Days

Two days after a portion ruptured in a hydrostatic pressure test, replacement work was completed Wednesday on a one-mile segment of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) 34-inch diameter transmission pipeline (Line 300B) that is part of a link to southwestern supply basins.

Panhandle Eastern expects to begin three days of odorization on the Battle Creek Lateral Monday, during which the Battle Creek #1 interconnect with Southeast Michigan Gas will be unavailable; however, the Albion and Battle Creek #2 meters at the utility’s citygate will remain available.

With the first freezes of the season forecast in parts of the Midwest in the next couple of days and even the southern tier of states due to feel some significant chill by midweek, cash prices rose at all but one point Monday. The advance also got major support from the previous Friday’s spike of 17.2 cents by November futures and — to a much lesser extent — the return of industrial load from its usual weekend decline.

A nonprofit, nonpartisan group that represents all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties says it supports a local impact fee on natural gas development in the state but has “strong reservations” about counties being ultimately responsible for its levying and administration.

A handful of speakers showed up Wednesday at a Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) hearing to comment on a rule for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluid disclosure that the RRC is working to enact by the end of the year. Nearly everyone expressed support for the proposed rule and the commissioners’ work.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is heeding the advice of his Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission (MSAC) by proposing an impact fee, enhanced safety provisions and incentives to increase natural gas consumption.

Proposed rule changes for handling drilling waste products and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) were approved Tuesday by the North Dakota Industrial Commission. They drew an immediate negative reaction from the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which claimed the changes would add up to $300,000 of added costs/well.

A dairy company with an oil and gas lease has filed a lawsuit against the Town of Middlefield, NY, accusing the municipality of overstepping its authority by enacting a ban on oil and gas operations.

After climbing a couple of cents each day for the first four days of the week, cash point averages across the board gave all of the premium back and then some as a vast majority of prices dropped by more than 20 cents on Friday.