Public impressions of unconventional oil and gas production in general and hydraulic fracturing in particular suggest more work needs to be done to give people actual information that will help them make intelligent decisions, a speaker at a Sept. 22 RTI International event suggested. Source: News
Neste advances reconfiguration of Finnish refinery
Neste Corp. has let a contract to Neste Jacobs Oy to provide engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services related to the reconfiguration of its 3 million-tonne/year Naantali refinery in Finland. Source: News
Drilling continues on Lithuanian Raseiniai license
Sweden’s Tethys Oil AB reported the completion of drilling of the Tidikas-1 exploration well on the Raseiniai license onshore Lithuania. Source: News
Total to cut 2016 capital budget by $3 billion
Total SA plans to reduce its capital expenditures to $20-21 billion in 2016 from $23-24 billion in 2015 and a peak of $28 billion in 2013. The French multinational firm says it then will return to a “sustainable level” of $17-19 billion in 2017 and beyond. Source: News
Wexpro, Piceance Energy form drilling JV for gas development
Wexpro Co., a subsidiary of Questar Corp., Salt Lake City, has entered into a joint venture with Laramie Energy II LLC subsidiary Piceance Energy LLC to develop natural gas-producing assets in western Colorado’s Piceance basin. Source: News
Half of Abu Dhabi’s oil output to come from offshore by 2018, news agency says
Offshore reserves will account for about half of total oil production in Abu Dhabi by 2018, according independent news agency UAE Interact. Currently about 40% of oil produced in Abu Dhabi comes from offshore reserves. Source: News
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX oil price held steady pending inventory report
Oil prices dropped less than $1/bbl on the New York market Sept. 22 as traders and analysts awaited the weekly US oil and product inventory report, which showed an overall decrease. Source: News
Habitat conservation collaboration keeps greater sage grouse unlisted
An unprecedented habitat conservation collaboration led the US Fish and Wildlife Service to not list the greater sage grouse as a threatened or endangered species. Listing the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act would have triggered restrictions having significant adverse impacts on oil and gas operations. Source: News
Turkmenistan to expand gas processing, petchem production
Turkmenistan is planning to build a series of plants designed to expand natural gas processing and petrochemical production in a move to diversify and increase the country’s share of exports to global markets. Source: News
BOEM moves forward in review of Hilcorp’s Liberty prospect
Hilcorp Alaska LLC has officially submitted its development and production plan (DPP) for the Liberty prospect to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Source: News