The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a favorable environmental assessment (EA) of an expansion of Texas Eastern Transmission LP‘s (Tetco) system to deliver an additional 600,000 Dth/d of Marcellus Shale gas to market areas in New Jersey and New York [CP13-84]. The Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market Project (TEAM 2014) calls for building 33.6 miles of 36-inch diameter gas pipeline in seven separate loops and associated pipeline facilities in Pennsylvania; upgrades and abandonments of compressor stations, resulting in the net increase of 77,100 hp; and bidirectional flow modifications at 18 existing compressors, 17 pig launcher and receiver sites, and two existing meter and regulating facilities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The project has an in-service target of November 2014 (seeNGI, Jan. 23, 2012).

The four co-chairs of the House of Representatives‘ Natural Gas Caucus have one message for the Obama administration: stay out of state regulators’ oil and natural gas activities. Keep out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “and allow the states to do their jobs,” said Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) during a Natural Gas Roundtable meeting on Capitol Hill. “I think one of the most important things we can do in Washington is keep government out of the way,” said Thompson, whose district is within the Marcellus Shale. The states will win in a debate over whether there should be “one-size-fits-all” regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), said Rep. Jim Costa (D-Costa (D-CA). “If you were asking me to handicap it…I think there probably is not going to be a piece of legislative that will create a criteria for a [federal] regulatory regime in the near future, and what the administration ends up doing as it relates to using the power of the executive branch on a regulatory regime is limited, I believe.” California legislators have passed a framework to set standards for fracking that are expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, with implementation beginning Jan. 1 (see NGI, Sept. 16).

Tennessee Gas Pipeline has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization to place a Pennsylvania pipe expansion into service by Monday (Sept. 23) and compression facility modifications by Nov. 1 to provide takeaway capacity for Marcellus Shale gas. The MPP project consists of a 7.9-mile, 30-inch diameter looping segment (Loop 313) and facility modifications to allow for bi-directional flow at several compressor stations by the start of winter heating season: Compressor Station 219, Mercer County; Compressor Station 303, Venango County; and Compressor Station 310, McKean County. Loop 313 would be adjacent to most of Tennessee’s existing 24-inch diameter 300 Line. Tennessee has executed binding precedent agreements with Southwestern Energy Services Co. (100,000 Dth/d) and Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc. (140,000 Dth/d) for firm capacity.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline‘s application to increase compression capacity along its 300 Line to meet growing demand in the Northeast and Canada. The Rose Lake Expansion Project calls for adding 12,630 hp at Compressor Station 315 near Wellsboro in Tioga County, PA; adding 3,661 hp for the expansion component and to replace 9,000 hp at the Wyalusing Compressor Station 319 in Bradford County, PA; and upgrading an existing compressor and installing other facilities at Troy Compressor Station 317, also in Bradford County (see NGI, Aug. 13, 2012).

Apache Corp. has agreed to sell some dry natural gas-rich assets in Canada for $112 million. In two separate transactions, producing acreage in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, all primarily dry gas developments in Saskatchewan and Alberta, is being sold. The assets include the Hatton, St. Lina, Marten Hills, Snipe Lake, Valhalla and part of the Hawkeye producing properties. The buyers weren’t disclosed. Of the properties now being sold, Apache at the end of June had about 4,000 operated and 1,300 nonoperated wells, with production averaging 38 MMcf/d of gas and 750 b/d of oil and liquids. Including sales in Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and Egypt, Apache has to date announced sales worth nearly $7.2 billion,. The latest sale is set to close by the end of the year.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a joint request for temporary waivers of some regulations to facilitate the $3.75 billion sale of Apache Corp.‘s shallow water assets in the Gulf of Mexico to Fieldwood Energy LLC (see NGI, July 22). Apache and Houston-based Fieldwood sought waivers that prohibit tying arrangements, shipper-must-have-title policy prohibition against buy-sell arrangements, and posting and bidding provisions as set forth in the tariffs of the affected pipelines [RP13-1197]. Apache plans to retain its half-stake in all of the exploration blocks and the horizons below production in the developed blocks.

