Compression

Iroquois Gas Transmission System said it will pursue development of the Wright Interconnect Project (WIP), an expansion of its existing compression and metering facilities in Wright, NY. Last week Constitution Pipeline Co. said that a finalized route it will propose for a Marcellus pipeline included an agreement with Iroquois to expand the compressor station, which would eliminate the need for Constitution to build a 32,0000-hp compressor facility in Schoharie County, NY (see Shale Daily, Jan. 22). The WIP project will enable delivery of up to 650,000 Dth/d of natural gas from the terminus of the proposed Constitution Pipeline in Schoharie County into both Iroquois and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline under a 15 year capacity lease agreement with Constitution, Iroquois said. WIP is targeted for an in-service date of March 2015 to coincide with the startup of the Constitution Pipeline.

Atlas Pipeline Partners LP, which serves producers in West Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, surpassed a record for processed natural gas volumes in 3Q2012, which were up 36% from a year ago, executives said Wednesday.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline has filed an application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking to boost the compression capacity along its 300 Line to meet the growing demand for interstate natural gas transportation service in the northeastern United States and Canada.

Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has launched an investigation following an explosion at a natural gas compression facility in the northern Mexico border town of Reynosa, near McAllen, TX, where at least 29 people were killed and as many as 50 more were injured. Seven people reportedly were missing.

EagleClaw Midstream Services LLC, which provides natural gas and crude oil producers in the Permian Basin with gathering, compression, treating, processing and transportation services, has secured a $100 million equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream of San Antonio (see Shale Daily, Aug. 2). The company, headquartered in Midland, TX, is pursuing greenfield and acquisition opportunities in the region. EagleClaw is led by President Robert Milam, COO Curtis Clark and Executive Vice President of Commercial Development Charles S. Kuss. “While it has been one of the most prolific basins in North America for a long time, there has been a dramatic resurgence over the past year or two, and it’s more active than ever before,” Milam said of the Permian. “There are more than 500 rigs at work in the area, and production is reaching new highs.”

The natural gas vehicle (NGV) fueling kit manufacturer at Clean Energy Fuels Corp., BAF, has received approval from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its compression natural gas (CNG) conversion kits used on 2012 Ford F-Series 250/350 pickup trucks and E-Series 250/350 vans. CARB’s OK means the NGVs can now be sold in California. BAF is the first CNG converter in the nation to receive CARB’s certification for F-Series pickups. CNG-powered BAF E-250/350 van are already in wide use among service providers such as AT&T and Super Shuttle, and have been certified by CARB since 2007; now the certification is extended to include 2012 models. The latest NGV certification adds to permits BAF already has from CARB for several other Ford models, and it has federal Environmental Protection Agency certification for all of the models.

As part of its strategy to create a major natural gas supply hub in northeastern Pennsylvania, Williams Partners has formed an interstate pipeline joint venture with Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., one of the top producers in the Marcellus Shale.

DCP Midstream LLC plans to build a 75 MMcf/d gas processing plant in Glasscock County, TX, and an associated low-pressure gathering system to service producers focused on the Wolfberry play in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

Major producers have called on FERC to reject El Paso Natural Gas Co.’s proposal to abandon more than 90,000 hp of compression in the San Juan Triangle and North Mainline of the pipeline’s system, saying it would result in constrained capacity and potentially higher transportation rates.