NATURAL GAS IN THE MEDIA
*Harold Hamm Standing Tall in Ongoing Oil Price Rout – Oil & Gas 360®
Harold Hamm is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Resources (ticker: CLR), one of the largest exploration and production companies in North America. He has also become the nominal leader of United States shale in the faceoff with Saudi Arabia, campaigning against the kingdom’s tactics and repeatedly stressing that an oil price recovery is on the horizon. The CLR magnate backed up his beliefs with his pocketbook – CLR divested its hedges after the Saudi Arabia “market share” announcement and remains unhedged to this day. – Read More
*2016 could be the year West Coast LNG projects proceed despite depressed prices – The Vancouver Sun
After much anticipation Canada could see final approval of the first natural gas export projects on the West Coast this year. Proponents behind some of the 20 proposed liquefied natural gas projects in B.C. say they should be in a position to make final investment decisions this year as environmental approvals, permits and First Nations support fall into place. And while a supply glut has pushed down natural gas prices and reduced short-term prospects, experts say projects remain viable. – Read More
*The Carnage in Coal Country – The Wall Street Journal
Arch Coal filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday, continuing an industry collapse that includes the bankruptcies of Patriot Coal, Walter Energy and Alpha Natural Resources. The White House must be cheering, because this is one Obama energy policy that seems to be working. As President Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address Tuesday, we wonder if he’ll take pride in the damage his policies have done to the coal industry. According to the National Mining Association, 40,000 coal jobs have been lost in the U.S. since 2008. – Read More
*U.S. Rig Count Takes Another Plunge, Canada Doubles – Oil & Gas 360®
After holding relatively steady last week, the U.S. rig count dropped by 34 this week, according to information from Baker Hughes Industries (ticker: BHI). The drop represents a 5% decline in the U.S. rig count in just a single week. Last week, the total U.S. rig count dropped below 700, the lowest level since 1999. Texas lost 13 rigs week-over-week, with most other states losing three or four rigs as well. The only state to add any rigs this week was Louisiana, which added a single rig to its count. The rig count in the Permian fell by eight after being one of the few basins to add rigs in the previous week. – Read More
*As Oil Crashed, Renewables Attracted Record $329 Billion – Bloomberg
The slump in oil prices that’s brought upheaval and cost-cutting to the traditional energy industry spared renewables such as solar and wind, which raked in a record $329.3 billion of investment last year. The 4 percent increase in clean energy technology spending from 2014 reflected tumbling prices for photovoltaics and wind turbines as well as a few big financings for offshore wind farms on the drawing board for years, according to research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance released on Thursday. –Read More
*President Obama’s New Energy Economy Relies On Renewables And Natural Gas – Forbes
President Obama’s glide through the lower chamber on his way to deliver his final State of the Union differed from his very first one seven years ago. In 2009, he was imbued with a confidence and a spirit — one to carry out his message of “Change We Need.” On Tuesday evening, he was self-assured, albeit weathered. Regardless of what one may think, the president has taken decisive positions that will leave a mark on the nation, perhaps most notably in the energy and the environmental areas. – Read More
*Whiting Petroleum’s Geoscientists are Helping Build a Smarter Oil Company: a Look Behind the Scenes at the Bakken-Three Forks Oil Play – Oil & Gas 360®
It’s a tough market for the oil companies, but Whiting Petroleum Corporation (ticker: WLL) has figured something out. While oil and gas companies across the planet are battling a commodities price environment in which a barrel of oil fetches 70% less than it did 18 months ago, Whiting has found and implemented a secret weapon that has changed the dynamic of how the largest Bakken-Three Forks producer is developing its assets. – Read More
*OpEd: Here’s how natural gas has helped Pa’s family farmers – PennLive
Pennsylvania is blessed with fertile agricultural land and an abundance of natural resources. For generations, family farming and responsible oil and gas development have forged a key partnership as the backbone of the Commonwealth’s economy. As we celebrate the Pennsylvania Farm Show’s centennial anniversary this week, that relationship between food, fiber, and fuel couldn’t be stronger, with family farmers, as well as consumers throughout the Commonwealth benefitting from our shale energy revolution. – Read More
*Petrobras Slashes $32 Billion from Five-Year Expenditure Plan – Oil & Gas 360®
The past year has been one to forget for Petrobras (ticker: PBR), as Brazil’s state owned oil magnate moves on from a messy scandal that has revealed some of the most prominent figures in the government. Aside from the proverbial black eye that has been well-documented by the media, PBR bears some basic similarities to its fellow exploration and production companies. For one, the company produced more in 2015 than any year before (2,128 MBOPD, up 4.6% from 2014) and is straddled with significant debt. – Read More
*Wood Mackenzie on US & Australian LNG start-ups in 2016 – LNG Industry
Wood Mackenzie’s latest review of the Global LNG industry concludes that the market was characterised by weak Asian demand in 2015, with a y/y decline of 2%. As a result, many LNG players shifted their focus to developing markets and employing new regasification capacity. Despite weakened demand and the impact of the oil price crash, LNG production remained high throughout the year reaching 250 million t in 2015 – up 4 million t in 2014 – primarily due to a number of key project start-ups. – Read More
*PetroChina-Chevron sour gas project begins production in China – Reuters
PetroChina and Chevron began production at an onshore natural gas field in China’s southwest at the end of 2015, PetroChina’s parent said on Monday, after years of delays. The Luojiazhai field, whose ‘A’ well began operating on Dec. 30, has an annual production capacity of 3 billion cubic metres of gas, the state-controlled China National Petroleum Corporation said in a statement on its website. – Read More
*Virginia Pays Record $4.49 Million in Gas Royalties to Land Owners – Oil & Gas 360®
The Virginia Gas and Oil Board approved distributing $4.49 million from the state’s escrow account during 2015, the most in a single year. The payments were the first substantial response to years of litigation between property owners and oil and gas companies over who owned the royalties for coalbed methane. More than $2.5 million of the 2015 disbursements were the direct result of House Bill 2058, new legislation that gave gas owners the right to coalbed methane royalties, reports Herald Courier. –Read More
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