Amended

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last Thursday amended permits for two Marcellus Shale gas wells being erected in Morgantown to include closed-loop drilling systems, but it has no plans at this time to make the systems a statewide requirement.

MoBay Storage Hub LLC, an affiliate of Falcon Gas Storage Co. Inc., received an order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which amended a 2006 certificate, to increase the total capacity of its storage facilities in South Mobile Bay County, AL, by 3.70 Bcf to 86.74 Bcf, of which 59.61 Bcf will be working capacity [CP06-398]. MoBay proposes to install nine injection and withdrawal wells in addition to the 21 wells that already exist. Two of the wells will be installed at new offshore locations and seven at previously approved well caisson structure locations, the order said. All of the new wells will be within the North Dauphin Island storage reservoir. FERC also approved MoBay’s request for market-based rate approval for firm and interruptible storage, hub and wheeling services.

Weaver’s Cove Energy filed an amended application with FERC last week to revise its agency-approved liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project by constructing a berth for tankers one mile offshore Mount Hope Bay and underwater pipeline facilities to offload and deliver LNG to the proposed terminal site at Fall River, MA.

In an amended application filed with FERC this week, Weaver’s Cove Energy is seeking to revise its agency-approved liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project by constructing a berth for tankers one mile offshore Mount Hope Bay and underwater pipeline facilities to unload and deliver LNG to the proposed terminal site at Fall River, MA.

The Agriculture Department’s Forest Service is seeking comments on how the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan should be amended to accommodate the Palomar Gas Transmission LLC pipeline proposed for the Pacific Northwest.

Citing high linepack levels and excessive long imbalance positions by shippers, MRT amended a previous System Protection Warning (SPW) notice (see Daily GPI, Aug. 27) to have it begin last Friday instead of Saturday as previously posted and add conditions. MRT will not schedule any volumes that result in a daily long imbalance position while the SPW is in effect. See the bulletin board for other conditions. MRT also said systemwide and/or individual “Standard” OFOs may be necessary “requiring immediate compliance if shippers do not comply with the SPW or if actual delivery volumes deviate from nominated volumes such that long daily imbalance positions occur.”

The U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Administration has issued a finding of no significant environmental impact to McMoRan Exploration Co. for its amended Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEH) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which would be located 16 miles offshore Louisiana. In addition, McMoRan also received a letter from the Department of Natural Resources for the state of Louisiana on Sept. 21, indicating that the proposed facility is consistent with the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Administration last week issued a finding of no significant environmental impact to McMoRan Exploration Co. for its amended Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEH) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which would be located 16 miles offshore Louisiana. In addition, McMoRan also reported that it received a letter from the Department of Natural Resources for the state of Louisiana on Sept. 21, indicating that the proposed facility is consistent with the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program.

The House Resources Committee Wednesday voted out by a wide margin amended legislation that seeks to open currently closed portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and natural gas drilling and increase coastal states’ share of revenues from offshore production.