Injecting More Cash Into Congress
Pro-hydraulic fracturing (fracking) interests are growing in stature among political campaign contributors, according to a public interest advocacy group, which attributes their increased spending to increased discussion of the well stimulation practice.
GDF Suez Pulls Plug on Gas, Power Spec Trading
GDF Suez Energy North America last week shut down its speculative natural gas and power trading operations, which were based in Houston.
New England Drops Mask Overall Market Strength; December Adds 2 Cents
Physical natural gas for delivery Tuesday on average fell approximately 7 cents in Monday’s trading. However, if Algonquin Citygate’s nearly $8 loss and Tennessee’s Zone 6 200 L $6-plus loss are factored out, the overall market change is a gain of about 6 cents.
