Downstream

Mark Lashier grew up in Farragut, Iowa — a farming town of roughly 500 people — about as far from...

Beneath the Bakken Formation, an operator was preparing to pump hydraulic fracturing treatments across a multi-well pad — millions of...

In gas-heavy shale wells, electric submersible pumps don't just wear out — they get overwhelmed. Gas locks the impellers, temperatures...

Global energy markets are on edge. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway that handles a...

Off the coast of Africa, an operator drilling deepwater wells had long relied on a straightforward safeguard: keep the top...

Geothermal energy has always meant drilling down to where the earth runs hot — but today's ambitions look nothing like...

For years, hydraulic fracturing performance was measured by how much pumping power and logistical resilience it could deliver. Larger fleets...

Hydraulic fracturing has historically relied on raw horsepower, massive amounts of diesel fuel, and logistical scalability. However, as shale development...

Gas compression plays a major role in the efficient flow of natural gas from wells to consumers. With increasing pressure...

Making carbon capture an everyday reality for heavy industry requires overcoming challenges that have slowed the technology since its earliest...

Crude extraction's real test comes once steady daily production must meet tight schedules, narrow timing windows, and cross‑country crude movements....

Offshore oil and gas discoveries are often celebrated as a "moment of truth," when an exploration effort finally reaches the...

Production data for upstream activity generally receives little attention unless there has been a significant shift in strategy. However, volume...

Deepwater projects have the potential to be viewed as engineering issues; however, they are fundamentally about dealing with uncertainty. Subsea...

Offshore explorations frequently get a lot of media attention even prior to actual production; however, the bulk of the work...

When a state‑owned energy company begins directing attention toward its upstream portfolio, it tends to reflect decisions shaped well before...

Major energy developments tend to affect the overall direction of their respective markets over time – by way of increased...

When redevelopment of mature offshore oil fields finally commences after many years of review and analysis, there is often increased...

While increasing domestic crude oil production can provide an immediate increase in barrels available for use domestically, a national oil...

There are large-scale industrial sites that are built to operate quietly in the background. If there is a disruption –...

Shale development typically appears as an exercise in scale -- more wells, more rigs, more money. However, beneath the surface...

While the North Slope is often framed as a place of extremes – vast expanses of land, extreme weather patterns,...

Although very few large-scale commercial ventures remain idle once they reach their production maxima, there remains another question about the...

The last time we saw such activity related to Petrobras' refining footprint was based upon both what the company had...

Energy security disputes typically surround shipping lanes, supply routes, and geopolitics. Much less apparent, yet equally impactful, is what occurs...

For decades, the thought of building a completely new oil refinery in the United States of America seemed like something...

Although large refining systems do not change overnight, relatively minor structural changes can substantially alter both the movement of products...

Large-scale industrial transformations can be subtle and take years to reveal. It is common for large-scale changes to occur over...

Global LNG markets are unique in the fact that, most of the time, value is produced not just by owning...

When you consider Guyana's explosive rise as an offshore oil producer, it is natural to think of this as a...

The initial stages of the development of pipeline systems typically occur when the demand on the available facilities reaches an...

Major scale energy ventures are rarely developed overnight. Instead, they follow a progression of various engineering milestones. While these individual...

Market pressures tend to go unremarked until they do. Early on in March, increasing concern about fuel prices and increasing...

Although earnings announcements may attract little or no interest individually, they can serve as indicators of the overall trend in...

Refining is generally viewed from the perspective of how much production is occurring; the true measure typically resides outside of...

In addition to the quality of its assets, a company's ability to successfully link those assets to the marketplace will...

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA's) are being employed by prosecutors across the country to obtain corrective actions from corporations that have...

Once large-scale energy integration is initiated, energy delivery and movement appear to be an almost continuous process. Pipelines operate as...

Management conference calls normally do not surprise based on the speed of the event, but rather the delivery of new...

Large-scale interstate pipeline projects typically go through the federal review process incrementally, rather than as a single approval. Entry into...

Regulatory requirements in California refining operations are increasingly influencing planning decisions — a new framework is emerging for how refineries...

A number of factors suggest that significant and enduring increases in refinery performance are unlikely to occur rapidly. The majority...

The "invisible" nature of energy efficiency in the refining business means that these benefits are usually not noticed by the...

A quiet partnership between the Marathon Petroleum refinery in St. Paul Park and area schools has started to gain attention....

The size of a refining network is generally difficult to visualize when you look at a single plant. However, when...

Refining operations usually don't receive much fanfare. Instead, you see a series of smaller improvements (i.e., equipment replacements, schedule changes,...

Workplace corporate citizenship is typically a silent and unpublicized function — an ongoing part of daily routine instead of a...

Renewable diesel expansions are generally quiet in the energy space; however, Valero's ongoing expansions to its Diamond Green Diesel (DGD)...

Increased dividends from major refiners are often seen as signs of steady performance; however, Valero's recent dividend announcement has caught...

Valero's plans for the idling of their Benicia facility have sparked a small amount of interest in Northern California regarding...