Infrastructure

A failure for state agencies to conduct integrated planning and miscalculating natural gas supplies contributed to California’s rolling power blackouts during a severe heat storm last August, according to a multi-agency report. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) in the report called for expanded oversight…

Allete Inc. subsidiary Minnesota Power on Tuesday announced a goal to deliver 100% carbon-free energy to customers by the year 2050. Utilizing its EnergyForward strategy, Minnesota Power was the state’s first utility to provide 50% renewable energy to its customers and seeks to build upon that as it transitions to “clean energy.”  The upcoming Integrated…

New Fortress Energy Inc. said Wednesday it is acquiring Golar LNG Partners LP (GMLP) and Hygo Energy Transition Ltd. in a deal valued at $5 billion that expands operations in Latin America and provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping assets.  Hygo is a 50-50 joint venture between Golar LNG Ltd. and a fund managed by…

James Waddell, a senior global gas analyst at London-based Energy Aspects, said severe cold, production outages, shipping constraints and a scramble to find supplies are just a few of the myriad factors that have blown into the perfect storm behind a meteoric rise in Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices.  As the historic rally continues,…

Lifted by revenue pulled from the Permian Basin in West Texas, the state’s oil and natural gas industry paid $13.9 billion in taxes and royalties in fiscal 2020, or around $38 million/day,  according to a top industry group. Data compiled by the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) indicated state energy industry taxes and royalties…

Federal regulators have approved the start of construction on all but a small portion of Summit Midstream Partners LP’s 135-mile Double E natural gas pipeline that would connect Permian Basin supplies to the Gulf Coast. Summit CEO Heath Deneke touted the “efficiency with which this project has achieved its key milestones” and confirmed the pipeline’s…

Domestic wholesale electricity prices were lower and less volatile in 2020 versus 2019, though in the latter half of the year, prices did trend higher for western states, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday.  Prices in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market were 5% lower, while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)…

Construction schedules are under review in British Columbia (BC) for its entry into the global natural gas export market as a result of labor force limits that provincial public health authorities adopted to counter the impacts from the pandemic. “Long-term impacts to the overall schedule continue to be assessed,” said TC Energy Corp. Vice President…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Monday published a final rule in the Federal Register that relaxes inspection and reporting requirements for natural gas pipeline operators. The rule is meant “to ease regulatory burdens on the construction, operation and maintenance of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipeline…