Composed

GreenHunter Water LLC recently began handling water disposal services at its newly completed salt water disposal (SWD) facility near Helena in Karnes County, TX. The facility is composed of new storage tanks and a fully contained offloading platform that features four unloading tractor trailer bays, a 150 hp pumping system and 2,400 bbl of onsite storage. The newly drilled SWD well was completed to the Middle Wilcox formation at a total depth of 7,800 feet. Green Hunter Water is a unit of GreenHunter Energy Inc. “We expect demand for Class II injection capacity in this part of the Eagle Ford Shale play to remain robust due to the increased drilling in the region directly related to the successful drilling efforts by operators in the ‘oil window’ of the Eagle Ford,” said Green Hunter Energy President Jonathan D. Hoopes. “With this new well now online and the facility operational, GreenHunter Water’s total owned disposal capacity has reached 35,000 bbl per day from a total of seven SWD wells located in five states.”

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP said it will expand the natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator complex at its Sweeny Plant in Old Ocean, TX. Construction is to begin in April for completion in February. The expansion will increase capacity by about 22,000 b/d, or 19%. “One of the main drivers for the project is the rapid development of natural gas, crude oil and NGLs from the shale formations in the region,” said Martin Dale, feedstock procurement manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical. “This expansion positions Chevron Phillips Chemical to take additional raw NGL product from the Eagle Ford and Permian basins and ultimately convert the NGLs into products for consumer and commercial use.” The fractionation unit at Sweeny was built in the 1960s and is composed of two trains with current capacity of 116,000 b/d.

During the fourth quarter, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. made its first post-drilling/permitting moratorium in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) at the Cheyenne East prospect. CEO Jim Hackett said it heralds the company’s and the industry’s return to the GOM.

Williams Partners LP has agreed to acquire the Laser Northeast Gathering System and other midstream businesses from Delphi Midstream Partners LLC for about $750 million. Laser is composed of 33 miles of 16-inch diameter gas pipeline and associated gathering facilities in Susquehanna County, PA, as well as 10 miles of gathering pipeline in southern New York. The acquisition is supported by existing long-term gathering agreements that provide acreage dedications and volume commitments. As production in the Marcellus Shale increases, the Laser system is expected to reach a capacity of 1.3 Bcf/d, said Williams Partners, which plans to fund the purchase with $300 million in cash and 7.5 million common units. The deal, which the partnership said it earlier was pursuing (see Shale Daily, Dec. 5), is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

SM Energy Co. grew proved reserves by 27% last year to 984.5 Bcfe at year-end compared to 772.2 Bcfe at the end of 2009, the company said Tuesday.

State Review of Oil & Natural Gas Environmental Regulations Inc. (STRONGER), a nonprofit organization whose board is composed of state, industry and public interest representatives, will be conducting a review of the hydraulic fracturing portions of the oil and gas regulatory program of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Office of Conservation against guidelines developed by STRONGER. A report containing review team findings will be made available to interested parties. The organization recently conducted a similar review in Pennsylvania (see Daily GPI, Sept. 24).

Gastar Exploration Ltd. has sold its majority interest in the Hilltop Resort Gathering System to US Infrastructure LP (USI). The Hilltop Resort Gathering System is composed of 20 miles of gas pipeline extending through Robertson and Leon Counties, TX, with a gathering capacity of 120 MMcf/d. The system is connected to 24 Gastar-operated wells, which produce from the middle and lower Bossier and Knowles formations in East Texas. Gastar received approximately $21.7 million, net of costs and expenses associated with the transaction. “The sale of our stake in the Hilltop system provides an attractive return on our investment and additional liquidity to pursue our drilling plans in East Texas and the Marcellus Shale while maintaining a very low level of leverage,” said Gastar CEO J. Russell Porter. USI partnered with Metalmark Capital to finance the transaction.

Shell Gas & Power Developments BV Tuesday signed a master agreement with a consortium composed of Technip and Samsung for the design, construction and installation of multiple floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities over a period of up to 15 years, Royal Dutch Shell plc said.

A consortium composed of South Korea’s national oil company KOGAS, Korean-based LG International and Houston-based EMS Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to operate the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility being developed near Port Lavaca, TX, in Point Comfort.