Illinois natural resources: oil, gas, and coal (Chicago, Springfield: 2013, transfer)

[linicx]

When one thinks of oil barons and tycoons Illinois rarely comes to mind. However in one of Chicago's western suburbs is a company with a big footprint in Illinois gas and oil fields as well as those in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Indiana. Some of the Petco Petroleum holdings include 1200 producing wells, 500 "water-injection wells for seconsary recovery. Also "proprietary pipelines, compression stations, electric generating plants, and other energy facilities". Illinois locations include St. Elmo and Mt. Vernon.

On the other-hand Peabody, located in St. Louis, is the #1 Midwest operator shipping over 20 million tons of coal from the Illinois Basin, "the fastest-growing coal-producing region in the United States." The three Illinois mine sites are in Gallatin and Saline Counties.

The Illinois Basin, a spoon shaped area, covers approximately 60,000 square miles in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. The basin is bounded to the north by the Wisconsin arch, to the east by the Cincinnati arch, to the southeast by the Nashville dome, to the southwest by the Ozark dome and to the northwest by the Mississippi River arch. The layers of sedimentary strata dip gently from these boundaries toward the deepest and thickest part of the basin known as the Fairfield Basin. There are five major structural features that have proven to be the most significant as to the accumulation and production of oil in the Illinois Basin. These are the La Salle Anticline, the Clay City Anticline, the Wabash Valley Fault System, the Salem-Louden Anticline and the Rough Creek Fault System.

Rex Energy produces approximately 2,500 bbls/day of oil and is one of the largest producers in the Illinois Basin. They are currently drilling in about 22 square miles in Lawrence County for "enhanced oil recovery" Their Illinois Basin Field Office is in Bridgeport.

However, Omega Energy in Indiana may be the one to watch with drilling rights in 80,000 acres in the Illinois Basin. Their goal is to be the largest independent oil & gas producer in the Illinois Basin within 5 years.

Maverick Energy in Robinson, Illinois offers an excellent overview of oil and gas recovery, including fracturing, in the Illinois Basin. Maverick Energy - Finding Oil & Gas

[Vlajos]

Big coal producer makes unusual offer to save downstate power plants

Crain's Chicago Business : Subscription Center

What do you think about this?

[linicx]

To read the article I have to register. On the surface I'm not a big fan of Dynegy. Foresight is preparing to, or recently has, moved its corporate operations from Florida to St. Louis. This company has a lot of experience in energy and innovation, plus it seems to have the money for it. .

Pollution has been a big issue with Illinois coal for a lot of years. I don't know of any utility company in Illinois that doesn't burn coal at some time during the year. The fact is buying "clean" coal from somewhere else seems counter-producative when [1]we sit on one of the largest coal productions basins in America, and [2] the technology to burn Illinois coal cleanly is better than it was 20 years ago.

The third thing to consider, I think, is the history of production of gas, oil and coal in Illinois. Much of it collapsed in the 1980s when oil flatlined at $9/bbl. We would like to keep utilities affordable for all, but the bottom line is most of the legislatures in Springfield live in Chicago. My IL Senator is a farmer who votes on behalf of residents in 7 crop producing counties. One vote per county in this type of decision would make a big difference.

Politics aside, we can debate it, but it won't change anything.

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Big coal producer makes unusual offer to save downstate power plants

Crain's Chicago Business : Subscription Center

What do you think about this?

[Vlajos]

Strange, anyway. Here you go:

"Illinois' largest coal producer made a novel offer today at a hearing in Springfield: Agree to burn Illinois coal at one of the largest power plants downstate and the company would pay for expensive pollution control equipment needed to comply with tightening clean-air requirements.
The surprise offer came from St. Louis-based Foresight Energy LLC, owner of four mines in Illinois and employer of more than 650 downstate. Foresight wants the Illinois Pollution Control Board to deny a request from Dynegy Inc., the proposed buyer of most of Ameren Corp.'s downstate power plants, to delay compliance with state environmental standards agreed to previously by Ameren.
Instead, Foresight CEO Michael Beyer offered at a hearing before the IPCB to pay to install a "scrubber" at Ameren's 1,151-megawatt plant in Newton, in return for a long-term contract to purchase coal from Foresight's Illinois mines. The Newton facility is the largest Illinois plant Ameren owns, and Mr. Beyer in an interview said the cost of installing the scrubber would be about $250 million.
He said his approach would clean up Newton in the next few years rather than waiting until 2020, as Dynegy proposes.
The Newton plant, like most coal-fired power stations in Illinois, currently uses cleaner-burning coal from Wyoming rather than high-sulfur Illinois coal.
Houston-based Dynegy has a deal to acquire Ameren's Illinois plants, but the agreement hinges on transferring a regulatory break Ameren obtained late last year from the IPCB. The board rejected the transfer in June, but permitted Dynegy to try to change its mind.
Environmentalists adamantly oppose allowing Dynegy to delay cleaning up the plants. At today's hearing, Foresight became an unlikely ally.
"Our analysis shows that even with (a purchase contract covering the cost of the scrubber) the delivered cost of our coal could well be lower than the current delivered cost and the current market price of imported Wyoming coal," Mr. Beyer said in prepared testimony. "Alternatively, Foresight Energy would be willing to assume Dynegy's role in the proposed acquisition, acquire the assets as structured and construct the scrubber."
In either case, he argued, the deal would create jobs in Illinois.
"Today, Illinois consumers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting jobs in Wyoming because the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments created a market for their coal and killed the market for Illinois coal," he said.
Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago, said in reaction, "We're obviously intrigued." But he said he would want to see more details before committing one way or the other.
An Ameren spokesman said, "Ameren entertained all commercially viable offers prior to entering in the agreement with Dynegy. Foresight Energy did not participate in that process." Mr. Beyer said Dynegy had rejected previous overtures by Foresight to pay for the Newton scrubber in return for a long-term supply contract.
The IPCB is scheduled to rule on Dynegy's request in early November."

[linicx]

Thanks! One way or the other, I would be happy to not support Wyoming mines.

[Zoness]

Interesting stuff.

How about Illinois' nuclear presence? I know we generate lots of power from nuclear reactors.

[linicx]

I either read, or heard a commentator say IL would be a prime target for insurgents due to its nuclear plants. Plants built in the 70s are at least 35 years old.

Originally Posted by Zoness

Interesting stuff.

How about Illinois' nuclear presence? I know we generate lots of power from nuclear reactors.

[Zoness]

Yeah I didn't believe that any of them were recent. I've heard similar comments throughout the years. I bet security in places like that is not as good as it should be.

[linicx]

If it is anything like where I worked you would be pleasantly surprised. It's locked down pretty good.

[Maintainschaos]

Illinois has the largest number of nuclear power plants of any state in the U.S., and the state derives greater than 50% of its total electricity from nuclear power alone.