Charleston

FERC staff will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for the Transco to Charleston Project, an 80,000 Dth/d pipeline project in South Carolina, the agency said Friday.

The recently formed Eagle Ford Task Force, which was created by Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter (see Shale Daily, July 29), outlined its agenda for the rest of the year at a meeting last week. The 24 task force members plan to focus on water usage and hydraulic fracturing; the impact of oil and gas production on community infrastructure; the need for public education about oil and gas production; and the promotion of economic development through the industry. At the meeting members discussed workforce issues affecting the region. Industry representatives estimated that approximately 120 jobs are connected to each drilling rig and currently there are about 200 rigs operating in the Eagle Ford. However, employers are often battling failed drug tests and background tests or the lack of commercial drivers licenses when trying to fill jobs in the burgeoning oil and natural gas play, they said.

Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. is closing both its Charleston, WV, and Denver regional offices by the end of the summer, but the CEO said there are no plans to sell any of its Rocky Mountain, Midcontinent or Marcellus Shale reserves.