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Officials with Inergy subsidiary Central New York Oil & Gas Co. LLC (CNYOG) have called on FERC to quickly issue a certificate so the company can begin construction of its MARC Hub Line project in northeastern Pennsylvania, saying failure to do so “would have significant adverse commercial consequences for CNYOG and its shippers.” The project would give northern markets greater access to Marcellus Shale gas.

Energy technology developer Freestone Resources Inc. is teaming up with MEA Solutions LLC, a Houston-based oilfield services operator, to provide a “total solution” for water resource management that would include recycling flowback water from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in the onshore.

Proposed rule changes for handling drilling waste products and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) were approved Tuesday by the North Dakota Industrial Commission. They drew an immediate negative reaction from the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which claimed the changes would add up to $300,000 of added costs/well.

When they return from summer recess on Monday (Sept. 19), Pennsylvania lawmakers will take up a tax or fee on natural gas developers, pipeline safety measures and a model ordinance for local governments, but they probably won’t discuss forced pooling, legislative leaders told an audience in Philadelphia last week.

Houston-based Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP has been able to strengthen the value of its natural gas pipeline network by expanding and extending it into North American shale basins over the past few years, but the recent overabundance of gas has resulted in “lower natural gas prices and a reduction in price differentials, both seasonally and between basins,” according to CEO Stanley Horton.

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.

Prior-day futures strength, in which the July contract rose a stout 14.8 cents, was able to offset some forecast declines of cooling load in a couple of key market areas in keeping most points flat to slightly higher Wednesday.

North American upstream companies affected by political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East should be able to manage cash flow implications, Fitch Ratings said in a report. Higher crude price realizations, insurance recoveries and capital expenditure reductions should offset any cash flow issues, the report said. U.S.-based integrated companies with exposure are Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. Independents include Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Apache Corp., Hess Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. In addition, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Nexen Inc., Suncor Energy Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. have operations in the region, Fitch said.

Ask the former chief of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) what he thinks of a story last weekend in the New York Times about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) and you will get an earful (see related coverage at shaledaily.com).