Event

Officials with the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said they hope to have all rules governing the public disclosure of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids — including one key rule with a separate deadline — finalized by the end of the year.

In the event of a shutdown of the federal government at midnight EDT Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the “vast bulk of the agency’s operations will cease.” It said it will have only 25 staff members overseeing the markets, which will allow the stock markets, commodities and futures exchanges to continue to operate.

The North Dakota Senate voted in March to support hydraulic fracturing and to extend oil tax breaks in the unlikely event that oil prices sharply decline, but turned down a proposal to reduce the top oil tax rate in exchange for higher production totals.

Last week the North Dakota Senate voted to support hydraulic fracturing and to extend oil tax breaks in the unlikely event that oil prices sharply decline, but turned down a proposal to reduce the top oil tax rate in exchange for higher production totals.

Tennessee declared a force majeure event for the section of pipe between Main Line Valves 400-1 and 402-1 in the Agua Dulce, TX, area due to possible damage from a third-party accident. Based on current nominations, Tennessee anticipated the possibility of restricting through a pro rata portion of Previous Scheduled (PS Priority) nominations for Monday’s Intraday Cycle and a pro rata portion of Secondary Out of Path nominations for Tuesday.

Gulf South declared a force majeure event due to repairs required at the Carthage Junction Expansion Compressor Station that began Tuesday and will last until further notice. Gulf South said that effective with Timely cycle nominations for Wednesday’s gas day going forward, it is anticipated that scheduled receipts in the “Area 8 to 16 Scheduling Group” will be restricted to Primary Firm only.

Tennessee declared a force majeure event Friday for Station 214 (Carrolton, OH) after a “possible rupture” occurred nearby (see related story). No injuries were reported, and there was no interruption of customer service, said pipeline spokesman Robert Newberry. However, Tennessee anticipated limiting intraday flow increases for Friday’s gas day and restricting 100% secondary out of path (SOP) nominations and lower priority services going forward, with a possibility of restricting a pro-rata portion of secondary in path (SIP) nominations. “At this time the certainty of such restrictions [is] unknown due to the current investigation of the incident,” a bulletin board posting said.

Tennessee declared a force majeure event of an unspecified nature Friday for the 26-inch diameter 523M-100 line south of Cocodrie, LA. Tennessee said it has isolated the pipe section and is in the process of lowering the pressure for further analysis. Five Ship Shoal and two South Pelto meters were required to shut in, but Tennessee said it is allowing associated nominations to remain in place at this time.

The continuing La Nina event in the equatorial Pacific Ocean will bring above-normal temperatures to a huge area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Mid-Atlantic over the next three months, but it is less clear how it will affect winter temperatures in the Northeast, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).