Sweet

The Pennsylvania Senatethis week confirmed Democratic Gov.Tom Wolf’s former energy adviser,David Sweet, to serve on the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) 49-0. Wolf nominated Sweet to the commissioner’s seat in May. He joined Wolf’s administration in April 2015 to focus on energy and economic development issues. It’s unclear whether Wolf intends to replace Sweet. “David’s extensive background in economic development and finance will lend itself well to the commission’s work and its mission, balancing the needs of consumers and utilities,” said PUC Chairwoman Gladys Brown.

Valero Energy Corp. is upgrading two of its refineries in Texas so they can process more light sweet crude from the prolific Eagle Ford Shale, a company spokesman told NGI’s Shale Daily.

The Bakken has the potential to fill all of the current added demand for sweet crude, but the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin will have something to say about that, a North Dakota official said.

Crosstex Energy LP has completed two projects aimed at getting shale oil and condensate to higher paying markets.

As oil and gas companies continue to ponder the best strategy for unlocking natural resources in the Utica Shale — and industry analysts continue to debate the merits of doing so — data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) indicate that the state has passed an important milestone: 100 horizontal wells online and in production.

The Bakken Shale may be booming, but Oneok Partners LP’s recent open season for the proposed Bakken Crude Express Pipeline was a bust, and the project has been scrapped, the partnership said Tuesday.

Oneok Partners LP plans to invest $1.5-1.8 billion to build a 1,300-mile crude oil pipeline with capacity to transport 200,000 b/d of light sweet crude from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin in North Dakota to the Cushing, OK, crude oil market hub, the partnership said Monday.

The House last week overwhelmingly passed legislation to exempt commercial end-users from margin requirements and ease regulations for affiliate transactions.

If Europe develops its shale gas resources, it will likely take its sweet time about it, according to a new report from Ernst and Young Global Ltd.