Briefly Noted

US energy consumption fell 8% in 2020 - the steepest drop on record -- due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related economic factors, the US Energy Information Administration said. Fossil fuels, specifically petroleum, natural gas, and coal, accounted for 79% of total US energy consumption last year; however, the 21% of consumption from non-fossil sources, such as renewables and nuclear, its highest share since the early 1990s, according to data in the EIA's Monthly Energy Review. * * * The EIA reported that 76 billion cubic feet of gas was injected into storage during the week ended Jun. 25, bringing working gas inventories to 2,558 Bcf. A build of 68 Bcf was expected. The injection compares with the 65 Bcf five-year average and the 73 Bcf injection during the same week last year. Storage levels are 143 Bcf, or 5.3%, below the seasonal average and 510 Bcf, or 16.6%, below last year’s levels (Storage). Meanwhile, early consensus for the week ending Jul. 2 is for a smaller-than-average build of 48 Bcf, with models ranging from 25 Bcf to 67 Bcf. This compares with a five-year average increase of 63 Bcf and a 57 Bcf injection during the same week last year. * * * Rainbow Energy Center, a Bismarck, North Dakota, energy marketer that sells wholesale electric power, will purchase Coal Creek Station, North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant. CCS owner Maple Grove, Minnesota-based Great River Energy, had intended to close the plant if a buyer could not be found. The acquisition also includes the purchase of associated transmission lines by Nexus Line, an affiliate of Rainbow Energy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. * * * Associated gas volumes could rise in Oklahoma as Devon Energy’s completion operations returned to the state early in the second quarter after a one-year hiatus. The company completed six horizontal wells in Kingfisher County within the STACK play that were drilled into the Woodford in 2019. During 24-hour tests, the six wells averaged 1,467 barrels of oil equivalent (33% gas), Enverus drilling data show. * * * Columbia Gas Transmission said late Wednesday that an "operational event" in the West Virginia area cut gas supply by about 2 Bcf/d on Thursday. The pipeline said it was an upstream MarkWest operational event affecting the Sherwood and Mobley plants in West Virginia "necessitating a curtailment of scheduled volumes by the upstream point operators."