November 19, 2009
posted on: Nov 19, 2009
IPAMS Meetings and Announcements
IPAMS in the News
This week was a prominent one for IPAMS, with the release of a white paper on Department of the Interior (DOI) irregularities in the federal onshore oil and gas program, an analysis of the 77 leases withdrawn by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and a letter to Congresswoman Diana DeGette on fracking.
IPAMS White Paper on DOI Irregularities in the Onshore Oil & Gas Program
IPAMS white paper outlines all the decisions and actions that DOI has taken that create extreme uncertainty in the management of the onshore program and threaten the supply of domestic energy. Tangible proof of that uncertainly was apparent at Tuesday’s Utah lease sale, where only twenty lease were offered and five sold for a whopping $164,935. That’s the lowest Utah sale in at least four years, but in line with other sales under Salazar’s leadership this year. The Colorado September sale of 19 parcels generated $153,637; and the November sale of 11 parcels generated $112,969.
The actions we outline in the paper are:
- $100 million worth of unissued leases in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming
- Reduced lease sales, deferred leases and withdrawn leases
- Permitting backlogs
- Failure to issue permits using categorical exclusions, in violation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
- Indefinite holds on project-level environmental analysis.
Click here for the press release ‘IPAMS Highlights Irregularities in DOI Leasing Program’
IPAMS Position Paper – Interior Irregularities in O&G Program
Click here to read the Associated Press article “Utah auction draws few oil and gas drillers”
Click here to read the E&P Magazine editorial “DOI targets onshore drillers”
IPAMS Detailed Analysis of the 77 Withdrawn Utah Leases
After Interior Secretary Ken Salazar withdrew seventy-seven leases from the December 2008 Utah lease sale, a team of DOI and USDA Forest Service officials led by Forest Supervisor Mark Stiles conducted a review of the leases and recommended eight leases for removal and fifty-two for deferral. Spencer Kimball, IPAMS Government Affairs Specialist, conducted a detailed analysis of each parcel. He compared the Stiles team’s recommendations based on nine days in the field with the protections required by the Resource Management Plans (RMP) based on seven years of analysis. The IPAMS analysis found no evidence to support DOI ignoring the RMPs.
Click here for the press release ‘Stiles Over Substance’
IPAMS Letter to Congresswoman Diana DeGette
IPAMS sent a letter to Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Denver) last week in response to her Dear Colleague letter to Members of Congress requesting that they co-sponsor the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act (H.R. 2766). We were disappointed to see her letter after our meeting with her in late September when she told us that her intent was to get a scientifically credible study of fracking, not to over regulate industry. She led us to believe that she was not actively working on advancing her bill. We were also disappointed that her Dear Colleague letter was propagating misinformation contained in a New York Times editorial. The editorial contained the standard environmental rhetoric on fracking as a Halliburton loophole, and we were disappointed to see Rep. DeGette using those worn talking points again, despite the fact that we and many other members of industry have repeatedly tried to educate her and her staff about the issues.
Click here for the press release ‘Letter to DeGette Sets Record Straight’
Click here for the Letter to Rep DeGette
Marc’s Weekly Message: Onslaught from Feds Threatens Western Producers
We’ve been hearing a lot of talk in recent months from some unlikely sources about the benefits of natural gas. Unfortunately, actions don’t always support what’s being said. Western oil and natural gas producers have a great answer for some of the most pressing economic, environmental and energy challenges facing our region and the country. It’s the natural gas and oil we produce. Both provide obvious opportunities for job creation, revenue growth and economic activity. These energy solutions can help clean up the air, keep our economy moving and reduce our dependence on foreign energy. Click here to read more.
IPAMS Holiday Open House
December 9, 2009
Please join us for our Holiday Open House from on Wednesday, December 9th from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the IPAMS office. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
No R.S.V.P. required.
