The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s (Transco) proposed 142,000 Dth/d expansion, the Mid-Atlantic Connector (MAC), which calls for the construction of 42-inch diameter pipeline extending from Transco’s Compressor Station 185 in Prince William County, VA, to Fairfax County, VA; the abandonment and replacement of pipeline in Fairfax County; and the construction of a 3,550-hp internal combustion-driven compressor unit at Transco’s existing Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, VA [CP11-31]. Transco, a subsidiary of Williams Partners LP, also plans to install one 33,000-hp electric motor-driven compressor unit at its Compressor Station 175 in Fluvanna County, VA, and to abandon four 4,400-hp internal combustion-driven compressor units, leaving it with a net addition of 15,400 hp at Compressor Station 175. The pipeline estimates that the expansion, to be completed in late 2012, will cost $55 million (see NGI, July 20, 2009). When completed, the MAC 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. Other supply points in the path of the project include interconnects with Columbia Gas Transmission, Dominion Transmission and Dominion Cove Point.

A subsidiary of DTE Energy Co. has signed a long-term agreement with a unit of Southwestern Energy Co. to build and operate a natural gas gathering system to carry output from the producer’s Marcellus Shale operations to Millennium Pipeline Co. in Broome County, NY, and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. in Susquehanna County, PA. Bluestone Gathering agreed to build the 37-mile project for Southwestern Energy Services Co., with start-up scheduled in 2Q2012. The gathering system would be composed of 16- and 20-inch diameter pipeline with initial capacity of more than 250,000 Dth/d to both the Millennium and Tennessee pipelines. In addition, Millennium, of which DTE owns 26.25%, has approved its first two expansions, which are scheduled begin service in late 2012 and late 2013.

Rager Mountain Storage Co. LLC (RMSC), a unit of Peoples Natural Gas Co. LLC, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act on its application by mid-August so it can have existing storage facilities in the Marcellus Shale region up and running by the start of the winter heating season. The existing storage facility is in Cambria County, PA, and Peoples is seeking approval to lease it to RMSC. The working gas capacity of the storage facility would be 2 Bcf rather than the originally proposed 4 Bcf, and deliverability would be 45,000 Dth/d [CP11-5, CP11-6]. RMSC noted that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the project revisions in April. It conducted a binding open season in April that attracted “considerable commercial interest.” The company said it rejected all bids until it has approval for the project.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released two reports that identify daily net position changes in the physical and financial futures markets. “Large Trader Net Position Changes” and “Trading Account Net Position Changes” would “provide the public, for the first time, with a view of the amount of trading that results in daily net position changes,” said CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler. The “Large Trader Net Position Changes” report relies on the Commission’s Large Trader Reporting System and identifies, for a specific week, the average daily net position change at the reportable trader level. The data covers 35 physical and financial futures markets from January 2009 through May 2011 and identifies net position changes using the same larger-trader classifications as found in the CFTC’s “Disaggregated Commitments of Traders” reports. The data in the “Trading Account Net Position Changes” report is based on transaction data provided to the Commission by the regulated exchanges. It identifies, for a given week, the average daily net position change at the trading account level, the CFTC said. The data covers 28 physical and financial futures markets from April 2010 through May 2011.

The capital costs for building a typical natural gas-fired electric generation plant are going up, according to the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) capital cost index for North America. Capital costs have shot upward since the third quarter of 2010, continuing through 1Q2011, the IHS CERA Power Capital Cost Index (PCCI) showed. PCCI tracks the construction costs for building coal, gas, solar and nuclear power plants in both North America and Europe with costs indexed to the year 2000. “North American costs for all fuel types increased except wind, which continues to face competitive pressures,” IHS CERA said. Overall, the PCCI for North America rose 2%, hitting an index high of 219, meaning that a portfolio of power plants that cost $100 billion in 2000 would cost on average $219 billion today. In Europe the PCCI (in euros) for power plants has dropped 2% over the same period, largely because of exchange rate fluctuations.

BP plc‘s operating performance remains “satisfactory overall,” which merits a revised outlook to “stable” from “negative,” according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). S&P, which had downgraded BP’s outlook following the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), also affirmed the producer’s “A/A-1” long- and short-term corporate credit ratings. “The stable outlook primarily reflects our view of reduced downside risk to the group’s credit quality and little evidence of further erosion of BP’s business standing,” said credit analyst Simon Redmond and his colleagues. To determine its ratings the S&P analysts assumed that all GOM-related payments, including the $20.7 billion paid up until March 31, would be spread over several years and total less than $55 billion.

A Bureau of Land Management environmental assessment of a plan by Double Eagle Petroleum Co. to develop 51 coalbed methane (CBM) wells within the boundaries of Wyoming’s Atlantic Rim, part of which is crucial winter range for pronghorn antelope and mule deer, has determined that there would be no significant impact from the development. The report’s finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and the decision record (DR) were issued by BLM’s Rawlins, WY, field office. The DR noted that more than 53,000 comments were received during the comment period from Jan. 27 to Feb. 11, “of which about 120 were substantive.”

Southcross Energy has acquired from Tauber Pipeline LLC about 58 miles of six-, 8-, 10- and 12-inch diameter natural gas pipelines in San Patricio and Refugio counties in South Texas. Terms of the deal were not released. The pipelines are the former Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (TGP) 4A and 5A systems, which Tauber acquired from TGP following TGP’s receipt of abandonment authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (CP11-52). Southcross said it will integrate the pipelines into its existing gathering and intrastate systems in South Texas.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Michael Stack, a Democrat from the Philadelphia area, is proposing a bill similar to one enacted in Texas (see NGI, June 6) that would require Marcellus Shale operators to disclose all the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) operations. Stack said his proposal would require “full disclosure” of all hydrofracking chemicals. The bill would also create an Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board to review the chemicals and a website for public review. While it would add “stricter enforcement and harsher penalties” to existing law, the legislation would also include a provision to “allow special requests for confidentiality of trade secrets between companies under special circumstances.” Pennsylvania already requires operators to report hydrofracking chemicals by percent volume.

The Sierra Club alleged in a letter to the National Park Service (NPS) that Pennsylvania is violating federal law by allowing natural gas drilling on protected state park and forest land. The environmental group said Pennsylvania should halt all drilling and permitting in state parks and forests until it complies with the Land and Water Conservation Act. The law, which was enacted in the 1960s, requires states that receive NPS funds to buy parklands for recreation to scrutinize any proposed activity that could disturb the land. According to the NPS, Pennsylvania has received a total of $162 million to buy property for recreation, including $1.2 million last year.

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