The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $3 million to two University of California campuses for research to improve natural gas production, fuel infrastructure and pipeline reliability. Investment in gas research is intended to accelerate development of clean energy technologies. The UC Riversidecampus was awarded $1.4 million to develop a more efficient thermochemical method for producing renewable gas. The research is thought to have the potential to replace 30% of the natural gas burned in California, which receives 87% of its supplies from out of state. The Riverside campus was awarded $1.2 million to help ensure the compatibility of natural gas with other alternative fuels in the transportation sector. The UC Berkeley campus received $425,000 to study the effects of rising sea levels on gas pipelines in San Francisco Bay.
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Futures Dip Below $2 For First Time in 10 Years; Market Weakens
Both the cash and futures marched lower Wednesday. The looming question of where the current storage surplus combined with robust production will find a home come October continues to pressure the market. Futures slipped below $2, establishing a new 10-year low. Most markets were off by about a nickel, and Northeast points hovered in the vicinity of unchanged.
Pemex Expands Gas Condensate Theft Litigation
Legal action by the exploration and production unit of Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) against companies accused of trafficking in stolen natural gas condensate got bigger Tuesday when the company filed another lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston that added defendants Pemex had unsuccessfully sought to add to an existing lawsuit.
ConocoPhillips, India’s ONGC Sign Shale, Offshore Agreement
India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) announced Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ConocoPhillips to explore and develop shale and deepwater resources in India and North America.
New York Shale Drillers Face New Threat: Preservation League
Exploration and production companies looking for ways to develop vast natural gas reserves deep within upstate New York’s Southern Tier have faced an “unwelcome” mat in recent years, with a state-imposed drilling moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as well as many town council-imposed drilling bans. However, producers now face another threat: the Preservation League of New York State.
New York Shale Drillers Face New Threat: Preservation League
Exploration and production companies looking for ways to develop vast natural gas reserves deep within upstate New York’s Southern Tier have faced an “unwelcome” mat in recent years, with a state-imposed drilling moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as well as many town council-imposed outright drilling bans. However, producers now face what may be an even bigger threat: the Preservation League of New York State.
Industry Brief
Cardinal Midstream LLC has brought a third cryogenic gas processing plant online in the Arkoma Woodford Shale, and it now has 220 MMcf/d of operated cryogenic processing capacity in the Oklahoma play. The new Tupelo Plant in Coal County, OK, is capable of processing 120 MMcf/d. Cardinal’s Coalgate Plant, an 80 MMcf/d facility, is adjacent to Tupelo, and the Atoka Plant in Atoka County, has a capacity of 20 MMcf/d. Cardinal Midstream President R. Mack Lawrence said the company was expanding its gathering system and “evaluating further processing capacity expansions given the level of drilling activity on dedicated acreage and the quality and production volume we’re seeing from the rich gas wells in the play.”
West Virginia Cracker Could Face Federal Air Quality Issues
Current and former officials in the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) warn that companies hoping to build an ethane cracker in the state could have difficulty getting the necessary permits if they choose to build in areas that don’t meet federal air quality standards.
Industry Brief
South Korea’s Korean National Oil Corp. (KNOC) said it has joined the consortium buying El Paso Corp.’s exploration and production (E&P) business. Apollo Global Management, Riverstone Holdings and Access Industries in February agreed to pay El Paso $7.15 billion to buy the E&P unit to facilitate the company’s takeover by Kinder Morgan Inc. (see Daily GPI, Feb. 27). KNOC and a unit of Samsung Group in late 2011 bought Barnett Shale-focused Parallel Petroleum from Apollo in a transaction worth an estimated $800 million (see Daily GPI, Dec. 1, 2011).
Polish Official Predicts Shale Gas Production in 2014, Visits Marcellus
Days after visiting natural gas operations in the Marcellus Shale, Poland’s treasury minister said commercial shale gas production may begin in his country in 2014.
