Cleanup work after BP oil spill end in 3 states

Source: Associated press 06/10/13

NEW ORLEANS -- Cleanup work has ended in three of the states affected by BP PLC's massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said Monday.

The London-based oil giant said the Coast Guard has concluded 'active cleanup operations' in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, but the work continues along 84 miles of Louisiana's shoreline.

The cleanup by BP contractors ended last Friday in Alabama, on June 1 in Florida and on May 1 in Mississippi, according to company spokesman Jason Ryan. Read more...

Illinois Gov. signs tough fracking regulations law

Source: Associated Press 06/18/13

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation giving the state the nation's strictest regulations for high-volume oil and gas drilling.

In a news release, Quinn's office says the governor signed the bill Monday. Quinn says the law will 'unlock the potential' for thousands of jobs in southern Illinois while protecting the environment. Read more...

First Use of Natural Gas to Power Equipment ford Hydraulic Fracturing in Northeastern Pennsylvania

Source: PR Newswire 5/20/13

SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa., May 20, 2013 /PR Newswire/ - Cabot Oil & Gas- Corporation (NYSE: COG) announces the use of Marcellus Shale natural gas to fracture wells via innovative dual fuel technology. This marks the first time 'field' gas has been used in northeastern Pennsylvania for this purpose. The process of using clean-burning natural gas can displace up to 70 percent of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate fracturing equipment. This successful effort was a partnership with FTS International (FTSI) and Caterpillar Global Petroleum (NYSE: CAT).

Use of dual fuel technology, where the engines operate on a mixture of natural gas and a small portion of diesel, provides several benefits: Read more...

Global oil prices unlikely to fall below $100/b until 2025: Lukoil

Moscow (Platts)--18 June 2013

Global oil prices are unlikely to drop below $100/b until 2025, supported by OPEC's market management efforts and crude demand growth in Asia, Leonid Fedun, vice president of Lukoil said Tuesday, presenting key findings of the company's first public long-term global industry outlook.

"Under our estimates, prices aren't going to drop below $100/b, with the [oil pricing] dynamics to be determined by three factors...softening or hardening of the [US monetary] policies...growing demand [for crude] in Asia and, in the longer term, African markets, and OPEC's stabilization efforts," Fedun said in an interview with Russia's Business FM radio station.

The so-called shale boom in North America is unlikely to have a visible downward effect on oil prices, according to Lukoil's outlook, Fedun said. Read more...