New regulations to be implemented in Wyoming by mid-month will give the public more access information about the chemicals used in drilling operations by the natural gas and oil industry. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) does not plan to compile and present the information to the public, but the information would be available on the website, officials said. Under the new regulations, operators would have to disclose information that would be listed on a well-by-well basis. The disclosures would allow the public to know “exactly” what an operator has pumped into a well if it is hydraulically fractured and would know what the discharges are composed of once well stimulations are completed, said Commission Supervisor Tom Doll.

Privately held explorer Chief Oil & Gas LLC plans to voluntarily disclose the hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) additives it uses in the Marcellus Shale, which brings to three the number of producers now voluntarily disclosing information related to Marcellus activities, Pennsylvania officials said. Beginning Oct. 1 Dallas-based Chief, which is considered to be one of the top producers in the Marcellus play, said it would voluntarily submit to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection “detailed” information about the hydrofracing additives it uses in those states. Range Resources Corp. and XTO Corp. already are submitting information to Pennsylvania officials, Pennsylvania DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun told NGI. EQT Corp. said in late July it also would submit information on its Marcellus activities (see NGI, Aug. 2).

Sixteen exploration and production (E&P) companies were awarded a total of C$115.6 million in royalty credits for 21 natural gas and oil infrastructure projects, British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Bill Bennett said. The credits were awarded under the province’s Infrastructure Royalty Credit Program (IRCP). The new road and pipeline projects are to support gas and oil exploration and development activity, and improve access to underdeveloped areas in northeast British Columbia.

Iroquois Gas Transmission System LP is holding a binding open season for its Wright Transfer Compressor (WTC) project, which would add up to 15,400 hp of transfer compression at Iroquois’ existing interconnecting with Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s 200 Line in Wright, NY. WTC would compress up to 375 MDth/d from Tennessee into Iroquois at its rate zone boundary, thereby enabling WTC shippers to supply both Zone 1 and Zone 2 markets on Iroquois, said the Shelton, CT-based pipeline. The project is targeted for service in the summer of 2012. The open season will run through Oct. 15. The results of the open season will determine the final design and scope of the project, Iroquois said. Iroquois extends 416 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border at Waddington, NY, through the state of Connecticut to Long Island, NY, and Hunts Point, Bronx, NY. The Iroquois limited partnership is owned by affiliates of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Dominion Resources Inc., National Grid, New Jersey Resources and Energy East Corp.

Cardinal Gas Storage Partners‘ Perryville Gas Storage LLC is holding a nonbinding open season through Oct. 6 for the remaining firm capacity at its 15 Bcf storage facility under construction near Delhi, LA. The multi-cycle, high-deliverability facility will have access to markets in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast, including the Perryville/Delhi Hub. Cardinal is offering 7.5 Bcf of firm capacity and anticipates providing service with up to eight turns. For information and forms visit www.perryvillegasstorage.com or contact Kevin Holder at (713) 350-2507 or kevin.holder@cardinalgs.com; or contact Brandy Clark at (713) 350-2504 or brandy.clark@cardinalgs.com.

Encana Corp. agreed to pay $200,000 in fines and community service payments for violating the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Colorado and Wyoming, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver said. Denver-based subsidiary Encana Oil & Gas Inc. pleaded guilty in August in the deaths of about 55 protected birds, including waterfowl and owls, over a four-year period at uncovered natural gas reserve pits and wastewater storage tanks in the Piceance Basin of Colorado and in Wyoming’s Sweetwater, Sublette and Lincoln counties. Since the violations occurred, Encana said it has spent more than $3 million on bird protection measures at plants in Colorado and Wyoming. Additional bird protection measures also are to be installed at shale gas facilities in Louisiana and Texas, the producer said.

All the Mexican regulatory authorities that issued permits for the operation of Sempra Energy’s Energia Costa Azul liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal have assured the San Diego-based company they will not revoke the terminal’s operating licenses, according to a Sempra LNG spokesperson. A rescheduled Mexican court hearing this Friday will confirm this, the spokesperson told NGI. During the ongoing legal battle that surfaced earlier this year,Sempra alleged that the plaintiff, Ramon Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie, has a criminal record and a cozy relationship with the Mexican federal district judge, Andre Nalda Jose Neals, who has been instrumental in Sanchez Ritchie’s legal pleading. In contrast, Sanchez Ritchie alleges that Sempra acquired his land illegally and is therefore in violation of its permits to operate the Energia Costa Azul LNG terminal (see NGI, Aug. 16).

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