A consent decree has been approved for XTO Energy Inc. to pay a $100,000 fine for discharging 50,000 gallons of toxic wastewater illegally in 2010 at a Marcellus Shale well site in Pennsylvania.U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann‘s approval will require the ExxonMobil Corp.exploration unit to pay the civil penalty to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the incident in Penn Township near Hughesville. The consent decree anticipates that XTO will spend as much as $20 million to implement preventive measures and install appropriate recycling and disposal measures. The Pennsylvania attorney general earlier in September filed criminal charges against the company for the same incident (see NGI, Sept. 16). A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for Nov. 5 for XTO to respond to five counts of unlawful conduct under the Clean Streams Law and three counts of unlawful conduct under the Solid Waste Management Act.

A snap poll conducted by the Syracuse Post-Standard in New York has found that more than 85% of respondents believe hydraulic fracturing (fracking) should at least be permitted in certain parts of the state, while only about 13% believe the practice should be banned outright. The snap poll, which is open to all of the newspaper’s web visitors, had received 1,689 votes as of Friday. Of those, 1,396 (82.65%) said fracking “should be allowed” in the state, while another 48 (2.84%) said the practice “should be allowed, but only in limited locations in the state.” Only 217 respondents, 12.85% of the total, said fracking “should be banned.” The results of the snap poll are not scientific.

Retail natural gas utility bills for residential and small business customers in Colorado are expected to increase 8% in 4Q2013 from a year ago, according to Xcel Energy. The utility asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to increase both gas and electric utility charges beginning Oct. 1. By the utility’s estimates, average residential and small business monthly gas bills will be about $65.00 and $268.00, respectively, representing a near $5/month hike for residential customers and $20 more each month for small businesses.

Shares of Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) have been rebounding after CEO Rich Kinder addressed concerns about an analyst report that pipeline maintenance spending was being neglected to increase distributable cash flow and incentive distribution rights paid by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners(KMP). In a conference call he explained differences in sustaining capital spending by El Paso Corp.on assets in 2011 and what it has spent in 2013 since the buyout (see NGI, May 28, 2012). On Sept. 3, KMI closed at $37.57 but fell to $35.22 on Sept. 6 after the report. After the call, shares began to rise, closing after a sell-off on Friday at $36.23.

In what’s being viewed as a symbolic move, Pennsylvania Sen. Jim Ferlo (D-Pittsburgh) has introduced a bill calling for an “open-ended” moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state until it can be fully studied by a seven-member panel called the Well Drilling Study Commission. SB 1100 also calls on the panel to make recommendations. According to reports, Ferlo acknowledged the bill would likely be vetoed by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Last June, a group of Pennsylvania Democrats approved a resolution calling for a state moratorium on fracking.

Dutch-based LyondellBasell Industries expects to complete a cracker expansion at the Channelview, TX, facility near Houston by the end of the year, with production ramping up in early 2014. Senior Vice President Sergey Vasnetsov, who is in charge of strategic planning and transactions, said the company “sees olefins and polyolefins” in the United States ” as a primary investment vehicle,” and worth most of discretionary capital expenditures for fiscal 2013.Lyondell plans to add 250 million pounds per year of ethylene capacity to the Texas facility, one of six crackers in the United States, by 2015 (see NGI, March 18). Collectively, the six crackers have an annual capacity of 9.8 billion pounds.

The U.S. Geological Survey has issued the latest in a series of reports analyzing land disturbances in Pennsylvania from natural gas drilling over a six-year period in Pennsylvania. Researchers used data from the National Agriculture Imagery Program to study patterns of landscape disturbance, including land cover and land use, from 2004 to 2010 in 14 counties that included some in the Marcellus Shale. Changes in forestation also were studied. A final report analyzing 30 of the state’s 67 counties within the Marcellus Fold Felt of the Appalachian Basin is expected by year’s end.

