-North American oil production will outpace that of the Middle East four-to-one by 2020, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie. Production in North America will expand by 390 million tons of oil equivalent by 2030.
-Consol Energy and Noble Energy are planning to form a master limited partnership (MLP) to spin off their jointly owned midstream assets in the Marcellus Shale. CONE Gathering — a 50/50 joint venture between the two firms — will own the general partner of the MLP. Via the Pittsburgh Business Times, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
-Southcross Energy has agreed to combine with Eagle Ford natural gas gathering and processing firm TexStar Midstream Services. Southcross will also acquire about one-third of TexStar’s midstream assets for $450 million. The combined firm will own and operate four processing plants, three fractionation facilities and 3,700 miles of pipeline.
-Texas LNG received approval from the Department of Energy to export up to 2 million tons per year of natural gas to non-free-trade-agreement countries. The facility will be located inside the Port of Brownsville, Texas.
-The American Petroleum Institute has launched a new oil and gas career resources website — www.oilgasworkforce.com. The site provides users with information on job openings and organizations that offer education, training and certification related to careers in energy.
