April 1, 2010
posted on: Apr 01, 2010
IPAMS Meetings and Announcements
Are federal land management policies driving investment and jobs out of the West?
In an increasingly competitive natural gas market, how does the Rocky Mountain region stack-up against other regions? Are federal land management policies that create uncertainty, delays and higher operating costs disadvantaging the West? We think they are, but we’d like to hear from you on the matter.
IPAMS is conducting a survey of members to quantify the actual impacts to jobs and investment in the West compared to other regions. We would greatly appreciate your time in completing the survey linked below. Your responses will help us understand and quantify the opportunity cost of (jobs/capital) federal land policies that are driving investment to other regions. All individual company information will be kept confidential, and any results released will be aggregated.
We have tried to make the survey as brief as possible while still gathering the level of detailed data necessary to quantify impacts and explain their causes. We are asking for contact information only in the event that we need clarification on your responses. Please return the completed survey to Spencer Kimball or fax to (303) 893-0709. Click here to download the survey.
Wyoming BLM Presentation on Sage Grouse Policy Implementation
April 8, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Please note, the date in last week’s Wildcatter Weekly was incorrect)
The IPAMS Wyoming Basin Advisors Network (WYBAN) will be hosting a presentation on April 8th from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. by the Wyoming BLM Deputy State Director, Resource Policy Bill Hill and Wildlife Biologist Chris Keefe on sage grouse policy changes (see IM WY 2010-12 for the new policy), and how BLM is implementing them. The presentation will be followed by discussion to allow participants to ask questions and fully understand how the policy will impact their operations. The presentation will take place at EnCana’s Denver office (370 17th St., 40th floor) in the Torreys and Grays Room. You can proceed directly to the 40th floor from the concourse level. Please RSVP to Spencer Kimball.
Wildcatter of the Year
May 15, 2010 in Denver, CO
IPAMS 2010 Wildcatter of the Year Gala will be held at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts on May 15, 2010. This black tie event begins with a cocktail reception in the lobby of the Bonfils Theatre at 6 p.m. and is followed by dinner in the Seawell Ballroom.
IPAMS Wildcatter of the Year is a lifetime achievement award honoring distinguished service to the natural gas and oil industry and the community. Members of our industry in the Intermountain West nominate deserving colleagues for the Wildcatter of the Year, and the name of the winner is kept secret until the presentation. The winner receives a beautiful bronze sculpture by artist Veryl Goodnight from New Mexico.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Click here to become a sponsor.
After registering online, please email Becca Ness or call (303) 623-0987 with the names of your guests to ensure they have a nametag at check-in.
IPAMS Membership Update
IPAMS would like to thanksour broad membership for supporting our organization 2010 dues. Your financial support ensures that we have the resources to continue to defend and promote your investment in the Intermountain West. This week we are proud to recognize the following new and upgraded memberships:
NEW PIONEER MEMBERS
Apollo Operating
Opportune LLP
MEMBERSHIP UPGRADES
Cirque Resources
Genesis Oil and Gas
For more information or to refer a company to IPAMS regarding membership please contact Susan Fakharzadeh.
IPAMS in the News
Feds settle lawsuit over drilling in Rocky Mountains
published in: Associated Press on: 04/01/2010 by: Paul Foy
An oil-industry lobby criticized the settlement and complained it was shut out of the negotiations.
“It’s getting more and more difficult to operate onshore,” said Kathleen Sgamma, government-affairs director for the Denver-based Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.
Drillers get access to less public land, because they ask for less (Subscription Required)
published in: E&E Greenwire on: 04/01/2010 by: Mike Soraghan
“You have no certainty that you’re going to get a lease that you’ve paid for,” said Kathleen Sgamma, director of governmental affairs at the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS). “Why would you want to tie up your capital?”
Other Upcoming Meetings
• WYBAN Sage Grouse Presentation – April 8th, 10:00 a.m.
• Legislative, Legal and Regulatory – April 8th, 1:30 p.m.
• Montana Basin Advisory Network Meeting– April 12th, 1:30 p.m.
• Utah Basin Advisors Network – April 13th, 10:00 a.m.
