Michigan judge halts operation of Enbridge pipeline
Enbridge Inc. was ordered to temporarily halt operations of its Line 5 crude oil pipeline by a Michigan judge, handing a victory to state officials who have sought to shut down the conduit.
Circuit Court Judge James Jamo ruled last week against the continued operation of the conduit’s west line and prevented it from restarting the east line. The shutdown must happen within 24 hours, and the orders will remain in effect until a hearing on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction.
It’s a win for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, who have tried to shut down the pipeline since taking office last year over concerns about a potential spill in the Great Lakes. Enbridge had planned a $500 million project to replace the line and enclose the segment that runs under the lakes in a tunnel to improve its safety. Enbridge didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s ruling.
Oxy sues over deal Sanchez made with Anadarko
Houston oil giant Occidental Petroleum has sued Sanchez Energy in bankruptcy court over the fallout of a $2.3 billion deal that Sanchez made to buy more than 150,000 acres of oil leases from Anadarko Petroleum.
Sanchez, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, agreed in January 2017 to buy 155,000 acres of Eagle Ford leases from Anadarko as part of a $2.3 billion known as the Comanche Transaction that was supported by a series of pipeline and marketing agreements between Sanchez, Anadarko and several other companies.
Occidental bought Anadarko in a $38 billion deal that closed in August and assumed all of Anadarko’s legal obligations, including those from the January 2017 deal.
Occidental is concerned that Sanchez’s Chapter 11 reorganization will leave Oxy holding the liability on the pipeline and marketing deals that were used to support the sale.
Oil industry legend invests more in Continental
Billionaire wildcatter Harold Hamm bought more shares in the shale drilling company he controls as oil prices recover from their historic plunge.
Hamm added $57.1 million of shares in Continental Resources Inc., where he’s executive chairman, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. The 3.44 million shares he purchased bring his total of direct and indirect shares to 288 million, or about 79% of the company.
Hamm, 74, is a legend in the oil industry, having risen from the bottom of the business to a self-made billionaire, largely from being one of the first people to see the opportunity of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota and Montana. He famously wrote his ex-wife a check for almost $1 billion to settle their divorce in 2014, and stepped down as chief executive officer of the company in December.
‘Holding on tight’: Permian deals declined with oil
Low oil prices continue to take their toll on the Permian Basin, where both the number and value of mergers and acquisitions is down, a new report from Memphis financial advisory firm Mercer Capital shows.
Four deals worth $1 billion have taken place in the Permian since April, compared to five deals worth $38.6 billion during the second quarter of 2019, Mercer figures show.
Jake Stacy, an oil and natural gas industry analyst with Mercer, said it is not a seller’s market.
“If companies have the luxury and are not forced to sell, they seem to be holding on tight searching for the light at the end of the tunnel,” Stacy said.
Buying into solar energy is getting cheaper
Solar system costs are falling across the United States, primarily driven by lower prices for solar panels, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie.
The price of residential solar systems made with silicon crystal panels is expected to decline 17 percent from 2020 to 2025, according to Wood Mackenzie. The utility scale version is expected to decrease in price by 20 percent during the same period.
As the price of solar panels falls, Wood Mackenzie predicts, developers will turn their attention to lowering other costs. That includes the so-called “soft cost” of marketing to acquire customers in the residential market which has been a huge barrier to lowering overall costs.