-Marathon Oil on Monday evacuated non-essential personnel from two platforms in the North Sea after a power outage. Via FuelFix, about 75 workers were transferred to shore and about 140 people remained on the platforms. Marathon did not respond to requests for comment.
-Southwestern Energy agreed to acquire a 20% ownership stake in Marcellus and Utica shale properties from Statoil for $394 million. The purchase equates to 30,000 net acres in West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania producing approximately 29 million cubic feet of gas per day as of October. Southwestern in October purchased Chesapeake Energy’s interest in the same properties and others. The agreement with Statoil brings Southwestern’s overall working interest in the properties to 73%.
-Meanwhile, the New York Times recently examined Southwestern’s bullish view of natural gas amid the supply glut. The company has remained active in the Fayetteville shale, which has been virtually abandoned by other companies in recent years as natural gas prices plunged due to oversupply and a lack of pipeline infrastructure. Company CEO Steven Mueller said others in the industry think Southwestern is “crazy” for not shifting from gas to oil, but experts acknowledge that the firm has been successful at cutting costs through efficiencies.
-The price of natural gas has fallen 29% in the past three months due to mild weather, but experts say the EPA’s upcoming emissions rules will reverse any downward trend.
-BP is using the recent oil price plunge as ammunition in its fight to lower its Clean Water Act liabilities stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Via the Telegraph, BP argued in a filing to the Louisiana District Court that the $16 billion-$18 billion penalty sought by the U.S. government would have a “very significant negative economic impact” on the company amid the 45% drop in oil prices. A district court judge in September ruled BP acted with “gross negligence” in the incident, potentially exposing the firm to a fine of $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled.
