-Deepwater fracking in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to expand 10% over a two-year period ending in 2015, Bloomberg reports. Despite the high price tag of drilling a well (nearly $100 million in some cases), producers consider it a worthy investment — a boon for oilfield service companies. As producers zero in on the dense Lower Tertiary zone, the technology and equipment needed to perform deepwater fracking are getting highly sophisticated.
-Meanwhile, a judge in Colorado’s Larimer County overturned a five-year ban on fracking in Fort Collins. Earlier this week Gov. John Hickenlooper struck a deal to set up a fracking task force, averting a November vote that would ban fracking in the state if approved.
-Dow Chemical is drawing interest from private equity firms who could potentially buy its sodium borohydride unit. Via Reuters, the unit generates approximately $28 million in annual EBITDA and could sell for as much as $200 million. Dow obtained the unit when it purchased Rohm and Haas in 2009.
-Sunoco Logistics Partners this week announced an open season for the Permian Longview and Louisiana Extension project, which would deliver 100,000 barrels per day of Permian crude to east Texas and Louisiana. The project is set to begin operation in the second half of 2016.
-Plains All American on Thursday said it is positioning itself to move condensate into the export market. Company CEO Greg Armstrong, however, declined to say whether or not Plains is seeking a ruling from the Commerce Department to do so. Reuters notes that Plains owns a condensate stabilizer in Gardendale, Texas, which could send refined ultralight oil to Houston or Corpus Christi via pipelines that are joint ventures with Enterprise Products Partners.
