-The Bakken shale will attract more than $15 billion in development capex this year, according to a new study by Wood Mackenzie. The report notes that the Bakken is the most productive pure crude oil play in the U.S., with oil volumes averaging one million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2014.
-Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Tuesday floated an idea for partially removing the crude oil exports ban without approval from Congress or the president — change how the government defines condensates. Murkowski said in a report the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security can modify its definition of crude to exclude condensates, thereby making the latter exempt from the ban. Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has been perhaps the most vocal of the lawmakers who support lifting the ban.
-Cheniere Energy signed a deal to sell 1.5 million tons of LNG annually to Spanish power company Endesa Generacion via Corpus Christi Liquefaction. The 20-year purchase agreement is contingent upon regulatory approvals and a final investment decision by Cheniere to build a first train at Corpus Christi Liquefaction.
-Southern Company’s coal-to-gas project in Kemper County, Miss., is experiencing cost overruns that will push the total price tag over $5.2 billion. Via the Associated Press, the company said Wednesday a combination of unfavorable weather conditions, construction labor turnover and installation inefficiencies will add approximately $177 million to the total cost. Southern-owned Mississippi Power said it would foot the bill and not pass the additional cost to customers.
-BP is shutting down its 102,000-barrels-per-day Bulwer Island refinery in Brisbane, Australia. BP President of Australasia Andy Holmes said the emergence of large refineries in the Asia-Pacific region has put pressure on smaller operations in Australia. BP has owned the refinery for 30 years.
