SPE ATCE: Decision quality key to improving multicompany project results

Highlights of a draft technical report on the importance of decision quality in multicompany upstream projects was presented to the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technology Conference & Expo (ATCE) in Houston. The goal of the report was to help operators work more seamlessly with joint-venture partners to mitigate cost overruns and schedule slippage by […]


US House passes latest bill to streamline transportation project reviews

The US House has passed, by a 233 to 170 vote, HR 348, which aims to streamline federal reviews of proposed oil and gas, highway, and other transportation projects. Republicans generally supported the bill, while Democrats largely opposed it. The House approved similar bills in the 112th and 113th Congresses. The White House has said […]


Producing states receive guidance on managing induced earthquakes

Officials from oil and natural gas producing states worked with scientists and industry advisors to compile a primer intended as a policy-guiding document to help states develop strategies to manage induced seismicity. Source: News


Badlands advances proposed North Dakota processing plant

Continental Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, has entered a deal with Badlands NGLs LLC, Denver, for the long-term supply of ethane to Badlands’ proposed polyethylene (PE) production plant to be built in North Dakota. Source: News


MARKET WATCH: NYMEX, Brent oil prices slide by more than $1/bbl

Crude oil prices fell more than $1/bbl on both the New York and London markets Sept. 28, which analysts and traders largely attributed to weakness in equities and commodities markets. Meanwhile, ample world oil supplies still exist even though US production has started to decline. Source: News


Political instability, debt handicap Venezuela oil, speakers say

Mounting political unrest under an increasingly oppressive government is only one reason Venezuela is having more trouble coping with depressed crude oil prices than other major producing countries, speakers said at a Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy event in New York. Source: News


WoodMac: New minimums for Mexico's Round One are 'internationally competitive'

Newly announced minimum acceptable bids for the shallow-water development phase of Mexico’s Round One are internationally competitive, according to analysis from research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie Ltd., which adds that two thirds of the qualified companies could place bids. Source: News


Conditions seen worsening for majors until late 2016

Fundamental business conditions for integrated oil and gas companies will worsen before signs of improvement appear late next year, according to a Moody’s Investors Service assessment based on reduced expectations for crude oil and natural gas prices. Source: News


API: EPA should heed cities' inability to meet current ozone limits

New US Environmental Protection Agency data, which show states and cities are having trouble meeting current ground-level ozone limits, cast doubt on their ability to meet stricter requirements the agency is considering, an American Petroleum Institute official said. Source: News