Agendas are available for upcoming meetings at http://www.westernenergyalliance.org/advocacy/. All meetings unless otherwise indicated are Mountain time, and at IPAMS and via teleconference.
Visit westernenergyalliance.org for the latest news affecting the Intermountain West’s oil and natural gas industry. Headlines are updated daily from local, national and international news sources. You may also sign up for daily newsbrief emails under the Manage Account section of the “Members Only” page.
The West
Economics are pushing natural gas companies to seek more oil
published in: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram on: 03/30/2010 by: Jack Z. Smith
Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon has long crusaded for America to embrace natural gas as a key solution to the nation’s energy and environmental needs — and the earlier the better. But McClendon was stressing a new theme Tuesday — the oilier the better. Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake has derived more than 90 percent of its production from natural gas. But McClendon, speaking at Hart Energy’s annual Developing Unconventional Gas conference at the Fort Worth Convention Center, said today’s economics “just compel you to look for oil.”
Colorado
Coal-plant conversion bill on governor’s desk
published in: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on: 03/31/2010 by: Charles Ashby
A measure to convert coal-fired power plants in the Denver area to natural gas was sent to Gov. Bill Ritter’s desk Wednesday. House Bill 1365, introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that included three from the Western Slope, is designed to help clear air pollution on the Front Range while boosting gas drilling on the Western Slope.
Parties divided as Colorado Senate gives early OK to coal-cutback measure
published in: Denver Business Journal on: 03/30/2010 by: Ed Sealover
Colorado senators on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a measure that requires Xcel Energy to reduce emissions at several of its coal-fired power plants and encourages the company to replace them with generators powered by natural gas. House Bill 1365 had sailed through the House with bipartisan support but ran into a cauldron of anger among Senate Republicans who said it would run the coal industry out of business in Colorado. After its expected final approval on Wednesday and concurrence vote by the House on Thursday, however, the bill is likely to be signed into law fairly quickly by Gov. Bill Ritter.
Oil and gas group’s director has plenty of energy to spare
published in: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on: 03/29/2010 by: Gary Harmon
The fortunes of the Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association are in the hands of a 30-year-old holder of a bachelor’s degree in English from Mesa State College. Not to worry, though. David Ludlam needs no help understanding the difference between Shakespeare and Schlumberger. Ludlam was born in the Grand Valley to John and Kathy Ludlam, both geologists who worked for the U.S. Department of Energy.
BLM Colorado seeks advisory-panel nominees
published in: Denver Business Journal on: 03/27/2010 by: Staff
The federal Bureau of Land Management in Colorado is seeking nominations for 15 open public positions on its three Resource Advisory Councils, which advise the agency on public-land issues. The BLM will consider the nominations for 45 days after Friday, March 26.
Williams still has big plans for Piceance
published in: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on: 03/25/2010 by: Gary Harmon
Colorado’s Piceance Basin remains the No. 1 investment for Williams Exploration and Production, which could more than double its drilling program next year, the company president said. “Williams is fully committed to the Piceance Basin,” Ralph Hill said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Sentinel. Nine Williams rigs now are operating in the basin, and Williams intends to boost that number to 18 or 20 in 2011, depending on the price of gas, Hill said at the company offices in Parachute.
New Mexico
Report: NM greenhouse gas emissions hold steady
published in: Associated Press on: 03/29/2010 by: Susan Montoya Bryan
New Mexicans are consuming more energy to heat, cool and power their homes than a decade ago and more traffic is clogging highways, but an inventory of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions shows they have remained flat. Officials say that’s good news, considering that the state’s population grew more than 6 percent from 2000 to 2007. “It shows we’re making good progress,” said Jim Norton, director of the state Environment Department’s Environmental Protection Division.
North Dakota
Foundation plans to ask governor for a special session
published in: Williston Herald on: 03/27/2010 by: Nick Smith
A consortium of Williston leaders is planning to ask Gov. John Hoeven to call a special session of the Legislature to address the lack of infrastructure available to North Dakota’s top oil-producing counties. However, the governor told the Herald Friday a meeting of the Legislature may not be needed just yet.