Other Upcoming Meetings
* New Mexico Basin Advisors Network – December 1st at 10:00 a.m. (please note date change)
* Wildlife Committee – December 1st at 1:30 p.m. (please note date change)
* Legislative, Legal and Regulatory Committee – December 9th at 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
Energy Information Administration releases new State Rankings
October 23, 2009
EIA has released 12 new State Rankings pages that display charts and maps ordered by data value. The rankings cover energy production, consumption, and price, as well as carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants, as follows:
* Total Energy Production * Crude Oil Production * Natural Gas Marketed Production
* Coal Production * Total Net Electricity Generation
* Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Electric Power Producers * Total Energy Per Capita
* No. 2 Heating Oil Residential Prices * Motor Gasoline Retail Prices
* No. 2 Diesel Fuel Retail Prices * Natural Gas Residential Prices * Electricity Residential Prices
Colorado
Colorado gets $187M in federal energy, minerals royalties for FY 2009
published in: Denver Business Journal on: 11/17/2009 by: Staff
Colorado has received $187,319,102 as its share of $1.98 billion in royalties distributed to U.S. states and local governments from energy and mineral production on federal lands for fiscal-year 2009, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service announced Tuesday. It was one of 35 states receiving a share of the royalty revenue, based in part on the extent of energy and minerals production on each state’s federal lands.
Garfield County agrees to help woman resolve water case
published in: Glenwood Springs Post Independent on: 11/17/2009 by: John Colson
Lisa Bracken now has Garfield County officially on her side in her struggle to pressure state bureaucrats into doing more about her case. The Board of County Commissioners on Monday agreed, in part, to request a variety of detailed information and actions from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) regarding a case of water contamination that goes back more than five years. Commissioner Mike Samson, in particular, referred to his earlier criticism of the COGCC for falling down on its job of acting as a buffer between citizens and the gas industry.
Natural gas producers say permit process makes meeting demand difficult IPAMS Quoted
published in: Denver Business Journal on: 11/13/2009 by: Cathy Proctor
Natural gas — an American-made fossil fuel that burns cleaner than coal and is in abundant supply — can help the nation cut emissions of greenhouse gases, say industry executives and Gov. Bill Ritter. But executives also say they doubt that Colorado — which is the No. 6 state for natural gas production — could boost its production to meet higher demand. That’s because it can take several months to get a drilling permit.
Lawsuit over Colorado oil and gas rules advances
published in: Denver Business Journal on: 11/11/2009 by: Cathy Proctor
A lawsuit filed by the Colorado Oil & Gas Association against the state over Colorado’s new oil and gas rules is again moving ahead, after months of waiting by the parties involved. Denver District Court Judge Herbert L. Stern III on Tuesday issued three rulings governing how the case would be handled and ordering that work on a briefing schedule begin.
Montana
Montana lawmakers will look at gas tax, other hikes
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 11/16/2009 by: Jeremy Pelzer
After enjoying several years of economic prosperity, the Legislature’s Joint Interim Revenue Committee is now turning over every stone for potential ways to bring in more money to state government. With state revenues projected to drop $383 million over the next two years, committee members this week will consider proposals ranging from a fuel tax hike and reactivating a state property tax levy to scrapping dozens of tax exemptions on everything from groceries to fire stations. But with the state’s economy and energy industries in a slump, many legislators say they want to focus on decreasing state spending instead of raising taxes during the legislative budget session in February.
New Mexico
Gas drilling rules move forward in Farmington
published in: Farmington Daily Times on: 11/18/2009 by: Steve Lynn
Proposed changes to natural gas drilling rules in the city of Farmington, including a measure that could require companies to locate wells next to each other so they occupy less land, gained traction Tuesday when city councilors voted unanimously to publish a proposed ordinance that would change rules on natural gas wells ranging from drilling locations to enforcement of city laws. Councilors will decide in an upcoming meeting whether to approve the changes to city code.
