American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015 - 45

President Outlines Infrastructure Goals

WASHINGTON-A couple upstream
associations are responding positively to
the White House's first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), released in late April.
A statement from the White House
Office of the Press Secretary points out
that as part of the climate action plan he
announced in June 2013, President Obama
initiated a quadrennial cycle of energy
reviews intended to provide a multiyear
roadmap for U.S. energy policy.
The initial report focuses on energy
transmission, storage and distribution
(TS&D) infrastructure. According to the
White House statement, the QER "examines how to modernize the nation's
energy infrastructure to promote economic
competitiveness, energy security and environmental responsibility, and take full
advantage of American innovation and
the new sources of domestic energy
supply that are transforming the nation's
energy marketplace."
"The Obama administration is committed
to taking responsible steps to modernize
our energy infrastructure, create a clean
energy economy built to last, combat climate
change, and increase reliance on domestic
energy resources," the White House adds.
Marty Durbin, president and chief executive officer of America's Natural Gas
Alliance, says the energy review "reaffirms
the role natural gas will play in ensuring
energy security, economic growth and
environmental improvement."
"An expanded and modernized energy
infrastructure is critical to realizing those
benefits," Durbin says, adding that ANGA
is "pleased to see the recognition and
importance of (having) certainty in the
permitting process to enhance our nation's
energy infrastructure."
American Petroleum Institute Executive
Vice President Louis Finkel lauds the
employment potential of upgrading the
country's energy infrastructure. "Essential
infrastructure improvements in just the
oil and natural gas area could, over the
next decade, attract as much as $1.15
trillion in private capital investment, support 1.15 million new jobs, and add $120
billion a year to our nation's gross domestic product," he declares.
"The QER reflects the Department of
Energy's own prediction that by 2040,
Americans still will need oil and natural
gas to meet more than 60 percent of their
energy needs," Finkel goes on. "If the
president wants to achieve our nation's
full energy potential and play a key role
in this equation, he should put this industry
to work."

Executive Actions
The QER was accompanied by two
executive actions the White House says
are intended to modernize and enhance
the resilience of the nation's electric grid.
The first is the Partnership for Energy
Sector Climate Resilience between DOE
and 17 investor-owned, federal, municipal
and cooperative utilities. The White House
says the partnership "will improve U.S.
energy infrastructure resilience against
extreme weather and climate change impacts."
The second executive action allocates
$72 million from the Department of Agriculture to support six new rural electric
infrastructure projects that include major
investments to drive solar energy. The
White House says the loans will be used
for transmission line improvements, including smart grid projects.

QER Recommendations
Of particular relevance to the oil and
natural gas industry, the White House
statement indicates, is the QER's chapter
titled Ensuring the Resilience, Reliability,
Safety and Security of TS&D Infrastructure, which includes establishing a
competitive program to accelerate
pipeline replacement, and to enhance
maintenance programs for natural gas
distribution systems at an estimated cost
of $2.5 billion-$3.5 billion over 10
years.
Under Modernizing U.S. Energy Security Infrastructure in a Changing Global
Marketplace, the QER says DOE should
analyze the appropriate size and configuration of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
in order to optimize its emergency response
capability. The report suggests $1.5 billion-$2.0 billion is needed to extend the
life of the SPR and increase its incremental
distribution capacity.
The QER calls on Congress to "update
SPR release authorities to allow it to be
used more effectively to prevent serious
economic harm to the United States in
case of energy supply emergencies."
It also says DOE and the Department
of Defense should "continue research
and demonstration activities to develop
biofuels that are compatible with existing
petroleum fuel infrastructure, especially
in aviation and for large vehicles."
The chapter titled Improving Shared
Transport Infrastructures proposes $2.0
billion-$2.5 billion over 10 years in competitively awarded grants for shared energy
transport systems (e.g., rail, barge and
truck) to "improve energy transportation

infrastructure connectors."
The chapter also calls on Congress to
fund the president's fiscal 2016 budget
request for funds for the Energy Information Administration to address data
gaps in the rail transport of energy commodities.
Addressing Environmental Aspects of
TS&D Infrastructure asks Congress to
approve $10 million for DOE to update
greenhouse gas inventory estimates of
methane emissions from natural gas systems, and to support funding to reduce
diesel emissions.
The chapter also urges Congress to
pass the administration's proposed carbon
dioxide investment and sequestration tax
credit, which the QER says would authorize $2 billion in refundable investment
tax credits for carbon capture technology
and associated infrastructure, including
a network of CO2 pipelines.
Under Siting and Permitting of TS&D
Infrastructure, the QER asks Congress to
authorize and fund the Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Center within the
Department of Transportation to improve
coordination among permitting agencies.
This chapter also calls for "mitigation
planning at a landscape, ecosystem or
watershed scale" to locate mitigation activities in the most ecologically important
areas "when adverse impacts to the nation's landscape cannot be avoided or
minimized any further."
The QER on energy infrastructure
also includes chapters on modernizing
the electric grid, integrating North American energy markets, and enhancing employment and workforce training.
The QER can be accessed on DOE's
website at www.energy.gov/epsa/quadrennial-energy-review-qer.
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DeeThree Exploration
Continues EOR Project

CALGARY-The first well designed
specifically to optimize DeeThree Exploration Ltd.'s ongoing gas reinjection
enhanced oil recovery scheme flowed
at 1,000 barrels a day of 30 degree API
oil and 500 Mcf/d of gas at a flowing
wellhead pressure of 300 psi, the company says.
The Alberta Bakken horizontal well,
11-20-3-16 W4M, will be placed on production at a restricted rate.
The company says the well and its
2,000-meter lateral were drilled with
monobore technology and completed
with sliding sleeve technology.
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JUNE 2015 45
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015

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