The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the proposal of Norway’s Statoil ASA, which already has significant holdings in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shales, to acquire Austin, TX-based independent Brigham Exploration Co., which would give it access to the Williston Basin’s Bakken and Three Forks oily formations. The transaction has cleared the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period with the FTC imposing no restrictions. The transaction is valued at $4.4 billion (US$36.50/share) and is expected to close either later this year or early in 2012, Brigham said. The transaction would give Statoil access to more than 375,000 net acres in the Williston Basin, which holds potential for oil and gas production from the Bakken and Three Forks formations. Brigham also holds interests in 40,000 net acres in other onshore plays. In addition to the production assets, the transaction also provides Statoil with about 430 miles of oil, natural gas and water transportation systems in the Williston Basin, which not only secures wastewater offtake but reduces the environmental footprint in production operations.

Eighteen back-country areas in nine states — including prospective areas for natural gas and oil exploration — deserve protection by Congress as national conservation or wilderness areas, according to a preliminary report issued by the Department of Interior. The list of areas to be considered by Congress are managed primarily by the Bureau of Land Management where there is “significant” local support for protection, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. He said Interior had “heard from local communities, elected officials and others that Montana’s Sleeping Giant, Nevada’s Pine Forest Range and New Mexico’s Rio Grande del Norte are among the many places that deserve protection by Congress for future generations. Building on the president’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, I am hopeful that these areas can help form a strong foundation for a bipartisan conservation agenda for this Congress.”

The National Energy Board (NEB) granted Trans Quebec & Maritimes Pipeline (TQM) permission to restore full operating pressure for eight months following appeals by French Canada’s distributor, Gaz Metro Inc. (GMI), and TQM owner TransCanada Corp. for the NEB to lift a Sept. 8 safety order for a 10% pressure cut (see NGI, Oct. 17). Since Quebec has no other supply lines and no gas production of its own, GMI warned that the order confronted about 180,000 customers with chilling prospects of losing fuel during periods of peak cold weather needs. In a letter granting the reprieve, the NEB agreed with GMI and TransCanada that the hazard that prompted the order “is not an immediate threat.” But the board added that the problem, a form of metal fatigue known as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) “may become a future threat if not found and remediated.” As operator of TQM, TransCanada was given an amended order to use the eight-month reprieve for detecting and repairing SCC sore spots.

Regulators in North Dakota are considering a lawsuit to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation. The state’s Industrial Commission might ask lawmakers for $1 million for the effort. The money would be used to hire a lawyer with petroleum exploration expertise. “We are concerned that the EPA will remove the state of North Dakota from its regulatory role and proceed to abolish hydraulic fracturing,” said Gov. Jack Dalrymple. “We need to be prepared for legal action at any time.” North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said partnering with other states to defend fracking could defray legal costs. “But we need to be ready,” he said. “If the EPA regulates fracking, it would likely put an end to fracking, and that would stop oil development in North Dakota.”

Preliminary findings from a study being conducted by The University of Texas at Austin‘s Energy Institute suggest no direct link between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and groundwater contamination, researchers said. But drilling operations may still be related to some groundwater contamination. Many allegations of groundwater contamination appear to be related to above-ground spills or other mishandling of wastewater produced from shale gas drilling, according to the study, which also found that a lack of baseline studies in areas of shale gas development make it difficult to evaluate the long-term, cumulative effects and risks associated with fracking, and most regulations for shale gas development were written before the widespread use of fracking. In addition, media coverage of fracking “is decidedly negative, and few news reports mention scientific research of the practice,” according to the researchers. A final report, which is expected to be issued early next year, will identify existing regulations related to shale gas development and evaluate individual states’ capacity to enforce regulations, provide an analysis of public perceptions of fracking, and will likely also include an evaluation of allegations of “fugitive” air emissions attributed to equipment leaks, evaporative losses from surface impoundments and spills.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) planned to release a technical guidance over the weekend explaining the details of wastewater regulations revised last year. “This technical guidance is another step in this administration’s continuing efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s water resources,” DEP Secretary Michael Krancer said. “This document clearly communicates to any facility seeking to increase its discharge of treated wastewater or to any facility seeking to start accepting wastewater that they must meet certain obligations.” The DEP revised discharge standards in August 2010, requiring natural gas operators to treat wastewater to the federal drinking water standard of less than 500 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of total dissolved solids, and in April 2011 called on the industry to stop sending wastewater to grandfathered facilities (see NGI, April 25). The technical guidance aims to help companies applying for permits and regulators considering permits get on the same page.

