Daily News Energy Headlines from December 1, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

POWER
Natural Gas Surpasses Coal in U.S. Power Generation for Fourth Time This Year - Natural gas once again surpassed coal as the leading source of U.S. power generation in September. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says generators produced 123,248 thousand megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity with gas in September compared with 118,489 thousand MWh from coal.

Engie to Extend Life of Two Belgian Nuclear Plants - French energy company Engie (Paris) says it will invest 700 million euros to extend the life of its Doel 1 and Doel 2 plants in Belgium to 2025.

Closure of Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Sparks New Debate Over New England's Energy Future - The announcement in October that Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) will close its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station by 2019 sparked a flurry of activity among politicians and developers about the best way to meet New England's future electric demand as well as the environmental impacts and costs of various alternatives.

FINANCIAL
Anadarko Ordered to Pay Environmental Fines for Deepwater Horizon - On Monday, a federal judge ordered Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) (The Woodlands, Texas) to pay $159.9 million in environmental penalties resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010.

REFINING
EPA Boosts Biofuel Blending Requirements for 2016 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has raised the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into motor vehicle fuels from 16.93 billion gallons this year to 18.11 billion gallons in 2016.

Hovensa Refinery Finds Buyers - ArcLight Capital (Boston, Masschusetts) and commodities trader Freeport (Stamford, Connecticut) announced plans to buy the Hovensa refinery complex in St. Croix in the Caribbean and turn it into a massive oil storage hub. The facility has a 13 million-barrel storage capacity for crude oil and petroleum products.

PIPELINES
Economic Pressure Coming Down the Pipe, Upstream Slowdown Begins Affecting Midstream - As oil prices continue to show no sign of breaking over $60 per barrel, the midstream industry is beginning to sweat as the pressure that has been on producers since the price drop begins to work its way down the pipe from upstream to midstream. A drop in new production in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basin has been named as the cause behind the recent combination of the 200,000 barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Saddlehorn pipeline project by Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP) (Tulsa, Oklahoma), and the 130,000 BBL/d Grand Mesa pipeline project, which is owned by NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and operated by Rimrock Midstream LLC (Plano, Texas).

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About IIR Energy
Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the trading, logistics and marketing communities. We are the number one source for information about electricity outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.