NGVAmerica has published a complimentary white paper providing a historical and forward-looking perspective on oil prices, as well as those for gasoline, diesel and natural gas fuels.

The company’s analysis reveals a compelling case for the continued transition to natural gas-powered vehicles (NGVs), especially among commercial and government fleets for whom transportation costs represent a significant portion of their budgets. The long-term stability and low prices for natural gas relative to oil are likely to remain for many years – perhaps even decades, based on well-documented economic models.

“Volatility and short-term declines in crude oil and related gasoline and diesel prices mask the underlying long-term oil supply-demand imbalance,” the report says.

Read or download the white paper.

ICF International experts discuss the polar vortex and its effects on the natural gas industry in a free on-demand webinar.

On its website, ICF says last winter’s polar vortex illuminated ongoing concerns regarding dependence on gas-fired power generation and natural gas infrastructure limitations, particularly in New England. The region experienced high gas and power prices during last winter’s cold snaps; and, because the conditions were not record-breaking, the price impacts further underscored issues associated with the region’s growing infrastructure issues.

The identification of solutions to address these limitations requires a thorough understanding of the full scope of these issues and a detailed understanding of gas deliverability issues. This requires a comprehensive view of the natural gas industry and a nuanced understanding of the portfolio of infrastructure expansion opportunities. The gas market dynamics in New England also raises critical questions for utilities, pipelines, natural gas shippers, and policymakers, the company says.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Data Science Central has posted a complimentary on-demand webinar about using the large amounts of data from sensors, logistics and business operations in oil and gas exploration and production activities.

Given the data volume, variety and velocity, gaining actionable and relevant insights from the data is challenging, Data Science Central says on its website.

The webinar explores approaches for predicting drilling equipment function and failure, a key step towards zero unplanned downtime. In the process of drilling wells, non-productive time due to drilling equipment failure can be expensive. It also highlights how the Pivotal Data Labs team uses big data technologies to build models for predicting drilling equipment function and failure.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

World Oil has scheduled a free webinar presenting its projections of spending and activity relating to the global petroleum exploration and production industry.

The webinar will be Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. Central time.

During the 50-minute event (including a Q-and-A period), the editors will discuss:

• U.S. drilling forecast for 2015 versus 2014 well totals, including an analysis of activity
• A global drilling forecast for 2015, featuring a breakout of global offshore activity
• U.S. and worldwide oil production figures for 2014 versus 2013
• Estimates for U.S., Canadian and worldwide upstream capital expenditures during 2014, and projections of planned capital expenditures for 2015
• Various geopolitical factors affecting upstream activity

Register for the webinar.

Lux Research will present a complimentary webinaron poor recovery factors plague tight oil production.

The webinar will be Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

On its website, Lux Research says the advent of tight oil has rescued North America’s oil industry from a slow, painful decline and has transformed it into one of the world’s premier oil producing regions. However, dismal recovery factors still plague tight oil production, with many producers recovering just 5% of the oil in place. As plays mature, producers’ long-term health depends on its ability to squeeze far more oil from each well.

This webinar will cover:

• How will incremental improvements in recovery effect overall production?
• What are the challenges limiting recovery today?
• Who are the technology developers attempting to meet these challenges?

Register for the webinar.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act bipartisan bill (H.R. 161), legislation that could speed up the permit process for the construction of natural gas pipelines, reports Pennsylvania Business Daily.

Co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), the bill seeks to eliminate permit regulations that are hindering the extraction, transportation and distribution of shale gas.

The bill now must be voted on by the U.S. the Senate.

Read the story.

National Council on Compensation Insurance offers a free on-demand webinar exploring the workers compensation implications of the fracking industry, as well as federal and state legislative and regulatory issues.

On its website, NCCI says oil and gas issues, especially hydraulic fracturing (fracking), have been receiving increased attention in the legislatures and media. Fracking is the process of enabling the extraction of natural gas from shale deep below ground.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Knovel has posted a free on-demand webinar discussing risk mitigation and new rules, standards and regulations and the consequences of non-compliance regarding corrosion in the oil and gas industry.

The webinar covers the 5M Scorecard Methodology – Modeling, Mitigation, Monitoring, Maintenance and Management; how to implement an integrity management program; and the best practices to communicate to the public.

Featured speakers are Dr. Sankara Papavinasam, President of CorrMagnet Consulting Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario; and Dr. Pavan K. Shukl, Senior Research Engineer at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

A free on-demand webinar presented by Platts looks at some of the reasons for sharp fall in crude oil prices and discusses how markets might evolve in 2015 as key participants react.

Crude oil prices have fallen by 25 percent in months, waking a sleeping giant in OPEC and presenting the first credible existential threat to U.S. tight oil production since the revolutionary technology burst onto the scene in 2010, Platts says on its website.

In the webinar, Platts editors Dave Ernsberger and Beth Evans, discuss:

• Why have prices fallen so steeply in recent months?
• What steps might OPEC take next, and how effective can it be?
• Is US tight oil production under threat?

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Pipeline operator Energy Transfer Partners LP said it would buy affiliate Regency Energy Partners LP for about $11 billion as master limited partnerships seek to simplify their complex holding structures, reports Reuters.

Regency shareholders will receive 0.4066 of an Energy Transfer unit and 32 cents in cash for each unit they own.

Energy Transfer Equity owns the general partner and incentive distribution rights of both Regency and Energy Transfer Partners. Energy Transfer Partners Chief Executive Kelcy Warren is also the chairman of Energy Transfer Equity, according to the Reuters report.

Read the story.

Encana Corp. has announced the appointment of Joanne Alexander as its new executive vice president and general counsel.

She replaces retiring GC Terry Hopwood at the Canadian energy company

The company says Alexander has more than 20 years of legal and business experience in the oil and gas industry. Before starting at Encana, she was the senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary with Precision Drilling Corporation.

Read Alexander’s company bio.

Kinder Morgan will pay $3 billion for pipelines in the Bakken Shale, the company said Wednesday in a flurry of news that also set the date for a key executive transition and reported the first financial results since last year’s corporate restructuring.

Kinder Morgan said it will buy pipeline company Hiland Partners from its founder, Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm, in a deal that includes $1 billion in debt. The transaction will give Houston-based Kinder Morgan a foothold in the North Dakota-centered Bakken, which executives described as one of the most profitable oil and gas plays in the U.S., reports The Houston Chronicle.

Read the story.

This is a time to accept the nature of the energy industry, realistically evaluate current job viability and create an action plan, writes Kelli Lauletta in OilOnline.

“As the energy industry deals with below $50 a barrel oil, how can employees at oil & gas companies proactively and calmly navigate the bumpy road ahead? In a recent webinar, “The Bottom of the Barrel: Developing During a Downturn”, Pink Petro, the social channel for women in energy, offered up enlightening career-survival advice for both women and men in oil & gas.” she writes.  “Their advice focused on getting in the driver’s seat and taking the wheel, rather than passively sitting in the passenger seat. As companies announce plans to downsize, it is not time to panic.  Rather, it is a time to accept the nature of the industry, realistically evaluate your current job viability and create an action plan.”

Read the article.

Coreworx has posted a free on-demand introduction to unconventional oil and gas projects, along with a white paper titled “Effective Project Information Control in Unconventional Oil & Gas Projects.”

Shale oil and gas projects have similar project information management challenges to those of Oil Sands Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) projects, Coreworx says on its website. Both face environments of evolving technology, constant change and significant regulatory oversight.

Dawn Fiander-McCann, Industry Consultant at Coreworx Inc., highlights five lessons learned from the Alberta Oil Sands and how they can be applied to current Shale Oil & Gas projects.

Watch the webinar introduction and download the white paper.

K&L Gates will present a webinar discussing Fair Labor Standards Act compliance and highlighting common violations found in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement initiative in the Marcellus Shale, which involved back wage payments of nearly $4.5 million for oil and gas workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The one-hour webinar will be Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.

On its website, the firm says K&L Gates lawyers Amy L. Groff and Michael A. Pavlick will provide an overview of how employers in the oil and gas industry can comply with Fair Labor Standards Act requirements and avoid common wage and hour violations.

Register for the webinar.

A free, Web-based seminar focusing on the recycling and disposal of fluids from oil and gas drilling will be offered by Penn State Extension’s Marcellus Education Team.

The webinar, from 1 to 2 p.m. EST Jan. 22, will feature Karen Johnson, chief of the Ground Water and Enforcement Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 3. She will discuss the Underground Injection Control program in Pennsylvania and current underground injection well activity.

While much of the fluid from oil and gas drilling is recycled, there still are residual fluids that must be disposed of properly,Penn State says on its website. One means of disposal has been underground injection wells. In Pennsylvania, injection wells of all types are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act by the EPA.

Register for the webinar.

Steptoe & Johnson has posted a complimentary on-demand webinar on the challenges in post-production costs related to shale gas development.

On its website, the firm says shale gas development in the U.S. has us moving through some rocky legal terrain to find a “safe” royalty clause or a “new” market at the well in regards to post-production costs. Challenges remain in post-production costs and approaches vary from majority to minority across the states.

In this webcast Karen Donnelly discusses:

• Allocation of post-production expenses in calculating royalties
• Case law update
• Can the market return to the wellhead?
• Title, measurement, and affiliate issues

Watch the on-demand webinar.

The Oil & Gas Journal will present its Forecast & Review/Worldwide Pipeline Construction 2015 Webcast, offering outlooks for the oil market and pipeline construction in a year of turbulence.

The webcast will be Friday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. Central time.

Based on two annual special reports, the webcast will be presented by OGJ Editor Bob Tippee and OGJ Managing Editor-Technology Chris Smith.

On its website, the Journal says the Forecast & Review portion of the webcast will identify forces underlying the collapse in crude oil prices and assess prospects for changes essential to recovery—all in the context of geopolitical pressures buffeting the market.

Register for the webcast.

Squire Patton Boggs and NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions offer a complimentary on-demand webinar title “Shipping Oil and Gas – Ownership Implications and the Jones Act.”

Squire Patton Boggs Senior Partner John J. Reilly and NASDAQ OMX Managing Director of the Global, Tax and Regulatory team Juliane Keppler, lead the presentation.

The firm says on its website that the webinar teaches how to identify your global shareholder base and the implications maritime regulations have in a number of areas:

• Learn about Jones Act and the expanding Oil and Gas shipping industry
• Understand how the Tricor decision impacts the Jones Act
• Obtain best practices to identify your global shareholder base and if your company is meeting the Jones Act criteria or other regulatory guidelines

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Penn State Extension presents a complimentary webinar titled “What We Know and Don’t Know About Methane Gas Emissions Associated With Shale Gas Production.”

Dr. Kenneth Davis, professor of meteorology at Penn State University, is the presenter.

While the gas is a valuable energy source, it also is a potent greenhouse gas, says the moderator, Dave Messersmith.

The webinar discusses the methods used to measure the amount of methane gas emission from shale gas production, the current state of knowledge of these emissions and the current research led by Penn State to improve our knowledge of such emissions.

Watch the webinar.