Corps

With industry, a U.S. senator and North Dakota state officials all focused on robust permitting applications for oil and natural gas development in the Bakken Shale, a new collaboration of federal agencies, the Bakken Federal Executives Group, is the latest attempt to streamline federal processes that are criticized for being too slow.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) for its Northeast Upgrade Project after determining that it is in the public interest and would not adversely affect the environment. An environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project is not necessary, in part because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its approval in May 2012 (see NGI, June 4, 2012). The Northeast Upgrade Project calls for expanding TGP’s existing 24-inch diameter 300 Line by building five, 30-inch diameter pipeline loops and modifying four existing compressor stations. The $400 million project would allow an additional 636,000 Dth/d of natural gas to be transported via the 300 Line to markets in the Northeast. An interconnection with the Algonquin Gas Transmission line also is to be built in Mahwah, NJ.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network said more than 50 organizations have signed a petition asking the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to take regulatory authority over natural gas pipelines in the watershed.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) will consider 35 applications for water withdrawals, most of them intended to support natural gas drilling, at its next meeting in mid-December.

Cash markets overall swan-dived an average 17 cents Friday as the usual suspects of an uninspired corps of weekend buyers joined forces with a mild weather outlook and a weak screen to send weekend and Monday gas sharply lower.

In a move anticipated by oil and natural gas producers, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Monday it was suspending 64 water withdrawal permits due to ongoing drought conditions in the basin, the highest number of suspensions since it began issuing permits in 2008.

Jesus Soto Jr., the current vice president for operations services at El Paso Corps.’ pipeline group, will become Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) senior vice president for gas transmission, operations, engineering and pipeline integrity beginning May 29. At El Paso, Soto deals with providing technical services and support to pipeline field operations covering measurement, compression, reserve/pipeline systems, federal Department of Transportation compliance and risk management. Soto previously worked for ANR Pipeline, Colorado Interstate Gas, Southern Natural Gas and Tennessee Gas Pipeline for onshore and offshore facilities. He holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Texas-El Paso and a master’s in engineering from Texas A&M.

Blame it on the rain, or a lack thereof. Just days after the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) had restored all of the 17 water withdrawal permits it had temporarily suspended in mid-April, back-and-forth drought conditions in northeast Pennsylvania have forced the agency to re-suspend two permits.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Tuesday it has restored all but one of the 17 water withdrawal permits it had temporarily suspended last week following drought conditions in the basin.