US greenhouse gas emissions were an estimated 6.87 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2014, 1% more than in 2013 but 9% below 2005 levels, the US Environmental Protection Agency said on Apr. 15 in its 21st annual GHG inventory. Source: News
Safety and politics
From the oil and gas industry, response to the US government’s new rule on offshore blowout preventers and well control has been cautious. Well it should be. The rule addresses offshore safety, the priority for the industry, its regulators, and the public. But the industry has secondary yet nevertheless vital interests that deserve attention, too. […]
Would have been right
Shucks. No writer likes missed chances to look prescient. Before the much-anticipated Apr. 17 meeting in Doha about a production freeze, this editor planned to write an editorial predicting failure of the effort. Source: News
Thai coal company opts into Marcellus gas field
Thailand’s Banpu PLC has acquired a 29.4% stake in Chaffee Corners joint exploration agreement for $112 million. The deal provides Banpu with a net interest equivalent 156 bcfd of gas. The agreement targets the net output of about 21 MMcfd this year, the company said in a statement published on Thai stock exchange. Source: […]
Current offshore platforms can withstand sea ice, study for BSEE says
Current Arctic offshore oil and gas platform designs are capable of withstanding sea ice demands during extreme weather under an existing International Organization for Standardization (ISO) practice, a University of Alaska at Anchorage study for the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement found. Source: News
Shaky Nigeria loses top oil-production ranking in Africa
Nigeria’s loss to Angola of top position among African oil producers reflects more than geology. Source: News
Production begins at Point Thomson on Alaska’s North Slope
ExxonMobil Corp. has started production at its Point Thomson project on Alaska’s North Slope near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Source: News
Upstream independents see problems in BLM venting, flaring proposal
The Independent Petroleum Association of America and three other associations representing US independent oil and gas producers jointly urged the US Bureau of Land Management to withdraw its proposed venting and flaring rule. Source: News
Groups welcome Alberta royalty changes
Oil and gas producer associations welcomed royalty innovations published Apr. 21 by the Alberta government for new wells not in the oil sands. Source: News
BHI: US rig count down 9 in 18th-straight week of losses
The US drilling rig count dropped 9 units to 431 during the week ended Apr. 22, the 18th-straight week in which the count has fallen, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data. Last week’s 3-unit loss was the smallest of the year thus far. Source: News