Williams Partners LP agreed to pay Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. $150 million for 75 miles of gathering pipelines and two compressor stations in Susquehanna County, PA. The midstream system, which the partnership would expand, now gathers about 230 MMcf/d of Cabot’s natural gas production. The partnership also obtained a 25-year dedicated gathering agreement for Cabot’s gas output in northeast Pennsylvania. As part of the arrangement Cabot increased its firm takeaway capacity to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line south of Susquehanna County to 350 MMcf/d, up from a previously announced commitment of 150 MMcf/d.

DCP Midstream LLC is holding a nonbinding open season through Dec. 9 for the proposed DCP Sandhills Pipeline. The natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline would run more than 700 miles from West Texas to fractionation and storage facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast including those at Mont Belvieu, TX. Sandhills Pipeline would open new capacity for NGLs produced from the Avalon Shale in West Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas to be transported to market, DCP Midstream said. The project is expected to be in service during 2013 and would have a target capacity of 130,000 b/d. For information contact David Barth at (713) 735-3965.

Wabash Gas Storage LLC is holding a nonbinding open season through Dec. 10 for capacity at its facility under development south of the Joliet, IL, Hub. The company is redeveloping a site previously used for seasonal gas storage. The project is projected to have working capacity of at least 12 Bcf. Injection and withdrawal capacity is expected to be 200,000 MMBtu/d. Services are expected to become available in spring 2013. The facility is being developed in eastern Illinois, 2.8 miles from Midwestern Gas Transmission Co. pipeline’s Paris, IL, compressor station (CS 2115). Information is available at www.wabashstorage.com or by contacting John Hall at (402) 758-6136, or at wabash@tpfgasservices.com.

Energy development in Pennsylvania, including natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, could transform the state’s forests and impact several thousand acres of habitat, The Nature Conservancy said in a study. A team of scientists spent nearly a year analyzing the state’s energy development and future possible impacts. The study considered the types of energy development most likely to alter Pennsylvania’s landscape: natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation, wind energy, wood biomass and electric and gas transmission. Nature Conservancy staff members plan to share their findings with industry leaders, policymakers, community organizations and landowners with the intent of collaborating about the state’s energy future.

Meritage Midstream Services has completed and begun flowing gas on the Fasken Ranch lateral pipeline, which is an extension of the company’s Eagle Ford Escondido Gathering System in Webb County, TX. The 14.5-mile, 12-inch diameter pipeline extends Meritage’s gathering system to the northwest into Swift Energy Co.‘s Fasken operating area. Swift will have up to 40 MMcf/d of firm capacity on the new pipeline, Meritage said. Meritage is also building a 10.5-mile, 16-inch diameter extension to the southeast to increase takeaway capacity in the Eagle Ford. This line is expected to be in place in early 2011.

Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) has filed several natural gas-related bills to potentially be considered during the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature, which begins Jan. 11. The senator’s SB 104 would place restrictions on the flaring of gas during well completion activities, requiring producers to “deliver all salable gas to a sales line as soon as the pressure of the gas at the wellhead is sufficient to permit the gas to flow into the line…” Another piece of legislation, SB 105, would require that wells for the disposal of drilling waste be in the Ellenberger formation or deeper. Davis also has introduced bills related to the funding of air quality monitoring activities (SB 102); the placement of water pipelines associated with drilling activities in state rights-of-way (SB 103); the exercise of eminent domain on municipal property by pipeline companies (SB 106); and the handling and repair of the most severe pipeline leaks by operators as well as inspections of affected pipeline by the Railroad Commission of Texas.

Texas-based Peterbilt Motors Co., a major North American maker of trucks used in long-haul transportation fleets, said it is selling 180 liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled trucks to Quebec-based trucking company Robert Transport. A Peterbilt spokesperson told NGI the company is pursuing a national market of LNG-fueled rigs. Peterbilt is using the Westport HD natural gas fueling system consisting of a 15-liter engine, proprietary Westport fuel injectors, LNG fuel tanks with integrated cryogenic fuel pumps and various associated electronic components. A major market focus for Peterbilt are West Coast ports, such as the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports, which have initiatives to move away from diesel-fired transportation.

The Williams Cos.’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) filed an application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposing to expand its system by an incremental 142,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity to serve growing natural gas markets in the Mid-Atlantic region by November 2012. When completed, the Mid-Atlantic Connector expansion will provide Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc. and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. with incremental firm transportation capacity from a Transco interconnection with East Tennessee Natural Gas pipeline in Rockingham County, NC, to delivery points as far north as Maryland, said Transco, a subsidiary of Williams Partners LP. Other supply points in the path of the project include interconnects with Columbia Gas Transmission, Dominion Transmission and Dominion Cove Point.

©Copyright 2010Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.