The Texas General Land Office‘s (GLO) fourth online sale of oil and gas leases has garnered more than $84 million. The auction featured 14,036 acres averaging $5,881.38/acre. Sales are held semi-annually; available tracts may be nominated by contacting GLO. In the first online lease sale in August 2016, Texas Public School Fund tracts of land brought in more than $20 million, which was about $1,500/acre more than the previous traditional lease sale, GLO said. The online lease sale in January 2016 brought in nearly $11 million for 4,393 acres, which is slightly under $2,500/acre. The July 2016 auction showed the greatest returns, netting more than $98 million for 13,339 acres, averaging $7,365/acre. More information is available at the GLO website.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff said it will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for DTE Midstream Appalachia LLC‘s proposed Birdsboro Pipeline Project in Southeast Pennsylvania [PF17-1]. The 14-mile, 16-inch diameter pipeline, which would supply a 488 MW natural gas-fired power plant, was first proposed in October. The pipeline would have capacity to deliver 79,000 Dth/d to the power plant in Birdsboro, PA, which is being developed by Birdsboro Power LLC, a subsidiary of Houston-based Ember Partners LP. DTE has entered a precedent agreement with Birdsboro Power as the project’s sole customer. FERC is accepting comments on the EA through Feb. 17 and has scheduled a public scoping session in Oley, PA, Feb. 2. Birdsboro Power is aiming for a May 2018 in-service date. To have the pipeline operational by then, DTE said it needs to have approval by December, with construction beginning in early 2018.