-NRG Energy said it is building a $1 billion carbon capture project at its W.A. Parish power plant in Fort Bend County, Texas. The 240-megawatt Petra Nova project will remove carbon from a 610-megawatt coal unit and transport it via pipeline to the West Ranch Oil Field for enhanced oil recovery. The project is set for completion in 2016.
-North Dakota could see a surge in its already booming oil production this summer as better weather keeps crews out in the fields. Via Bloomberg, the state’s Department of Mineral Resources said output grew 3.6% in May even as rain and high winds hamstrung well completion work. The state said production would grow from 5-6% per month from June to August with improved weather conditions.
-The Department of Energy’s inspector general said today maintenance delays are hindering the government’s ability to draw oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Via Reuters, budget cuts have left the department unable to perform maintenance that prevents the salt caverns containing the emergency oil from sinking.
-Transocean is set to name former National Oilwell Varco CEO Pete Miller as its next board chairman. Miller retired from his position at National Oilwell Varco last year to assume the chairmanship of NOW Inc. Transocean said current board chairman Ian Strachan would retire before the end of his term next year.
-Occidental Petroleum continued to fill top executive positions at its planned California spin-off, naming Mark Smith CFO of California Resources Corp. Smith is a 32-year energy industry veteran who most recently served as CFO at Ultra Petroleum. He also served briefly as vice president of upstream business development at Constellation Energy.
