Permian Basin

Producers working Texas oilfields will be required to show why they need permission to flare or vent natural gas under updated rules approved by state regulators Wednesday. However, the three-member Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) stopped short of imposing more stringent requirements to limit emissions.  For months the RRC has weighed how to balance exploration…

No matter who becomes the U.S. president, midstream executives are optimistic about the upcoming year given the improved price outlook for natural gas and the level of activity that has been spurred by producer customers, particularly in the Haynesville Shale. Speaking early Tuesday on the third quarter earnings call, Plains All American LP CEO Willie…

In an ongoing effort to optimize capital spending amid the weak oil price environment, MPLX LP brought online the first segment of the Wink-to-Webster pipeline to ultimately transport more than 1 million b/d of Permian Basin crude to the Houston area. The main segment of the 650-mile pipeline was commissioned in October, and service is…

Houston-based Callon Petroleum Co., whose portfolio stretches across the Permian Basin’s two major formations and across the Eagle Ford Shale, reduced costs and delivered “near-term economic returns” at current strip prices during the third quarter, the CEO said. Net production jumped 170% to 102,000 boe/d year/year, above expectations, while capital spending was $38 million, below…

Permian Basin pure-play Diamondback Energy Inc. improved its environmental stewardship in the third quarter, with only 0.5% net natural gas production flared, down 74% year/year. The operations also are strong enough to not look for any merger partner, CEO Travis Stice said. The Midland, TX-based independent reduced its lease operating expenses and general/administrative costs in…

Permian Basin heavyweight Concho Resources Inc., now in a quiet period as the mega-merger with ConocoPhillips is readied, said its oil and gas production, along with profits, declined in the third quarter. Earlier this month, Houston-based ConocoPhillips clinched an all-stock takeover of Concho worth $9.7 billion. The Midland, TX-based independent is the fifth-largest producer in…

Crestwood Equity Partners LP expects to finish out 2020 on record footing as a resumption of normal operations in core areas of the Bakken Shale and Permian Basin drive higher volumes of natural gas, oil and water. The Northeast also has “good potential for growth” as business in the challenging environment has stabilized, and prospects…

FERC last week approved the 1.35 million Dth/d Double E Pipeline LLC project to transport Permian Basin natural gas.  The Double E project would offer firm transportation service from producing areas in the Delaware sub-basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas to delivery points near the Waha hub.  Project backer Summit Midstream Partners LP…

New Mexico’s fiscal health is undergoing an “unprecedented sea change” with global markets signaling the “beginning of the end” for the state’s financial reliance on fossil fuels, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported Tuesday. IEFFA’s Tom Sanzillo, director of finance, co-authored the report with energy policy analyst Suzanne Mattei.  “Leases, royalty…