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Initiative 97 imposes a mandatory statewide minimum 2,500-foot drilling setback, also cedes power to local governments to increase setbacks This is the final week for environmental activist groups 350.org and Colorado Rising to gather signatures for Colorado ballot initiative 97. It’s the initiative that asks voters to change existing state law to impose a 2,500-foot setback on new oil and[Read More…]
Extremely well-organized ‘keep it in the ground’ groups tell like-minded voters exactly what to do to get initiative 97 on the ballot, what to say at the COGCC hearing “We’re calling on the COGCC to prioritize public health and safety over profit – and to get on the right side of history” – 350 Colorado campaign promoting initiative 97 Campaign[Read More…]
Of the 7 million acres of non-federal land in Colorado’s top oil and gas producing counties, proposed initiative #97 would exclude 6.5 million acres from drilling and development An estimated 54% of Colorado’s total land surface would be unavailable for new oil and gas development by adopting the buffer zone setbacks and federal land exemption proposed by initiative #97, according[Read More…]
[EDITOR’S NOTE: this is the final installment of the OAG360 story in which Helen El Mallakh, director of the International Research Center for Energy and Economic Development (ICEED), discusses the changing political scene and the shifting geopolitical sands that are challenging the balance of oil producers in the Middle East. El Mallakh was keynote speaker at the Energy Finance Discussion[Read More…]
“The Middle East shapes energy politics, energy crises, and it has a huge impact on geopolitics” – Helen El Mallakh Ahead of the upcoming 174th OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria, (scheduled for Friday, June 22, and immediately followed by the fourth OPEC/non-OPEC ministerial meeting Saturday), Helen El Mallakh, director of the International Research Center for Energy and Economic Development (ICEED)[Read More…]
Bill gives cabinet and environment minister final power to approve or reject a project regardless of the findings of an environment assessment In February 2018, Catherine McKenna, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, introduced Bill C-69. The bill may replace the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act of 2012 (CEAA 2012) with the Impact Assessment Act. McKenna claimed the new[Read More…]
Egypt is the largest non-OPEC oil producer in Africa and the third-largest dry natural gas producer on the continent, according to the EIA’s newest report on Egypt. In recent years, the country has seen political instability accompanied by growing power demand and a recovering energy industry. Natural gas supply shortages often cause frequent blackouts in Egypt – and 2011’s political[Read More…]
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is located on the northern coast of Alaska, due east of both Prudhoe Bay and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA). The coastal plain (the 1002 Area) covers 1.5 million acres and is about 8% of the total area of ANWR. USGS 1002 Area Map In its latest (1998) resource assessment, the United States Geological[Read More…]
Will they gather enough signatures this time around? The 2018 Colorado ballot initiative that would change state law to require 2,500-foot setbacks from occupied structures, playgrounds and water sources for new oil and gas development projects is in the signature gathering phase. It is Initiative #97. The groups behind the newest setback initiative have just 68 more days to collect[Read More…]
On May 21, 2018 the United States president signed an executive order prohibiting certain transactions with the government of Venezuela. The order restricts transactions involving debt owed to the Venezuelan government. Source: WhiteHouse.gov According to law firm Akin Gump, the new prohibitions target three categories of transactions: The purchase of any debt owed to the government of Venezuela, including accounts receivable Any[Read More…]
Iran’s energy sector will feel the repercussions of renewed sanctions Iran has the world’s fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, but production in the country has been suppressed by international sanctions and underinvestment. Although some sanctions targeting the energy industry were temporarily lifted, and oil production reached ~3.8 MMBOPD in 2017, growth has remained[Read More…]
Inventory declines have brought prices to three-year highs The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its monthly Oil Market Report today, outlining the group’s analysis of the overall oil market. In March 2018, OECD stocks declined by 27 million barrels to 2,819 million barrels – 214 million barrels below year-ago levels. This is the lowest level in three years, the IEA[Read More…]
Stiff U.S. competition, an inter-province pipeline row prolongs limited export opportunity, and U.S. is its only big export customer With U.S. shale on a tear, imports are dropping Total U.S. crude production reached 10 MMBOPD in November 2017 and the Canadian Industrial Outlook report from The Conference Board of Canada estimates that U.S. production will pass 11 MMBOPD in[Read More…]
Oil and gas investment in politically risky British Columbia Just a few days before Kinder Morgan Canada said it would halt investment and construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to political risk in British Columbia, ConocoPhillips (ticker: COP) announced an acreage buy in British Columbia’s Montney play. ConocoPhillips Company acquired about 35,000 net acres in the Montney play[Read More…]
Crestone Peak submits 4th Draft of Comprehensive Drilling Plan to COGCC Crestone Peak Resources, the privately held DJ Basin operator that is developing Encana’s former assets in in Northern Colorado, is getting a little closer to planting its flag on three planned drill pads in Boulder County. Developing the Encana DJ Basin assets Crestone Peak was formed in 2015 through[Read More…]
