MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: DCNR’s EDWIN database of PA oil & gas well information; Gov. Wolf reappoints Gladys Brown Dutrieuille as PUC chairman; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Gulf LNG gets environmental clearance; Permian activity is firing up but holding back regional natural gas prices; NATIONAL: ExxonKnew activists release manual to eliminate energy industry; Sempra LNG names vice president of engineering; Toshiba to start new bidding round for it US LNG business; Is the natural gas meltdown finally here?; Cramer – Chevron’s Anadarko merger won’t be the only oil deal this year; Emerson’s IoT system enhances shale oil production, monitoring.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION
DCNR’s EDWIN database of PA oil & gas well information
PA Environment Digest Blog
DCNR’s Pennsylvania Geological Survey manages the Exploration and Development Well Information Network (EDWIN) to provide users access to the state’s 180,000-plus oil and gas wells of record. EDWIN includes both scanned oil and gas well documents from DEP and associated digital and interpreted data through a single, web-based application. The information in the database includes location, survey reports, completion reports, fracking fluid composition, completion reports, plugging certificates and well cards. The network was recently upgraded to include a new subscription module making it simpler to keep track of recurring annual subscriptions; and adding an alternate online payment method for customers to gain quicker access to the network instead of mailing in a physical check. This GO-TIME project has a net savings of $7,000 per year, plus an additional $26,000 in staff productivity savings. GO-TIME is an effort to modernize government operations to reduce costs and deliver better and faster services. EDWIN is accessible free of charge by visiting either of the Bureau of Geological Survey’s offices (Pittsburgh or Middletown) during normal business hours. EDWIN is named for Edwin Drake who was the first American to successfully drill for Oil in 1857 in Titusville, Pennsylvania. EDWIN also is available as a subscription service for those desiring the convenience of 24/7 remote access to Pennsylvania’s oil and gas well information. Additional information is available at DCNR’s Oil and Gas webpage. [MDN: We find this interesting for a couple of reasons. First, what the heck is DCNR doing maintaining a database like this? Why isn’t this something the Dept. of Environmental Protection keeps as part of its databases? Strange. Second, it looks like an awesome resource, and it’s “free”–except you have to go to Pittsburgh or Middletown to use it. They don’t make it publicly available online, which is how 99.99999% of people want to use it. What’s up with that? Why make it intentionally hard to access?]
Gov. Wolf reappoints Gladys Brown Dutrieuille as PUC chairman
PA Environment Digest Blog
On April 17, Gov. Tom Wolf reappointed Gladys Brown Dutrieuille as Chairman of the Public Utility Commission, effective immediately. “I am honored by the Governor’s reappointment to this important position,” Chairman Brown Dutrieuille said. “The Commission is steadfastly committed to our key public safety, consumer protection, economic and quality of service regulatory oversight responsibilities, and I look forward to continuing to work on these critical issues with my fellow Commissioners and our dedicated PUC staff.” Gov. Tom Wolf said in his official letter to Chairman Brown Dutrieuille, “please accept my best wishes for your continued success as chair. I appreciate your commitment to public service to the Commonwealth and the Commission.” Chairman Brown Dutrieuille is now serving her second term as a Commissioner and Chairman for the Commission, after being nominated by Gov. Tom Wolf on Feb. 13, 2018, and unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on April 17, 2018. She began her service at the PUC in 2013, and was first appointed as Chair of the Commission in 2015. Her term expires April 1, 2023. Chairman Brown Dutrieuille has pledged to use the same fair and balanced approach in dealing with PUC issues that she used in her more than 22 years as an aide and counsel in the Pennsylvania Senate. She has highlighted that one of her goals on the Commission is to increase efforts to educate consumers. A native of Middletown and a resident of Harrisburg, Chairman Brown Dutrieuille earned her bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Dauphin County Bar Association, the James S. Bowman Inns of Court, the Keystone Bar Association and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Board of Directors. She is an active member at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Harrisburg. She also is an active member in Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc and the Harrisburg Chapter of AABE (American Association of Blacks in Energy). [MDN: We haven’t heard much about Ms. Brown during her tenure at the PUC, which we consider a good thing. She’s doing her job and not politicizing the PUC. This is the first we’ve seen the name Dutrieuille tacked on to the end of her name–perhaps she recently got married?]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS
