RELATED ARTICLESSeptember 1010 September 1010 - An oil spill on an Enbridge pipeline in Michigan has undermined notions that Canadian oil imports provide a safer alternative to domestic US drilling, writes Derek BrowerSeptember 1010 - Canada's Utica shale has great potential, but there's work to be done before it can be realised, writes Derek BrowerSeptember 1010 - Canada's deep, arctic waters attract big oilSeptember 1010 - US: So much for the future of FutureGen
North America
Regional -
Alberta-based utility Epcor, owned by the City of Edmonton, is creating a new publicly traded company to own its power plants and take a leading role in North American electricity generation. Capital Power, after acquiring Epcor plants in Canada and the US, will have assets worth C$5bn and generating capacity of 3.3 GW at 31 facilities. Canada -
Partners in Newfoundland's offshore Hebron oil project have made their initial regulatory filing, aiming to start production in 2017. Output is projected at 120,000-176,000 b/d over 30 years, based on initial resources of 0.57bn barrels of heavy crude. Costs were last estimated at C$5bn-7bn ($4.2bn-5.9bn). ExxonMobil is operator with a 36% interest. Chevron Canada has 26.7%, Petro-Canada, 22.7%, StatoilHydro Canada, 9.7% and the Newfoundland government's Nalcor Energy, 4.9%. -
A Canadian Energy Research Institute study says crude prices must reach a minimum economic threshold of $90/b before oil-sands producers will invest in technology to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, such as gasification of coal and petroleum coke to produce heat and steam, nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage. The study also said Alberta government penalties on excess CO2 emissions will have to rise from C$15/t to C$65/t before the industry will invest in the technology rather than pay the levies. -
Total has abandoned its C$0.83bn hostile take-over bid for oil-sands company UTS Energy after raising its initial bid by 30%, but still failing to gain the necessary two-thirds support of UTS shareholders. UTS's main assets are its 20% stake in Petro-Canada's stalled Fort Hills project and joint-venture holdings with Teck Cominco, estimated at 1.88bn barrels of contingent resources. Total says it remains committed to its other oil-sands developments, which target eventual production of 0.5m b/d. -
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada has lowered its 2009 well-completion forecast for the third time, to 10,000 – down by 41% from its previous estimate of 16,940 – the lowest level since 1998. It projects companies will invest C$8bn on drilling and completions, compared with C$23bn in 2006, C$16bn in 2007 and C$14bn in 2008. Of the main producing provinces, Alberta is expected to decline by 41% from last year, to 6,620 wells; Saskatchewan by 38% to 2,475 wells, and British Columbia by 18% to 700 wells. -
The Alberta government is taking a 19% stake in Precision Drilling Trust to help rescue Canada's largest land-drilling contractor from collapsing under its debt load. Operating through a government-investment corporation, Alberta is offering C$280m in debt and equity financing and said it may acquire a 15m purchase warrant for another C$48m. Precision has been paying 17% interest on a C$296m bridge loan it incurred last year in a $2bn acquisition of Grey Wolf, adding 122 rigs to its fleet. -
First Nations in northern British Columbia will receive C$32m from the provincial government to help secure an equity stake in the C$1.2bn Pacific Trail LNG pipeline, planned to export 5m t/y of LNG to Asian markets. To date, 15 First Nations have joined the plan. -
Husky Energy says the economic slow-down has driven down costs of steel and labour for its proposed Sunrise oil-sands project, lowering the first-phase budget to C$2.5bn from C$4.5bn. BP is a 50% partner in Sunrise, which is tied to the Toledo, Ohio refinery, jointly held by the two companies. The revised capital estimate works out at C$42,000 per flowing barrel of bitumen. Sunrise is designed as a phased development, starting at 60,000 b/d in 2012, building to 200,000 b/d by 2020. -
Shell says it will use steam-drive technology for its planned 80,000 b/d Carmon Creek bitumen project in northwestern Alberta, estimating it will be able to recover 50% of the bitumen in place, compared with about 20% from the cyclic-steam stimulation method tested over recent years. The change will require it to resubmit a regulatory application for the project, now expected to come on stream by late 2014. -
California-based Ivanhoe Energy says its Tamarack oil-sands project remains economically viable with oil prices at $45/b and that it will seek strategic partners to help finance development of the 441m barrels of bitumen resources, targeting output of 50,000 b/d. It said partners could include finance companies, national oil companies and large integrated producers. Ivanhoe plans to use a proprietary heavy-oil upgrading technology, which has lower greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional methods. -
North West Upgrading expects to start construction of its 231,000 b/d merchant heavy-oil upgrader later this year, targeting a late 2012 completion. It said the Alberta government's decision to take bitumen-in-kind rather than cash royalties ensures there will be sufficient bitumen feedstock available for the facility. -
The US' Williams says it will build a 250 mile pipeline to deliver 43,000 b/d of off-gas liquids from the Alberta oil-sands region to a processing facility near Edmonton. The anticipated in-service date for the $283m pipeline is second-quarter 2012. -
Daylight Resources Trust is acquiring privately held Intrepid Energy for C$109m, adding 3,000 boe/d (90% of it in west-central Alberta) to its production of 23,000 boe/d. Intrepid's proved plus probable reserves are estimated at 6.9m boe, 94% natural gas, boosting Daylight to 77m boe. The assets include 75,000 net undeveloped acres. -