Princeton, NJ-based NRG Energy Inc.‘s strategy for future growth includes natural gas-fired generation regardless of what happens with continuing low wholesale gas prices, according to CEO David Crane. Crane characterized NRG’s three-pronged focus on gas-fired power, solar and retail energy sales as being able to thrive in a low- or high-priced gas market. Crane said his job was to convince Wall Street that NRG is “well positioned” to return to profitable status in the quarters ahead no matter how depressed gas and power commodity prices might become. His remarks come at the same time that the Energy Information Administration was predicting the average natural gas futures prices for the upcoming heating season will be less than $4/MMBtu, the lowest level entering winter since 2001-2002. The businesses that NRG is pushing can flourish despite low natural gas prices, including NRG’s retail power/gas sales operations in its Reliant unit in Texas, Crane said. NRG’s gas plants, expanding large-scale solar projects and retail operations are going to contribute “significantly to the growth of the company in the next couple of years, and do it in a way that is not dependent on a recovery of natural gas prices,” Crane said.

Windsor Energy Corp. has found itself on shaky ground in New Brunswick after it allowed a contractor to conduct seismic testing in a town without its consent, violating the province’s Oil and Natural Gas Act. Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup said he had received a written apology from Windsor CEO Khalid Amin over the Oct. 17 incident and said the results of his department’s investigation have been handed over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. According to Northrup, Natural Resources’ investigators found that a seismic crew from Seismotion Inc. entered the Town of Sussex and began performing geophysical testing instead of waiting for the town council to give official approval. The Seismotion crew used truck-mounted vibration equipment to perform the testing along a highway within the town limits. Windsor could face fines from C$140 to C$200,000.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Freeport LNG Development LP’s request to withdraw its application to build and operate a natural gas liquids extraction system at its liquefied natural gas terminal on Quintana Island, TX [CP03-75, CP05-361]. Freeport cited “changing market conditions” in making the request.

Pennsylvania voters soundly defeated referendums banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Peters Township and the City of Warren, but overwhelmingly approved a similar measure in the Borough of State College. Not counting absentee ballots, frack bans failed in Peters Township by a 5,196-1,105 vote (82.5%-17.5%), and in the City of Warren by a vote of 1,316 to 795 (62.3%-37.7%). Despite opposition from most borough council members, voters in State College approved a frack ban, 2,005 to 763 (72.43%-27.57%).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reinstated a requirement that oil and gas companies — and other industries — disclose the amount of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) their operations release into the environment. The first reports will be due July 1, 2013 for the reporting year 2012, with the results added to the federal Toxic Release Inventory, a publicly accessible database that provides information on hazardous chemicals in communities. H2S was classified as a toxic chemical under the Right-to-Know Act on Dec. 1, 1993, but the EPA bowed to industry concerns and issued a stay on H2S reporting on Aug. 22, 1994.

A new Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) study questions whether bonding requirements in Pennsylvania adequately ensure reclamation. In a peer-reviewed study to be published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, CMU researchers Austin Mitchell and Elizabeth Casman said the existing requirements are “outdated and allow ownership transfers to entities less likely to be able to cover the expected costs of reclamation.” Pennsylvania lawmakers,” but suggested that proposed increases weren’t satisfactory, either. The current standard, established in 1984, require an operator to post a $2,500 per well bond, or a $25,000 “blanket” bond for all the wells that a company plans to drill in the state. Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving legislation that would require a minimum bond of $10,000 and a blanket bond to $250,000, significantly above the current rates, but Mitchell and Casman estimated that the actual cost to reclaim a Marcellus Shale well is between $100,000 and $700,000, and therefore propose establishing a reclamation “trust” on each well collected from production revenues.

A compressed natural gas-fueled Freightliner M2 112 delivered to Ryder System Inc. Tuesday was the 1,000th natural gas truck delivered by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), which claims to be the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to reach that milestone. The truck was manufactured at DTNA’s plant in Mt. Holly, NC. Portland, OR-based DTNA reported combined sales of 3,600 natural gas vehicles to date. As part of a $16 million allocation to promote clean transportation fuels, the California Energy Commission in May approved a $1.28 million grant to DTNA for 40 heavy-duty natural gas-fueled vehicles in a buy-down program.

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