North Texas News

As spot prices in the region have remained near or below zero, natural gas flaring and venting in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico reached a new all-time high in the first quarter of 2019, averaging as much as 661 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd).According to research conducted by Rystad Energy,  this widespread waste of a valuable commodity is the result of persistent infrastructure challenges, a lack of sufficient takeaway capacity and an unexpected outage on a key pipeline in the area.“We anticipate that basin-wide flaring will stay above 650 MMcfd before the Gulf Coast Express pipeline comes online in the second half of 2019…

MOL (America) Inc. welcomed Ronnie Armstrong to the position of vice president, area operations. He leads MOL (America) Inc.’s vessel and equipment management, intermodal services, contract management, and cost control and planning groups for the United States and Canada and has functional accountability for operations in Mexico and the Caribbean. He reports to Richard Craig, President & CEO, MOL (America) Inc. Armstrong joins MOL (America) Inc. after 20 years in the container shipping industry, including experience serving as a head of intermodal operations along with responsibility for West Coast terminals. Armstrong earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of North Texas and has served on the board of directors for the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)…

Business is so tough for oilfield giants Schlumberger NV and Halliburton Co that they have come up with a new sales pitch for crude producers halting work in the worst downturn in years. The moves by the world's No. 1 and No. 2 oil services companies show how they are scrambling to book sales of new technologies to customers short of cash after a 60 percent slide in crude to $45 a barrel. In some cases, they are willing to take on the role of traditional lenders, like banks, which have grown reluctant to lend since the price drop that began last summer, or act like producers by taking what are essentially stakes in wells. When its second-quarter net profit tumbled by more than half a billion dollars to just $54 million…

A student team fielded by the University of North Texas (UNT) won the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) third annual Intermodal Challenge, earning national recognition for their university through IANA’s growing young professionals development program. The first place award was presented to UNT’s Curtis Pogue, Sarah McLaughlin and Chris Turner at the Intermodal Expo in Houston, Texas. Undergraduate business schools from the Universities of North Texas, Maryland and North Florida (IANA Scholarship Award recipients) as well as Auburn University competed…

Marine-Finance.Com announced that Joe Pitch has signed on as Managing Director for Marine-Finance.Com LLC. Pitch joins former CitiCapital Commercial Marine Finance colleague Robert Girard, SVP, who, along with CEO Richard Paine, constituted the core of the CitiBank- affiliated marine group. Pitch is a 30-year veteran of the equipment leasing/finance industry he has financed more than $1b in equipment. Based in Dallas, Texas, Pitch is a graduate of Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He is a past member of the American Waterway Operators (AWO), the Offshore Marine Services Association (OMSA) and an affiliate member of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA).

Transocean Sedco Forex Inc. announced that Jon C. Cole has been name executive vice president, Shallow and Inland Water Operations, overseeing the company's industry-leading presence in the shallow and inland waters of the U.S. drilling market. Cole joined the company in 1977 in Corporate Planning and has since held a number of management roles in the company's Operations and Marketing departments, including Division Manager in Egypt ad Scotland and Senior vice President of European Operations. Prior to his new assignment, Cole held the position of Executive Vice President, Marketing. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., where he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and MBA.

Willbros Group, Inc. announced that business units in Canada, the United States, the Middle East and West Africa have been awarded multiple projects valued in excess of $175 million. Willbros MSI Canada Inc. (Willbros Canada) has been awarded a contract for the fabrication of process modules by Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL). The modules will be fabricated in Edmonton, Alberta at Willbros Canada's new 90,000 square foot fabrication facility which was readied for service over the past year. The contract will run through the third quarter of 2006 and anticipates the follow-on services to erect, install and commission the modules at CNRL's Horizon Oil Sands Project. In the United States, Willbros RPI, Inc.