-Five men were killed on Thursday when their van slammed into an overturned crude oil tanker truck on a highway in the Eagle Ford Shale. The accident occurred when the oil tanker took evasive action to avoid hitting a truck that turned left off a state highway in Dimmitt County, Texas. The oil tanker overturned and was hit by the van and another vehicle. The five victims are believed to be oilfield workers.
-A rebound in oil prices may not come until the second half of this year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. Via Reuters, the IEA said lower prices would eventually lead to lower production and higher demand. The agency cut its oil output growth forecasts for the U.S. and Canada by 80,000 barrels per day and 95,000 barrels per day, respectively.
-Plains Midstream Canada was ordered to undergo an independent third-party audit of its pipelines in four Canadian provinces after a recent string of oil leaks. Via the Calgary Herald, the company must submit the results of the audit to Canada’s National Energy Board by the end of the year. Recent incidents include a 28,000-barrel oil spill in Alberta’s Peace River in 2011 and a 3,000-barrel spill in the Red Deer River system in 2012. Plains Midstream is a subsidiary of Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline.
-ExxonMobil entered a deal to supply natural gas to power plants in Papua New Guinea, Reuters reports. The company said today it is planning to drill an appraisal well at the P’nyang gas field. The gas from the field could enable the expansion of Papua New Guinea’s LNG facility.
-PPG today announced David Navikas will retire as senior vice president of strategic planning and corporate development March 1. Navikas joined PPG as controller in 1995 and was named vice president in 2000. He served as the company’s CFO from 2011 to 2013, when he assumed his current position. Navikas worked at accounting firm Deloitte & Touche for 22 years prior to joining PPG.
