Emission

Coal-fired plants that have not already begun to invest in back-end emission controls won’t be able to operate economically for too long into the future, but for plants already equipped with state-of-the-art controls the upcoming federal regulations to reduce carbon emissions will have a gradual impact taking up to a decade, according to NRG Energy Inc. CEO David Crane.

Driven by carbon emission reduction and renewable energy goals, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber recently released a new 10-year energy plan for the state that calls for conservation and energy efficiency to take care of all increased energy demand during the period. Fossil fuel use is discouraged, and natural gas is virtually unmentioned in the 49-page document..

As the natural gas industry pushes for a standardized drilling ordinance in Pennsylvania, it doesn’t expect the regulations to be easy, just predictable, a pair of executives told an audience in Pittsburgh.

Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) unit said Wednesday it has joined a San Diego-based low-emission alternative fuels company, Oberon Fuels, in a research and development (R&D) effort centered on a potential transportation fuel derived from natural gas called “Dimethyl Ether (DME).”

Calling newly proposed air emission standards to be imposed on the oil and gas industry an “overreach,” industry groups on Friday continued to lobby the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rethink its plans. In fact, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) warned that the standards could stifle natural gas production, which could promote the use of other less-clean energy sources.

Calling newly proposed air emission standards to be imposed on the oil and gas industry an “overreach,” industry groups on Friday continued to lobby the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rethink its plans. In fact, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) warned that the standards could stifle natural gas production, which could promote the use of other less-clean energy sources.

A moratorium on natural gas well permitting in Flower Mound, TX, is to end Friday, but those applying to drill in the affluent Barnett Shale town from now on will face some tough new requirements recently approved by the Flower Mound Town Council.

Enterprise Products Partners LP said it plans to build an 80-mile extension of its 350,000 b/d Eagle Ford Shale crude oil pipeline, which would allow the partnership to serve production in the southwestern portion of the play. The Phase II project would originate in Wilson County, TX, at the terminus of the previously announced 140-mile Phase I segment, and extend to near Gardendale, TX, in La Salle County, where a new central delivery point is planned that would feature 500,000 bbl of storage. Phase I is on schedule to begin service by the second quarter of 2012 with Phase II set to commence operations in the first quarter of 2013. When completed, the approximately 220-mile crude oil pipeline system would provide Eagle Ford producers with access to the Texas Gulf Coast refining complex through Enterprise’s network. The Phase II extension, which is being designed with a capacity of 200,000 b/d, is anchored by a 10-year agreement with Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc., which has committed to 100,000 b/d of firm capacity.

A California-based company, which now provides produced water services to several shale producers, on Tuesday said an Encana Corp. subsidiary would be the sole fuel supplier for its new fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks, which initially would service Haynesville Shale producers.