State Review of Oil & Natural Gas Environmental Regulations Inc. (STRONGER), a nonprofit organization whose board is composed of state, industry and public interest representatives, will be conducting a review of the hydraulic fracturing portions of the oil and gas regulatory program of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Office of Conservation against guidelines developed by STRONGER. A report containing review team findings will be made available to interested parties. The organization recently conducted a similar review in Pennsylvania (see Daily GPI, Sept. 24).

Copano Energy LLC has struck a long-term, fee-based agreement to provide GeoSouthern Energy Corp. with gathering, compression, processing and fractionation services for its Eagle Ford Shale production from acreage in DeWitt County, TX, the Houston-based midstream company said Wednesday. The agreement calls for Copano to gather gas into its recently completed 36-mile, 24-inch diameter DK Pipeline in DeWitt and Karnes counties and provide fully integrated services for both natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) at its Houston Central Complex in Colorado County, TX. Copano said it plans to expand the Houston Central Complex fractionation facilities and its downstream NGL product handling facilities to accommodate producer demand in the Eagle Ford. The fractionation expansion will double Copano’s current capacity to 44,000 b/d. Anticipated capital spending for the fractionation and related product pipelines expansions is approximately $60 million, with an expected in-service date in September. GeoSouthern is one of the first producers to have success in the NGL-rich region of the northern Eagle Ford Shale, Copano said.