Resources

Denver-based Resource Energy Can-Am LLC has agreed to pay $34.7 million for Blue Ridge Mountain Resources’ assets in Divide County, ND, including interests in 167 wells, over 45,000 net mineral acres, in excess of 1,500 boe/d of flowing production and 3.0 million boe of reserves, the companies said Wednesday.

The oil/natural gas patch has seen much technological change since 2010 — the last time the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the resources contained in the Bossier and Haynesville formations. Technology advancements have caused resource estimates for the Gulf Coast Basin plays to balloon.

Rosemead, CA-based Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) on Monday released a request for offers (RFO) seeking a variety of distributed energy resources in the Santa Barbara-Goleta area, including natural gas-fired options, such as combined heat-power and cogeneration along with storage, energy efficiency and distributed renewable resources. Eligible projects must meet local interconnection requirements and have start dates between June 1, 2019 and June 1, 2020. SCE seeks to bolster its grid resiliency in the coastal area about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Utility officials said the RFO is not trying to add capacity, but rather increase grid resiliency by adding distributed resources. Projects that meet the RFO requirements will participate in a competitive bidding process for which a bidder’s conference will be held March 22. Additional information is at RFO website established by SCE, scegarfo.accionpower.com.

Texas power demand is increasing faster than previously thought, according to a new report from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates most of the state’s power grid. Texas gets more than half of its power from natural gas-fueled generation.

In the largest estimate ever of unconventional oil in the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey said the Wolfcamp Shale within the Permian Basin’s Midland formation in West Texas contains an estimated mean of 20 billion bbl of oil, 16 Tcf of associated natural gas and 1.6 billion bbl of natural gas liquids.

Private equity NGP Energy Capital, with investments across the energy spectrum, has agreed to provide Luxe Energy LLC with another $525 million to acquire and develop unconventional oil and gas property across the United States.

The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA) has lost a lawsuit in which it alleged the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is overstepping its authority by enforcing permit requirements for oil and gas wells that it contends were invalidated in 2013.

Privately held American Energy Partners LP, created by former Chesapeake Energy Corp. chief Aubrey McClendon three years ago, is closing in a few months, the company said.

American Energy Partners LP, created by Aubrey McClendon in 2013 after he left Chesapeake Energy Corp., will be closed in the next few months, the company said.