Utah
Drilling deal sets new rules on sensitive lands
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 04/01/2010 by: Patty Henetz
The fight over natural gas drilling in eastern Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon and the harm industrial activity causes rock art, ruins, granaries and graves has led to a nationwide policy change on how energy development may proceed on sensitive public lands. The shift comes with a settlement announced Wednesday in a 2008 lawsuit filed against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition and The Wilderness Society against how the agency approved new gas wells on the West Tavaputs Plateau.
Harvest gauges Uinta basin oil, gas discovery
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 03/30/2010 by: Staff
Harvest Natural Resources Inc., Houston, said it appears to have made a commercial oil discovery south of giant Altamont-Bluebell oil field in Utah’s Uinta basin. The company hopes to start a flexible, multiwell follow-up drilling program in this year’s second half near the Bar F 1-20-3-2 well in Duchesne County. The well stabilized at 900 b/d of 42° gravity yellow wax crude and 650 Mcfd of gas at 1,400 psi flowing surface pressure from six commingled intervals in Lower Green River and Upper Wasatch at 8,200-9,600 ft.
Federal Land Seizures Urged by Utah Governor (subscription required)
published in: Wall Street Journal on: 03/30/2010 by: Jim Carlton
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill Saturday authorizing Utah to file eminent domain proceedings against federally owned land, primarily to gain access to state-owned parcels to be able to drill where trucks and pipelines now can’t reach. Utah’s new law authorizing it to condemn and take control of some federal lands isn’t likely to prevail, experts say. In signing the legislation this weekend, Gov. Herbert is appealing to long-simmering ire in the West over federal control of natural resources at a time of escalating tension between some states and the White House.
Nominations open for UTah BLM advisory council
published in: Deseret News on: 03/29/2010 by: Staff
Utah residents interested in the management and conservation of public lands have an opportunity to become directly involved through participation on the Bureau of Land Management’s Utah Resource Advisory Council. Council members provide advice and recommendations to the federal agency concerning the use and management of 22 million acres of public land in Utah.
Wilderness bill goes into effect
published in: St. George Spectrum on: 03/26/2010 by: David Demille
Government officials and interested residents are starting to figure out how to best execute a massive omnibus lands bill designed to protect local wilderness areas, designate areas for development and ease long-standing tensions between developers and environmentalists in Southern Utah. The Washington County Growth and Conservation Act, one of more than 170 conservation acts contained in a massive omnibus public lands bill that passed the U.S. House a year ago Thursday, designates 256,338 acres of Washington County lands as wilderness area, and allows for the sale of 5,000 acres designated as non-sensitive for development around St. George.
Wyoming
WY: Industry, critics lobby state on fracking rules
published in: Associated Press on: 03/31/2010 by: Mead Gruver
State regulators are trying to balance industry concerns and fend off federal regulation as they consider changes to rules and regulations for oil and gas development, said Thomas Doll, the state oil and gas supervisor. Doll held a public discussion on the proposed rules Tuesday and plans a public hearing April 14 before the proposed changes go before the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission next month.
Wyoming energy Industry fights fracking rules
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 03/31/2010 by: Dustin Bleizeffer
State regulators are caught in a heated crossfire in their attempt to fend off critics and maintain primacy over the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. “We need to keep others at bay, and we want to keep primacy of this,” said Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission supervisor Tom Doll. Doll and his staff spent several hours Tuesday with industry officials and members of the public discussing several proposed rule changes. Of particular interest are changes that would require companies to report more information about the chemicals they pump into oil and gas wells for hydraulic fracturing.
Forest Service OKs Wyoming oil well study
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 03/30/2010 by: Jeff Gearino
U.S. Forest Service officials have decided not to fast-track the drilling of a single, exploratory well on the Shoshone National Forest using a controversial categorical exclusion rule. Instead, the agency decided Monday it will prepare a more thorough environmental assessment to analyze the Scott Well No. 2 project. Environmentalists and some area residents have opposed the drilling plan for what they say would be the only functioning oil well inside the nation’s first national forest.
