Daily News Energy Headlines from November 16, 2015

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

PRODUCTION
North Dakota Oil Well Backlog Breaks 1,000 - North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources reports that the state's number of wells that have been drilled but not fracked exceeded 1,000 for the first time in September. North Dakota's oil production fell from 1,187,631 barrels per day (BBL/d) in August to 1,162,253 BBL/d in September.

Shell Launches Vessel to Deepwater Gulf of Mexico - Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS-A) is sending its newest oil production vessel from Singapore to begin crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico from wells about 9,500 under water. The rig is expected to arrive in one to two months.

REFINING
Refiners Chased Margins in 2015, but Maintenance Work to Grow in 2016 and 2017 - Planned refinery turnarounds fell sharply in 2015 as refiners delayed projects to process the flood of inexpensive crude oil, Chris Paschall, Industrial Info's vice president of global research for the Oil & Gas and Petroleum Refining Industries, explained for several hundred attendees at Industrial Info's 2016 Market Outlook in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earlier this month. But he said he expected turnarounds to increase in 2016.

CRUDE OIL
OPEC Exports Below $40 - Bloomberg reports that the average price of oil sold by OPEC fell below $40 on November 13, the first time this has happened since 2009.

Oil Prices Rise After Three-Day Losing Streak - WTI futures rose $1 on Monday to settle at $41.74 a barrel, after three consecutive days of declines.

PIPELINES
Keystone XL Permit Denial Could be a Boon for TransCanada - The regulation-beleaguered Keystone XL pipeline project (KXL) by TransCanada Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary, Alberta) has been denied its U.S. federal permits. This is being billed as the final death knell for a project that has struggled against regulatory headwinds since the beginning of the decade. However, the reality is that the cancelation of KXL may be a boon to a company that has spent exorbitant amounts of money, while waiting for a green light, and arguing its case to federal regulators and state courts. Likewise, it lets TransCanada back away from the project without seeming to capitulate to environmentalist concerns. This denial may not even necessarily mean the end for KXL, as TransCanada could later reapply for the project.

POWER
Iowa's Largest Windfarm Begins Operations - The largest windfarm in Iowa, owned by MidAmerican Energy Company (Des Moines), is now complete and operational. The Highland windfarm, which is located in O'Brien County, began commercial operations last week and is now providing clean, renewable energy to thousands of northwestern Iowa residents.

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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.