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Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) unit Centurion Pipeline LP is holding an open season through July 1 for capacity to transport crude oil from Irion, Sterling, Coke, Tom Green and Mitchell counties in West Texas to Centurion’s Colorado City, TX, station. The project targets crude oil production from the Permian Basin’s Cline Shale, which is thought by some to be “the next Eagle Ford.”

Crosstex NGL Pipeline LP is holding a binding open season through June 21 for capacity on a new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline system (the Crosstex NGL Pipeline) to transport unfractionated NGLs produced in the Permian Basin, Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and other areas from the Mont Belvieu, TX, area to NGL fractionation facilities in Acadia and Ascension Parishes, LA, for about one year and to NGL fractionation facilities in Acadia and Iberville Parishes, LA, thereafter. The pipeline is expected to have a preliminary design capacity to Acadia Parish of 77,000 b/d for the first year and is expected to reach 132,000 b/d thereafter. For information, contact Terry Brown at (214) 953-9510, or terry.brown@crosstexenergy.com.

Differentiated chemicals manufacturer Huntsman Corp. said it will increase capacity at its Geismar, LA, worldscale methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) facilities. Capacity will be increased by 50,000 tons to 500,000 tons using improved process technology developed by Huntsman and will enable the company to support growth of its key customers and leverage the advantages of the Geismar site and its access to U.S. shale gas, strong logistics base and excellent integration, Huntsman said. “The benefits of U.S. shale gas have significantly improved the economics of investing in U.S. facilities, and Huntsman has a number of other investments planned which will take advantage of lower-cost natural gas,” said Anthony Hankins, president of Huntsman polyurethanes. The new capacity is expected to come on-stream in 2014 and will further consolidate Huntsman’s position as the leading MDI producer in the Americas region, the company said. Huntsman also said it will upgrade its downstream specialties production capability at its Rotterdam, the Netherlands site. The cost of the two projects is $135 million.

Oneok Partners LP is holding an open season through Dec. 17 for its 600-mile Bakken Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Pipeline, which would transport unfractionated NGLs from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin to an interconnection with the partnership’s 50%-owned Overland Pass Pipeline in northern Colorado. The Bakken NGL Pipeline is under construction and is expected to be in service during the first quarter. In July Oneok said it would expand the project with additional pump stations in a project to be completed during the third quarter of 2014. For open season information, contact Lisa Nishimuta at (918) 588-7730, lisa.nishimuta@oneok.com.

As had been expected, the acquisition of Australia’s Eureka Energy Ltd. by Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. is to be completed, Aurora said in a letter to Eureka shareholders. Both companies have acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. Eureka has three core assets with a combined net acreage position of 6,742 acres, all focused on the Eagle Ford, according to the Australian company’s website. “The assets are at different levels of maturity throughout the value chain, from ongoing production and development, appraisal and development to initial technical development,” the company said. Aurora participates in multiple separate joint ventures that form a contiguous land position totaling 76,989 acres that sit at the heart of the Eagle Ford, according to the company (see Shale Daily, July 3; May 1).

A package of five conventional and unconventional properties in the northern Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin of Wyoming and Colorado is up for sale by Chesapeake Energy Corp. Gross acreage is estimated at more than 684,000 acres; net acreage totals about 504,000 acres, according to Meager Energy Advisors, the listing agent.

Two research projects to assess the oil shale potential of the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado are undergoing preliminary assessment by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado.

TransCanada’s ANR Pipeline Co. is holding a nonbinding open season for potential expansion of receipt capacity on its Lebanon Lateral in eastern Indiana and western Ohio. The project would carry growing production from the Marcellus and Utica shales, TransCanada said.

Much of the pipeline capacity into and out of the Perryville Hub in North Louisiana handles gas from the Haynesville/Bossier Shale in North Louisiana, as well as the Barnett, Fayetteville, Woodford and Eagle Ford shale plays. With gas demand from power generation growing up on the other side of the hub, and the potential for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from South Louisiana, Perryville pipeliners are streamlining trading operations.