New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday in Santa Fe she wants industry officials in her state to help create new regulations for methane emissions in cooperation with her administration, and she hopes New Mexico overtakes North Dakota to become the nation’s No. 2 crude oil producer. She spoke to members of New Mexico […]

Last month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Texas’ plan to limit emissions of substances leading to the formation of ground-level ozone, according to Oil & Gas Journal. The EPA approval Sept. 23 said the plan will allow Texas to “meet 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and comply with the 1970 Clean Air Act.” […]

Texas Petro Index by petroleum economist Karr Ingham declined for the sixth straight month in August. The index opened the year at 212.5 and climbed to a 2019 high of 213.2 in February before falling later to 205.5 in July and 202.9 in August (base 100 in January 1995). The index is based on a […]

Houston oilfield services firm Baker Hughes continues to report declining rig counts as U.S. crude oil production continues to set records. U.S. Department of Energy said estimated production last week reached a record of 12.6 million barrels per day of crude oil. And as of Oct. 4, Baker Hughes said in the past week another […]

Houston-based Johnson & Lindley last week opened a new oilfield laboratory in Midland, including 1,000 square feet of office space and 3,000 square feet of lab space. Sam Pruett, president of J&L Laboratories, told the Midland Reporter Telegram oilfield labs measure the health of wells. “The things we’re doing here bring a level of sophistication […]

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum last week opened the first solar facility used to directly power EOR operations in the Goldsmith field in Ector County. The 120-acre field features 174,000 photovoltaic panels with capacity of 16 megawatts. First Solar manufactured the panels and is contracted by Oxy to operate the facility. Subsidiary Oxy Low Carbon Ventures also […]

Railroad Commission of Texas said in FY2019 it plugged more than 1,700 abandoned wells to exceed the goal set by the Texas legislature. Most operators plug their own wells when they are no longer productive. To protect land and water resources, the commission uses industry fees paid into the Oil and Gas Regulation and Cleanup […]

Railroad Commission of Texas this week launched its first interactive data maps that provide oil and gas production and locations of abandoned wells plugged by the commission across the state and by county. The data is available beginning with calendar year 2018. Beginning with January 2019, the maps will be updated each month with year-to-date […]

ExxonMobil and SABIC (Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp.) last month started construction of Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, joint venture for a chemical facility and 1.8 million metric ton-per-year ethane steam cracker in San Patricio County near Corpus Christi. Groundbreaking was held Sept. 13. The project received final environmental regulatory approval in June to proceed with […]

Houston-based Cheniere Energy said last month that subsidiaries Corpus Christi Liquefaction and Cheniere Corpus Christi Liquefaction Stage III reached agreements with Houston-based EOG Resources to supply natural gas for 15 years. EOG agreed to sell natural gas to Cheniere beginning in early 2020 starting with 140,000 MMBtu per day and increasing to 440,000 MMBtu per […]