Gas storage safety interagency taskforce issues first report

The Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety, which the federal government established in the wake of a massive gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage site near Los Angeles in late 2015, issued a report intended to help reduce the risk of future similar incidents. Source: News


Fluor completes module fabrication for Fort Hills Energy oil sands

Fluor Corp. said it fabricated and shipped 358 modules to the Athabasca region of Alberta for the Fort Hills Energy LP oil sands mining project. Fluor has an engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction contract for the utilities portion of the project. Source: News


Russian ethylene plant due cracking furnaces

PJSC Kazanorgsintez has let a contract to a division of Technip SA for delivery of three furnaces to the operator’s ethylene plant in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. Source: News


MARKET WATCH: NYMEX crude oil climbs back above $50/bbl

Light, sweet crude oil prices gained moderately to settle above $50/bbl for both November and December on the New York market Oct. 18 while the Brent crude oil contract for December settled at nearly $51.70/bbl on the London market. Source: News


Bangladesh lets contract for refinery expansion project

Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. (BPC) has let a contract to China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) subsidiary China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) for the construction of an offshore single-point mooring (SPM) and dual-pipeline as part the expansion of subsidiary Eastern Refinery Ltd.’s (ERL) 1.5 million-tonne/year refinery at Chittagong, Bangladesh. Source: News


Statoil group makes two minor discoveries at Njord North Flank

Exploration well 6407/7-9 S (NF-2) at the Njord North Flank in the Norwegian Sea encountered a 102-m gross oil-bearing reservoir in Middle and Lower Jurassic sandstones of the Ile and 157-m gross gas condensate-bearing column in Lower Jurassic sandstones in the Tilje formation. Source: News


Court rejects export of Barmer basin crude

Efforts by Cairn India Ltd. to export crude oil produced in the Barmer basin of Rajasthan have been rejected by the New Delhi high court. Source: News


SM Energy makes another $1-billion deal for Midland basin acreage

SM Energy Co., Denver, has agreed to acquire 35,700 net acres in Howard and Martin counties of West Texas from Houston-based QStar LLC, a portfolio company of EnCap Investments LP and a related entity, for $1.1 billion in cash plus 13.4 million shares of SM Energy common stock. Source: News


Oasis to buy Williston assets from SM Energy for $785 million

Oasis Petroleum Inc., Houston, has agreed to acquire 55,000 net acres and 226 gross operated drilling locations in Divide County, ND, part of the Williston basin, from Denver-based SM Energy Co. for $785 million. Source: News