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Petroleum engineers experienced the highest increase in median annual salary since 2011, according to a recent report from the American Geosciences Institute (AGI). In 2013, the median average salary for petroleum engineers was $132,000, and had increased by more than $10,000 since 2011, according to the Aug. 12 report, which quoted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2011, all geoscience occupations – with the exception of atmospheric and space scientists, geographers, environmental science and protection technicians, engineering postsecondary teachers, and atmospheric, earth, marine and space sciences post-secondary teachers – recorded increases in their median annual salaries, while...

Turn natural gas into gasoline for $1 per gallon The clear liquid flowing from a collection of pipes and wires in a Hayward industrial park smells just like gasoline, and for all practical purposes, it is.But it wasn’t made from crude oil. Instead, it came from natural gas, the fuel whose sudden abundance in America is reshaping the country’s energy landscape.Siluria Technologies says it can produce large quantities of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals at a lower cost than traditional refineries and chemical plants. At today’s natural gas prices, Siluria’s technology could make gasoline at roughly $1 per gallon, according to...

Ukraine has warned it might cut Russian oil and gas flows to Europe and ban Russian airlines from crossing its airspace, as Moscow criticised the country for suspending a ceasefire at the crash site of MH17. The measures are part of a sanctions bill targeting Russia that will be submitted to parliament, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in Kiev. Yatsenyuk explained it could include complete or partial bans on transit of all manner of resources, including energy resources and overflights. Ukraine is the key country for the transport of Russian oil and gas to Europe. Previous energy disputes have resulted...

kraine state gas grid Naftogaz said it would continue uninterrupted pumping of Russian gas exports to Europe through its territory even if Ukraine imposes its own sanctions on Russia. "Naftogaz affirms its readiness to continue smooth transit of natural gas to European consumers," Chief Executive Andriy Kobolev said in a statement on Monday. Ukraine Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said last week that parliament would debate sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, which could include bans on Russian gas and sanctions against Russian banks. Russia halted gas supplies to Ukraine in June due to disagreements over pricing, but Russian gas transit through...

Douglas-Westwood, a UK-headquartered provider of energy business strategy, research and commercial due-diligence services, commented on "Australian LNG - A Lost Cause?" in its latest edition of DW Monday. DW MONDAY: "AUSTRALIAN LNG - A LOST CAUSE?" Recent news headlines on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector in Australia seem to be centered around its unsustainable rising costs. Woodside Petroleum had to ditch plans last year for its Browse LNG plant, which had gone way over budget at an estimated cost of $80 billion. In the interest of continuing the development, Woodside and its partners have now turned to floating LNG...

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine said European companies would have to agree on a major revision of gas contracts with Russia if Kiev imposes sanctions on Moscow and Gazprom, a measure that may lead to disruption in gas transit to Europe. Ukraine Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said last week that parliament would debate sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, which could include bans on Russian gas and sanctions against Russian banks. Ukraine gas grid Naftogaz said on Monday that the sanctions could limit or even exclude some companies from piping gas through the country, which would allow other firms to take over...

Now that all eyes are on Ukraine and the potential of a bigger war looms, there’s never been a more important time to understand what is at stake. As WhoWhatWhy readers know, the real reasons surrounding a conflict are often buried under the headlines and rhetoric. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that, behind the scenes, oil and natural gas are driving a big piece of the U.S. response to Russian involvement in Ukraine. If you want to understand where the rubber meets the geopolitical road in the Ukraine war, you need to learn about the 1,480-mile South Stream...

President Obama is moving toward opening the Atlantic Ocean to drilling in a major shift in U.S. policy that cuts against the administration's efforts to reduce global warming. Environmental groups applauding the president's pursuit of new power plant rules meant to reduce climate change are now preparing for a major battle over authorizing drilling in the Atlantic, and possibly the Arctic and Pacific oceans. President Obama is moving toward opening the Atlantic Ocean to drilling in a major shift in U.S. policy that cuts against the administration's efforts to reduce global warming. Environmental groups applauding the president's pursuit of new...

Houston billionaire Richard Kinder is fusing all the pieces of his fragmented pipeline empire into one company, Kinder Morgan Inc., in a $44 billion transaction that ranks among the largest in U.S. history. In a move that would end nearly two decades of delegating its main operations to subordinate firms, Houston-based Kinder Morgan said Sunday it is planning to buy out three companies it controls indirectly for $44 billion in cash and stock, bringing its network of North American pipelines and energy storage terminals under one corporate roof. It also will assume $27 billion in debt. Taken together, the three...

