It appears there is a possibility that President Obama could veto congressional legislation that pushes for Keystone XL pipeline construction, but ultimately approve the project anyway. This is because a key piece of the puzzle is a Nebraska Supreme Court decision. “If Nebraska were to bless a pipeline route, the State Department could finish its… Keep reading →
As we reported last November, US crude oil export laws can be absurd, with policies regulating condensate exports particularly convoluted. Thus it appears two forward-thinking companies took advantage of this “squishy” legal situation to gain condensate export approval. Deemed “private classification orders” by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the decision allows Pioneer… Keep reading →
The “out there” in this case is the Permian Basin in West Texas where Pioneer Natural resources has over 20,000 drilling locations. With over 10,000 net producing wells currently operating, the company has a significant drilling inventory that it plans to tap over the long term, assuming oil prices remain above $80 per barrel and… Keep reading →
US refiners have had a tough 25 years, Pioneer Natural Resources Chairman and CEO Scott Sheffield said during a lunch keynote presentation at the Independent Petroleum Association of America Oil & Gas Investment Symposium in New York today. East Coast refiners face a competitive disadvantage to those located on the Gulf Coast because Eastern plants… Keep reading →
National oil companies have popped up in a significant number of mergers and acquisitions in the oil patch in recent years, and have led in joint venture partnerships.Flush with cash and in search of resources, Chinese companies have consistently remained in the headlines, but the biggest deal last year involved Russia’s Rosneft.
“In 2012, National Oil Companies (NOCs) were involved as buyers in the two largest deals in the oil and gas industry. Both deals came in the fourth quarter and helped push the total value of all oil and gas deals in 2012 to more than $402 billion, a 19% increase on the total a year earlier,” Dale Nijoka, Ernst & Young Global Oil & Gas Leader wrote in “National Oil Company Monitor Q4 2012,” a corporate publication. The largest deal was Rosneft’s $61 billion cash and shares acquisition of TNK-BP and the second biggest deal was China National Offshore Oil Company’s $15.1 billion Nexen takeover. Keep reading →
Mining sand, clay and other industrial minerals for use by industrial concerns was a solid business for over 100 years, but the explosion of unconventional drilling that has helped boost US petroleum output to levels not seen in decades opened a new and lucrative market.
US Silica is a 112-year old company that got its start supplying sand to Pennsylvania’s glass industry, but around 2008 the firm began to supply proppants to companies that were hydraulic fracturing wells in order to tap liquid and gas hydrocarbons trapped in low-porosity geologic structures like shale. Keep reading →
North America’s emerging oil shale abundance can fundamentally alter the US’s energy landscape, but experts say the road ahead may have a lot of detours.
The issues start with how much new supply can get to market. Keep reading →
An oil drilling rig in the North Dakota portion of the Bakken formation.
Shale gas took America by surprise, and tight oil is about to do the same. Keep reading →
