Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Encana slashing fuel costs by drilling with natural gas

Half of Encana Corp.’s drilling rigs are running on natural gas, which will save the company $200,000 to $1.5 million in annual fuel costs, the company’s CEO said during a Houston conference Tuesday. Speaking at World LNG Fuels 2014, Encana CEO Doug Suttles touted the Canadian oil and gas producer as a leader in using natural gas to power drilling rigs, hydraulic fracturing equipment, and even pickup trucks. About 30 percent of Encana’s pickup truck fleet run on natural gas, he said. Encana can save between $1 million and $1.5 million in annual fuel costs by using natural gas tapped directly from wells, Suttles said. The company saves less — between $200,000 and $250,000 — if it powers its equipment with liquefied natural gas trucked to well sites from plants, he said. Encana’s decision to use natural gas to power oil field operations wasn’t based solely on the producer’s own interest in the fuel. Environmental regulations drove the company to pursue the option when developing a well in southern Wyoming, Suttles said. “It started about meeting permit regulations, in particular (nitrous oxide) requirements that the (Bureau of Land Management) presented to us,” he said...more

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