President Obama has signed an executive order to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical U.S. infrastructure by increasing information sharing and by jointly developing and implementing with industry partners a framework of cybersecurity practices. “Proactive and coordinated efforts are necessary for us to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning and resilient critical infrastructure — including the assets, networks and systems that are vital to public confidence and the nation’s safety, prosperity and well-being,” according to a White House statement. “This endeavor is a shared responsibility among the federal, state, local, tribal and territorial entities, and public and private owners and operators of critical infrastructure.” The executive order expands to other sectors the voluntary Enhanced Cybersecurity Services program, an information sharing program already in use by the Department of Defense, enabling near real-time sharing of cyber threat information. The order also requires federal agencies to produce and share unclassified reports of threats to U.S. companies and directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to lead the development of a framework of cybersecurity practices to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure. It calls for a review of existing cybersecurity regulation and includes private and civil liberties protections, the White House said.

A tanker truck driver was killed Friday after a storage tank at an EQT Corp. natural gas well in West Virginia exploded. A spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said investigators believe the tanker truck arrived at the site of the producing well near Flemington, WV, at around 6:30 a.m. to offload material from the storage tank, and “something ignited and there was an explosion.” The driver was an employee of one of EQT’s contractors. The well site, which EQT said was producing dry gas, was shut down. An investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as state officials, has been launched.

A U.S. District Court in Denver has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) practice of keeping secret from the public the identity of entities nominating public lands for oil and natural gas development is unlawful. A lawsuit was filed in June by Citizens for a Healthy Community (CHC) and the Western Law Center (WELC) after the BLM refused to reveal what entities had nominated 30,000 acres of public lands in Colorado’s North Fork Valley for drilling. Until now, BLM policy has allowed the identity of EOI [expression of interest] submitters to remain secret until after the lease sale, depriving the public from participating in BLM’s decision-making on a fully informed basis. Producers claim that divulging the names of the parties reveals proprietary information and tips off competitors. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch rejected the government’s claim that disclosing the names of the nominators would give their competitors an unfair advantage and ordered BLM to release the information being withheld within 30 days of the court judgment.

Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. is holding a binding open season for gas storage services starting as early as March 1 at its Tecumseh Gas Storage facility in southwestern Ontario. Available is up to about 3.5 Bcf of capacity. Contracts would have a maximum daily injection capacity of 1.5% and a maximum withdrawal capacity of 2% of the contracted capacity. Information is available at www.enbridgegas.com/gasstorage or by contacting Ian Macpherson, (416) 495-6535; ian.macpherson@enbridge.com. Signed bid forms are due Feb. 19.

Transocean Ltd.‘s agreement to plead guilty for its role in the April 2010 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico has been accepted by a federal court in New Orleans. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, which was destroyed in the well blowout, killing 11 men. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo accepted the agreed-upon settlement reached in January with the Department of Justice, in which Transocean pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $400 million in criminal penalties. Transocean also has agreed to pay $1 billion in civil penalties, which is to be decided in a different court.

Apache Canada Ltd. and Chevron Canada Ltd. now are 50-50 partners in the Kitimat LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant in British Columbia, the Pacific Trail Pipelines and 644,000 gross undeveloped acres in the Horn River and Liard basins. After a brief transition, Chevron Canada will assume operatorship. Apache Canada will operate the upstream assets. Apache’s net proceeds from the transaction were $405 million. Encana Corp. and EOG Resources, formerly 30% nonoperating owners in Kitimat LNG and Pacific Trail Pipelines, sold their interests.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) has entered into extended long-term transportation and storage agreements with Calpine Energy Services LP to provide up to 450,000 Dth/d of firm transportation service and 5 Bcf of storage capacity to serve nine power generation facilities in Texas. The service level under these new agreements represents an increase of 150,000 Dth/d of transport and 1 Bcf of storage over agreements previously in place. KMP plans to invest about $30 million to expand its Texas intrastate pipeline system to extend service to Calpine’s Magic Valley Generating Station in Hidalgo County.

The promise of production from seven “exceptional” wells brought online in January in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale and continuing additions to its pipeline business paint an expanding future for National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG), CEO Dave Smith said. Seneca Resources Corp., NFG’s exploration subsidiary, reported 24.5 Bcfe of crude oil and natural gas production in 4Q2012, a 34% (6.3 Bcfe) increase from 4Q2011. Appalachian production increased 48% to 19.5 Bcfe, including production from the Marcellus Shale of 17.8 Bcfe. Strong results from the wells prompted NFG to raise its production guidance for 2013 by 6 Bcfe to 102-112 Bcfe, a 30% increase from 2012.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.’s PacifiCorp and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a real-time energy imbalance market (EIM) that promises to create substantial efficiencies and cost savings on the overall grid. PacifiCorp CEO Greg Abel said once the details are finalized in a long-term agreement, the two grids would realize better reliability and increased cost savings. “The natural gas fleet in the West is largely a critical element to be able to back up the increased use of renewable resources,” CAISO CEO Steve Berberich said.