News Release: BLM Wyoming Posts List of Proposed Parcels for Upcoming Oil and Gas Lease Sale
May 6, 2010
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Office has posted its proposed list of parcels for the quarterly competitive oil and gas lease sale scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2010, at the Holiday Inn in Cheyenne, Wyo. Doors open at 7 a.m. with the auction beginning at 8 a.m. The posted list, which identifies 85 proposed parcels totaling 71,935.54 acres, initiates a 30-day public review/protest period.
Wyoming Pipeline Authority Public Meeting Notice
April 20, 2010 in Casper, WY at 10:00 a.m.
The meeting will be held at the
Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Building, located at 2211 King Boulevard, Casper, WY.
Contact Brian Jeffries or Colby Drechsel or call (307) 237-5009.
Washington Watch
Obama’s drilling decision seen as compromise
published in: Denver Post on: 04/01/2010 by: Michael Riley
President Barack Obama swept away a long-standing moratorium on offshore drilling Wednesday, wading into one of the most controversial issues in the country’s energy debate with a compromise that the administration hopes can also jump-start a stalled climate-change bill. Sharing the stage with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Obama announced that his administration would open the Arctic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and much of the Atlantic coast to drilling, a gesture that pleased oil companies and immediately divided environmental groups, some of which bitterly condemned the move.
Lugar Rolls Out Cap-And-Trade Alternative
published in: National Journal on: 03/31/2010 by: Darren Goode
Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is trying to sell both parties on a strategy he detailed today that avoids addressing climate change through a cap-and-trade program or other system for putting a price on industrial greenhouse gas emissions. “Several colleagues have diligently worked on proposals centered on cap-and-trade,,” Lugar wrote Friday to 32 Senate colleagues. “No matter your position on such proposals, I believe that we can have broad bipartisan agreement on the streamlined plan I share with you today.” Lugar sent his letter to Senate leaders of both parties and centrist fence-sitters, as well as to President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
EPA May Reverse Bush Permit Streamlining
published in: National Journal on: 03/30/2010 by: Darren Goode
The EPA today proposed revoking Bush administration changes to the agency’s New Source Review permitting rule. The agency last February announced it would reconsider the Bush changes and address concerns raised by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Clean Air Act requires major polluters and regulators to combine related projects when determining whether modifications trigger NSR requirements. NSR requires facilities to install best available pollution controls when they make major modifications.
Chu sees natural gas and small nuclear reactors as part of a low-carbon future (subscription required)
published in: E&E ClimateWire on: 03/30/2010 by: Gayathri Vaidyanathan
The natural gas industry needs to police itself to ensure that there’s no pollution from fracturing, or “fracking,” a technique that uses water and chemicals to push apart rocks and release gas, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a talk at Georgetown University on Monday. “Fracking can be polluting if done irresponsibly,” Chu said. “We are going to have some regulation going on that. It can be done, but the industry has to demonstrate to the public that it can be done responsibly,” he said.
Bishop blasts Obama administration; still wants ‘monument’ documents
published in: Deseret News on: 03/29/2010 by: Lee Davidson
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, is upset that the Interior Department has not turned over some still-secret portions of a partially leaked document that revealed the Obama administration was looking at possibly forming up to 14 new national monuments in the West, including two in Utah. Bishop and 15 other Western House members wrote last month to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking him to turn over the rest of that document by March 26. They noted that only pages 15 to 21 of an “internal draft” about possible new monuments had been leaked publicly.
State Legislators Ramp Up Campaigns Against EPA Climate Rules
published in: E&E GreenWire/New York Times on: 03/29/2010 by: Robin Bravender
Illinois state Rep. Dan Reitz, a Democrat and a former coal miner, is worried that pending federal climate change rules will cripple the economy, and he wants Congress to step in and stop it. Reitz, who represents the 116th District in southern Illinois, launched his own assault against U.S. EPA climate rules when he introduced a resolution urging Congress to postpone greenhouse gas regulations for factories, power plants and other so-called stationary emission sources. The Illinois House approved his resolution earlier this month.
‘Cap and Trade’ Loses Its Standing as Energy Policy of Choice
published in: New York Times on: 03/26/2010 by: John M. Broder
Less than a year ago, cap and trade was the policy of choice for tackling climate change. Environmental groups and their foes in industry joined hands to embrace the approach, a market-driven system that sets a ceiling on global warming pollution while allowing companies to trade permits to meet it. President Obama praised it by name in his first budget, and the authors of the House climate and energy bill passed last June largely built their measure around it.
