More oil and gas industry announcements: 26 February 2015

CH2M Hill

The US EPA, in collaboration with the Association of Climate Change Officers, the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions, and The Climate Registry, has recognised CH2M Hill for excellence in greenhouse gas (GHG) management in the fourth annual Climate Leadership Awards. CH2M Hill set a goal of 25% reduction in absolute GHG emissions by 2017 for global operations as compared to a 2012 baseline. The company is achieving this reduction through a facilities management plan that includes reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions for vehicles and buildings at its most energy intensive project site; improving the efficiency of four LEED certified headquarters buildings, which are also ENERGY STAR certified; and implementing office behaviour based energy conservation programs.

Evolution Petroleum

Evolution Petroleum Corporation has signed an authorisation for expenditure for construction of a NGL recovery plant in the Delhi field, which will extract both NGL and methane from the field. In addition to the value of these hydrocarbon products, the increased purity of the CO2 stream reinjected into the field should result in significant operational benefits to the CO2 flood.

The plant has an estimated gross cost of US$103 million projected to be expended through the summer next year. Recovered methane will be utilised to generate electricity for the operation of the gas plant and other CO2 field operations. This will substantially reduce operating costs for both the existing field operation and the new plant operating costs. The plant is projected to produce up to 2000 bpd of NGLs when in full operation, and is expected to be placed in service during the second half of 2016.

MSCI

Metals Service Centre Institute (MSCI) President and CEO, M. Robert Weidner, III, issued a statement after President Barack Obama vetoed S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act:

“MSCI and its members are disappointed with President Barack Obama’s veto yesterday of the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. This bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress and the pipeline is supported by the majority of the American people. According to the US State Department, the pipeline would create more than 42 000 well paying jobs in the US and result in safer and more environmentally friendly transport of energy resources. The pipeline would also help ensure a reliable flow of affordable energy for the US metals and manufacturing industries. The President’s veto is a step away from US energy independence and also harms our relationship with our neighbours.”

Sandvik

At the Integrated Systems Europe conference in Amsterdam, Sandvik Coromant won first prize in the category Most Innovated Corporate Facility. This award is shared with their partner VisuellDesign for the IT and Audio visual solutions in the new Sandvik Coromant Centre in Sandviken.

US Department of Energy

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released a report on the status of the non-starch ethanol and renewable hydrocarbon biofuels industry in the US. The report, titled “2013 Survey of Non-Starch Ethanol and Renewable Hydrocarbon Biofuel Producers”, is the first of its kind to provide publicly available, open source documentation on the state of the advanced biorefinery landscape. It is the first in what is anticipated to be an annual survey of the industry, which will report on the progress over time of the development of biorefineries and bioenergy companies.

This initial report will serve to establish an industry baseline to compare growth and industry trends. Understanding where the industry stood in 2013 will help the Office in planning further research and development to further commercialise biofuels.

Edited from press releases by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/26022015/more-oil-gas-announcements/