Trans Mountain Pipeline, Equinor: Your Daily Energy News

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

PIPELINES
Canada Regulator Denies Trans Mountain Variance Request - The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said on Wednesday it denied a variance request from the Trans Mountain expansion project because the application did not adequately address concerns about pipeline integrity and environmental protection impacts. Trans Mountain had asked to be allowed to install smaller-diameter pipe in a 1.4-mile section of the oil pipeline's route after encountering "very challenging" drilling conditions due to the hardness of the rock in a mountainous area between Hope and Chilliwack in the province of British Columbia. The CER denied the request, saying it had concerns about the quality of materials Trans Mountain planned to use, and that Trans Mountain did not demonstrate how it would conduct in-line inspections or adequately address potential environmental impacts. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Pipeline Project Database can click here for related reports. (Reuters)

PRODUCTION
U.S. Drillers Cut Rigs - U.S. energy firms last week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a second week in a row for the first time since mid-November, energy services firm Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) (Houston, Texas) said. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by three to 620 in the week up to December 21, the lowest since mid-November. The oil rig count fell by three to 498, while gas rigs rose by one to 120, their highest since mid-September. (Reuters)

Equinor Sells Azerbaijan Assets - Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) said on Friday it has agreed to sell its assets in Azerbaijan to state-owned energy firm SOCAR, including interests in the Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oilfield and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceychan (BTC) pipeline, for an undisclosed price. Equinor declined to provide the price, but a spokesperson said the company would record a loss from the transaction in the range of US$300 million to US$400 million as the book value exceeded the transaction's size. (Reuters)

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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 commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).