CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Pipestone Energy Corp. | November 24, 2022
Pipestone Energy Corp. is pleased to announce the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted the notice filed by the Company to renew its normal course issuer bid. Pipestone’s inaugural NCIB was launched in November 2021 and has been fully executed with the purchase and cancellation of 9,598,347 common shares of the Company for an average price of $4.44 per share.
The NCIB allows Pipestone to purchase up to 13,936,907 Common Shares, representing 5% of its 278,738,148 outstanding Common Shares as at November 14, 2022. The renewed NCIB is scheduled to commence on November 25, 2022 and is due to expire no later than November 24, 2023. Under the NCIB, Common Shares may be repurchased in open market transactions on the TSX and other alternative trading platforms in Canada and in accordance with the rules of the TSX governing NCIB’s.
The total number of Common Shares Pipestone is permitted to purchase is subject to a daily purchase limit of 156,214 Common Shares, representing 25% of the average trading volume of 624,856 Common Shares on the TSX calculated for the six-month period ended October 31, 2022 excluding 5,107,800 Common Shares that the Company repurchased pursuant to its previous NCIB during this period; however, Pipestone may make one block purchase per calendar week which exceeds the daily repurchase restrictions. Any Common Shares that are purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled upon their purchase by the Company.
The Company intends to enter into an automatic securities purchase plan effective November 25, 2022, under which its broker may purchase Common Shares in connection with the NCIB. The plan will contain a prearranged set of criteria in accordance with which its broker may make Common Share purchases. These strict parameters enable the purchase of Common Shares during times when it would ordinarily not be permitted due to self-imposed blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. Such plan is adopted in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Outside of blackout periods, Common Shares may be purchased under the NCIB in accordance with management’s discretion.
As previously announced, Pipestone is committed to a multi-faceted approach to shareholder returns as part of its allocation of free cash flow strategy. In addition to the renewal of the NCIB, Pipestone has implemented a quarterly base dividend of $0.030 per Common Share, commencing in Q1 2023. The Company also has previously announced its intention to launch a Substantial Issuer Bid for up to $50 million in Q1 2023.
Pipestone Energy Corp.
Pipestone is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on moderately growing its condensate-rich Montney asset base, while delivering meaningful shareholder returns. Pipestone expects to grow its production to 32 Mboe/d (midpoint) in 2022 and to approximately 45 Mboe/d by exit 2025, while generating significant free cash flow. Pipestone is committed to building long term value for our shareholders while maintaining the highest possible environmental and operating standards, as well as being an active and contributing member to the communities in which it operates. Pipestone has achieved certification of all its production from its Montney asset under the Equitable Origin EO100TM Standard for Responsible Energy Development.
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PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES, MARKET OUTLOOK
SINOPEC | November 28, 2022
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation's has announced that the first phase of the Qijiang shale gas field has uncovered a major discovery in Sichuan Basin with a proven geological reserve of 145.968 billion cubic meters. The discovery, delivered by Sinopec Exploration Company and Sinopec Southwest Oil & Gas Company, is a major breakthrough in Sinopec's "Project Deep Earth – Natural Gas Base in Sichuan and Chongqing."
The Qijiang shale gas field is the first shale gas field discovered in medium-deep and deep strata in a complex tectonic zone on the margin of the basin. Shale gas buried at the depth of over 3,500 meters is defined as deep shale, and the burial depth of Qijiang's shale formations ranges from 1,900 to 4,500 meters, with the majority being deep shale. With complex overlying strata, the project faced great challenges such as a significantly greater depth and variable ground stress.
To tackle the question of how a shale gas reservoir was formed in the basin margin with such complex surface and underground conditions, Sinopec's team conducted more than 10,000 lab analysis tests on the core at the depth of 1,320 meters. This revealed the development and maintenance mechanism of deep shelf shale pores and identified the deep shale can develop vast reservoirs with high porosity, and also revealed the "sweet spots" of projecting the deep shale targets.
The team collected high-precision 3D seismic data of deep shale gas covering an area of 3,662 square kilometers in the complex zone of the southeastern margin of the Sichuan Basin as well as drilling data of existing wells in southern Sichuan. After repeated discussion and screening, Sinopec has innovated a deep shale gas seismic prediction technology with pressure coefficient and gas content, fracture prediction and horizontal ground stress difference as the core – the equivalent of performing a CT scan of the strata to achieve the breakthrough in predicting the "sweet spots" of deep shale gas.
Sinopec also developed a three-dimensional fracturing technology with "precision cutting, pressurization and expansion, balanced expansion and guaranteed filling" for deep shale, which has improved the daily shale gas production of a single well to break the 300,000, 400,000 and 500,000 cubic meters marks in succession.
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CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Globally recognized | November 23, 2022
Globally recognized research and development leader Chris Heckle has been appointed as the first director of the Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Argonne established the MMIC with the goal of bringing advanced materials and chemical manufacturing technologies including energy storage and others essential for the clean energy transition to market faster, by cultivating and sustaining partnerships between the laboratory and the private sector, DOE, universities, and other stakeholders.
Heckle most recently served as Research Director for Inorganic Materials Research and Asia Research Labs for Corning Incorporated. She is a materials informatics champion who over a 25-year career has facilitated technology innovation across business units for multiple industries, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. She brings to Argonne experience in creating a manufacturing platform that opened new market opportunities for Corning in energy storage, as well as a demonstrated record of translating megatrends into technical thrusts and accelerating product timelines through introduction and adoption of new tools.
“I’m thrilled for this opportunity to support materials and chemical processing companies by connecting stakeholders and Argonne’s impressive variety of capabilities and people,” Heckle said. “And I’m passionate about people development, which is essential to prepare a new generation of technology and manufacturing leaders for our nation.”
To help partners commercialize new materials, Argonne manufacturing experts leverage a one-of-a-kind combination of facilities — including the Materials Engineering Research Facility, Advanced Photon Source, and Argonne Leadership Computing Facility — to rapidly develop and scale up materials discovered at the laboratory bench (gram-scale) to commercially relevant quantities produced using cost-effective, scalable processes.
“We are pleased that Chris has chosen to join our team. Her deep technical knowledge and record of innovation and motivational leadership will guide the laboratory in making meaningful and long-lasting partner connections, to fulfill the MMIC mission of advancing U.S. technological leadership in materials manufacturing at a critical time.”
Megan Clifford, Associate Laboratory Director for Science and Technology Partnerships and Outreach at Argonne
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