Application

Natural gas liquids (NGL) production from the Woodford Shale, Cana-Woodford Shale and Granite Wash, as well as NGL market developments in the Gulf Coast, have inspired ONEOK Partners LP to announce plans to spend $910 million to $1.2 billion between now and late 2013 on new liquids infrastructure.

Support — contingent on FERC first resolving some concerns — has been expressed for Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC’s application to add a new liquefaction operation to its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cameron Parish, LA, transforming it into a “bidirectional facility” for the purpose of exporting LNG. A trade group representing municipal gas utilities appeared to be the sole opponent to the project.

Widespread support has been expressed at FERC for Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC’s application to add a new liquefaction operation to its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cameron Parish, LA, transforming it into a “bidirectional facility” for the purpose of exporting LNG. Some parties, such as Chevron U.S.A. Inc., said their support was conditioned on Sabine Pass responding to a series of questions. A trade group representing municipal gas utilities lodged the only protest to the project.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Operating Inc. and Little Rock, AR-based Clarita Operating LLC agreed Friday to halt drilling waste injection activities at two disposal wells while a potential link between injection activities and earthquakes in the Fayetteville Shale region is examined.

Natural gas wells in Texas would have to be at least 1,200 feet from public schools if a bill filed Monday in the state legislature becomes law, but a group advocating the interests of Fort Worth neighborhoods says it wants wells to be one mile or more from the schoolhouse.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) Thursday approved an application from TransCanada unit NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) to construct and operate its C$307 million Horn River Project, an extension of NGTL’s Alberta System to transport sweet natural gas from the Horn River area in British Columbia (BC) to a tie-in point on the existing Northwest Mainline of the Alberta System.

Spectra Energy Corp. has filed an application at FERC to expand its Texas Eastern Transmission and Algonquin Gas Transmission interstate pipeline systems to serve the New Jersey and New York natural gas markets, the Houston-based company said Monday.

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) should deny an application from Laser Northeast Gathering Co. LLC to be deemed a public utility with the ability to exercise the right of public domain for its proposed gathering and transportation pipeline in Susquehanna County, PA, according to an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) recommendation to the PUC.

For the second time in four months, Broome County, NY, legislators have voted against an application from Denver-based Inflection Energy to lease acreage for natural gas drilling. In a 10-3 vote late Thursday, the county’s legislature killed an Inflection proposal to pay the county $2,250-2,750/acre to lease 3,200 acres for five years for gas drilling. A previous proposal, which would have paid $3,000/acre for 5,500 acres, was withdrawn by County Executive Barbara Fiala this summer after the legislature said it would not approve the plan. Inflection had removed from its proposal some Marcellus Shale acreage that includes county parkland or acreage adjacent to parkland. Both proposals offered a 20% royalty. A de facto moratorium on drilling in the state, which was put in place two years ago, remains in effect while the Department of Environmental Conservation reviews its permitting regulations (see Shale Daily, Oct. 13).