Gulf LNG gets environmental clearance
LNG World News
US energy company Kinder Morgan has made progress at the Gulf LNG project proposed for the Jackson County, Mississippi. The company has been awarded a final environmental clearance with the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issuing a final environmental impact statement (EIS) on Wednesday. The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would have some adverse environmental impacts, however, these impacts would be avoided or reduced to less-than-significant levels. Gulf LNG proposes to construct and operate onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and associated facilities at its existing LNG import terminal. Gulf LNG would construct the terminal expansion on a 46-acre site adjacent to the existing terminal. The terminal expansion would include two LNG trains with 5 million tons per annum capacity and a maximum capacity of more than 5.4 mtpa, a truck loading/unloading facility to unload refrigerants and to load condensate produced during the gas liquefaction process, new in-tank LNG loading pumps in the existing LNG storage tanks to transfer LNG through the existing transfer lines to LNG marine carriers. The two LNG storage tanks are full containment tanks, each with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters. Each tank is outfitted with three in-tank pumps with a total unloading capacity of 12,000 cubic meters per hour. In addition to liquefying natural gas and exporting LNG, the expanded terminal would continue to have the capability to regasify imported LNG. [MDN: This is good news. We have no idea where the gas will come from to feed this plant. Will any of it come from the Marcellus/Utica? Nice thought, and since it’s Kinder Morgan, maybe. We’re in favor of any new LNG export facility that can get built, because it helps accomplish the goal of energy domination for the U.S.]
Permian activity is firing up but holding back regional natural gas prices
Forbes/Gaurav Sharma
More Permian oil and gas is coming onstream. In 2018, the basin accounted for 20% of the total U.S. oil production and at the same time accounted for 7% of the country’s dry natural gas. Getting the maximum bang for bucks spent on the latter is what is once again worrying exploration and production (E&P) companies. This abundance could turn out to be a pricing curse, according to Moody’s. The rating agency’s analysts believe abundant associated natural gas resulting from active drilling for oil in the basin is keeping Permian natural gas commodity prices “especially low due to the region’s limited takeaway options.” That will serve to be a drag on E&P investment returns. Primary issue is a shortage of pipeline capacity to carry oil and natural gas out of the Permian causing a short-term weakening of realized commodity prices. For natural gas players, the problem is unlikely to go away anytime soon, says James Wilkins, VP-Senior Analyst at Moody’s. “New natural gas pipelines will likely go into service in the second half of 2019 and 2020, alleviating the bottleneck, but natural gas prices in the Permian Basin will continue to suffer from high basis differentials as E&Ps pursue growth in oil production.” Of course, new natural gas pipeline projects provide attractive avenues for midstream companies, Wilkins adds. “The area has provided good opportunities for gathering and processing assets, which require less time to build than long haul pipelines.” The NYMEX Natural Gas contract is once again back in sub $3/MMBtu territory (at the time of writing); with a less than satisfactory weekly range of $2.49-$2.92, according to Reuters data. [MDN: The biggest problem in the Permian right now is in West Texas at the Waha hub. Although as more Permian gas becomes available in a winder region, it will (already does) compete with Marcellus/Utica gas that heads to the Gulf Coast. We like to keep a close eye on the Permian and gas production coming from that “oily” play.]
