Athabasca Oil Corp. said the Hangingstone 1 steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) oil sands project in Alberta started oil production in July with six well pairs converted to production.

A difficult year thus far for the integrated, multinational oil and gas firms caused by low oil prices has been somewhat eased by improved production and better refining margins. However, overall earnings and spending are down, and in the case of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, conditions are resulting in job cuts.

The UK oil and gas industry remains fragile, but the outlook has improved in the second quarter, according to Oil & Gas UK.

Phillips 66, Houston; Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), Dallas; and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, Philadelphia, have formed a joint venture to construct the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which will deliver crude oil from the Phillips 66 and Sunoco Logistics terminals in Nederland, Tex., to Lake Charles, La.

Junex Inc. has spudded the Galt No. 5 as a follow up to its Galt No. 4 that came in at more than 300 bo/d in January.

Light, sweet crude oil prices started July 30 trading with a gain on the New York market, but prices had slipped moderately by settlement, which analysts attributed to a strengthening dollar.

MOL Group, Budapest, completed its acquisition from Eni SPA of retail outlets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Federal Railroad Administration issued a final rule to prevent unattended trains carrying crude oil, ethanol, or other highly flammable contents from rolling away. The regulation comes more than 2 years after a parked train carrying Bakken crude rolled downhill and derailed in Lac-Megantic, Que., killing 47 people and injuring many more.