The Railroad Commission of Texas has adopted amendments to 3.16, relating to Log and Completion or Plugging Report, and 3.26 and 3.27, relating to Separating Devices, Tanks and Surface Commingling of Oil; and Gas To Be Measured and Surface Commingling of Gas, respectively. The adopted amendments will be published April 24 in the Texas Register and will become effective on April 28. The adopted amendment on completion reports “requires that the operator of a well file with the commission the appropriate completion report within 90 days after completion of the well or within 150 days after the date on which the drilling operation is completed, whichever is earlier. Currently, the operator…must file the completion report…within 30 days after completion of the well or within 90 days after the date on which the drilling operation is completed, whichever is earlier.” The change is intended to address difficulties in compliance caused by increased drilling efficiencies. The adopted amendment on separating devices and tanks is intended to give operators more flexibility in the use of metering devices.

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, a joint venture of EQT Corp. affiliates and NextEra Energy Inc., has filed a lawsuit against more than 100 landowners in West Virginia who it claims are not allowing the company to access their properties to conduct surveys. The lawsuit was filed against individuals in 10 counties in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The move comes after three families in the area filed lawsuits last month in courts in Monroe and Summers counties against Mountain Valley to stop surveying work (see Shale Daily, March 20). The 300-mile pipeline would deliver Marcellus and Utica shale gas to markets in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (see Shale Daily, Oct. 29, 2014; June 12, 2014).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection(DEP) has again extended the public comment period for a major overhaul of oil and natural gas industry regulations that it has been working on for about four years. The agency said last month that the regulations — which update Chapter 78 of the state code and deal with reducing impacts on public resources, preventing spills, waste management and well site restoration, among other things — would be implemented by Spring 2016 (see Shale Daily, March 9). The updated draft rules were released Saturday as a notice of final regulation for a 30-day public comment period that has now been increased to 45 days. The agency also said it would schedule another three public hearings that will be announced as they are confirmed. DEP Secretary John Quigley said the latest public comment period was extended at the request of the general assembly, the public and the oil and gas industry.

Enterprise Products Partners LP has completed an expansion of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export terminal at the Houston Ship Channel, increasing the facility’s capacity for loading fully refrigerated, low-ethane propane to 9 million bbl per month (see Daily GPI, Aug. 4, 2014). Enhancements to existing refrigeration infrastructure, designed to add 2,500 bbl per hour or 1.5 million bbl per month of incremental loading capacity, will allow Enterprise to accommodate an additional three ships per month. A new refrigeration train now under construction will increase loading rates by another 11,000 bbl per hour and is on schedule for completion in the fourth quarter. Once the final expansion phase has been completed, Enterprise will have the capability to load up to 16 million bbl per month of LPG, which equates to 29 vessels. “With these expansion projects, Enterprise is demonstrating its commitment to supporting the producers who have done a miraculous job of developing our domestic reserves, particularly in the shale basins across the country,” said Jim Teague, COO of Enterprise’s general partner.