Wyoming

The Biden administration’s pause in conducting oil and natural gas lease sales on federal land is drawing more legal challenges, as plaintiffs argue that the lack of third quarter auctions was illegal. The Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) and the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) this week filed a lawsuit against the Department of Interior (DOI)…

Against the backdrop of rising renewable electric generation and the need for more balancing mechanisms, Spire Energy Inc. is close to completing the first phase of a planned natural gas storage expansion near the Opal Hub in Wyoming. Spire Storage is working to expand capacity to 39 Bcf from 23 Bcf to meet growing demand…

Climate technology company CarbonCapture Inc., which develops direct air capture (DAC) systems, has set a goal with carbon storage developer Frontier Carbon Solutions to permanently remove 5 million metric tons/year of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from Wyoming by 2030. The state was selected for the carbon sequestration project because of the “broad availability of renewable…

The Biden administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has broad authority to postpone oil and gas lease sales to address environmental concerns, a federal judge ruled in tossing one of several lawsuits filed by industry groups and GOP-led states. U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl of the District of Wyoming last Friday (Sept. 2) ruled…

ExxonMobil has been given the green light by federal officials to sequester carbon emissions deep underground in Wyoming, the first project of its kind to gain approval on federal lands. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the sequestration project in Lincoln and Sweetwater counties.  A carbon dioxide (CO2) disposal well pad…

Ruby Pipeline LLC, the 1.5 Bcf/d natural gas system that moves supply from Wyoming to Oregon, has filed for voluntary bankruptcy to reorganize and relieve its debt obligations. The 680-mile, 42-inch diameter system is jointly owned by Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) and Pembina Pipeline Corp., based in Calgary. The Chapter 11 filing is “in…

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming may develop a regional hydrogen hub using a portion of $8 billion in funds from the Department of Energy (DOE).  The states signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February to potentially develop the Western Inter-State Hydrogen Hub (WISHH). The states also noted in the MOU they would apply…

Wyoming’s two main oil and gas trade groups are seeking to expedite the resumption of oil and gas leases on federal property by the Department of the Interior (DOI). In a merits brief filed Aug. 30 in Wyoming District Court, the Western Energy Alliance and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) allege that DOI is…

U.S. independent Contango Oil & Gas Co. plans to boost its natural gas production by more than half later this year with the acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ conventional assets in Wyoming’s Wind River Basin for $67 million. The assets are estimated to have a net production run rate of about 78 MMcfe/d as of July 1.…