Enhance

Crosstex Energy LP has completed two projects aimed at getting shale oil and condensate to higher paying markets.

A trio of recently completed Oneok Partners LP projects will enhance North Dakota’s processing of natural gas and help reduce flaring in the state, according to Gov. Jack Dalrymple.

Continental Resources Inc., now the king of the Bakken Shale, has expanded its empire to an estimated 1.1 million net acres after completing a deal to buy 119,218 million acres for $649.3 million in cash. The Samson Resources Co. properties in North Dakota, primarily in Williams and Divide counties, have current production estimated at about 6,500 boe/d, 82% weighted to crude oil.

UGI Energy Services Inc. and Capitol Energy Ventures Corp. have taken firm capacity on the proposed Commonwealth Pipeline, making them anchor shippers on the project, which is sponsored by Inergy Midstream LP, UGI Energy and Capitol Energy. The contracts are for 10 years at negotiated rates. Commonwealth would provide a path for bringing gas produced in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays to markets in central and southeastern Pennsylvania and the greater Mid-Atlantic region (see Shale Daily, May 8). The proposed interstate pipeline will consist initially of 120 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline extending from the southern terminus of the Inergy Midstream’s MARC I Pipeline in Lycoming County, PA, to several points of interconnection in southeastern Pennsylvania with other interstate pipelines, including NiSource Gas Transmission and Storage, Texas Eastern Transmission Co., Transco Pipeline, and Eastern Shore Natural Gas Co.

First quarter results of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. improved over the year-ago period, thanks mainly to expansion of the company’s production base. Oil and gas production volumes both set company records, although low gas prices weighed on the Houston-based producer.

Tennessee declared an Imbalance Warning Monday to enhance its operational flexibility to manage high imbalances in Zones 5 and 6. The warning requires delivery point operators in those zones to keep actual daily takes out of the system equal to or less than scheduled quantities regardless of their cumulative imbalance position, and receipt point operators to keep actual daily receipts into the system equal to or greater than scheduled quantities regardless of their cumulative imbalance position.

Swap derivative officials called on federal regulators Wednesday to enhance transparency in the $600 billion-plus derivatives markets, but not to the point where it could restrict liquidity .

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its United Kingdom counterpart, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), have begun to work “to enhance cooperation and the exchange of information” to supervise cross-border clearinghouses. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed Monday by CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler and FSA CEO Hector Sants took effect immediately. According to the CFTC, the MOU “is an important step in ensuring the sound oversight of clearing houses providing services in both the United States and the United Kingdom and will help promote market integrity and appropriate customer protection in the global derivatives markets.”

The heads of the two most powerful House committees overseeing derivatives markets have come together on the framework for legislation that would enhance federal regulatory authority to crack down on excessive speculation in the unregulated over-the-counter (OTC) markets.