WPX SELLS PICEANCE OPERATIONS
GRAND JUNCTION (AP) – WPX Energy has sold its large natural gas operation in the Piceance Basin for $910 million. The Tulsa, Oklahoma company made the announcement Tuesday that Houston-based Terra Energy Partners, LLC agreed to the deal. With the sale, Terra will become the largest natural gas producer in the Piceance Basin. WPX operates more than 4,700 wells in the Piceance, and has oil and gas rights covering about 200,000 acres locally. Some 200 WPX employees in Parachute will be given a chance to interview with Terra.
FLOODING DANGER, OIL SPILLS
DENVER (AP) –Out of the 500 or so oil and gas companies doing business in Colorado, only four say they will be able to meet the April 1st deadline for new flooding safety regulations. The regulations were imposed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission after the devastating floods along the Front Range in September of 2013. The rules require companies to be able to shut off wells remotely and for anchors to keep tanks from falling over if they’re within a flood plain. The floods triggered oil spills of over 90 thousand gallons and polluted water. Companies had until the first of February to ask for a waiver or an extension. Companies like Chevron and Peterson Energy needed more time to retrofit over 200 wells and tanks.
