NGL Energy Partners LP and Meritage Midstream Services II LLC are forming a joint venture (JV) to develop crude oil gathering and water services infrastructure to serve oil and gas producers in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. The JV will focus on crude oil and wastewater gathering pipelines, pipeline injection terminals, wastewater and solid waste disposal facilities, and fresh water supply. The JV would have access to and operate on Meritage’s dedicated acreage in the Powder River Basin. NGL and Meritage are also committed to exploring pipeline connectivity options from the Powder River. The partners plan to evaluate the use of NGL’s regional assets to capture marketing capabilities at both Cushing and the Gulf Coast markets.

Organizers in four Ohio counties have submitted petitions with thousands of signatures to local election boards in the hopes of placing a charter amendment on this year’s ballot that would give local governments more say in natural gas pipeline development. Groups in Medina, Athens, Meigs and Fulton counties submitted the petitions in response to Spectra Energy Corp.‘s plans for itsNEXUS gas transmission pipeline. The 250-mile line would travel through 18 Ohio counties to deliver Utica and Marcellus shale gas to Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. As proposed, the pipeline would not travel through Medina, Athens and Meigs counties, however. Local election officials are expected to certify the petitions by next month. Earlier this year, though, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the state’s role in regulating oil and gas development (see Shale Daily, March 9; Feb. 17). NEXUS would also be an interstate pipeline regulated by the federal government.