Democratic

Four Democratic senators have asked U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to explain why he told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that he would examine the issue of collecting information from the oil and gas industry on methane emissions but then reversed course six weeks later.

Appalachia went red on Tuesday, not only helping Republicans take the White House and keep their grip on the U.S. Senate, but mostly endorsing candidates with pro-energy agendas and rejecting an effort to thwart the oil and gas industry.

Pennsylvania’s former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell said this week that he made a “mistake” in putting the economic benefits of the shale gas boom before environmental protections.

EnLink Midstream Partners LPplans to construct the Greater Chickadee crude oil gathering project in Upton and Midland counties in Texas to serve Permian Basin producers. The partnership said it would invest $70-80 million to build the system, which would include more than 150 miles of high- and low-pressure pipelines to transport oil to major market outlets and other hub centers in the Midland, TX, area. The project also includes central tank batteries and pump, truck injection and storage stations. The initial phase is expected to be operational in the second half of this year with full service expected in early 2017. Greater Chickadee, supported by long-term, fee-based agreements, includes about 35,000 dedicated acres in Upton County where current output is .more than 10,000 b/d. Last November, an EnLink unit agreed to pay $40 million to Apache Corp. to acquire full ownership of their jointly owned Deadwood natural gas processing facility in the Permian (see Shale Daily,Nov. 17, 2015).

While the stance of the Republican presidential candidates is well known to be planted on the business side of oil and gas shale and fracking, there appears to be some moderation recently on the Democratic side, where candidates must dodge the slings and arrows of their environmental base.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will participate in an online forum this week to discuss potential Marcellus Shale gas drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest.

Two Democratic senators — Dianne Feinstein of California and Bill Nelson of Florida — introduced legislation Monday that would end federal incentives for oil and natural gas producers to drill in the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Montana Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus reintroduced the North Fork Watershed Protection Act last week to protect part of the state’s remote northwest from new oil and gas development and mining. The bill would help fulfill a 2010 trans-border agreement between former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

A group of Republican and Democratic senators last week proposed legislation that seeks to expedite exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations, Japan and others.