Sempra Energy, GDF Suez and other investors in the Cameron LNG project have made their final investment decision on the project and intend to move forward with it, the companies announced this week. The facility will be located at Sempra Energy’s existing Cameron LNG import terminal in Hackberry, La. It is expected to cost around $10 billion. “Today’s commitments from our project sponsors and international banks put us one step closer to delivering domestic natural gas to America’s trading partners in Europe and Japan,” Sempra LNG president Octavio M.C. Simoes said in a statement. The facility will have three liquefaction...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) administrator, in his March report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the U.S. Senate, stated that EIA analysis shows that during the next 25 years, natural gas will grow dramatically in use by freight trucking and other commercial transportation modes. Source: EIA, Annual Energy Outlook 2014.The New York Times profiled the freight truck natural gas conversion process in an April 2013 article and recently reported plans by the Obama Administration to impose tough new fuel efficiency standards for big trucks, potentially reducing diesel's competitiveness.In addition, NGV Today, the publication for the...

Ukraine doesn’t need Russia to take it down—Kiev is doing fine destroying itself, most recently with a new tax code that doubles taxes for private gas producers and promises to irreparably cripple new investment in the energy sector at a time when reform and outside investment were the country’s only hope. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on August 1 signed off on a new tax code that effectively doubles the tax private gas producers in Ukraine will have to pay, calling into question any new investment, as well as commitment from key producers already operating in the country. The stated goal...

The Mexican Congress has passed sweeping legislation intended to revitalize the country’s anemic energy industry by opening it to private competition and ending a 75-year state monopoly. After weeks of debate and a constitutional amendment, legislators approved this week the majority of the new laws and are expected to finalize the remaining items in the coming days. The energy overhaul is the most sweeping of a broad set of economic measures promised by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Mexico’s oil and gas industry has been largely left out of the latest oil boom, despite the general consensus that the country...

HOUSTON — Natural gas production in the Marcellus Region exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day in July, the most productive period ever recorded there, according to a government analysis. The Marcellus Region, located largely in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, now accounts for almost 40 percent of U.S. shale gas production. The field’s rapid growth has had a major effect on the surrounding markets for gas and isn’t expected to ebb soon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Marcellus Region’s natural gas productivity has surged since 2010, when production totaled 2 billion cubic feet per day. New wells...

Natural gas production in the Marcellus Region exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) through July, the first time ever recorded, according to EIA's latest Drilling Productivity Report. The Marcellus Region, mostly located in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, is the largest producing shale gas basin in the United States, accounting for almost 40% of U.S. shale gas production. Marcellus Region production has increased dramatically over the past four years, increasing from 2 Bcf/d in 2010 to its current level. The rig count in the Marcellus Region has remained steady at around 100 rigs over the past 10 months. Given...

On the one hand, many environmental and conservation groups are bitterly opposed to shale development. Ranged against them are those within and beyond the energy industry who believe that the exploitation of shale gas can prove not only vital but hugely positive for the British economy. Rather oddly, hardly anyone seems to have asked the one question which is surely fundamental: does shale development make economic sense? My conclusion is that it does not. That Britain needs new energy sources is surely beyond dispute. Between 2003 and 2013, domestic production of oil and gas slumped by 62pc and 65pc respectively,...

Biofuels Power Corp. plans to build a small-scale plant to convert natural gas to synthetic crude on a former power plant site south of downtown Houston as it looks to capitalize on abundant supplies of cheap natural gas, the company announced Monday. The gas-to-liquids plant is a pilot project, the first step in the Humble-based company’s plans to build several small plants at oil fields across the U.S. to capture and convert natural gas now stranded at well sites that don’t have processing or transportation infrastructure to carry the gas to market. Advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — PPL Corp. said Thursday it wants to spend billions of dollars to build a 725-mile system of electric transmission lines that will bring energy from the booming Marcellus Shale natural gas fields to customers on the heavily populated Eastern Seaboard. The Allentown-based utility said the 500-kilovolt line would span much of Pennsylvania and reach into New York, New Jersey and Maryland, although the route has not been determined. The cost was expected to exceed $4 billion, and it could take more than a decade to build....

Thanks to the Independent, we may know the answer, and it is a doozy, because according to some it is nothing shy of a sequel to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact: allegedly Germany and Russia have been working on a secret plan to broker a peaceful solution to end international tensions over the Ukraine, one which would negotiate to trade Crimea's sovereignty for guarantees on energy security and trade.

Shell announced today that it has declared force majeure on its unconventional gas exploration activities in eastern Ukraine, near the site where flight MH17 crashed. However, it's too early to tell what impact the latest round of EU and US sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine will have on the Anglo-Dutch major, sources said. Shell has been engaging in shale gas exploration in Ukraine and its Russian assets include a stake in Sakhalin-2, one of the largest LNG projects in the world, where it is working with Gazprom to expand the project. Shell CEO Ben van Beurden was...