The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted a request from Elba Express Co. LLC (EEC) to place into service the EEC North Meter Station and the EEC to Southern Natural Gas Co. LLC (SNG) Meter Station associated with the EEC Modification Project [C14-115] in Effingham and Chatham counties in Georgia (see Daily GPI, June 2). “We find that EEC has adequately stabilized areas disturbed by construction and that restoration is proceeding satisfactorily,” FERC said. In June, EEC and SNG received FERC authorization for the $2 billion Elba Liquefaction Project [CP14-103], and received FERC certificates for the EEC Modification Project and SNG Zone 3 Expansion Project [CP14-493]. Together, the projects would cost about $306 million and include additional compression and related work for north-to-south capacity expansions on Elba Express Pipeline that will supply additional gas to industrials and utilities in Georgia and Florida and to Elba Island for liquefaction.

Roughly 700 people attended a town hall meeting on Wednesday in Bradford County, PA, where they were encouraged to contact state lawmakers and show their support for legislation that would help ensure minimum royalties for landowners with oil and gas leases. The county is one of the state’s top producers. The Bradford County Commissioners organized the meeting after voting to spend $15,000 for a public relations campaign to tell how landowners in the area are being cheated out of royalty payments (see Shale Daily, Sept. 9). Wilmot Township, which is also in Bradford County, passed a resolution this month to limit natural gas production over the post-production deductions that are reportedly lowering royalty checks there (see Shale Daily, Sept. 7). Lawmakers have tried but failed for years to pass legislation that would clarify the state’s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act of 1979, which sets forth the minimum payment to landowners. The statute does not address post-production costs and how they should be factored into royalty payments. The latest legislation, HB 1391, remains stuck in committee (see Shale Daily, June 26, 2015).

Cheniere Energy Partners LP said Friday that the second train of the Sabine Pass liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, LA is “substantially complete.” Commissioning has been completed, and Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals Inc. is turning over care, custody and control of Train 2 to Cheniere Partners. The turnover will be done in coordination with a planned outage to improve performance of the flare systems at the project, as well as to perform scheduled maintenance to Train 1 and other facilities. Under a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Gas Natural Fenosa LNG GOM Ltd. (GNF), the date of first commercial delivery for Train 2 is expected to occur in August 2017, upon which the SPA’s 20-year term begins. GNF has rights to early cargos prior to that date (see Daily GPI, Nov. 22, 2011).

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for physical energy storage contracts for liquefied natural gas storage. It is available on the PUC website.The RFP was issued in accordance with “An Act to Allow the Public Utilities Commission to Contract for Liquefied Natural Gas Storage and Distribution.” It establishes the authority for the PUC to execute or direct one or more of Maine’s transmission and distribution utilities, gas utilities, or natural gas pipeline utilities to execute a physical energy storage contract provided that certain requirements are met (see Daily GPI, Sept. 14).