Enerplus Resources Fund has deferred development of its wholly owned Kirby oil-sands project citing uncertain commodity prices and high capital costs. Kirby was scheduled to come on stream in 2012 at 10,000 b/d and grow to 40,000 b/d by 2017. Enerplus says it will continue to assess the resources, estimated at 244m barrels on the 43,000 acre lease. United States -
Idaho Power Company (IPC) says it has not cancelled a plan to construct a new 500 kV electric transmission line from the Boardman substation, Oregon, to the new Hemingway substation near Murphy, Idaho contrary to a report in the May 2009 issue of Petroleum Economist. However, it says the in-service date has been delayed from 2013 to 2015 (subject to siting, permitting and regulatory approvals). The project, expected to cost $0.6bn, will allow for the transfer of up to 1.5 GW of additional energy between Idaho and the northwest, says IPC. It will seek partners for up to 50% of the project when construction commences. -
Canada's EnCana has completed a public offering in the country of $0.5bn in notes, with a coupon rate of 6.5% due on 15 May 2019. The net proceeds will be used to pay a portion of the company's bank and commercial paper debt. -
Chevron has started producing from its Tahiti project in the deep-water GOM. The $2.7bn project was delayed for about a year because of trouble with the shackles that moor the facility to the seabed. Reserves are estimated at 400m-0.5bn barrels of oil. -
Chesapeake Utilities has agreed to acquire Florida Public Utilities for about $73.5m in stock. The combined company will serve about 200,000 customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Florida markets and will have $595m in assets. -
Holly is acquiring Sunoco's 85,000 b/d refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for $65m. -
-
Enterprise Products Partners and Teppco Partners have withdrawn from the $1.8bn Texas Offshore Port System. The third participant, Oiltanking Holdings, will proceed with plans to construct an offshore port, two onshore storage facilities with about 5.1m barrels of crude storage capacity and a 160 mile, 1.8m b/d oil pipeline system in the GOM. -
E.On Climate & Renewables has begun construction on the 180 MW Paplote Creek wind farm in San Patricio County, Texas. -
Peregrine Energy plans to develop a $135m, 50 MW woody biomass-fuelled cogeneration plant at Sonoco's manufacturing complex in Hartsville, South Carolina. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations by Autumn 2012. -
BP has made a discovery on its Puma prospect, in the Green Canyon area of the deep-water GOM. -
StatoilHydro has acquired a 40% stake in 50 blocks in the DeSoto Canyon area of the GOM from BHP Billiton for an undisclosed sum. -
Wellbore Energy Solutions, which provides proprietary downhole clean-out tools in the GOM, has acquired Jackal Services for an undisclosed sum. -
Oilfield services company Texas ReExcavation has acquired GSPE Engineering and has formed T Rex Engineering & Construction, which constructs offshore oil and gas equipment. -
California has become the first state to mandate low-carbon fuels. The state is requiring that the carbon content of the fuels sold there be reduced by 10% by 2020. -
Energen Resources has agreed to acquire Range Resources' interest in the Fuhrman-Mascho field, in the Permian Basin of Texas, for $182m. The assets hold proved reserves estimated at 15.3m boe. -
Sempra Generation plans to construct at least 300 MW of solar power projects on more than 4,000 acres it owns in Arizona. Construction of the Mesquite Solar project should begin next year. -
First Solar plans to build the largest solar-photovoltaic power plant in the country. The facility will be added to the existing 10 MW El Dorado plant, operated by Sempra, about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Construction is scheduled to begin this year and will be completed by 2010. -
Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plan to construct the San Luis Valley-Calumet-Comanche Transmission Project, a $180m transmission line in southern Colorado. -
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative have agreed to acquire Allegheny Energy's electricity-distribution business in Virginia for $340m. -
Buckeye Power Generating has acquired a 9% interest in Ohio Valley Electric from FirstEnergy Generation for $252m. FirstEnergy still holds an 11.5% stake in Ohio Valley Electric. -
LS Power has suspended plans to construct a 750 MW coal-fired power plant in Michigan, citing regulatory and economic uncertainties. The firm has acquired the rights to the Wyoming-Colorado Intertie Project, a proposed 850 MW, 180 mile transmission line that would carry wind-generated power from eastern Wyoming to Colorado's front range. -
Tampa Electric has completed construction of two new 60 MW gas-fired peaking units at its HL Culbreath Bayside Power Station in Tampa, Florida. -
Oklahoma Gas and Electric and the University of Oklahoma have begun construction of the 101 MW OU Spirit wind farm. The plant is scheduled to begin operations in early 2010. -
Talon Oil & Gas has agreed to acquire 60% of Denbury Resources' natural gas assets in the Barnett Shale play of north Texas for $270m. -
Apache has agreed to acquire nine Permian basin fields in Texas and New Mexico from Marathon Oil for $187.4m. The assets produce 3,500 boe/d. -
MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources has begun operations at a cryogenic processing plant in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to support development of the Marcellus Shale in southwest Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. The plant has a processing capacity of 30m cf/d and can also extract propane from the gas stream. -
MarkWest Energy Partners and ArcLight Capital Partners have formed a joint venture to construct and operate the Arkoma Connector pipeline, a 50 mile interstate link that will connect the Woodford Shale of southeast Oklahoma to the Midcontinent Express Pipeline and Gulf Crossing Pipeline. ArcLight is acquiring a 50% equity interest in the pipeline for $62.5m. MarkWest will operate the pipeline and ArcLight will pay a fee to MarkWest to manage the joint venture.
|
