The permitting process for energy projects can drag on for years, resulting in multiple state and federal hurdles, environmental studies and judicial reviews. This is true not only of traditional energy projects involving oil and gas but also renewables like wind and solar and long-distance transmission, which are seen as key elements of the energy transition. Legislation proposed by a pair of influential senators aims to help move these projects along every step of the way but getting Congress to agree on anything — especially during an election year — figures to be a formidable challenge. In today’s RBN blog we examine the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.
Daily Energy Blog
Friday, 8/16/2024
Category:
Government & Regulatory
Thursday, 8/15/2024
Category:
Financial
There’s been a frenzy of M&A activity in the Permian Basin the past couple of years, and in recent months many of the acquiring E&Ps have reviewed their expanded base of assets, determined which acreage, wells and future well sites are core to their business going forward, and initiated the process of divesting the rest. At the same time, others — including some producers that were part of the merger mania — are on the hunt for what they see as underappreciated assets with the potential to shine. Folks, we’re in the early stages of what you might call “The Great Permian Reshuffling” — a rapid-fire exchange of upstream assets in the nation’s most prolific shale play. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss a few of the most noteworthy “bolt-on” deals and what they tell us.
Wednesday, 8/14/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
A first-of-its-kind frac sand logistics solution set to debut in the Permian Basin later this year may help transform the way proppant is delivered to support hydraulic fracturing operations there. If it works as advertised, it will represent another advance in the streamlining of oil and gas production in the U.S.’s most prolific shale play. In today’s RBN blog, we‘ll explore how Atlas Energy Solutions aims to mechanize the delivery of sand to crude-oil-focused well sites in the Permian.
Tuesday, 8/13/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
The 1,413-MW Mystic Generating Station, a longtime workhorse for New England, shut its doors for good May 31. Located in Charlestown, MA, on the north side of Boston, Mystic is adjacent to the Everett LNG terminal, which supplied 100% of Mystic’s natural gas for several decades. The power plant’s closure meant the Everett terminal might also be history. However, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recently approved new contracts that will keep Everett LNG open for at least six more years. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the combined impact of Mystic’s demise and Everett’s stay of execution, how the region has handled this summer’s heat wave, and what could be in store for next winter.
Monday, 8/12/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Crude-oil-focused wells in the Permian generate massive volumes of produced water, and E&Ps have made tremendous strides in dealing with it. Most important, a growing share of that water is being recycled for use in new well completions. But challenges remain. Deep disposal wells — a popular option for handling produced water — can spur seismic events, and shallow disposal wells can do the same and also negatively impact oil well integrity. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, Permian E&Ps are taking an increasingly comprehensive, holistic approach to produced water management.
Friday, 8/09/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Even as many countries and companies around the world continue to ramp up their use of wind and solar power and explore the potential for a variety of renewable, low-carbon and no-carbon fuels, there’s a growing acknowledgment that natural gas — imperfect as it may be from a climate perspective — will remain a significant part of the global energy mix for decades to come. So why not make natural gas as clean as it can be by reducing emissions of methane — gas’s primary component and a particularly potent greenhouse gas? That’s the driver behind the certified gas movement, the focus of a new Drill Down Report that we discuss in today’s RBN blog.
Thursday, 8/08/2024
Category:
Refined Fuels
Some U.S. refiners report lower-than-market gasoline profit margins in the summer, which are often attributed to summer volatility specifications. But that is not always the primary issue; rather, some refiners have trouble generating enough octane-barrels due to the strong demand during the summer months, which can help drive price spikes. In today’s RBN blog we explain why, with a focus on octane, the primary yardstick of gasoline performance, quality and price, and show how refiners use a PIANO analysis to optimize their production.
Wednesday, 8/07/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Guyana’s rise as a crude oil producer in recent years can only be described as meteoric. If forecasts from some of the most respected international agencies pan out, the South American country’s output may soon rival some of the world’s biggest offshore producers. But the developments there are not without some controversy: they’re the centerpiece of a dispute over the proposed Chevron-Hess merger, while neighboring Venezuela claims that much of Guyana’s oil reserves are actually within Venezuelan territory. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll take a deep dive into Guyana’s production, examining its grades, quality and export flows as it transforms into a major global supplier.
