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More gas capacity planned for N.D., Wyo.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 23 (UPI) — Energy company ONEOK said it plans to invest at least $480 million on shale natural gas processing infrastructure in North Dakota and Wyoming. ONEOK said it would invest between $480 million and $680 million between now and late 2016 to expand gas processing capabilities and associated infrastructure in the Bakken and Niobrara shale formations. A facility in Dunn County, N.D., would be able to process 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Bakken shale formation in the state. North Dakota lags behind other oil-producing states in gas utilization , but set a goal of capturing 90 percent of associated gas within six years. ONEOK said it’s built 11 new natural gas processing plants since 2010, including eight in the Bakken region of North Dakota. The company says its gas processing capacity in the region should increase by more than […]

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North Dakota bent on fighting sexual violence

BISMARCK, N.D., Sept. 23 (UPI) — U.S. Sen. John Hoeven announced the Office of Violence Against Women in the federal Justice Department made $1.4 million in awards available to the state to high address domestic violence and sexual assault . The Republican senator said North Dakota has been recognized for its expanding economy brought on by the accelerated pace of growth in oil production from the Bakken and Three Forks part of the state. "In order to maintain that quality, we need to adapt to the challenges that growth can bring," he said in a statement Monday. "That means investing in our law enforcement as well as our public and private community service providers." The North Dakota economy is expanding faster than any other state in the union. Based on June data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, North Dakota real gross domestic product increased 9.7 percent between 2012 […]

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Bentek Energy: ND Bakken Hit 1.2 Million b/d – Aug. 2014

ND Pump Jack Photo ND Pump Jack | Click to Enlarge Combined oil production from the Bakken and South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale rose by more than 78,000 b/d in August 2014. That’s a 3.1% increase over July. Bakken oil prices are on the downward trend, and fell to the mid $80.00 per bbl mark around the first of September. Eagle Ford oil prices have been below $100.00 per barrel since the middle of August. Click Here to follow weekly updates on Bakken activity and commodities pricing on our site. According to Bentek Energy, increased production from shale will help keep storage levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma oil hub on pace with domestic refinery demand. Read more at bentekenergy.com

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Higher Permian production, constrained infrastructure increase spread between WTI oil hubs

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Thomson Reuters Increasing production of crude oil in the Permian Basin in western Texas, and parts of New Mexico , has outpaced pipeline infrastructure to move the crude to refineries, causing prices for crude in the Permian Basin (at Midland, Texas) to fall below similar crudes priced at Cushing, Oklahoma. While the price difference between Midland and Cushing has been increasing for almost a year, recent refinery outages in the region caused it to widen substantially. Several infrastructure projects that will allow more crude to flow from the Permian to the U.S. Gulf Coast are expected to come online soon, which should cause this price difference to narrow. The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) estimates that August Permian Basin oil production will be almost 1.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d), 0.3 million bbl/d more than a year ago. With increased […]

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US oil, gas pipeline companies seek new markets, sources of financing

Houston (Platts)–23Sep2014/520 pm EDT/2120 GMT The dramatic ramp-up in North American natural gas and oil production, combined with shifting gas flow patterns, such as from LNG exports, signals the need for new investments in pipeline infrastructure, speakers at the Platts Pipeline Development and Expansion conference said Tuesday. Along with the need for new infrastructure comes the need to tap traditional sources of financing as well as develop new ones, panelists at the Houston conference said. Potential investors must weigh the inherent risk that the construction of new pipelines inevitably carries, said Lucien Pugliaresi, president of Energy Policy Research Foundation. Pipelines that cross federal land must comply with the strict requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, which can delay the construction of a project by months or years, he said. Article continues below… Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline […]

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Westport unveils proprietary enhanced spark-ignited natural gas system; up to 10% improvement in power and torque over diesel

