The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board, recently announced the creation of a new panel on hydraulic fracturing, generally referred to as “fracing”. The formation of the panel comes as the Obama administration is working to revise draft rules for fracing. With new technologies like fracing leading to historic…
The reaction to the death of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez has varied around the world. His antagonism towards the US was well known and vocal. But now that he is gone, the oil and gas industry is curious about what will happen to Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the Venezuelan…
Recently the IHS hosted CERAWeek in Houston, Texas (you can view the brochure here). CERA stands for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, an organization founded in the early 1980s to consult on energy issues for both the government and private companies, and that hosts the annual event in Houston each year.…
The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology recently released a new study, entitled the Sloan Foundation Shale Gas Assessment Study, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, predicting a reliable, although decreasing, supply of natural gas from the Barnett shale until 2030. Barnett shale is the country’s…
Recently, DCP Midstream and DCP Midstream Partners confirmed plans to build a cryogenic plant in South Texas to service the Eagle Ford shale. The cryogenic plant will provide natural gas processing services. The construction will be by a joint venture owned two thirds by DCP Midstream and one third by…
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PNR) has 155,000 gross acres in the Barnett Shale play- two thirds in the liquids-rich area and one third in the dry gas area. PNR has operated this area since 2007. Pioneer, a company out of Dallas, started divesting procedures for these shale play properties in…
Forecasts for the oil and gas markets for 2014 were released recently. They predict a somewhat loose market, along with more positive news for those involved in the North American oil and gas industry. These projections were published in the “Short-Term Energy Outlook”, a document produced by the US Energy…
Oil and gas pipelines in Texas and throughout the country are needed to bring oil and gas to refiners and to markets, and result in cheaper fuel prices for consumers by lowering transportation costs. With the oil and gas industry flourishing, particularly in areas of the country like Texas, more…
In a significant win for reasonable and sensible energy regulation, the DC Circuit Court rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2012 cellulosic biofuels projection. It is sad that this is what passes as a “win” for the energy industry however, since the Court simply acknowledged that the EPA’s requirements are…
More advocates are spreading the message that the energy industry can help our county work though not only its energy needs but its budget shortfalls and economic problems as well. US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue noted in his 2013 State of American Business address that developing American…