-Entergy Corp. has a multibillion-dollar plan to serve the electricity needs of Louisiana’s industrial boom, but not everyone is on board. Via the Baton Rouge, La., Advocate, NRG’s Jennifer Vosburg says the state should promote the use of cogeneration to supply power to the nearly $120 billion in new facilities that have been completed, are under construction or are in the permitting phase. Meanwhile, consumer advocates say Entergy’s one million customers should not be expected to foot the bill.
-Suncor Energy has wrapped up three months of planned maintenance at its Montreal, Quebec, refinery. Via the Oil & Gas Journal, the work involved modifying the plant’s hydrocracking unit to improve output and energy efficiency.
-Refiners produced 9.92 million barrels per day of fuel in the week ended Dec. 19 — a record high and a 2.1% increase over the same time last year. Via Bloomberg, the increased output has put pressure on refining margins.
-Some believe the refining industry’s production surge will be short-lived. Energy consultant William Edwards explores the one-two punch effect of shrinking margins and the recent erosion of U.S. refiners’ fuel cost advantage over their foreign counterparts. Edwards predicts that refiners will soon struggle with spare capacity and shutdowns, as has happened in Europe and the Caribbean.
-The price of natural gas fell below $3 per million Btus for the first time since 2012 last week. Via Bloomberg, a combination of mild winter weather and rising production has resulted in a 26% drop in natural gas futures this month. BNP Paribas SA said continued production growth without extreme weather would leave natural gas inventories at an all-time high of more than 4 trillion cubic feet by the end of October 2015.
