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NE China drought leaves 330,000 thirsty

SHENYANG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — Drought in northeast China’s Liaoning Province has caused drinking water problems for nearly 330,000 people and 82,000 head of livestock, said authorities Thursday. The worst drought since 1951 has also affected 28 million mu (1.8 million hectares) of crops, 56 reservoirs and 427 rivers, said the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters. Liaoning received only 102mm of rain from July 1 to Aug. 17, 60 percent less than normal. The dry and hot weather will continue through late August. Artificial rain has failed to relieve the situation. "We have more than ten mu of crops. I am afraid the planting costs will not be earned," said Dong Yuxia, a farmer in Sijiazi Village, Kazuo County. Feng Lichen, a grain expert, said the current drought has a limited impact on crops, especially corn, but a lingering drought through the autumn will have a greater […]

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U.S. opens Gulf acreage to energy companies

John Rodi, regional director for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, opened the auction for 21 million acres for oil and gas development in New Orleans. BOEM said Lease Sale 238 offers more than 4,000 tracts ranging from nine miles to 250 miles off the Texas coast. Water depths range from 16 to more than 10,975 feet. The agency, a division of the U.S. Interior Department, said the acreage could lead to the production of between 116 million and 200 million barrels of oil and 538 billion and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The U.S. government placed a brief moratorium on deep water oil and gas drilling in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy in 2010. Eleven rig workers were killed in an accident that resulted in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. In May, U.S. Deputy Interior Secretary Mike Connor said the Gulf […]

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Iran wants to develop mini-LNG plants

Hamid Reza Araqi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Co., said the government is considering as many as four small-scale LNG facilities for domestic use. Storage facilities associated with the plants could store 3.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas. "After the launch of the invitation [in October], investment companies can announce their readiness for contribution to the construction of mini-LNG plants," the director said. Iran said it’s producing enough natural gas that imports are on the decline. The director said using LNG in some parts of the country may be easier than building pipelines . The LNG plants would require at least $100 million in investments. Such investments in Iran may be limited by economic sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector, imposed by Western governments wary of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

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Pennsylvania driller fined for gas leak

Cabot was fined $76,546 by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for an incident at its Huston well in the northeast part of the state. DEP said the January incident was the result of the failure of a subcontractor to follow standard operating procedures that would have led to a proper valve closure on the well. Furthermore, DEP said the presence of frozen sand in the well may have led to a false positive indicating the well was closed off. DEP Director of Oil and Gas Operations Johns Ryder said his department ensured there was no significant environmental impact from the accident. "In this incident, mostly gas was released, which dissipated quickly to background levels within 100 feet from the well," he said in a statement Tuesday. Cabot told DEP it couldn’t determine how much gas was released during the 27-hour incident. There was no statement from the company […]

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North Dakota Hits Records Oil & Gas Production – June 2014

Flared Gas Still High Despite Completion of Tioga Gas Plant Expansion in May 2014 Bakken Oil Well Bakken Oil Well | Click to Enlarge The State of North Dakota hit nearly 1.1-million b/d oil in June 2014, setting a new record, according to the Department of Mineral Resources’ (DMR) August Director’s Cut . During the same month, North Dakota also had record monthly gas production (1,253,154 mcf/d), and the highest recorded number of producing wells (11,079). In April, North Dakota crossed the milestone 1-million b/d oil mark. The Bakken region, which includes portions of western Montana, exceeded the 1-million b/d mark at end of last year according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is the fourth region, along with the Gulf of Mexico, Eagle Ford, and Permian basins, producing more than 1 million b/d in the nation. Read more :  North Dakota Hits the 1-Million b/d Mark About 28% of gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North Dakota Hits Records Oil & Gas Production – June 2014

