-BP CFO Brian Gilvary today told investors his company would not cut capital spending in response to oil prices unless they fall below $70 per barrel. Goldman Sachs on Monday predicted oil prices would hit the $70 mark next spring as supply outstrips demand. Gilvary said BP’s balance sheet could “more than comfortably” handle $80-per-barrel oil. His comments echoed similar remarks made recently by CEOs at energy companies such as Occidental Petroleum and Halliburton.
-Meanwhile, Shell is asking the Department of Interior (DOI) to allow it to drill in Arctic waters near Alaska for an additional five years. Via The Hill, a Shell executive wrote in a July letter to DOI his company’s Arctic operations had been hampered by legal disputes, limited rig availability, brief operating windows and other challenges. Shell’s lease for the Chukchi and Beaufort seas will expire in 2017 without an extension.
-Phillips 66 and Energy Transfer Partners formed two joint ventures to build crude oil pipelines that will deliver Bakken and Three Forks oil to the Midwest and the Gulf Coast. The two firms will develop the previously announced Dakota Access Pipeline and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline projects. Energy Transfer owns a 75% interest in each joint venture and Phillips 66 owns the remaining 25% interests. Both projects are expected to begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016.
-North Dakota regulators will issue new rules for the safe transport of crude oil Nov. 13, Reuters reports. A state official said the North Dakota Industrial Commission is leaning away from requiring removal of volatile components at either the well site or a regional hub, provided that they are removed before transport. The rules are meant to address safety concerns about rail transport of North Dakota crude oil, which contains high concentrations of ethane, propane and other NGLs.
-Western Refining Logistics named Gary R. Dalke executive vice president, effective on or around Dec. 1. Dalke has served as CFO of the firm since its inception in July 2013. Karen Davis, previously chief accounting officer for PBF Energy, will replace him. Davis will also serve as director of investor relations for Western Refining.
