Awaiting

Legislation to extend tax credits that support the conversion of conventional vehicles to run on cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, is awaiting the signature of Oklahoma’s governor after passage by the state House. The incentive, which covers about half the cost of converting a typical vehicle and three-quarters of the cost of establishing an alternative fueling station, will be extended until 2020. The incentives are expected to cost the state — a major natural gas producer — $1.5-2 million per year.

Devon Energy Corp. is selling its assets in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio, part of a strategy to raise new venture capital so it can focus on opportunities in the Permian Basin, Mississippian Lime and the Niobrara formation.

Sugar Land, TX-based Santrol, a Fairmount Minerals company, now has five Eagle Ford Shale rail terminals to handle proppant used for hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. By expanding to five Eagle Ford terminals, Santrol can ship more than one million tons of proppant per year throughout the formation, the company said. The terminals are supplying Santrol’s northern white frack sand and resin-coated proppants. “We have more terminals with more available rail car capacity than any other frack sand supplier in the region,” said Tom Bonno, Santrol terminal field service manager. The five terminals are located in: Alice, where there are two, Gardendale, Gonzales and San Antonio. All of the terminals operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In a state where water historically has dominated the energy discussion, there is more talk of oil and natural gas development, following the state’s adoption of new rules and regulations governing the expected increase in exploration and production (E&P) activity.

As of last Friday Enterprise Products Partners was awaiting a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform a directional drill at a pipeline crossing of the Missouri River at Decatur, NE, to enable inspection and repairs of two natural gas liquids pipelines that were shut in Aug. 13 following damage caused by flooding on the river. The eight-inch diameter pipelines — one carrying propane and one carrying natural gasoline — run from Conway, KS, to Minnesota and are expected to be out for at least two months. The pipelines are on the western leg of the Conway North System, which is part of Enterprise’s Mid-America Pipeline.

Texas legislation to require public disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) fluid was awaiting the governor’s signature last Friday. Regulators in a handful of other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Michigan — require some form of disclosure, but Texas would be the first state to mandate public disclosure through legislation.

Although it is still awaiting its first commercial cargoes, San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s newest liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Cameron along the southwest Louisiana coast was officially opened last Wednesday with the help of Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sempra CEO Donald Felsinger. The $900 million receiving terminal can process up to 1.5 Bcf/d.

Although it is still awaiting its first commercial cargoes, San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s newest liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Cameron along the southwest Louisiana coast was officially opened Wednesday with the help of Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sempra CEO Donald Felsinger. The $900 million receiving terminal can process up to 1.5 Bcf/d.

Friday afternoon Enterprise Products Partners LP was awaiting word from federal authorities on whether it could flow gas on a bypass of a Gulf of Mexico (GOM) platform that was damaged last week when a piece of equipment exploded and caused a fire.