Tuesday, 8/06/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Over the past decade, the only significant growth market for U.S. crude oil and NGLs has been exports, with over 90% departing from the Gulf Coast. Exports via Gulf of Mexico ports have surged from about 1 MMb/d in 2016 to over 6 MMb/d last year. Great news for PADD 3 export facilities, right? Well, it’s not that simple. The distribution of barrels has been wildly uneven, resulting in significant winners, forlorn losers, and everything in between. And export volumes are still ramping up, as is the competition among marine terminals for crude and NGL export market share, with far-reaching consequences for producers, midstreamers and exporters. This is one of the core themes at our upcoming NACON conference, which is all about PADD 3 North American Crude Oil & NGLs and scheduled for October 24 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll delve into the highly competitive liquids export landscape, consider some of the important factors driving flows one way or the other, and — fair warning — slip in some subliminal advertising for the NACON event.
Monday, 8/05/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Crane, TX, entered the 20th century with a population of only 51 people but a staggering 21,400 cattle and sheep, reflecting its ranching roots. Established as a railway station along the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway (KCM&O) in 1911, Crane initially relied on ranching and the railroad industry. However, the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1926 drastically shifted its economic landscape, turning Crane into a bustling oil boomtown. And that was just the beginning. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the central role Crane plays in bringing crude from the prolific Permian to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Big City Stripper - Diversified Energy Co. Plots Growth Through Culling, Harvesting Mature Gas Wells
Friday, 8/02/2024
Category:
Financial
The term “exploration and production company” has been widely used for only four or five decades, but the activities it represents have a history that dates back to the first oil well drilled by Edwin Drake in Titusville, PA, in 1859. Ever since that world-changing event, discovering and developing new sources of oil and gas has remained the industry’s passion, exemplified by wildcatters and, more recently, by the technological wizards of the Shale Revolution. To this day, every major public upstream company still invests in finding and developing reserves — except one. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the unique approach taken by Diversified Energy Co., which has grown substantially by ignoring the “E” part of E&P.
Thursday, 8/01/2024
Category:
Power
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the best way to meet the expected increases in U.S. power demand, driven in part by manufacturing growth and the rapid development of large-scale data centers. That has spurred a renewed interest among regulators, industry leaders and the general public in nuclear power. But while traditional reactors are known for their cost overruns and construction delays as much as the massive amounts of carbon-free power they produce, some see a better way forward in the form of small modular reactors (SMRs). Advocates with “uranium fever” say they can be built without many of the problems that accompany their larger cousins and offer a number of potential advantages, including siting flexibility, price and efficiency. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the state of nuclear power in the U.S., examine the potential for SMRs, and discuss the hurdles they face to obtaining the necessary permits and ultimately beginning operation.
Wednesday, 7/31/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Data center power demand is soaring as AI — artificial intelligence — rapidly expands across all sorts of applications. That statement is certainly the top buzz factor in today’s energy markets. These facilities need 24x7, super-reliable power, and there’s only one power generation fuel that has any hope of keeping up with the demand surge: natural gas. While most data center developers would prefer green energy to cover their power requirements, the intermittent nature of wind and solar means that for many facilities, it can't happen, at least for the short-to-medium term hyped-up market we are seeing right now. But how much incremental power are we talking about? And how much natural gas will be needed? That’s what we’ll explore in today’s RBN blog.
Tuesday, 7/30/2024
Category:
Natural Gas Liquids
Crude-oil-focused production in the Bakken still hasn’t fully recovered from its pre-COVID high, partly because the western North Dakota shale play continues to face takeaway constraints, especially for natural gas and NGLs. A couple of NGL pipeline projects in the works will certainly help, but will they be enough to enable the Bakken’s increasingly consolidated E&P sector to ramp up its crude oil production? And one more thing: How will the incremental NGLs flowing south on Kinder Morgan’s soon-to-be-repurposed Double H Pipeline find their way to fractionation centers in Conway and Mont Belvieu? In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the Bakken’s complicated production-vs.-takeaway conundrum and the ongoing efforts to address it.
Monday, 7/29/2024
Category:
Refined Fuels
More than a decade ago, several U.S. refiners brought new hydrocracking capacity online, wagering that rising demand for middle distillates made such major investments necessary. They were good bets. Demand for jet fuel is expected to continue to grow, and while diesel demand is seen as relatively flat in the U.S. over the next few years, it will continue to climb globally through 2045, according to RBN’s recently released Future of Fuels report. In contrast, the report also sees domestic gasoline demand declines accelerating post-2026 and peaking globally by about 2030, as more consumers turn to electric vehicles (EVs). These contrasting trajectories for middle distillates vs. gasoline will put a growing premium on distillate-centric hydrocracking capacity. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine trends incentivizing hydrocracking capacity and how these units will allow U.S. refiners to maintain their competitiveness in a rapidly changing product market.