Political fallout of vote for climate bill tested in House race in N.M.
published in: E&E News (Subscription Required) on: 11/17/2009 by: Alex Kaplun
For much of the year, Democratic leaders and their allies off Capitol Hill have claimed that a vote in favor of a sweeping climate change bill would prove to be a political windfall rather than disaster for moderate Democrats facing tough elections. Perhaps nowhere will that theory be put more to the test than a congressional district in southern New Mexico, where a first-term Democrat has spent much of the last few months attempting to justify his vote in favor of climate legislation and where a former Republican congressman is hoping to ride dissatisfaction over the legislation back to Capitol Hill. New Mexico’s 2nd District seat, now held by Rep. Harry Teague (D), is one of the Republican Party’s top targets in the 2010 election cycle. The party held the seat for three decades before losing it last year, with Republicans blaming the loss on a unique pro-Obama wave across the state combined with a less-than-ideal candidate who ran a poor campaign.
North Dakota
Partners report high Bakken shale test rates
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 11/17/2009 by: Staff
Brigham Exploration Co., Austin, and US Energy Corp., Riverton, Wyo., reported high initial production rates from their first three completions in a six-well program in the Williston basin’s Bakken shale oil play. The latest completion, Brigham Lee 16-21 No. 1H Bakken, flowed on a 24-hr test at 1,341 b/d of oil and 1.22 Mcfd of natural gas after a 28-stage frac job. US Energy said oil sales would begin immediately, with gas sales starting in 90-120 days following connection to a gathering system.
North Dakota flaring less natural gas – for now
published in: Associated Press on: 11/16/2009 by: James MacPherson
The burning glow over North Dakota’s oil patch is slowly dimming as companies work to capture and sell natural gas instead of flaring it. Though the flares atop the oil fields have lessened in recent months, it’s still tough to stomach for those in North Dakota who question rising heating bills in the light of the huge hissing flames that burn natural gas as waste.
Utah
Request for 2010 Sponsorship of IPAMS Utah Representative Lowell Braxton
IPAMS is seeking your company’s support to continue IPAMS Utah Representative Lowell Braxton’s sponsorship through 2010. Lowell has served as IPAMS’ Utah representative for four years now. This past year, Lowell served a crucial role in IPAMS’ response to several significant issues in Utah and his efforts go to ensure that our members’ voices are being heard at all levels of government. Lowell’s efforts are not possible without the generous support from our member companies, so if Utah is part of your company’s business plan for 2010, we hope you’ll seriously consider sponsoring Lowell.
Please contact Spencer Kimball or call 303-623-0987 by December 1, 2009 to indicate your company’s willingness to sponsor Lowell Braxton.
Click here to read some of Lowell’s 2009 accomplishments.
Utah auction draws few oil and gas drillers IPAMS Quoted
published in: Associated Press on: 11/19/2009 by: Staff
A trade group says it’s getting so hard to obtain an oil & gas lease in the Rocky Mountains that many drillers and land agents aren’t even trying to buy one. The criticism came after the government held an auction of public lands in Utah that was remarkable for how few parcels were offered or sold.
Bogus bidder loses shot at global-warming defense
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 11/17/2009 by: Robert Gehrke
A federal judge said Monday that Tim DeChristopher won’t be allowed to argue that global warming posed an imminent threat that justified placing bogus bids to derail a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction last year. “The court finds that DeChristopher’s necessity defense fails because there were reasonable, legal alternatives open to DeChristopher other than his alleged criminal acts,” U.S. District Judge Dee Benson wrote in his nine-page ruling.
County enacts production water moratorium
published in: Moab Times-Independent on: 11/12/2009 by: Craig Bigler
A six-month moratorium on applications for “production water disposal and recycling facilities” was enacted by the Grand County Council last week. A majority of the council agreed with the premise of the proposed ordinance that “the potential impacts of [such] facilities on adjacent uses, infrastructure, and air and water quality [are] of compelling, countervailing public interest….”