NATIONAL
ExxonKnew activists release manual to eliminate energy industry
Energy in Depth
Climate activists and lawyers have released an over 1,000-page legal compendium that provides a cynical playbook for eliminating fossil fuels – threatening thousands of jobs, energy security, and the economy. In a bold move of hypocrisy, they now seek to mirror groups they criticize by working behind closed doors to organize activist attorneys and distribute pre-written laws to state legislators across the country. The list of contributing authors reads like a who’s who of the #ExxonKnew campaign and provides additional evidence of the coordinated effort to take down energy companies across the United States. The report is spearheaded by activist lawyers with an appetite for climate lawsuits. The report’s lead author is Michael Gerrard, the founder and director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Gerrard has written extensively about climate change and environmental law and is a strong supporter of the #ExxonKnew campaign, speaking out in support of the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil. Additionally, he’s worked behind the scenes to support investigative action against the company. In 2018 the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief in New York City’s appeal of the district court decision to dismiss the city’s climate change lawsuit against fossil fuel companies. His colleague Michael Burger is also amongst the contributors. Burger has also been outspoken in support of the climate change litigation, often speaking in support for the NY AG’s lawsuit. If their clear bias against industry isn’t enough to raise eyebrows about the compendium, Gerrard and Burger are joined by a list of authors deeply involved in the Rockefeller-funded campaign against energy companies. [MDN: This is deeply disturbing. These people are attacking our country, our freedom, and they MUST be stopped. Repelled. Whatever we can do to fight back against them and expose them for the anti-Americans they are.]
Sempra LNG names vice president of engineering
LNG World News
Sempra LNG, a unit of Sempra Energy, said that Michael VanderMate has been named vice president of engineering and construction. Speaking of the appointment, Carlos Ruiz Sacristán, chairman and CEO of Sempra North American Infrastructure, said, “Mike’s wealth of leadership experience with carrying out large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, pipelines and associated infrastructure will help to bring Sempra LNG’s five strategically located natural gas liquefaction projects to reality.” VanderMate joins Sempra LNG with 34 years of experience in engineering, construction, commissioning, project management and business management. He has spent most of his career with LNG contractor Bechtel and has more than a decade of experience with executing U.S. and global multibillion-dollar LNG projects, including other relevant experience. He has worked in numerous locations, including the U.S. Gulf Coast, Mexico, Canada, South America and Australia. Sempra LNG develops, builds and invests in natural gas liquefaction facilities and is pursuing the development of five LNG projects in North America with a goal of delivering 45 million tonnes per annum of natural gas to the world markets. [MDN: Although Cheniere Energy is the clear leader right now in LNG exports, if Sempra builds five projects with 45 MTA of capacity, they will come close and possibly eclipse Cheniere. Stay tuned! Congrats to Mike VanderMate for his promotion.]
Toshiba to start new bidding round for it US LNG business
LNG World News
Japan’s Toshiba Corporation on Wednesday said it has decided to terminate the purchase and sales deal with China’s ENN for its US LNG business. The decision follows ENN Ecological Holdings notice to Toshiba on the termination of the deal under which the Chinese company would buy all outstanding shares of Toshiba America LNG Corporation. Toshiba said in its statement that it has already submitted an official notice of termination to ENN and reconfirmed its decision to withdraw from all business related to the purchase and sale of LNG in the United States, and decided to restart the bidding process to transfer LNG business to a third party. The company has categorized the LNG business as a non-core business and decided to withdraw from at the earliest possible timing. However, Toshiba noted that following ENN’s notice of termination it has not yet received ENN’s official notice of termination. Separately, following its own analysis of the situation, Toshiba has determined that pursuing the transaction contemplated in the PSA is surrounded by uncertainty and therefore decided to terminate the PSA. Toshiba is looking to reinstate the bidding process and to realize an early sale and withdrawal from the LNG business. The company said that until a new buyer is found it will continue to fulfill its obligation under the existing contracts whilst aiming to complete the withdrawal within this fiscal year. [MDN: Toshiba America LNG buys and sells LNG and helps fund projects to create the LNG. That’s the business they want to sell. Looks the Chinese flaked out and pulled out of a deal to buy the business–not sure why (but doesn’t break our hearts).]
Is the natural gas meltdown finally here?
