News and Press Releases from Electric Utility Consultants, ...

Employment picture cools in the Permian Basin, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says

Employment in Texas’ Permian Basin – in a sign of cooling oil and gas activity – declined by 400 jobs through the first 10 months of 2019 after adding 16,700 jobs in 2018, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. For the ...

Dec. 11, 2019

Companies join global effort to set science-based emission targets for their operations

Nearly 700 companies around the world are moving to adopt “science-based targets” for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions with 40 percent already having plans in place, according to the non-profit and governmental groups sponsoring ...

Dec. 11, 2019

Feds to open 73 million acres in Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling

The federal government is proposing to put up for lease some 73 million acres offshore from Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Florida for oil and gas exploration and development, the U.S. Department of Interior announced this week. Secretary of ...

Mar. 8, 2017

NextEra CEO calls emergency meeting with Texas PUC to save Oncor purchase

NextEra Energy CEO and chairman Jim Robo made an unusual visit with Texas regulators last week, stopping by the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in an emergency session to help shore up support for NextEra’s $18.7 billion purchase of ...

Mar. 1, 2017

Study identifies more than 6,000 spills at oil and gas fracking sites

Hydraulic fracturing techniques have resulted in thousands of spills in four states over a 10-year period, a new study finds. Researchers at Duke University say they have identified at least 6,648 fracking-related spills in Colorado, Pennsylvania, ...

Mar. 1, 2017

Senate confirms Pruitt to lead EPA

Despite strong objections by environmentalists and clean energy groups, the U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), putting President Donald Trump in prime position to fulfill his campaign pledge to ...

Feb. 22, 2017

Activists prepare for renewed fight over Dakota Access Pipeline

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer strongly hinted this week that President Donald Trump would rescind the permit denial that is prohibiting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), prompting activists opposed to the pipeline to ...

Jan. 25, 2017

Rick Perry “regrets” proposing to eliminate DOE while pledging to protect agency mission

Incoming Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry told Senate lawmakers that he “regrets” a past proposal to eliminate the agency he intends to lead, saying he now has a clearer understanding of the DOE and the critical work it ...

Jan. 25, 2017

U.S. oil and gas industry to increase spending, drive global growth in 2017

U.S. oil and gas companies are expected to boost exploration and production (E&P) spending in 2017 by 27 percent, leading global spending growth and reversing two years of decline, according to a new report from Barclays. According to the ...

Jan. 11, 2017

Trump taps climate change skeptic to head EPA

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a well-known critic of President Obama’s carbon reduction policies, to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a move which lays bare Trump’s ...

Dec. 14, 2016

Scientists turn nuclear waste into diamonds for power generation

Researchers in the U.K. say they have found a way to turn radioactive waste into miniature diamond batteries to produce small electric currents that can last thousands of years. A team of physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol ...

Dec. 7, 2016

U.S. Army blocks construction of DAPL

Protesters trying to block construction of a controversial pipeline in North Dakota gained a major victory this week, after the Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under an ecologically sensitive ...

Dec. 7, 2016

OPEC members fail to reconcile differences as oil price recovery hangs in the balance

OPEC officials failed to reach an accord on production cuts ahead of a critical meeting this week, putting the fate of a long-awaited price recovery in jeopardy. Tensions were high early this week ahead of OPEC’s Wednesday meeting in Vienna, ...

Nov. 30, 2016

As Trump reconsiders climate change, utilities stick to pre-election energy strategies

Despite pledges by President-elect Donald Trump to radically alter the nation’s energy policies, utilities say they are sticking with long-term strategies to comply with federal regulations on carbon emissions, as well as diversify their ...

Nov. 30, 2016

Obama administration bars new oil and gas drilling in Arctic Ocean

The Obama administration blocked new exploration for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean last week, seeking to prevent energy companies from accessing the ecologically fragile region before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year. The new ...

Nov. 23, 2016

Oil and gas industry optimistic after Trump victory

Oil and gas industry executives have been expressing cautious optimism after Donald Trump’s surprise election victory last week, confident the energy sector has turned a corner after two years of depressed prices and drilling activity. In ...

Nov. 15, 2016

New EPA guidelines likely indicate control on oil & gas sources

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) pertaining to oil and natural gas emissions sources on October 20, 2016. While these are intended to provide guidance to state agencies in ...

Nov. 8, 2016

Oklahoma earthquake rattles major oil hub

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake rattled a major oil trading hub in Oklahoma earlier this week, damaging several buildings and forcing officials to rethink policy regarding oil and gas wastewater disposal wells, which have been blamed for a significant ...

Nov. 8, 2016

NRC approves environmental review of Turkey Point project

Federal regulators have finished a seven-year environmental impact study of Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) Turkey Point expansion project in Florida, although a safety and legal challenge remain. In the 1,200-page review, staff at the U.S. ...

Nov. 8, 2016

GE oil business to merge with Baker Hughes

General Electric Co. (GE) announced early this week that it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes, creating the world’s second largest oilfield services provider. The merger comes as the oil industry as a whole struggles to ...

Nov. 1, 2016

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