Calpine Corp. CEO Jack Fusco said during a 4Q2012 conference call that natural gas-fired capacity factors are rising in the electric generation sector, but power prices must also rise to encourage the building of more replacement capacity. With a gas-fired power plant fleet, Fusco said there are several fundamental trends nationally that favor gas-fired generation including abundant gas supplies, stricter environmental regulations, aging power generation infrastructure, and the need for dispatchable power plants to integrate intermittent renewable resources.

The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has cleared the acquisition of Calgary-based Nexen Inc. by CNOOC Ltd., a unit of state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Co., which will allow the deal to close (see NGI, July 30, 2012). “Nexen will complement CNOOC Ltd.’s large offshore production footprint in China…in many of the world’s most significant producing regions — including Western Canada, the UK North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Nigeria,” CNOOC has said.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is assuming Laclede Group Inc.‘s right to buy New England Gas Co. (NEG). St. Louis, MO-based Laclede in late 2012 said it was buying NEG and Missouri Gas Energy from Southern Union Co. (see NGI, Dec. 24, 2012). NEG serves 50,000 gas customers in Massachusetts. “While we had made plans for welcoming New England Gas Co. into the Laclede family, Algonquin presented an offer to purchase New England Gas,” said Laclede CEO Suzanne Sitherwood.

Ohio State University and West Virginia University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a joint program on shale energy research in the Marcellus and Utica shales. The schools said their new research program would look at issues related to shale development, including environmental impacts, public health and the economic effects from the expanding use of natural gas. According to the universities, officials from both schools met on the sidelines of an energy conference that was held at Ohio State in April 2012. Later discussions formed the basis of the MOU between the schools.

Gulfport Energy Corp. has entered into an agreement to buy approximately 22,000 net acres in the eastern Ohio portion of the Utica Shale for about $220 million. The deal — its third in less than three months with Windsor Ohio LLC, an affiliate of Wexford Capital LP — is expected to close at the end of February. After closing, Gulfport’s working interest will increase to 93.8% and the company will hold a position of 137,000 gross (128,000 net) acres in the Utica. The deal excludes Windsor Ohio’s interest in 14 existing wells, 16 proposed future wells and some surrounding acreage. Last December, Gulfport acquired 37,000 net acres from Windsor Ohio for $372 million (see NGI, Dec. 24, 2012).

The Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) board unanimously approved a deal with Consol Energy Inc. for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling rights at Pittsburgh International Airport. The arrangement could be worth $500 million over the next 20 years. ACAA Treasurer Dennis Davin told NGI that the deal calls for Consol to award the authority a $50 million signing bonus and pay 18% royalties on all future production. Davin said Consol plans to drill 45 to 50 horizontal wells on six or seven well pads. The Allegheny County Council is scheduled to vote on the deal on Feb. 19. Last December, the ACAA board accepted a bid by Consol of $2,250/acre ($20.8 million total), an amount less than half of a competing bid by rival EQT Corp., which had offered $4,750/acre ($44 million total) for the drilling rights (see NGI, Dec. 24, 2012). ACAA and county officials insisted the Consol offer was a better deal for taxpayers

A group of environmental organizations has written to the Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) Region 6 administrator alleging that politics caused the agency to drop a water contamination case against Range Resources Corp. and calling for a resumption of legal action. In 2010 EPA issued an “imminent and substantial danger order” against Range to halt its Barnett Shale activities, which were alleged to have contaminated drinking water wells, but the case was dropped in 2012 (see NGI, April 2, 2012; Dec. 13, 2010). In their letter to EPA Region 6 Administrator Ron Curry, the groups claimed the legal action was dropped when Range protested.

Avista Utilities has reached a settlement on a pending general rate case in Idaho that if approved would result in a cumulative 5.2% annual gas rate increase by Oct. 1. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) staff, and various large customer groups would allow a $3.1 million, or 4.9%, annual gas increase effective in April, and another 0.3% increase for gas utility retail customers Oct. 1. Avista serves 75,000 gas and 123,000 electric customers in northern Idaho.

Energy and telecommunications infrastructure are the focus of a new agreement between units of General Electric Corp. (GE) and Google that would allow GE’s Smallworld natural gas, electricity and telecommunications applications to integrate data from Google Maps. The goal is better capability for gas operators and other utilities to manage operations and system outages. GE is developing a set of small, focused applications for the Internet, mobile devices and desktop computers, and the Google mapping data is a component of that effort.

A relief rig was en route Friday to a Gulf of Mexico well offshore Louisiana where natural gas has been flowing underground for more than a week, according to well operator Apache Corp. During drilling operations on Feb. 4 at Main Pass 295, a well “began flowing natural gas,” a spokesman said. The Outer Continental Shelf well is in 218 feet of water about 50 miles east of Venice, LA, and was being drilled by the Ensco 87 jack-up rig. Diagnostic tests appeared to indicate an underground gas migration from the bottom of the well at 8,261 feet “to another sand formation at approximately 1,100 feet.” The well was shut in, and the blowout preventers were functioning properly. Apache is working with Boots and Coots to kill the well. At the direction of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Apache has mobilized the Rowan Cecil Provine rig “in the event it is determined that drilling a relief well is necessary.”

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