Wyoming
Wyoming Pipeline Authority Public Meeting Notice
December 10, 2009
The WPA will be holding a meeting on adequacy of natural gas pipeline and storage infrastructure in Wyoming to support gas fired power generation.
The meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. (note time change) on December 10, 2009 at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Building (2211 King Boulevard, Casper, WY)
Contact Brian Jeffries, Executive Director or Colby Drechsel or call (307) 237-5009.
Duty of care bill goes down
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 11/17/2009 by: Dustin Bleizeffer
The Joint Judiciary Committee on Monday voted down a measure that would have held oil and gas operators liable for their own portion of negligence in workplace accidents. The “duty of care” bill would have codified in statute what has been an evolving view in Wyoming courts on workplace liability. Proponents said the bill would have struck the current “pervasive” burden of proof that workers and their families must prove before they can even go to trial.
Washington Watch
DeGette Continues Push for Federal Fracking Law IPAMS Quoted
published in: KUNC Radio on: 11/19/2009 by: Kirk Siegler
The mining practice called fracking is coming under new scrutiny by the EPA. A just-passed Interior Department spending bill includes a provision that encourages the agency to study whether fracking is polluting groundwater. Fracking – short for hydraulic fracturing – has made it easier for companies to drill for natural gas in energy-rich states like Colorado. A similar study during the Bush Administration concluded there was no threat to groundwater. But that was widely criticized by environmentalists and some members of Congress who said the government’s analysis was based primarily on input from Halliburton and other energy companies.
Senate panel prepares OTC-derivatives bill
published in: E&E News (Subscription Required) on: 11/18/2009 by: Katherine Ling
The leaders of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee today said they are working to develop bipartisan legislation to address regulatory reform of the over-the-counter, or OTC, derivatives market. “Senator [Saxby] Chambliss and I intend to work together to produce legislation that will bring much-needed transparency and accountability to the over-the-counter derivatives markets,” Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) said at the first committee hearing on derivatives since she took the helm.
Senate to Put Off Climate Bill Until Spring
published in: Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required) on: 11/18/2009 by: Ian Talley
Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would put off debate on a big climate-change bill until spring, in a sign of weakening political will to tackle a long-term environmental issue at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. Legislation on health care, overhauling financial markets and job creation will be considered before the Senate takes up a measure to cap emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to climate change, Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday.
Senate bill faces narrow window for action in 2010
published in: E&E News/New York Times on: 11/16/2009 by: Darren Samuelsohn
The new year is still seven weeks away, but the 2010 clock is already ticking for advocates of a sweeping global warming and energy bill. Next November’s midterm elections loom large, leaving the climate bill sponsors until about the end of March to notch the 60 votes necessary to pass their bill off the floor and into a conference with the House that would best be finished before the summer.
Hinchey Leads 89 House Members in Calling on Interior Secretary Salazar to Administratively Protect Wild Lands in Utah While Congress Continues to Work on Legislation
November 10, 2009
(Press Release) – Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today led a letter from a group of 89 members of the U.S. House of Representatives calling on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to protect Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands proposed for wilderness designation in Utah while Congress continues to work on measures to legislatively protect 9.4 million acres of public, wilderness quality land in the state. The letter comes a month after a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing that examined Hinchey’s America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, H.R. 1925. In that hearing, members of the Utah congressional delegation, the director of the BLM, and various stakeholders all agreed on the importance of designating wilderness in Utah, but differed on how it should be done.
Media Watch
Op-ed: DOI targets onshore drillers IPAMS Quoted
published in: E&P Magazine on: 11/19/2009 by: Judy Maksoud
The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS) warns that arbitrary decisions and failure to follow established law is putting 15% of America’s natural gas supply at risk. IPAMS has had a busy couple of days. On November 12, the organization sent a letter to Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-Denver) to request that she stop the spread of misinformation about frac fluids. And less than a week later, IPAMS took on the Department of the Interior (DOI). The organization released a position paper on November 18 highlighting irregularities in the DOI’s natural gas and oil leasing program that are making it difficult for independent western producers to continue developing natural gas.
