In this week’s news update, a feasibility study will determine the route of a railway to transport oil from Alberta to Alaska, and the rig count dips again.
The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped to 476, according to numbers released by Baker Hughes on March 18.
A year ago, 1,069 rigs were active. The count previously peaked at 4,530 in 1981, and had bottomed out at 488 in 1999.
Baker Hughes reports that 387 rigs were exploring for oil and 88 sought natural gas.
New Mexico lost two rigs, and Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma each lost one. Texas gained two rigs, while Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.
TransCanada to Buy Columbia Pipeline Group
After failing to get the proposed Keystone XL oilsands pipeline approved, TransCanada announced last week it would buy the Columbia Pipeline Group for $10.2 billion in an all-cash deal.
The deal gives TransCanada opportunity to become a major force in the distribution of natural gas in the Northeast.
Columbia’s largest assets include 11,300 miles of pipeline and 286 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage facilities in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions.
Feasibility Study to Determine Rail Route from Alberta to Alaska
Rail company G Seven Generations Ltd. is preparing to launch a feasibility study to plan a rail line to ship oilsands bitumen from Fort McMurray, Alberta, to Alaska.
The proposal involves oil to be delivered by train to Delta Junction, Alaska, and from there move via an existing pipeline to the port of Valdez. The railway would run approximately 2,400 kilometers with estimated capacity of up to 1.5 million barrels a day, and would cost as much as $34 billion.
Support has been strong and First Nations have endorsed the project. First Nations would hold a 50 percent equity ownership stake under the current proposal.
Fire Consumes Storage Tank at Louisiana Facility
A tank at an oilfield storage facility in Gardere, Louisiana, caught fire and burned for more than three hours on March 18.
Firefighters from the St. George Fire Department reported to the scene but needed to wait for the flames to burn down enough to be safely extinguished. The fire was finally put out just before midnight.
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