Geisinger Health System has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Degenstein Foundation to help complete a study on the health impacts from Marcellus Shale gas drilling, a report eagerly anticipated by officials in at least two states.
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Industry Brief
Houston-based Oil and Gas Solutions LLC (OGS) has been awarded an engineering contract by Austin, TX-based Omni Water Solutions Inc. to design Omni’s new HIPPO mobile water treatment system, which would be used to treat and recycle high volumes of water used in hydraulic fracturing. OGS said the system would be a modularized unit that would fit onto a conventional low-boy trailer for easy transport.
OxyChem Contracts for Texas Ethane Cracker Engineering
CBI said it has been awarded contracts by Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem) for the technology license, basic engineering and front end engineering and design services for a proposed new ethane cracker that is anticipated to have capacity of 1.2 billion pounds per year of ethylene.
Doctors, Researchers Differ on Fracking in New Brunswick
A Canadian family doctors’ association has called for the government of New Brunswick to enact a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), while researchers with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) are urging Fredericton to proceed with caution.
Industry Briefs
Williams Olefins LLC has awarded CB&I a $300 million contract for expansion of ethylene production capacity in Geismer, LA (see Shale Daily, Sept. 21, 2011). The award includes the license and basic engineering for the ethylene technology, the supply of the cracking furnaces and engineering, procurement, and construction of the expansion. Plant capacity is expected to be increased from 1.35 to 1.95 billion pounds per year. “The petrochemicals market is re-emerging in the U.S. due to the abundance of lower-cost ethane feedstock, directly attributable to increased shale gas production,” said CB&I CEO Philip K. Asherman. Ethylene, mainly produced via steam cracking, is the primary building block for the chemical industry and is used to produce a variety of products including plastics, fibers and rubbers.
Industry Brief
A unit of Willbros Group Inc.’s oil and gas business has been awarded a contract by Energy Transfer Partners LP to construct a portion of the Red River Gathering Pipeline (RRG). Work is to include construction of 97 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline from Ardmore, OK to Denton, TX. Construction is scheduled to begin in early April. The project is part of an agreement for Energy Transfer to provide gas gathering, processing and transportation services in the Woodford and Barnett shales for XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp. (see Shale Daily, Oct. 24, 2011). “The significant growth in the midstream market is driving additional opportunities for our strategy to offer comprehensive services to project developments in the liquid-rich drilling plays such as the Woodford shale,” said Willbros CEO Randy Harl.
Ethane Bound from Bakken to Alberta Petchem Plants
Construction approval was awarded last Thursday to a Canadian ethane import pipeline project rooted in expectations that Alberta natural gas supplies will continue to deteriorate.
Dover Power Plant Switching From Coal to Natural Gas
Delaware has issued an air quality construction permit and awarded grant money to NRG Energy Inc. as it begins a $26.5 million project to convert one of its power plants from coal to natural gas.
Shell’s Long-Delayed Beaufort Drilling Plan Moves Forward
Royal Dutch Shell plc on Thursday was awarded conditional approval by the Department of Interior to drill up to four exploratory wells over two years in northern Alaska’s Beaufort Sea, where it has invested more than $3.5 billion in leases and predevelopment.
Interior Backs Shell’s Long-Delayed Beaufort Sea Drilling Plan
Royal Dutch Shell plc on Thursday was awarded conditional approval by the Department of Interior to drill up to four exploratory wells over two years in northern Alaska’s Beaufort Sea, where it has invested more than $3.5 billion in leases and predevelopment.