Oxy Names California Leadership

Posted on by July 17, 2014

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) on July 17th announced the leadership team for its new California Resources Corporation (CRC) subsidiary. Todd A. Stevens will be President and Chief Executive Officer, and William E. Albrecht will be Executive Chairman of the Board.

In February Occidental announced plans to move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Houston and establish CRC as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company operating exclusively in California.

Stephen I. Chazen, Occidental’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said the two men “bring proven leadership abilities and more than 50 years of combined industry experience. Both have played an important part in building and managing our California operations for over 15 years.” Continue reading →

DOGGR Regulations Deadline Extended to July 1, 2015

Posted on by July 16, 2014

The final deadline for DOGGR to implement permanent regulations on fracking under SB 4 has been extended by six months, to July 1, 2015.

The change was incorporated in a little-noticed “trailer bill” amending the state budget, passed and signed into law on June 20th by Gov. Jerry Brown, which took effect immediately.

The revised deadline avoids a potential scheduling problem for DOGGR (the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources of the California Department of Conservation.) The previous deadline for the agency to issue permanent regulations, as specified in SB4, was January 1, 2015. However, the deadline for DOGGR to file a required statewide Environmental Impact Report on well stimulation activities is July 1, 2015.

Thus DOGGR could have been obliged to issue final regulations under Senate Bill 4 several months before the completion of the EIR – with the possibility that the findings in the EIR could then have required revisions to those just-issued regulations. Setting both deadlines to the same date eliminates that potential conflict.

SB4 required DOGGR to establish temporary regulations for all well stimulation treatments including hydraulic fracturing and acidizing wells. It also establishes requirements for testing, monitoring, public notice, and permitting.

Chevron Updates Q2 Outlook

Posted on by July 15, 2014

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) reported on July 10th in an interim update that earnings for the second quarter 2014 are expected to be higher than first quarter 2014. The San Ramon-based company said this is a result of gains on asset sales and an absence of impairments in the prior quarter. Continue reading →

Chevron Sells Interests in Africa

Posted on by July 15, 2014

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced on June 13 that its subsidiary, Chevron Global Energy Inc., has sold its 25 percent non-operated interest in a producing oil concession in southern Chad and the related export pipeline interests to the Republic of Chad for approximately $1.3 billion.

“This sale demonstrates our focus on strategically managing our portfolio to maximize the value of our global upstream businesses,” said George Kirkland, vice chairman of San Ramon-based Chevron Corporation.

Trillium Opens CNG Station in Tulare

Posted on by July 15, 2014

A new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station, built by Trillium CNG, is now operating at the Roche Oil, Inc. truck fueling station in Tulare.

The new Trillium CNG station is expected to be the primary fueling location for Northwest Food Products Transportation LLC, which operates a fleet of CNG-fueld trucks.

The refueling station is designed for access by heavy-duty fleet trucks. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it allows two semitrailers to fuel at the same time.

Fracking Moratorium Bill Dies in State Senate

Posted on by June 1, 2014

Senate Bill 1132, which would have imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells, failed May 28th in an 18-16 vote, three short of the 21 votes needed for approval. Four Democrats voted against it, and three more Democrats abstained.

The bill had been proposed by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, and Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who argued that the measure would “pause” the technique that has been opposed by environmental activists.

Opponents of the measure noted that California last year passed a law to regulate fracking. Continue reading →