Fuel

Policies that take advantage of the U.S. fossil fuel energy abundance — natural gas, oil and coal — could spark “widespread employment growth” in many areas of the country, according to new research by the Manhattan Institute.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline has filed an application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking to boost the compression capacity along its 300 Line to meet the growing demand for interstate natural gas transportation service in the northeastern United States and Canada.

Natural gas and oil liquids are expected to expand globally, U.S. energy imports will continue declining and a reordering of the fossil fuel mix in North America will prompt a rethinking of domestic energy policy, according to the authors of a study due out later this summer.

The Marcellus Shale’s location near high-consumption centers, its bountiful reserves and its chameleon-like ability to produce wet or dry natural gas in abundance have made it a worthwhile destination for midstream operators, and it should remain so for several years, according to Fitch Ratings.

An environmental dividend is emerging for Alberta, Canada’s energy warehouse province, as a bonus of oilsands development.

With survey data indicating steady future growth, the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel is gaining momentum in a variety of fleet vehicle operations in four key areas — economics, manufacture of vehicles, fueling infrastructure and public policy support, according to Richard Kolodziej, president of Washington, DC-based NGVAmerica.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $3 million to two University of California campuses for research to improve natural gas production, fuel infrastructure and pipeline reliability. Investment in gas research is intended to accelerate development of clean energy technologies. The UC Riversidecampus was awarded $1.4 million to develop a more efficient thermochemical method for producing renewable gas. The research is thought to have the potential to replace 30% of the natural gas burned in California, which receives 87% of its supplies from out of state. The Riverside campus was awarded $1.2 million to help ensure the compatibility of natural gas with other alternative fuels in the transportation sector. The UC Berkeley campus received $425,000 to study the effects of rising sea levels on gas pipelines in San Francisco Bay.

As it goes with producers, so it goes with the midstream: liquids-rich gas is the most desirable to have and to handle, and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP’s Boardwalk Field Services LLC is expanding its systems accordingly.

In response to low natural gas prices, Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday said it would “immediately” curtail 0.5 Bcf/d, or 8% of its current operated gross natural gas output, which is 6.3 Bcf/d. As much as 1 Bcf/d could be curtailed “if conditions warrant.”