Driven

Driven by steadily increasing midstream business, Atlas Pipeline Partners LLP’s (APL) natural gas volumes from onshore U.S. plays jumped by double digits in the first three months of this year from a year ago to average 1.03 Bcf/d, the operator said last week.

Driven by steadily increasing midstream business, Atlas Pipeline Partners LLP’s (APL) natural gas volumes from onshore U.S. plays jumped by double digits in the first three months of this year from a year ago to average 1.03 Bcf/d, the operator said late Monday.

Planning for the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline, which would carry mixed natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Northeast to the Gulf Coast, is still in early stages, but the project has piqued the curiosity of analysts who follow Bluegrass partner Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP.

In another plan for getting shale-driven domestic crude oil supplies in the central United States to the West Coast, Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies on Monday formed a joint venture to develop and operate a new rail shipment-linked 120,000 b/d unloading and marine loading facility at Port of Vancouver, WA, across the Columbia River from Portland, OR.

Most U.S. land buyers today are foreign companies that want to snap up unconventional prospects, and most are oil-driven. However, with natural gas prices rising, merger and acquisition (M&A) deals are likely this year, especially for operators struggling with costs, according to a PwC energy expert.

Driven by a sharp increase in natural gas prices, gas for electric generation dropped all over the nation, except in Florida, on a month-over-month basis in February compared to February 2012, according to the latest Electricity Monthly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which was released Monday.

Halliburton Co., the No. 2 global oilfield services provider, is beginning to see some blue skies in North America this year and going into 2014, CEO Dave Lesar said Monday.

Physical gas prices overall averaged four cents higher Monday with most points reporting nominal temperature-driven gains. Eastern points averaged gains of about a nickel, and Midwest locations gained close to a nickel as well, as chilly and stormy conditions were expected to prevail nearterm.

Range Resources Corp. achieved a record high production volume of 876 MMcfe/d during the first quarter of 2013, driven in large part by the continuing success of its drilling program in the Marcellus Shale, the company said Thursday.