Permits

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador last Friday sent a bill to congress to amend the Hydrocarbons Law and grant the state greater control over granting and revoking permits in the oil, gas and petrochemicals business. López Obrador on Monday said the bill was designed to “remove the sharpest edges” of the 2013-2014 energy reform…

The West Virginia Legislature has passed a bill establishing a $2,500 fee for producers that want to make modifications to existing horizontal natural gas well permits.  Senate Bill 404 passed both Republican-controlled chambers last week and is headed to Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s desk, who is expected to sign it. The bill was introduced in…

Lower 48 oil and natural gas permitting during November plunged by nearly one-third month/month, with activity in the Permian Basin and Haynesville Shale sharply down, according to Evercore ISI. Evercore analysts led by James West compile a monthly review of federal and state permitting. According to the data, exploration and production (E&P) companies requested 32%…

A favorable environmental verdict has enabled $2.6 billion in construction to start this year on a contested 340-mile leg of a Canadian oil export pipe replacement project across Minnesota, according to Enbridge Inc. “Enbridge continues to work with permitting agencies for the timely issuance of remaining permits in order for construction to start before year-end…

In keeping with an extensive history of persistent legal opposition to Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), environmental groups have asked a federal appeals court to stay recently updated waterbody-crossing permits for the 303-mile, 2 million Dth/d natural gas conduit. In petitions filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, a coalition…

As Lower 48 operators have slashed spending and activity, the Permian Basin has taken the biggest hit to well permitting, according to an analysis of August data by Evercore ISI. Overall permit activity fell nationwide by 28% in August month/month to 1,119 permits, according to the analyst team led by James West. Most of the…

Calgary-based TC Energy Corp. on Wednesday was granted a Presidential Permit by President Trump to increase oil exports by about 6% on the 10-year-old but stalled Keystone XL pipeline system, which is designed to move Canadian crude to Gulf Coast markets. The approval follows a 2019 open season that would add 50,000 b/d to the…

Requests for U.S. drilling permits improved in June following a brutal April and May, with the Permian Basin still the top region for operators, according to Evercore ISI. The analyst firm each month compiles permitting statistics for the Lower 48 and offshore using federal and state data. Covid-19 and low commodity prices had crushed permit…

Colorado’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for Boulder County has extended the existing moratorium on accepting and processing new oil and gas development applications and on seismic testing to December 31. The moratorium was put in place to give BOCC staff time to review and update the county’s oil and gas regulations in light of…