Case background The beginning of the Martinez v. COGCC case dates back to November 15, 2013, when petitioners Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Itzcuahtli Roske-Martinez, Sonora Brinkley, Aerielle Deering, Trinity Carter, and Emma Bray, minors appearing by and through their legal guardians Tamara Roske, Bindi Brinkley, Eleni Deering, Jasmine Jones, Robin Ruston, and Diana Bray, petitioned the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission[Read More…]
Oil & Gas 360® has learned that the Colorado Supreme Court will hear the opening briefs for Martinez v. COGCC (docket number 2017SC297) on April 2, 2018. It’s a meaningful case because the outcome could force a change to the criteria which Colorado’s oil and gas regulator—the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC)—must use when approving or denying permits[Read More…]
Julie Murphy was welcomed by her fellow colleagues as the COGCC held its March 19, 2018 hearing, and during a lively public comment session, voices both for and against oil and gas development were inked into the record COGCC Offices The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission started the day with a brief roll call and welcomed a new honcho,[Read More…]
Venezuela’s citizens are left holding a bag, one that is saddled with $60 billion dollars worth of debt. Citizens of Venezuela have been buying into bonds due to government policies of subsidizing the purchase of foreign debt by individual investors, Reuters reported in December 2017. Big businesses in the country have also poured money into the bonds, hoping to capitalize[Read More…]
Securing political support for 2,500 foot drilling setbacks, abolishing the COGCC, removing public funds from banks who make loans to fossil fuel companies The movement against shale development has progressed considerably beyond a group of activists holding signs and shouting anti-fracing slogans in front of the capitol. The “climate justice” movement, which calls its goal of replacing fossil fuels with[Read More…]
Colorado State Senator Matt Jones and Representative Mike Foote have introduced Senate Bill 48, which would remove sole regulation of oil and gas siting and permitting from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, give municipal and county governments authority over oil and gas drilling and siting of operations, and allow those local governments to plan, zone and refuse such[Read More…]
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and other trustees of the city’s $189 billion pension funds announced today a plan to divest city funds from fossil fuel reserve owners within five years, which would make New York City the first major U.S. pension plan to do so. In total, the city’s five pension funds hold roughly $5 billion[Read More…]
Offshore rule amendments would save $228 million – BSEE The Trump administration is fulfilling its promise to reduce oil and gas regulation, rolling back offshore and onshore rules. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is considering revising the Production Safety Systems Regulations, regulations concerning offshore operations passed late last year. These rules require operators to use third parties to[Read More…]
This week, the Boulder County Commissioners told its residents that 8 North LLC, a subsidiary of Extraction Oil and Gas, LLC had applied with the State of Colorado for permits to drill a 1,280-acre area at the far eastern edge of Boulder County, right up to the line on the map that separates long time oil-friendly Weld County and the[Read More…]
“…defendants continue to engage in massive fossil fuel production. They also continue to promote fossil fuels, and have developed multi-decade future business plans based upon increased fossil fuel usage even as global warming has progressed into a severe danger zone…” – San Francisco City Attorney It was kind of a ‘say what?’ moment that emerged from the San Francisco Bay area[Read More…]
Extraction’s 8 North LLC and Crestone Peak Resources have submitted drilling plans to the state to start developing Boulder County Wattenberg assets; commissioners “are very concerned” In a county that is host to a symposium this weekend called “Warrior Principle, Climate Action,” it is not a total surprise that the Boulder County Commissioners sent out a county-wide email this week[Read More…]
In a step towards fulfilling the Five-Year National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke made known on July 13th the availability of 75.9 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for lease for the purpose of oil and gas exploration. The acreage lies off the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,[Read More…]
According to the latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey released July 6, 2017, OPEC’s crude oil output increased by approximately 500,000 BOPD within the last two months, pushing the organization’s total output to 32.49 MMBOPD. OPEC’s June output was 220,000 BOPD larger than May’s output, Platts said. Rises in production from Libya and Nigeria assisted in keeping the organization’s output[Read More…]
“This is a truly amazing moment in the energy sector…” – Secs. Perry, Zinke and Pruitt At an event on Thursday, June 29, 2017, in order to help kick off what the Trump Administration has dubbed “Energy Week,” President Trump announced a public comment period for a new 5-year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Secretary of the[Read More…]
In an attempt to modernize the United States’ energy infrastructure, the Subcommittee on Energy and Power, within the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, began considering a group of bills on June 20th, 2017, which are related to energy infrastructure and national energy security. Oil and gas related bills Two of the bills affect international cross-border pipelines and[Read More…]
Effective Rig Count drops to 2,771: Permian oil growth slowing EnerCom has released its latest Effective Rig Count, examining the state of drilling activity in major shale basins. The Effective Rig Count fell to 2,771 in July, marking the first decline in the EERC since the downturn bottomed out in May 2016. The EERC expresses current activity measured in terms[Read More…]
