The Netherlands became a net importer of natural gas last year for the first time since the commissioning in 1963 of giant Groningen gas field, production of which is being phased out by the government. GasTerra, which markets Groningen gas for NAM, the ExxonMobil-Shell joint venture that operates the field, reported the shift in Dutch gas […]
API revises well drilling, servicing safety recommended practice
The American Petroleum Institute issued a new recommended practice that revises recommended procedures to promote and maintain safe and healthy working conditions for personnel in drilling and well servicing operations. First published in 1981, the latest version of Recommended Practice 54 applies to rotary drilling rigs, well servicing rigs, and special services as they relate to […]
Algeria’s Touat gas project on track for exports by midyear
Neptune Energy Group and Algeria’s Sonatrach have started natural gas production as part of the commissioning of the partnership’s Touat project in the Sbaa basin, 1,500 km southwest of Algiers, near Adrar. The development, which will produce about 450 MMcfd of gas at plateau, remains on track to begin gas export production by the end […]
Devon to shed assets, focus on US oil
Devon Energy Corp. plans by yearend to sell or spin off its heavy oil properties in Canada and gas production in the Barnett shale to focus on US oil. The company has hired advisors for each group of assets to be separated. It will open data rooms by this year’s second quarter. Source: News
APLNG to buy Ironbark coal seam gas prospect from Origin
The Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) combine has agreed to acquire the Ironbark coal seam gas project from Origin Energy for $231 million (Aus.). Ironbark—not to be confused with the BP PLC-led group’s conventional gas prospect of the same name offshore Western Australia—lies near Tara in the Surat basin of southeast Queensland. Source: News
Valeura spuds Thrace basin appraisal well
Valeura Energy has spudded a second well to appraise its 2017 Yamalik-1 discovery in the Thrace basin of northwestern Turkey. The Devepinar-1 well is 20 km west of the first appraisal well, Inanli-1, which awaits testing. The Inanli-1 is 6 km northeast of Yamalik-1. Valeura said the new well tests the lateral extent of the […]
Targa divests interest in Badlands assets for $1.6 billion
Targa Resources has agreed to sell a 45% interest in Targa Badlands, the entity that holds Targa’s North Dakota oil and natural gas assets, to funds managed by GSO Capital Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities for $1.6 billion in cash. Targa will continue to operate and hold majority governance rights. Source: News
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX crude oil briefly touches 2019 high
Light, sweet crude oil closed slightly above $56/bbl on Feb. 19 after having briefly reached a 2019 high of $56.39/bbl, but prices fell in early trading Feb. 20 following a US government forecast that US production from unconventional plays will reach a record during March. The US Energy Information Administration forecast US shale production will reach […]
CSB: Thermal fatigue likely cause of Pascagoula gas plant incident
Thermal fatigue was likely the cause of the explosion and fire at Enterprise Products Partners’ Pascagoula, Miss., gas plant late in the evening of June 27, 2016, a US Chemical Safety Board investigation concluded on Feb. 19. The failure of the plant’s brazed aluminum heat exchange led to the release of methane, ethane, propane, and […]
Aruba delays refinery rehab amid US sanctions on Venezuela
Refineria di Aruba, a wholly owned incorporated company of the government of Aruba responsible for compliance monitoring of Citgo Petroleum’s Citgo Aruba Refinery, is putting a hold on the operator’s previously announced program to restart Valero Energy’s former 235,000-b/d refinery in San Nicolas as a result of US sanctions recently placed on Citgo’s parent company […]