Ways

Colorado legislators and Wyoming regulators are looking at different ways to tighten oversight of their states’ oil and natural gas drilling.

For industry and government officials in North Dakota hungry for new ways to reduce the nearly 30% of the state’s associated natural gas that is flared, it is unclear if an innovative approach from a Louisiana-based oil/gas field services firm using converted military helicopter jet engines will prove to be a panacea anytime soon.

In a public debate on how much use and emphasis there should be on oil/natural gas and particularly hydraulic fracturing (fracking), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday called natural gas the best transition for his state eventually to move to more reliance on efficiency and renewable energy programs.

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance on Tuesday called on his colleagues to make the case for “smart” regulations and government collaboration to ensure the shale revolution is not suppressed by uninformed critics.

A proposed Wyoming Senate bill (Senate File 157) that would require baseline groundwater testing by oil and natural gas operators before drilling begins has stirred up controversy, with industry officials questioning whether the law is needed.

Physical natural gas prices continued their volatile ways Wednesday with eastern points continuing higher prompted by pipeline outages and below normal temperatures, while locations west of the Eastern Seaboard were declining. Overall, the national average gain was 95 cents, but taking out volatile eastern points revealed an overall average loss of 8 cents. At the close of trading February futures were 0.4 cent lower at $3.554 and March was down 0.5 cent at $3.553. March crude oil slipped $1.45 to $95.23/bbl.

As drillers compete for access to water for their operations, researchers are looking for new ways to reuse and recycle wastewater for the good of the environment, as well as looking ahead to the possibility of more restrictions at the state or federal level that may be imposed on underground injection wells, according to Accenture.

A team of scientists, engineers and educators from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) has been charged by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore ways that maximize the benefits of natural gas development while minimizing potential negative effects.

Increasing crude oil supplies from shale plays coupled with Canadian oilsands imports will challenge the U.S. refining system in ways the industry had not anticipated, according to a new study from Turner, Mason & Co. (TMC).