Investing.com
It took a while but it finally seems to be happening. The argument that natural gas prices can’t be at the high $2 levels with production at record highs and the weather getting cheerier by the day seems to be sinking into the market. In under a week, gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Henry Hub have lost nearly 6%, the most since February for such a stretch. Prices are also hovering near three-year lows. With the U.S. Energy Information Administration expected to report at 10:30 AM ET (14:30 GMT) today its third weekly gas inventory build for spring, questions surface on whether gas bears will find ammunition from the numbers to take the selling into overdrive. Analysts’ consensus is that gas in storage expanded by 87 billion cubic feet last week. Historical data shows such a build would already be large for this time of year, a phenomenon caused by friendly spring weather that has spared most American homes from having to turn on the heat lately. Data showed there were just 58 heating degree days last week versus a 30-year normal of 85 HDDs and 114 HDDs in the same week a year ago. HDDs measure the number of degrees a day’s average temperature is below 65 Fahrenheit (18 Celsius) and are used to estimate demand to heat homes and businesses. Reuters reported that early estimates for storage builds in the current week range from 65 bcf to 91 bcf, putting further pressure on the fundamental outlook for gas. Should the inventory number reported by the EIA today markedly exceed expectations, the support level of $2.50 per million British thermal units for Henry Hub’s benchmark May gas contract, which bulls were clinging onto, might become passé too. [MDN: We like to see gas at the Henry Hub selling for close to $3/Mcf. Now it’s sinking to $2.50/Mcf. Ugh. And may go even lower. Stay tuned. Remember: lower for longer.]
Cramer: Chevron’s Anadarko merger won’t be the only oil deal this year
CNBC
CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday said investors could expect to see more mergers and acquisitions in the energy and oil space in 2019. “Anadarko was the first big oil deal this year, but I bet it won’t be the last, ” the “Mad Money” host said. “That’s why I like Apache, I like Concho, Parsley, and especially Pioneer Nat, because this industry still needs much more consolidation.” Chevron made a move on Friday to purchase the oil and gas driller in a cash-and-stock deal worth $33 billion. Cramer had anticipated a merger in the energy and oil sector because the market is crowded. There could be more to come, especially since Occidental had made a competing bid for Anadarko, he said. “Three weeks ago, I did make a called shot. I came out here and explained that this market was in dire need of mergers and acquisitions, ” he said. “We’ve simply got too many publicly traded companies, something that’s only going to get worse as more and more privately held unicorns, like Pinterest tonight, keep coming public.” [MDN: Click to read the rest of Cramer’s insights into each of the companies he mentions as possible takeover targets.]
Emerson’s IoT system enhances shale oil production, monitoring
North American Shale Magazine
A new technology offering created by Emerson could use data and IoT to optimize production in existing unconventional wells and also help with new well designs. Brian Blakey, director of business development for Emerson’s E&P Software segment, recently outlined the company’s cloud-based system they call the Paradigm K. The software is a native-to-the-cloud system that is reliable and secure across all platforms. Using a unique algorithm and data set created by surface and subsurface data, the K can help with optimizing current production over the life of a well and help engineers design production and flowback schedules for new wells. With the K, “any oilfield instrument can now be enhanced with subsurface information to enrich the measurements they provide,” Blakey said, “extending their application across all physical domains including facilities, wells, fractures, reservoirs,” all of which can be tied to historical, real-time or forecasted data. The system models the oilfield as one large system and doesn’t separate surface equipment and variables from downhole pressures or permiability factors. Because it is connected to the cloud, it can run simulations in minutes rather than hours or days. The system can also connect to exsiting sensors and incoroporate stored data or live-data streams to create simulations or produce production optimization plans for things like gas injection on a producing well. The major purpose of the system is to run in the backround and montior operations, looking for unique events that need to be dealt with, Blakey said. “Rapid changes in unconventional wells can be monitored and optimized,” he said. “We can assure maximum production performance off of only one month’s worth of production data.” To learn more about the system and how it impacts equipment operations, allocation and fiscal metering, Emerson has put out a webinar. [MDN: It’s exciting to see IoT (“internet of things”) come to the oil and gas patch. IoT simply means sticking the internet into everything–sensors, equipment–anything and everything. And let them all “talk” to each other. And by doing so, use software to get better at predicting future events, like when a piece of equipment is about to fail. It’s a great time to be in technology in the oil and gas industry.]
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