Media Watch
Daniel V. Kish: New Obama plan will NOT increase U.S. energy supplies
published in: Washington Examiner on: 04/01/2010 by: Daniel V. Kish, Institute for Energy Research
On the last day of March, President Obama traveled to Andrews Air Force Base to announce his new program for exploring for energy on America’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Then he returned to the White House to announce his support for a holiday for the late Cesar Chavez, the famous head of the United Farm Workers Union.
Op-ed: Obama’s Offshore Gas Play Appears to be Sleight of Hand
published in: The State Journal (West Virginia) on: 04/01/2010 by: Rob Cornelius
The goal of the president is to neither expand the economy through energy nor make it cost less. I sit early on a Wednesday morning, watching the ticker fly by on CNBC. “President to Open Off-Shore Drilling,” or something similar scrolls by while I feed pets and dread writing this column. I dread it because I know that sometime after 11 EDT, a guy who truly hates most of the folks who read this space will try to distract America again with talk about drilling for energy off the East Coast. Blah-blah-blah (something about lower gas prices). Blah-blah-blah (something about energy diversity). Blah-blah-blah (something about making the right choices for our future).
Editorial: Anti-coal strategy: Give it the gas …
published in: Santa Fe New Mexican on: 03/29/2010 by: Editorial Staff
It’s too soon to be celebrating a new day in Western energy policy — but we like the way at least some denizens of corporate executive suites have been thinking lately: Sithe Global Power, the outfit whose plans for the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation have been put on hold by the federal government, has changed its mind about using coal to produce steam at a proposed plant in southeastern Nevada. Instead, the company wants to burn natural gas — and use photovoltaic solar cells for 50 to 100 megawatts’ worth of electricity from its Toquop operation.
Op-ed: Freeing Energy Policy From The Climate Change Debate
published in: Environment 360 on: 03/29/2010 by: Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
The 20-year effort by environmentalists to establish climate science as the primary basis for far-reaching action to decarbonize the global energy economy today lies in ruins. Backlash in reaction to “Climategate” and recent controversies involving the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 2007 assessment report are but the latest evidence that such efforts have evidently failed. While the urge to blame fossil-fuel-funded skeptics for this recent bad turn of events has proven irresistible for most environmental leaders and pundits, forward-looking greens wishing to ascertain what might be salvaged from the wreckage would be well advised to look closer to home.
Editorial: Sustainable future
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 03/29/2010 by: Editorial Staff
The West, including Utah, will be the hub of energy development for decades to come; that much is certain. Less so is how well-planned that development will be and whether the focus will remain on fossil fuels or shift to renewable resources. We agree with Steven W. Black, a counselor to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who believes the current American energy policy is wrong-headed. More precisely, America has no real sustainable energy policy, and developing energy on public lands haphazardly is dangerous and inefficient.
Editorial: Finding Natural Gas, Safely
published in: New York Times on: 03/29/2010 by: Editorial Staff
The Environmental Protection Agency will soon begin a much-needed study of the effects on water quality and public health of a method of extracting natural gas called hydraulic fracturing. An E.P.A. investigation in 2004 was rightly seen as superficial and skewed toward industry, which provided much of the underlying data. This one must be comprehensive and transparent.
Environment and Wildlife
How good is natural gas, when lifecycle emissions are measured?
published in: Financial Times on: 04/01/2010 by: Kate Mckenzie
Is natural gas the easy way to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that its supporters suggest? While the fuel burns cleaner than coal, a very preliminary paper by Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, says that natural gas might not be such a good option when total emissions are considered.
As sage grouse strut their stuff, debate over future rages
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 03/31/2010 by: Brett Prettyman
Everyone agrees the amazing mating ritual of the greater sage grouse is unique and entertaining. At issue is whether the bird is in need of federal oversight. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently found greater sage grouse in North America a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but decided against pursing the listing because it deems other species to have higher priority. Now three environmental groups say they intend to sue the federal government, charging that the Interior Department isn’t doing its job.
Groups vow to sue because sage grouse unprotected
published in: Associated Press on: 03/30/2010 by: Mead Gruver
Three environmental groups announced Monday they intend to sue the Interior Department for not protecting sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species. The Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Survivors and Western Watersheds Project said the department violated the Endangered Species Act by classifying sage grouse not as threatened or endangered but merely as candidates for such protection.
Global Warming Advocates Threaten Blizzard of Lawsuits
published in: Fox News on: 03/29/2010 by: Gene J. Koprowski
Environmentalists, unable to squeeze “cap and trade” rules through the U.S. Senate, have a new strategy for combating what they believe is man-made global warming: They’re going to sue. They’re revving up their briefs and getting ready to shop for judges who will be sympathetic to their novel claim that the companies they believe contribute to global warming are a “public nuisance.”
WRAP Phase III – Draft Wind River Basin 2012 Projections
The draft Wind River Basin 2012 Projections are ready for producer review, and are available on the IPAMS WRAP Phase III page. Please provide any comments to Doug Henderer, IPAMS Air Quality Integrator.
Technology, Alternative & Renewables
Industry’s GHG mitigation outlays made impact, API-backed study says
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 03/29/2010 by: Nick Snow
More than $58 billion invested in low-carbon technologies from 2000 to 2008 helped the US oil and gas industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 48 million tons of carbon equivalent from 2007 to 2008, a study sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute estimates. The cuts are comparable to taking 9.7 million cars off the roads, the report by energy consulting firm T2 Associates said. “However, it needs to be recognized that other factors make specific linkage between aggregate emission and individual past investments problematic,” it continued.
Halliburton Hunts New Bacteria Killer to Protect Shale-Gas Boom
published in: BusinessWeek/Bloomberg on: 03/29/2010 by: David Wethe
Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger Ltd., trying to forestall a regulatory crackdown that would cut natural-gas drilling, are developing ways to eliminate the need for chemicals that may taint water supplies near wells. At risk is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process that unlocked gas deposits in shale formations and drove gains in U.S. production of the fuel. Proposed regulations might slow drilling and add $3 billion a year in costs, a government study found. As one solution, energy companies are researching ways to kill bacteria in fracturing fluids without using harmful chemicals called biocides.
Markets
Analysts see renewable energy continuing to struggle against cheap natural gas (subscription required)
published in: E&E ClimateWire on: 04/01/2010 by: Joel Kirkland
Cheap natural gas has taken a toll on renewable energy in the past year. “Low gas prices are the enemy of renewables,” said Steven Milunovich, a U.S. renewable energy analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Electricity prices are often based on the cost of dispatching natural gas-fired generators during periods of high demand. As the Great Recession rolled on during the past 18 months and gas companies kept pumping out of onshore fields, gas prices have remained low and made it tough for wind power and solar energy to compete with the cheaper energy.
Report says global gas use will rise, as will prices
published in: UPI on: 03/30/2010 by: Staff
Global gas use is rising and prices are set to follow, as international perception of the fossil fuels’ natural offspring as a “clean” energy leads to elevation of the resource’s status. Natural gas has been tipped as a major component of future global energy demand and supply by even the major oil producers, particularly because not all gas is associated with crude oil reserves.
Operator to boost Western gas pipeline
published in: Associated Press on: 03/29/2010 by: Paul Foy
More natural gas will be delivered to Utah, the Las Vegas area and southern California from a pipeline expansion project that has cleared a hurdle with federal regulators. Salt Lake City-based Kern River Transmission Co. plans to boost the capacity of a pair of 36-inch pipelines that collect the gas in Opal, Wyo., and travel as far as California’s San Joaquin Valley. At one spot in central Utah, the parallel pipelines merge into one because of mountainous terrain. Kern River says it plans to complete a second pipeline there to boost capacity by 266 million cubic feet a day.
Industry News and Events
Too much hot air surrounds ‘Gasland’
published in: Houston Chronicle on: 03/29/2010 by: Loren Steffy
How dangerous is hydraulic fracturing? That’s a question that is asked but not answered by Justin Fox’s documentary Gasland. I haven’t seen the film, but in watching the above interview with Fox on PBS’s newsmagazine Now, it appears his film is the opposite of Haynesville. Fox, who lives in eastern Pennsylvania, became concerned about whether fracking was contaminating groundwater after he was approached about leasing his land for gas drilling. Wanting to find out more about the drilling process, he began talking to people who mentioned concerns about their drinking water.
