Category:

Teapots Boiling in Texas as Shale Spurs Refining Revival: Energy

Near the only four-way stoplight in Nixon, Texas , smoke rises off a pilot flare at the Blue Dolphin Energy Co. (BDCO) refinery that had sat cold for two decades. The employee parking lot is full, tanker trucks line up to unload crude and the silver distillation tower thrums. None of that was happening two years ago, when Blue Dolphin reopened the 10,000-barrel-a-day plant. Smaller refineries are known as “teapots” because of their size. The reason for the resurrection is illustrated across the street — the Screaming Eagle 1H Well. It’s one of thousands in South Texas, making the Eagle Ford shale formation among the world’s fastest-growing oil patches. Blue Dolphin, Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) , Kinder Morgan (KMI) Inc. and others are trying to capitalize on the biggest boom in U.S. history by building new crude-processing equipment, reviving mothballed plants and opening new refineries. “We […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Amid drought, California agency won't allot water

Amid an epic drought, California officials announced Friday they won’t send any water from the state’s vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring, an unprecedented move that worsens a precarious situation for 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland. The announcement marks the first time in the 54-year history of the State Water Project that such an action has been taken, but it does not mean that every farm field will turn to dust and every city tap will run dry. The 29 agencies that draw from the state’s water-delivery system have other sources, although those also have been hard-hit by the drought. Many farmers in California’s Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, also draw water from a separate system of federally run reservoirs and canals, but that system also will deliver just […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Amid drought, California agency won’t allot water

Amid an epic drought, California officials announced Friday they won’t send any water from the state’s vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring, an unprecedented move that worsens a precarious situation for 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland. The announcement marks the first time in the 54-year history of the State Water Project that such an action has been taken, but it does not mean that every farm field will turn to dust and every city tap will run dry. The 29 agencies that draw from the state’s water-delivery system have other sources, although those also have been hard-hit by the drought. Many farmers in California’s Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, also draw water from a separate system of federally run reservoirs and canals, but that system also will deliver just […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Gas continues to escape from rig off La. coast

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Crews worked Friday to stop natural gas from escaping an underwater well where a rig was drilling off the Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard said workers had cut the flow in half since losing control of the well a day earlier. No injuries or pollution have been reported. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said most crew members had been evacuated from the rig, which was drilling in 262 feet of water about 108 miles southwest of Lafayette. The rig operator is EnVen Energy Ventures of Metairie, La. Company spokesman David Blackmon said the flow from the well has "significantly diminished" and consists almost entirely of water and sand, with "just a trace" of natural gas. No sheen has been spotted in the area, Blackmon added. Work is underway to secure the well, said Deanna Castillo, a spokeswoman for rig owner Rowan Companies. "All […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

North Dakota governor backs plans for 375-mile natural gas pipeline

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said building a 375-mile natural gas pipeline in the state will reduce the amount of gas wasted during oil production. Dalrymple said Thursday he backed plans by WBI Energy Inc., a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, to build the pipeline to deliver natural gas from the Bakken reserve area in the west of the state to eastern North Dakota consumers. North Dakota lacks the infrastructure necessary to take full advantage of natural gas associated with oil reserves in the state at the heart of the shale oil and natural gas boom. Some of the natural gas associated with oil production is burned off, or flared, as a result. "We are committed to working with WBI Energy and the entire energy industry so that we continue to reduce flaring, add value to our energy resources and help meet the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New study links fracking to birth defects in heavily drilled Colorado

Living near hydraulic fracturing — or "fracking" — sites may increase the risk of some birth defects by as much as 30 percent, a new study suggests. In the U.S., more than 15 million people now live  within a mile of a well . The use of fracking, a gas-extraction process through which sand, water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to release trapped fuel deposits, has increased significantly in the U.S. over the past decade . Five years ago, the U.S. produced 5 million barrels of oil per day; today, it’s 7.4 million, thanks largely to fracking. Supporters of the industry say it creates jobs and spurs the economy, while critics say its development is largely unregulated and that too little is known about pollution and health risks. The report by the Colorado School of Public Health, released Jan. 28, gathered evidence from  heavily drilled  rural Colorado, which has  […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count climbs to 1,785

The US drilling rig count gained 8 units to reach 1,785 rigs working during the week ended Jan. 31, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. Seven of those units were land-based rigs, bringing that total to 1,708. One additional unit was offshore, making that total 57. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unchanged from a week ago at 20. Oil rigs were up 6 units to 1,422 while gas rigs claimed 2 more units to 358. Rigs considered unclassified remained at 5. Horizontal drilling rigs increased 3 units to 1,173. Directional drilling rigs jumped 9 units to 220. Canada’s rig count rose 18 units to 608, constituted by a 10-unit gain in oil rigs to 404 and a 8-unit increase in gas rigs to 204. Canada’s total is now off 17 units from this week a year ago. Major states, basins A week of light activity in major oil- and gas-producing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Train Carrying Fuel Oil Derails, Spills In Mississippi

A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying fuel oil and other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said. No one was injured in the incident which involved the derailment of 21 railcars, eight of which have spilled their contents, a Canadian National Railway spokesman said. Several of the cars were carrying hazardous materials including fertilizer and methanol, but there was no fire, he said. The accident, the latest in a string of North American train derailments over the past year, occurred in the city limits of New Augusta in Perry County, near a mobile home park, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Emergency services were on the scene and responding to the accident, local officials said. Local sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said that fewer than 20 people have had […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Britain announces plan to become world leader in electric cars

Britain announced a program, backed by major vehicle manufacturers, with a goal of making the country a world leader in electric cars . The government said companies including BMW, Nissan and Toyota are standing behind what’s dubbed the Go Ultra Low campaign to encourage more British consumers to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles. "Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the U.K.’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said in a statement Thursday. Clegg said $14.8 million in funding would be used to build more charging stations across the country, including 140 that can charge an electric car in less than 30 minutes. British Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said the program is about "opening people’s eyes" to low-emission vehicles. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Fusion: Update on the International ITER Project – Event Review

  According to Brig. General Stephen Cheney, CEO of the American Security Project, “The science is proven, the engineering is not.” That is how Wednesday, January 29, 2014’s ASP hosted event “Fusion: Update on the International ITER Project” was introduced. ITER is an international fusion research and engineering project which combines the resources and intellect of China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, United States, and the European Union. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and allows for all life to exist. Scientists are currently seeking to harvest this incredible power according to the presentation by Dr. Ned Sauthoff. Dr. Sauthoff, US ITER Project Director, gave an overview of the process of nuclear fusion, the history of man’s quest to exploit nuclear physics, and detailed ITER’s current project and construction of a test reactor in Cadarache, France. He began the presentation with the sun, the source of inspiration for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple