The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has granted a right-of-way grant for the east-to-west Ruby Pipeline natural gas project, which is being built by El Paso Corp. and private equity fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The grant is subject to final completion of cultural treatment plans and related agreements on federal lands along Ruby’s 680-mile route from an existing supply hub at Opal, WY, to interconnections near Malin, OR, said El Paso. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a certificate for the 1.5 Bcf/d pipeline in April (see NGI, April 12). Construction is to begin once Ruby is issued a FERC Notice to Proceed and Construct, and service remains scheduled to ramp up next March.

Calgary-based Natural Gas Exchange Inc. (NGX), a subsidiary of TMX Group Inc., has added a natural gas clearing point at Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. in Michigan. The addition features a new NGX pool for physical clearing. The intrastate market in Michigan is one of North America’s most actively traded gas markets and serves as a natural bridge between U.S. and Canadian market participants, NGX said. NGX also announced that it has added two other hubs: Gas Transmission Northwest Stanfield in Oregon and Northern Border Pipeline Ventura Transfer Point in Iowa, bringing the total number of U.S. locations to 29.

Williams Partners LP has placed the first phase of its Transco pipeline 85 North expansion into service, providing 90,000 Dth/d to fuel Constellation Energy‘s new 740 MW power plant in Tallapoosa County, AL. Phase II of the project will increase the pipeline’s capacity by an additional 218,500 Dth/d by summer 2011, serving new and existing power generating facilities in North Carolina. Phase I of the project required adding 17,900 hp at two compressor facilities in Alabama. Phase II will require the addition of approximately 22 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline in Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as a new 20,500 hp compressor facility in South Carolina and modifications to several existing compressor stations. The total cost of the project is about $241 million.

Regency Energy Partners LP has sold its East Texas gathering and processing assets to an affiliate of Tristream Energy LLC for about $70 million. Dallas-based Regency said it intends to use proceeds to fund growth opportunities. The assets sold are primarily in Wood, Van Zandt and Henderson counties and include approximately 371 miles of gathering pipeline, approximately 20,000 hp of compression, a condensate sweetening plant in Myrtle Springs, TX, and gas treating and processing facilities in Eustace, TX. Also included in the sale are two idle processing facilities and an idle fractionation tower.

Global energy investment firm ArcLight Capital Partners LLC has acquired a 640 MW natural gas-fired peaking generation plant in Georgia, through wholly owned affiliate AL Sandersville Holdings LLC, from KGen Power Corp. The purchase price was $130 million, ArcLight said. General Electric unit GE Energy Financial Services was the lead lender, closing a financing of $98 million in senior secured credit facilities that partially financed the acquisition. Located in Sandersville, GA, the peaking plant was built in 2002 and consists of eight 80 MW GE simple-cycle gas turbines. The new unit is located close to four other generation facilities owned by ArcLight through affiliate Mackinaw Power LLC with an aggregate supply of 1,887 MW. ArcLight’s total portfolio in Georgia now exceeds 2,500 MW.

UBS AG has launched an exchange-traded note (ETN) listed on the New York Stock Exchange Arca (Archipelago Exchange) under ticker symbol “MLPG” that provides investors single-security exposure to the Alerian Natural Gas MLP (master limited partnership) Index, a midstream-focused subset of MLPs whose constituents earn the majority of their cash flow from the transportation, storage and processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids. The index provides exposure to the expansion of gas infrastructure, as well as the investment required to accommodate geographical supply shifts associated with shale gas development. The ETN will track the change in value of the Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index and pass on the corresponding distributions from the underlying companies as a quarterly coupon, net of fees.

Chevron Corp. expects 2Q2010 earnings to be higher than in the first three months of this year, driven partly by a stronger U.S. dollar. In early May Chevron said the 1Q2010 profits from the year-ago period were the largest increase in at least 10 years, exceeding Wall Street estimates (see NGI, May 3). The San Ramon, CA-based producer said earnings in the upstream business should be “in line” with 1Q2010. U.S. production in April and May — the first two months of the second quarter — rose 2% from the same period of 2009 to 714,000 boe/d. Output internationally was up 3% from a year earlier. Chevron received $3.96/Mcf for natural gas in April and May, which was down 25% sequentially but 21% higher than in the year-ago period. Quarterly results are scheduled to be issued on July 30.

Delphi Midstream Partners LLC has acquired Laser Midstream Energy LP, which is developing a gas gathering project in northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York. Laser Midstream is now called Laser Northeast Gathering LLC. The gathering project is proposed to run 21 miles from Susquehanna County, PA, to the New York border, then another nine miles within Broome County, NY, to a connection with the Millennium interstate pipeline in New Windsor. The cost of the project is estimated at $50 million.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investigating a recent fire at a natural gas well pad in Susquehanna County. There were no injuries nor significant contamination, DEP said. The fire occurred at a separator tank at a site operated by Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Auburn Township. The tank ignited at about 8 p.m. EDT last Tuesday and was extinguished at around 10 p.m. EDT by local emergency responders working with the company. “Fortunately, this incident does not appear to have caused any significant environmental contamination thanks to the prompt response efforts of the local emergency responders and the company,” said DEP Secretary John Hanger, noting that no injuries or evacuations were reported.

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