Duke Energy initiates demolition of original Cliffside units

Duke Energy News Release:

Duke Energy initiates demolition of original Cliffside units
Sept. 4, 2013

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -
After nearly two years of planning and preparation, Duke Energy will begin demolishing Cliffside coal units 1 through 4 this fall.

The demolition process will last several months and will include implosion of the powerhouse in mid-2014.

The company retired the four units in October 2011 after more than 60 years of service to Duke Energy customers.

Duke Energy's long-term vision for sites with retired coal units like those at Cliffside is to safely return them to ground level using a method known as decommissioning and demolition. This multi-year process involves cleaning and removing equipment, demolishing the buildings and powerhouse, and restoring the site.

"By retiring the older, less efficient coal units, we have the opportunity to modernize our generation fleet to better serve our customers," said Craig DeBrew, Duke Energy district manager. "The newest addition to the site, unit 6, is a state-of-the-art unit that uses a highly effective combination of air quality controls. Just as we took great care to build unit 6, we'll be just as deliberate and methodical in demolishing these retired units."

In the first phase, changes at the site will be less noticeable, but during the final stages of the demolition process, local neighbors and community members may notice the removal of larger structures from the site.

Neighbors can expect increased traffic in 2014. However, the company expects it would be in much lower volume and shorter duration than during unit 6 construction. Duke Energy will continue to update the community with important information as the process advances.

Customers interested in learning more about the decommissioning project can visit http://www.duke-energy.com/coal-decommissioning.

About Duke Energy Carolinas

Duke Energy Carolinas owns nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides approximately 20,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 2.4 million customers in a 24,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with more than $110 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.

Contact: Catherine Butler
Office: 980.373.1828 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853

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March 26, 2012 01:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time 

ExxonMobil Awards Multi-Zone Stimulation Technology License to Weatherford

• Well perforating and fracturing combined into one efficient operation
• Award-winning technology in commercial use since 2005
• Weatherford experienced in advanced stimulation technologies

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company (URC) announced today the licensing of its award-winning Multi-Zone Stimulation Technology (MZST^SM) well treatment process to a subsidiary of Weatherford International Ltd. The MZST process can be used to rapidly and reliably stimulate multiple zones in a single operation, yielding improved well economics.

The MZST process can be particularly beneficial for hydraulic fracturing operations in tight gas, shale gas and coal bed methane wells that target multiple reservoir zones, thick reservoir sections or long reservoir intervals where multiple stimulation treatments are required.

“The MZST process is a proven technology for rapidly completing wells in tight reservoirs such as shale gas,” said URC President Sara Ortwein. “As shale gas takes on growing significance, this technology will play a key role in improving the economics of developing this unconventional resource.”

The MZST process will enable Weatherford to optimize its stimulation operations by combining the deployment of perforating and hydraulic fracturing equipment simultaneously in the wellbore to enable "single-trip" multi-zone stimulations. The technology dramatically increases the number of zones that can be fractured per day compared to traditional fracturing and stimulation operations.

“We are always looking for proven technology to reduce completion costs without sacrificing safety or well integrity,” said Gary Flock, Weatherford vice president of pressure pumping. “The MZST process is an excellent fit with our existing portfolio of completion and well stimulation technologies and services and will help us add value to our customers in the unconventional gas business.”

The MZST process was developed by ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The technology was recognized with Platts Global Energy Award for Most Innovative Commercial Technology in 2005 and has been licensed to numerous service companies.

About ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company is the Upstream research affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), a leading global oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals company with operations in nearly 200 countries and territories worldwide. ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company is charged with developing an industry-leading array of proprietary technologies that support the Corporation's continued leadership position in exploration, development, production and gas commercialization.

About Weatherford

Weatherford is a Swiss-based, multi-national oilfield service company. It is one of the largest global providers of innovative mechanical solutions, technology and services for the drilling and production sectors of the oil and gas industry. Weatherford operates in over 100 countries and employs over 60,000 people worldwide.

MZST is a service mark of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Statements in this release regarding future events or conditions are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including the performance of new technology, could differ materially depending on geologic conditions, technical or operating factors, and other factors discussed under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Results" on the "Investors" section of our website at www.exxonmobil.com.

Union Pacific to Pay $1.5 Million for Clean Water Act Violations

News release from EPA Region 8:

Union Pacific Railroad Company to pay $1.5 million for Clean Water Act violations in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

Company cited for oil and coal spills, inadequate prevention and planning
Contact Information: Donna Inman (303) 312-6201; Matthew Allen, (303) 312-6085
(Denver, Colo—February 9th, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad Company regarding alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act.

This settlement resolves a Clean Water Act enforcement action against Union Pacific that involves continuing operations at 20 rail yards in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as spills of oil and coal in 2003 and 2004 along railroad lines in all three states.

For the railyards, EPA alleges Union Pacific violated EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) and Facility Response Plan (FRP) regulations. These regulations are the first line of defense for preventing oil spills and providing immediate containment measures when an oil spill does occur.

“Today we have secured a settlement that will help prevent spills, protect water quality, and improve the safety of Union Pacific’s operations in 20 communities across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming,” said Jim Martin, EPA regional administrator. “Union Pacific has already begun putting necessary measures in place and we will ensure they continue to do so.”

As part of the settlement, Union Pacific will pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million of which approximately $1.4 million will be deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a fund used by federal agencies to respond to oil spills. The remaining $100,000 will be deposited in the U.S. Treasury for the coal spills and stormwater violations. In addition, the settlement requires the company to develop a management and reporting system to ensure compliance with SPCC regulations, FRP regulations, and storm water requirements at 20 rail yards in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Union Pacific must take further actions to control stormwater runoff at the Burnham Rail Yard in Denver, which are anticipated to prevent the discharge of approximately 2,500 pounds of chemical oxygen demand, 50 pounds of nitrate, 11,000 pounds of total suspended solids, and 30 pounds of zinc annually to waters in the Denver area.

This settlement will benefit many communities in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, many of which are disadvantaged, by requiring Union Pacific to install secondary containment to safely store oil and prevent oil spills from leaving its properties. Further, it will require the company to designate an environmental vice-president responsible for complying with oil spill prevention and stormwater control requirements at the 20 railyards. The majority of the 20 locations cited in the settlement are in disadvantaged areas with significant low-income and/ or minority populations.

The complaint alleges the following violations:

• ·         Six oil spills in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming
• ·         Three coal spills in Colorado
• ·         Inadequate SPCC plans and/or inadequate SPCC plan implementation (e.g., inadequate secondary containment) at the following 20 rail yards:
  • o   Denver 36^th Street, Burnham, Denver North, East Portal Moffatt Tunnel, Grand Junction, Kremmling, Pueblo, and Rifle, all in Colorado
  • o   Helper, Ogden, Provo, Roper, Salt Lake City North, and Summit, all in Utah
    • §  Also for six rail yards in Utah, failure to provide certifications and reports for storm water pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs) as required by the Utah Multi-Sector General Permit.
• o   Bill, Buford, Cheyenne, Green River, Laramie, and Rawlins, all in Wyoming
  • §  Also for the Rawlins, Wyoming rail yard, an inadequate FRP and a failed Government Initiated Unannounced Exercise

For more information on the Clean Water Act, visit EPA's compliance web page: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/cwa/index.html

For more information on Environmental Justice within EPA Region 8 please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region8/ej/index.html

Help EPA protect our nation's land, air and water by reporting violations: http://www.epa.gov/tips/