Flared Gas Still High Despite Completion of Tioga Gas Plant Expansion in May 2014 Bakken Oil Well Bakken Oil Well | Click to Enlarge The State of North Dakota hit nearly 1.1-million b/d oil in June 2014, setting a new record, according to the Department of Mineral Resources’ (DMR) August Director’s Cut . During the same month, North Dakota also had record monthly gas production (1,253,154 mcf/d), and the highest recorded number of producing wells (11,079). In April, North Dakota crossed the milestone 1-million b/d oil mark. The Bakken region, which includes portions of western Montana, exceeded the 1-million b/d mark at end of last year according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is the fourth region, along with the Gulf of Mexico, Eagle Ford, and Permian basins, producing more than 1 million b/d in the nation. Read more :  North Dakota Hits the 1-Million b/d Mark About 28% of gas […]

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Canadian Rail Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods Rose Last Year

Canadian rail accidents involving dangerous goods rose 21% last year from 2012, reflecting a rapid rise in the movement of crude oil by rail. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada recorded 144 rail accidents that involved dangerous goods last year, up from 119 in 2012 and above the five-year average of 133. The figures were contained in the Canadian safety agency’s annual report released Wednesday. Of those accidents, seven resulted in a spillage of dangerous goods, compared with two such incidents in 2012, the agency said. The latest results included the July 6, 2013, derailment of an oil train in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people. The report came out a day after the TSB issued its final report on the Lac-Mégantic accident, citing 18 factors that contributed to the derailment, including a weak safety culture at the company that operated the train and lax regulatory oversight. On Tuesday, […]

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Alaska Oil Tax Repeal Measure Losing

An Alaska ballot measure to repeal a 2013 oil tax law that drastically cut the amount major oil companies in the state appeared headed for defeat. The referendum was losing by a 52.2% to 47.8% margin, with all but six of the state’s 441 precincts reporting results by Wednesday morning, but it was still too close to call, according to the Associated Press. The No on One campaign opposed the measure to revive oil tax policies enacted under former Gov. Sarah Palin . The state’s Republican and business establishments waged a $15 million campaign—funded in large part by three oil companies—to defeat the question. Willis Lyford, a spokesman for the No on One campaign, said he expected that the results would hold and the measure be defeated once all the votes were counted. Outspent by more than 15-to-1, supporters of the ballot question wanted to revert to the old […]

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US Gulf Coast crude runs highest on record; crude stocks draw: EIA

* Crude runs at 8.74 million b/d, counter to analysts expectations * USGC imports up despite LOOP closure as Saudi, Mexico flows rebound * Cushing stocks up, weighing on prompt NYMEX WTI, easing strong backwardation * US Atlantic Coast gasoline stocks recover on higher imports * US distillate demand continues over 4 million b/d for third-straight week Crude runs at US Gulf Coast refineries hit a record high last week, up 177,000 b/d to 8.74 million b/d, weekly Energy Information Administration oil data showed Wednesday. This helped to push USGC refinery utilization — which includes feedstocks other than crude — up 2.5 percentage points to a record 96.9% of capacity. Refinery utilization had last been higher at 96.5% of capacity in December 2012, when USGC operable capacity was just 3.72 million b/d. EIA has pegged USGC operable capacity at 3.81 million b/d since May. The increased crude runs helped […]

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Gas transportation system key to boosting power sector's gas use: Oglethorpe

A US Environmental Protection Agency proposal to increase the capacity factor of natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants to 70% by 2030 is "doable," but only if the country’s gas transportation system is strengthened, officials with a large Georgia generation and transmission cooperative said Wednesday. Oglethorpe Power, which supplies wholesale power to 38 electric cooperatives in the state, could comply with language in EPA’s June proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the generation sector 30% below 2005’s level by 2030 in part by increasing the use of gas-fired units to the 70% level, CEO Mike Smith said in a second-quarter earnings call. But Smith said transitioning to an era when combined-cycle units provide much of the nation’s baseload power would require a significant expansion of the existing network of gas pipelines. EPA’s proposed rule is "very bullish" on natural gas and would put the fuel into a "very dominant" […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple