News



Greece OKs major natural gas pipeline to Europe
December 04, 2013
The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will carry natural gas from the resource-rich Caspian basin in Azerbaijan to Western Europe, cleared an important hurdle this week. The Greek Parliament voted to grant the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline access through Greek territory.

PG&E fined $8.1 million for shoddy pipeline inspections
November 06, 2013
Blasting PG&E's "lapses in management" and "shoddy work," state regulators have slapped the utility with an $8.1 million fine because a company contractor performed substandard tests on natural gas pipelines in the Bay Area and other cities in Northern California, state officials disclosed Tuesday.

ICA Consortium Awarded $272M Pipeline Maintenance Contract by Ecopetrol in Colombia
November 04, 2013
Empresas ICA announced today that a consortium of which it is part was assigned a multi-year oil pipeline maintenance contract by Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) in Colombia.
Ecopetrol, S. A. awarded the contract to the Pipeline Maintenance Alliance, which is owned 70% by MASA and 30% by ICA. The contract includes works and maintenance for five years of approximately 900 km of oil pipelines in the southern region of Colombia, plus an option for an additional two years. The total amount of the contract is US$ 272 million. Work is expected to begin in December 2013.

Venezuela Expropriates American Oil Rigs
Noviembre 04, 2013
Venezuela has seized two oil rig units from an American company rather than pay for their services. Houston, Texas-based Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: SPN) confirmed today that the government of Venezuela had seized two of the Company's million dollar hydraulic snubbing units from its facility in Anaco, Venezuela.

Pemex scraps US$12bn Tula refinery
November 04, 2013
Mexico's national oil company Pemex has omitted the US$11.6bn Tula Bicentenario refinery in central Hidalgo state from its 2014-18 business plan.
The refinery does not appear in refining unit Pemex Refinación's main objectives or investments outlined in the plan, approved by the board of directors in July but published last week. The latest estimates said the refinery would launch in 2017.