Feasibility

A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc has offered to pay localities millions for lost tax revenue affected by its proposed “world-scale” ethane cracker.

Bayer AG continues to discuss the lease or sale of acreage it owns in West Virginia for potential locations for ethane crackers, but at least one company has dropped out of those talks. “An affiliate of ours had been looking at a project in that area for an ethylene facility, but they are no longer doing that,” a spokesman for Houston-based PetroLogistics told NGI’s Shale Daily. In December, Bayer said a trio of sites it owns in industrial parks in New Martinsville, Institute and South Charleston, WV, totaling about 1,480 acres were available and would be ideal locations for thermal crackers (see Shale Daily, Dec. 23, 2010). Bayer wouldn’t discuss “speculation or market rumors” about possible deals, but has been in “serious discussions with several interested companies” that are looking at the West Virginia properties, Bayer spokesman Bryan Iams told NGI’s Shale Daily.

Mississippi Hub LLC is seeking an exemption from Section 7 certificate requirements to conduct certain temporary activities to determine the operational feasibility of developing a natural gas storage facility in southern Mississippi.

Following completion of its feasibility studies, Crosstex Energy LP said it will proceed with construction of its North Texas Pipeline project to bring natural gas out of the Barnett Shale and into markets in the Midwest and East. The project was first announced last December (see Daily GPI, Dec. 14, 2004).

Kinder Morgan said it is evaluating the feasibility of developing a pipeline or expanding Natural Gas Pipeline Co.’s (NGPL) Louisiana line to accommodate natural gas from several liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals planned along the Gulf Coast. The additional transportation capacity would be used to deliver regasified LNG to various markets and pipeline hubs in the region along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

Following up on a request to FERC in June, Unocal Midstream & Trade (UMT) is assessing the feasibility of developing the first-ever bedded salt natural gas storage facility in Morgan County, CO. Unocal Windy Hill Gas Storage LLC asked the Commission for permission to conduct subsurface testing four months ago (see NGI, July 5).

Following up on a request to FERC in June, Unocal Midstream & Trade (UMT) is assessing the feasibility of developing the first-ever bedded salt natural gas storage facility in Morgan County, CO. Unocal Windy Hill Gas Storage LLC asked the Commission for permission to conduct subsurface testing four months ago (see Daily GPI, June 30).

Questar Pipeline Co. announced it is holding an open season to determine the feasibility of expanding its Northern System to provide additional natural gas deliveries to Kern River Gas Transmission.

A feasibility study on a Mackenzie Delta pipeline won’t be ready before the middle of 2003, and a completed project’s timing now falls between 2007-2010, said a Shell Canada Ltd. executive last week. Shell Canada is one of the partners in a consortium to move natural gas from the prolific region, but despite the delay, the company has begun buying more land and developing the frontier basin in anticipation of laying a pipe.