Westport Innovations Inc. unveiled the first generation of its new, proprietary enhanced spark-ignited (ESI) natural gas system. The new approach to natural gas combustion technology is designed to provide vehicle and engine original manufacturers (OEMs) with a “downsized” natural gas solution that is cost competitive while providing similar levels of power, torque, and fuel economy to a larger diesel engine. Using 100% dedicated natural gas as fuel, Westport’s new technology optimizes the combustion and thermal efficiencies of the engine by taking advantages of the positive properties of natural gas. The Westport ESI combustion system is targeted at sub 9L engines for Class 6 and 7 trucks applications and is also adaptable for sub 2L applications for use in automotive and non-automotive applications. Mercedes-Benz 7.7L mono-fuel gas engine Mercedes-Benz has also developed a new all natural gas engine for medium-duty applications that delivers the performance of diesel but with the […]

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Range agrees to pay $4.15 million to settle Pennsylvania DEP charges

WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 22 09/22/2014 Range Resources Corp ., Fort Worth, has agreed to pay a $4.15 million fine, close five impoundments, and upgrade two others at its Washington County operations, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reported. The fine is the biggest against an oil and gas producer in the state’s shale drilling era, the agency said on Sept. 18. Violations included releases of contaminants, such as leaking flowback, that affected soil and groundwater, PDEP said. There has been no impact on drinking water from any of these impoundments, it noted. Under a consent order it reached with the agency, Range will begin to close its Hopewell Township 11 (Lowry), Cecil Township 23 (Worstell), and Kearns impoundments. Range also will continue the closure of the Yeager impoundment. It also must close the Hopewell Township 12 (Bednarski) impoundment by Apr. 1, 2015. DEP said the consent order also directs […]

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Total to divest $10 billion in assets during 2015-17

Total SA plans to divest $10 billion in assets during 2015-17 in an effort to improve cash flow and enforce stricter financial discipline. The announcement follows the realization of the company’s goal to divest $15-20 billion in assets during 2012-14, including the recent sale of 10% interest in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field and the South Caucasus pipeline to Turkish Petroleum Corp. for $1.5 billion ( OGJ Online, May 30, 2014 ). Last week, Total received an offer from French specialty chemical company Arkema to acquire global adhesives affiliate Bostik for $2.25 billion. Organic investment within the company is expected to decrease to $26 billion this year from $28 billion in 2013. By 2017, it hopes to reduce investment to $25 billion. Total is targeting $15 billion in free cash flow for 2017, which it believes will be aided by the launch of 15 major projects expected to boost production […]

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WoodMac: EOR could boost US tight oil output 3 million b/d by 2030

HOUSTON, Sept. 23 Additional volumes from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) slated to come on stream after 2020 could boost tight oil production in the US by 1.5-3 million b/d by 2030, up to 25% more oil than is being forecasted today, according to analysis from Wood Mackenzie . “Growth in US tight oil continues to impress as development technology and techniques have yet to mature beyond adolescence,” explained Phani Gadde, WoodMac senior North America upstream analyst. WoodMac notes that these technologies are in early test phases and not yet commercial, but indicators suggest up to a 100% increase in recovery rates. Pilot tests are being conducted by operators such as EOG Resources Inc. in the Eagle Ford shale ( OGJ Online, Apr. 8, 2010 ). “This is going to happen, like horizontal drilling and [hydraulic fracturing], leading to another step-change in production technology,” noted Skip York, WoodMac principal analyst, […]

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Wood Mackenzie: US Tight Oil Technology Could Boost Output by 25%

GNRL Oil & Gas makes oil discovery at ND#1A well in Dholasan field in Gujarat, India. There continues to be great potential for surprises to the upside in production of U.S. tight oil according to Wood Mackenzie’s latest integrated analysis. "Growth in U.S. tight oil continues to impress as development technology and techniques have yet to mature beyond adolescence," said Phani Gadde, Senior North America Upstream Analyst for Wood Mackenzie. To better illustrate, Gadde said additional volumes from Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) will come on stream after 2020, and could add 1.5 to 3 million barrels per day (mb/d) by 2030, up to 25 percent more oil than is being forecasted today. These technologies are in early test phase and not commercial yet, but indicators suggest up to a 100 percent increase in recovery rates. There are pilot tests that are underway with operators like EOG testing it out in […]

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