Op-ed: Natural gas and renewables are a match for Colorado
published in: Aurora Sentinel on: 11/17/2009 by: Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and T. Boone Pickens
Colorado is poised to take the lead in changing the way we power this nation with our abundant natural gas, wind, solar, and research facilities. In the 7th Congressional District of Colorado we have the finest renewable energy laboratory in the world — the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). While developing our renewable portfolio of wind, solar and biofuels is critical to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we need to include natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, hydro and other sources of energy available in America.
Op-ed: ‘There is a better way’
published in: USA Today on: 11/17/2009 by: Senator Kit Bond (R-MO)
Congress has the opportunity to promote cleaner, affordable, homegrown American energy that will result in lower carbon emissions. Unfortunately, many remain preoccupied with energy tax- raising and job-killing cap-and-trade bills to address climate change. Until we can come together to push solutions where we agree, both the American people and the environment will suffer. Many are calling on the U.S. to cap its carbon emissions. I support cutting carbon emissions; I just want to do it without killing jobs and raising energy costs. The Congressional Budget Office, Washington’s official money scorekeeper, says that cap-and- trade climate change legislation would hurt the economy and cost U.S. jobs.
Guest Commentary: Loose rules let oil and gas drilling alter the West
published in: Denver Post on: 11/16/2009 by: Walt Gasson, Oscar Simpson and Bob Elderkin
Four years ago, in the midst of the Rocky Mountain West’s most recent energy boom, oil and gas companies wanted to drill as quickly as possible while prices and profits were peaking. But common-sense measures designed to protect the West’s wildlife, water and land that are at the core of our heritage and sustainable economies were in the way. So the gas drilling industry turned to the previous administration to speed up the approval process.
Editorial: Supply, demand for Wyo. natural gas looks good
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 11/13/2009 by: Editorial Staff
The signs are encouraging that after years of price volatility that have led to boom-and-bust cycles, the cost of natural gas is stabilizing and production appears to be gradually increasing. That’s good news for Wyoming, which relies most heavily on taxes on natural gas to fund state government operations. Despite flush natural gas storage across the nation, prices have remained relatively stable in 2009. Last week natural gas sold at Wyoming’s two main trading hubs averaged about $4.18 per thousand cubic feet, compared with $4.48 at Henry Hub in Louisiana.
Editorial: Rethinking the Roan plateau
published in: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on: 11/13/2009 by: Editorial Staff
We at The Daily Sentinel were never thrilled with the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to allow natural gas leasing and drilling on the 35,000 acres of federal lands atop the Roan plateau. However, as it became clear that was going to be the decision, we gave credit to the BLM for crafting a drilling plan that went a long way toward protecting critical biological and recreational resources on top of the Roan. But that plan was premised on the notion that, whichever company leased the Roan, it would probably drill just over 200 gas wells there during the next 20 years.
Op-ed: The EPA’s Paranoid Style
published in: Wall Street Jounral (Subscription Required) on: 11/13/2009 by: Kim Strassel
Give the Environmental Protection Agency credit: At least it practices equal opportunity censorship of its employees. Dr. Alan Carlin, a 37-year agency veteran, was muzzled earlier this spring. Dr. Carlin offered a report poking holes in the science underlying the theory of manmade global warming. His superior, Al McGartland, complained the paper did “not help the legal or policy case” for Team Obama’s decision to regulate carbon, told him to “move on to other issues,” and forbade him from discussing it outside the office.
Environment and Wildlife
Protesters want Colorado to “stop clowning around” on clean air
published in: Denver Post on: 11/19/2009 by: Bruce Finley
Colorado air-quality regulators will face orchestrated pressure at a hearing tonight on whether to renew a pollution permit for Denver’s biggest coal-fired power plant — just as new studies show nitrogen- oxide emissions are turning once-clear mountain lakes cloudy. Environmental groups advocating an immediate shift to cleaner energy targeted Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday. Demonstrators dressed in clown suits and Ritter masks visited his office with a message “to stop clowning around when it comes to confronting global warming.”
Poisoning of prairie dogs part of plan
published in: Billings Gazette/Casper Star-Tribune on: 11/16/2009 by: Jeremy Pelzer
A new U.S. Forest Service plan released last week allows for the expanded use of poison to manage and control prairie dog populations in parts of Thunder Basin National Grassland in eastern Wyoming. The policy, the result of four years of talks among environmental groups, ranchers and wildlife officials, is part of a new, more flexible policy designed to protect the grassland’s dwindling prairie dog population -and, eventually, reintroduce the rare black-footed ferret.
Technology, Alternatives & Renewables
Wyoming panel says no to wind energy tax
published in: Associated Press on: 11/19/2009 by: Staff
A Wyoming legislative committee on Wednesday voted against sponsoring two bills to tax wind energy development. Industry representatives and lobbyists warned members of the Joint Revenue Committee at a meeting at the state Capitol that the proposals to tax wind power would increase costs for Wyoming households and hurt the state’s fledgling wind industry. “You need to not cobble together all these tax notions into one bill,” said Larry Wolfe, a lawyer representing Duke Energy, a major wind power developer.
Seeking ‘holy grail’: a solution to storing wind power
published in: Houston Chronicle on: 11/18/2009 by: Jennifer Dlouhy
Utilities harnessing power from the wind and sun are up against a major challenge: how to store electricity so that it can be delivered to customers when the air is still and the sun has set. “Cheap energy storage is sometimes called the ‘holy grail’ of renewable energy,” observed Steven Kline, a vice president for the San Francisco-based utility PG&E. It is the key to unlocking the full potential of wind, solar and other intermittent renewable power sources. So far, it has been an elusive goal. Companies have been searching for the best way to store massive amounts of electricity so that it can be dispensed on demand — like the energy contained in cell phone batteries, just on a vastly different scale.
Wind turbine jobs blow in China’s direction
published in: Dallas News on: 11/18/2009 by: Jim Landers
The rush to America of foreign wind-turbine manufacturers shows that the Obama administration’s plan for stimulating the creation of green-energy jobs is going in an odd direction. Two weeks ago, U.S. Renewable Energy Group, led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr, announced plans to build a $1.5 billion wind energy farm in West Texas. About a third of the money would come from federal stimulus funds. All of the wind turbines (and much of the remaining investment capital) would come from China.
Paying Extra for Green Power, and Getting Ads Instead
published in: New York Times on: 11/16/2009 by: Kate Galbraith
The solicitations have been flooding people’s mailboxes lately: pay a bit more on your electricity bill for 100 percent clean wind power. Or, the fliers say, buy “green power certificates” to offset your global warming emissions. Close to a million electricity customers have signed up for such payments voluntarily, and the amount of electricity sold in this way has nearly tripled since 2005, amid rising concern about climate change and energy security. But the participants are in a distinct minority, with a sign-up rate of only about 2 percent in programs run by utilities.
Markets
Long-awaited pipeline funnels gas across 8 states
published in: Associated Press on: 11/18/2009 by: Mead Gruver
A 1,679-mile pipeline crossing eight states is now fully completed and funneling natural gas from Wyoming and Colorado to the eastern edge of Ohio. The long-awaited Rockies Express Pipeline became fully operational Nov. 12 following the recent completion of the final 195-mile section between Warren and Monroe counties in eastern Ohio. The $6.8 billion pipeline carries 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas, enough to heat 4 million homes, and took three years to complete.
Explorers’ Self-Deflating Gas Cushion
published in: Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required) on: 11/16/2009 by: Liam Denning
America’s natural-gas producers did just great in the third quarter. That is bad news for gas bulls. Almost half the exploration and production (E&P) companies followed by Deutsche Bank analyst Shannon Nome raised forecasts for 2009 production. One of the biggest, Chesapeake Energy, hit a company record of 2.6 billion cubic feet equivalent (BCFE) a day in October. It expects to hit 3.1 BCFE in 2011, partly by selling assets to help fund its huge capital expenditure bill.
Oil dips to lowest levels since October
published in: Associated Press on: 11/12/2009 by: Chris Kahn
Oil slid Friday to its lowest price in a month as investors started to pay more attention to a yearlong slump in American energy demand. For most of the year, oil prices surged as investors pumped money into crude contracts to protect themselves from a weakening dollar. Oil was thought of as a safe bet with demand expected to rise next year.
Industry News and Events
Potential Allies, Gas And Renewables Grow Apart
published in: National Journal on: 11/18/2009 by: Amy Harder
Natural gas to wind: I’m just not that into you. Experts see the two energy sources as a natural pair, with gas serving as a relatively clean backup to wind power’s intermittent production. The natural gas industry, though, is looking for a relationship with real commitment if it is to throw its lot in with renewables.
Devon to Sell Up to $7.5 Bln in Assets, Exit Offshore
published in: Bloomberg on: 11/16/2009 by: Jim Polson
Devon Energy Corp., the biggest independent U.S. oil and gas producer, plans to sell its Gulf of Mexico and overseas assets to raise as much as $7.5 billion to cut debt and fund onshore developments. The divestitures will include properties that account for about 7 percent of the company’s 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves, according to a statement today by Oklahoma City-based Devon. Cutting debt and directing spending to U.S. and Canadian fields will increase cash flow, production and reserves, Devon said.
Williams’ ‘green completions’ earn EPA award
published in: Grand Junction Dennis Webb on: 11/15/2009 by: Dennis Webb
When Williams Production RMT began its first “green completions” of natural gas wells back in 2001, it was mainly with the goal of reducing wildfire danger. Company spokeswoman Susan Alvillar noted it used to be common to see flaring of excess gas as Williams did the work necessary to put wells into production. However, it started capturing rather than burning off the gas, which does more than eliminate a fire risk. It helps reduce a source of global warming.
RPSEA Request for Proposal
The 2009 RFPs for the Unconventional Resources Program has been posted to the RPSEA website. Proposals may be submitted well in advance of the due date, which is December 8, 2009, 4 p.m., Central Time, to allow for electronic receipt processing.
Please click here to go to the Current Request for Proposals page on RPSEA’s website for the most current RFP information.
All inquiries pertaining to RFPs must be in writing and directed to Contracts Director Wiley Wells by e-mail at wwells@rpsea.org. The period is open 21 calendar days from date of issue for each RFP; after this date, the question/answer period is closed. All questions and answers will be posted to RPSEA’s website.
SPCC Rule
EPA has issued amendments to the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule, effective January 14, 2010.
Whiting Cookbook Coming Soon…
Whiting Petroleum Corporation employees have put together a cookbook of favorite recipes to raise funds for the Food Bank of the Rockies. The cookbook – “Food For The Hungry–Recipes Worth Whiting For” – contains lots and lots of tasty recipes; funny sayings about food, cooking and diets; interesting and beautiful photos of oil and gas operations; as well as a glossary of oil and gas terms that sound like food terms – but aren’t!
Food Bank of the Rockies provides food supplies to more than 1,000 hunger relief programs in northern Colorado and Wyoming, helping nearly 400,000 people in the region who live in poverty and struggle to meet their basic food needs; almost half of whom are children. Since 1996 Whiting has raised more than $238,300, providing more than 953,200 meals (approximately seven tons of food) for our hungry neighbors in Colorado and Wyoming. You too can help the Food Bank through your purchase of Whiting’s cookbook. The cost is only $12.00 each, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to the Food Bank. The cookbooks would make terrific holiday, birthday, anniversary, or other fun gifts for just about anyone! To order or for more information, contact Carla Wilson or (303) 837-4225.
If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact Sharon Good, or call (720) 929-6458.
