Billiton

Booming shale plays in the United States have proved to be more than transformational domestically, according to Jeff Welch, head of North American Gas for EDF Trading North America — they are having “mind-boggling” implications worldwide.

ExxonMobil Corp. and BHP Billiton are partnering to build the world’s largest floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) processing and export plant off Australia’s northwest coast.

The government of Western Australia said Wednesday it will introduce regulations to mandate public disclosure of “any chemicals introduced into a well or formation” although tight and shale gas development in the region is seen as “a number of years away.”

U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. and BNSF Railway Co. are partnering to meet the needs of Eagle Ford Shale producers for sand to be used as proppant in their hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP’s (KMP) Crude/Condensate pipeline (KMCC) has entered service, carrying crude oil and condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas to the Houston Ship Channel.

BHP Billiton has agreed to provide $708 million in pre-commitment funding for phase two of the BP plc-operated Mad Dog project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Foreign energy producers Statoil ASA, BHP Billiton Ltd. and BG Group plc, which have eagerly — and substantially — invested in U.S. unconventional natural gas over the past few years, are eschewing the low-priced fuel and following other operators to domestic liquids and oil plays, executives said last week.

Foreign energy producers Statoil ASA, BHP Billiton Ltd. and BG Group plc, which have eagerly — and substantially — invested in U.S. unconventional natural gas over the past few years, are eschewing the low-priced fuel and following other operators to domestic liquids and oil plays, executives said this week.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP is a bit of an anomaly in the midstream sector as it is focused exclusively on shale plays, CEO Robert Phillips told financial analysts Tuesday. It’s the only partnership that does so, save for the much larger Chesapeake Midstream Partners, he said.