A proposal to hike rates by Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) of Kansas City, MO, also includes incentives to encourage energy efficiency among consumers and options for the financing of energy-efficient appliances, the Laclede Gas Co. utility said. The appliance financing program is Laclede’s EnergyWise program, which has been offered previously by utility Laclede Gas, where it has supported the purchase of more than $16 million worth of energy-efficient appliances, Laclede said. MGE recently became a part of Laclede (see NGI, Sept. 9). MGE proposes to hike the distribution component of its rates so the typical residential customer would see a net increase of $2.33 per month. The proposed rates would provide net additional revenues of $17 million.

Construction has begun for Benteler International AG‘s $975 million steel steel tube manufacturing project in Shreveport, LA. Some of the plant’s output will serve the U.S. oil and gas industry in southern and Midwestern states. The project’s first phase, a hot-rolling seamless steel tube facility, is scheduled to be completed in 3Q2015 with a steel mill ready by 2020. Recently, Louisiana landed its third gas-to-liquids project based on the strength of shale gas output in the region (see NGI, Sept. 9).

Enterprise Products Partners LP‘s seventh natural gas liquids fractionator has ramped up at the Mont Belvieu, TX, complex with the capability to process up to 85,000 b/d, increasing total capacity at the facility to 570,000 b/d. The eighth fractionator should be in service by the end of the year, increasing total capacity to 655,000 b/d, compared to 400,000 b/d three years ago.

Gulfport Energy Corp. has placed three Utica Shale wells in Harrison County, OH, online. Wagner 3-28H, produced at an average seven-day sales rate of 9.7 MMcf/d, 214 b/d of condensate and 1,067 b/d of natural gas liquids (NGL). Clay 3-4H,produced at an average week rate of 2.5 MMcf/d, 392 b/d of condensate and 323 b/d of NGLs. Lyon 3-27H produced at an average week rate of 2 MMcf/d, 477 b/d of condensate and 274 b/d of NGLs.

West Virginia lawmakers are considering legislation to establish an oil and natural gas trust fund similar to ones in other states. State Senate President Jeffrey Kessler (D-Marshall) is reportedly planning to introduce a bill, possibly in the form of a constitutional amendment, in the 2014 legislative session to create a Future Fund, created by a portion of the state’s oil and gas severance taxes. West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Executive Director Ted Boettner said data from the Energy Information Administration suggests a trust fund could yield $2 billion by 2040, assuming no funds are withdrawn. The state’s oil and gas well projections indicate the fund could be worth as much as $4 billion by 2040.

Two Ohio lawmakers are preparing legislation to offer tax credits for converting passenger vehicles and trucks powered by gasoline/diesel fuel into bi-fuel vehicles and for purchasing vehicles powered by compressed natural gas and propane, among other things. The proposal being etched out by StateReps. Sean O’Brien (D-Hubbard) and David Hall (R-Millersburg) would provide a one-time credit covering up to 50% of the cost of a new purchase or a conversion, with a maximum of $5,000 for light vehicles, $10,000 for medium trucks and $25,000 for heavy-duty trucks. The tax credits, funded in part of Ohio’s severance tax on energy operations, would only be offered for five years

U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones of the Western District in Virginia is considering whether five lawsuits against EQT Corp. and Consol Energy Corp. should proceed as a class action, a decision that could potentially add thousands of plaintiffs in the state to those that claim the operators cheated them of royalty payments. The cases in the district court are Adair v. EQT Corp. et al; Addison v. CNX Gas Co. LLC et al; Adkins v. EQT Production Co.; Hale v. CNX Gas Co. LLC et al; and Legard et al. v. EQT Corp. et al.

North America’s potential tight oil resources may pale in comparison to those estimated worldwide, according to a study by IHS Inc. A geological study, “Going Global: Predicting the Next Tight Oil Revolution” indicated that commercially producing several big potential technical tight oil resources could equal or exceed current estimates for those in North America. Of 148 areas analyzed, researchers said they had identified the 23 highest potential global tight oil plays and found resources may be 175 billion bbl. North America has an estimated 43 billion bbl of potentially commercial tight oil resources, previous IHS studies have found. The 23 biggest plays identified include the Vaca Muerta formation in Argentina, the Silurian shales in North Africa and the Bazhenov Shale in West Siberia. The list also includes geological plays in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.