Whiting Goes Virtual
Whiting Petroleum has posted virtual tours on their website, including videos on exploration, land & land owners, drilling & completion, production & operations and more…
To view the virtual tour go to www.whiting.com/media and access the individual segments on the left.
Paid Internship Opening with the Natural Gas Supply Association
Washington D.C.
The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) represents the major producers and large independent companies that explore for, drill and supply approximately 30 percent of America’s natural gas. Located just two blocks from the White House, NGSA is looking for a bright intern with an interest in the energy sector.
The position is open now (March 30, 2010) and can be filled at anytime.
Requirements: Strong writing and reasonable skills with numbers. Minimum Junior level status required, if undergraduate. The intern will work approximately 20 hours per week during the Fall and Spring semesters and approximately 40 hours per week during the Summer.
Please send a cover letter, resume and any letters of recommendation to Barbara Brown.
Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) Unconventional Gas Conference 2010: Technological Keys to Unlocking Additional Reserves
April 6-7, 2010 in Golden, CO
The meeting will cover recent results from the RPSEA Unconventional Gas Research program with many topics of interest to Rocky Mountain Producers. RPSEA has an active research program with a current portfolio of 28 projects all targeting development of unconventional gas in the U.S. including activities in coalbed methane, tight gas formations, and shale gas. Unconventional gas currently represents almost one-half the domestic production in the U.S. This conference offers an ideal opportunity to hear the latest perspectives and exchange ideas with industry experts.
Click here to access the agenda and how to register.
Piceance Basin Tight Gas Research Seminar
April 8th, 2010 in Denver, CO 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This meeting will review the first year of RPSEA-sponsored collaborative research on tight gas in the Piceance basin, Colorado, including basin-wide regional studies as well as reservoir research on the Mamm Creek field. Researchers from CSM, CU-Boulder, iReservoir and Mesa State will present findings from the first year’s research – and take advice and directions for next year’s work.This meeting will be hosted by EnCana, 40th Floor of Republic Plaza Building, 370 17th St, Denver. Click here for more information.
Bakken and Beyond!
May 2 – 4, 2010 in Bismarck, North Dakota
The 18th Williston Basin Petroleum Conference & Expo will be held May 2 – 4, 2010 in Bismarck, North Dakota.Technical presentations will be the highlight of the Conference, as industry experts from across North America cover all the “Hot Plays” in the Williston Basin including the Bakken, Three Forks, and Lodgepole, along with talks on deep and shallow gas plays and CO2-EOR opportunities in the Basin. In addition, crude oil transportation issues and a panel on Bakken fracture stimulation techniques will be of great interest to attendees. Keynote speakers include North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, Clarence Cazalot of Marathon Oil Company, and Jim Volker of Whiting Oil and Gas. Click here to learn more.
University of Wyoming Energy Resources and Produced Waters Conference
May 25-26 2010 in Laramie, WY
Final call for Presentations and Registration is still open. The Energy Resources Produced Water Conference, convened by the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute and the School of Energy Resources, is intended to advance the understanding of current research and monitoring projects related to the management, treatment, protection, and use of water associated with energy development in Wyoming and the West. The conference will cover produced water issues from various types of energy development, including, oil, gas, coalbed natural gas, coal mining, uranium, and carbon sequestration.
The format for the two-day conference will consist of oral presentations in concurrent sessions as well as a display of posters. Click here to learn more.
BENPOSIUM
June 7-10, 2010 in Houston, TX
The most comprehensive natural gas symposium that applies the “fundamentals” perspective to how production, capacity, flow, inventories and demand interact to drive prices, trading opportunities and marketing and investing strategies. The goal of BENPOSIUM is to provide executives, analysts, traders and investors for an in-depth look at the shifting energy market dynamics and how these developments are the reshaping natural gas and power industry landscape. Click here to view the agenda and to register.
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