President Trump today will sign an executive order designed to prevent states from blocking pipelines and other energy infrastructure by using authority they feel is afforded them under the federal Clean Water Act, Kallanish Energy reports. Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, companies must obtain certifications from a state before they can build federally-approved
Read More...Orders for Saudi Aramco’s debut international bonds topped $100 billion, a strong vote of market confidence for the world’s largest oil company, Kallanish Energy reports. State-owned Aramco raised roughly $12 billion from the deal, which was to be priced late Tuesday and is seen as a gauge of potential investor interest in the Saudi company’s eventual initial
Read More...Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) agreed to sell its 90% stake in a Brazilian natural gas pipeline company to France’s Engie SA and Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec for $8.6 billion. Engie and Caisse won the bidding war for the unit, Transportadora Associada de Gas, known as Tag, beating out Australia’s Macquarie
Read More...The U.S. Friday added two companies which ship crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba, along with 34 ships, to a financial sanctions list aimed at increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down and turn over power to his opposition. A Treasury Department statement announcing the designation identified one of the companies as Ballito Bay
Read More...Power failures that kept Venezuela in darkness for much of March also briefly slashed the country’s crude production by 50%, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. Rolling blackouts across much of the country that started on March 7 temporarily paralyzed most of the country’s oil industry, Kallanish Energy finds. Oil output averaged less than
Read More...Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed legislation funding an examination of the state’s natural gas distribution system, a move prompted by recent gas pipeline explosions, Kallanish Energy reports. In September, gas explosions and resulting fires in the state’s Merrimack Valley killed one person, injured at least 24, and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes,
Read More...Embattled PG&E Corp. and its utility Pacific Gas and Electric, on Wednesday announced the appointment of William “Bill” Johnson as president and CEO, Kallanish Energy reports. In addition, the company, currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, named 10 new board members, to be appointed at the company’s next board meeting. The San Francisco-based utility
Read More...Liquefied natural gas is expected to become a big part of China-U.S. trade once the dispute is resolved between the two countries, a senior executive from China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc) said Wednesday. LNG will also continue to dominate China’s natural gas imports, having accounted for 60% of its gas imports in 2018, said Cnooc vice
Read More...A federal judge in San Francisco is barring utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric from re-issuing dividends in favor of using the funds for reducing the risk of wildfires in the company’s service area. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, in a court hearing Tuesday, also said he will monitor PG&E’s compliance with new wildfire prevention
Read More...Oilfield services firm Parker Drilling Co. announced its common stock has been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Parker expects its common stock will begin trading tomorrow under the trading symbol “PKD,” the same trading symbol used for the company’s common when it was listed previously on the exchange. Last December, the
Read More...Japanese refineries have stopped importing Iranian oil after buying 15.3 million barrels between January and March ahead of the expiration of a temporary waiver on U.S. sanctions, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon, Reuters reported. The waiver, which allowed Japan to buy crude from Iran for an extra 180 days, expires in early May,
Read More...Bankrupt California power provider PG&E Corp. won court approval last week for a $5.5 billion loan to help maintain electricity and natural gas delivery and for investments to reduce the risk of wildfires as it reorganizes. The financing will comprise a $3.5 billion revolving credit facility, a $1.5 billion term loan and a $500 million
Read More...An environmental group is taking its battle against an oil refinery being developed near Theodore Roosevelt National Park to the North Dakota Supreme Court. The National Parks Conservation Association (Npca) argued in its filing an air quality permit issued by the state Health Department for the $800 million Davis Refinery and upheld by a state
Read More...U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ended March 22 (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve), increased by 2.8 million barrels (Mmbbl) from the previous week, according to Energy Information Administration data. At 442.3 Mmbbl, U.S. crude oil inventories are roughly 2% below the five-year average for early spring, the report showed. Trade group the American
Read More...While U.S. coal consumption has generally declined since its 2008 peak, the Energy Information Administration projects U.S. coal exports reached 116 million short tons (Mmst) in 2018 — the highest level in five years — based on foreign trade data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports of coal from the U.S. have increased since 2016, as
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