July 2014 – Page 2 – Oil & Gas 360

Court Tosses out Longmont, Colo. Frac Ban–But Ballot Initiatives Targeting Oil & Gas Operations are Likely to Make November Ballot

July 25, 2014

In a ruling Thursday that overturned the city of Longmont’s ban on hydraulic fracture stimulation, a Boulder County, Colorado judge—and the case itself—illustrated the power that Proposition 89 would convey to municipalities and other local governments statewide. Boulder Judge D.D. Mallard said on Thursday that Longmont’s charter amendment “clearly conflicted with the state’s regulations and its interest in the efficient

CEOs Closely Watching Colorado Ballot Initiatives

July 24, 2014

During his introductory comments on the Noble Energy (ticker: NBL) Q2 earnings call today, Noble Chairman and CEO Charles Davidson said: “I wanted to spend a couple of minutes discussing the regulatory environment for oil and gas development in Colorado, which is certainly gathering a lot of attention right now. As many of you are aware, certain initiatives have been

Breitling Energy: A Land Royalty Company Moves Into Operations

July 24, 2014

Breitling Energy Corporation (ticker: BECC) is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of lower risk onshore plays in the United States. The Dallas, Texas-based company primarily targets the Permian Basin and Mississippi oil window through its properties in Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Mississippi. Breitling Snapshot Breitling ended fiscal 2013 with 710 MBOE in reserves (70% oil) and is

The Consequences of EPA’s CO2 Restrictions – Part Two

July 24, 2014

On January 17, 2008, President Obama said, “If someone wants to build a coal power plant, they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them…” That promise is coming into fruition now. Last month, the EPA revealed its Clean Power Plan, which aims to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30% by 2030, in relation to levels from 2005. The

U.S. Refinery Rates at All-Time High: EIA

July 24, 2014

United States refineries have processed as much as 16.8 MMBOPD in each of the past two weeks, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on July 24, 2014. The historic mark, based on EIA data beginning in 1989, is the highest refinery rate in U.S. history. Capacity rates also set a record, breaking the previous mark

U.S. Unconventional Drilling Drives RPC, Inc. to Record Revenues in Q2’14

July 23, 2014

RPC, Inc. (ticker: RES) provides specialized oilfield services and equipment to independent and major oilfield companies. The company operates in two business segments: technical services and support services. Its Q2’14 results, announced on July 23, 2014, reported quarterly revenue of $582.8 million (a company record), operating profit of $103.0 million and net income of $63.3 million ($0.29 per share). All

“Attention Delta Airlines’ Passengers: You may now thank the oilfield workers in the Bakken for today’s lower airfares…”

July 23, 2014

North Dakota crude will arrive at Delta’s in-house refinery by rail Delta Airlines (ticker: DAL), through its refining subsidiary Monroe Energy LLC, has inked a deal with midstream supplier Bridger LLC to supply 65,000 BOPD of Bakken crude oil to its Trainer, Pa., refinery, which Delta will use to power a portion of its 700+ passenger jets. Delta flies passengers

Fossil Fuel Powers Fortune’s Global 500

July 22, 2014

The top rung of Fortune Magazine’s 2014 Global 500 list is heavily skewed toward fossil fuel development and exploitation. Of Fortune’s ten largest global companies, half are integrated oil and gas companies. Two, Volkswagen and Toyota, are totally dependent upon petroleum for their success. Coming in at No. 7, State Grid Corp. is China’s state-owned electric utility, creating electrical energy

Will Political Windstorm Bring Wattenberg Development to a Halt?

July 22, 2014

Note: this is Part Two of a two-part series looking at the rapid pace of oil and gas development in Weld County in 2014. Click here to read Part One: Will Voters Kill Colorado’s Golden Goose? 2013 was a record year for oil production in Colorado: 64 million barrels were produced in the state. Weld County extracted 52 million of those

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Upton’s “Architecture of Abundance”

July 21, 2014

During the EIA Energy Conference last week, July 14 to July 15, Michigan’s Representative Fred Upton (R) gave a speech about his ideal energy future. He called his plan the “Architecture of Abundance.” It is a plan with five pillars: By Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) Modernizing infrastructure Maintaining diverse electricity generation Permitting a manufacturing renaissance Harnessing

Will Voters Kill Colorado’s Golden Goose?

July 21, 2014

August 4 is the deadline for two citizens’ groups that are attempting to collect the signatures required to land two statewide ballot proposals on the November ballot. If successful, they would give voters the power to inhibit Colorado’s future oil and gas development. By Bevo Beaven, Editor, Oil & Gas 360 NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series

Natural Gas Inventory to Recover with Cooler Summer: Weather Services International

July 21, 2014

Weather Services International (WSI), a division of Weather Central, expects natural gas inventory numbers to largely recover in the coming months due to below-average temperatures in the “northern and central Rockies eastward across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions,” according to its seasonality report on July 21, 2014. Above-average temperatures are expected in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest, with

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