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Caliber Midstream Partners LP, a joint venture (JV) formed by Triangle Petroleum Corp. and First Reserve Corp.’s Energy Infrastructure Fund (FREIF), will focus on midstream and infrastructure opportunities in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana, Triangle said Monday.

Cheniere Energy Partners LP has struck commitments for $3.4 billion to fund the costs of developing, constructing and placing into service the first two liquefaction trains of the Sabine Pass LNG liquefaction project, it said. Sabine Pass Liquefaction is finalizing definitive loan documents with lenders and is working on commitments of about $200 million with additional institutions. The credit facility is expected to be closed by the end of the month. “Including the recently announced $2 billion of equity commitments [see Daily GPI, May 25], we have now received financial commitments of approximately $5.4 billion for the construction of trains 1 and 2 of our liquefaction project,” said CEO Charif Souki. “Our ability to access a very large credit facility will significantly reduce our costs of financing during construction. We expect to reach a final investment decision and issue notice to proceed to Bechtel upon meeting all conditions precedent under the financial agreements…” Sabine Pass is the only proposed U.S. liquefaction project to have been granted authority to export to non-free trade agreement countries (see Daily GPI, April 17).

MarkWest Utica EMG LLC, a partnership between Appalachian midstream provider MarkWest Energy Partners LP and private equity fund The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG), has secured agreements to process and transport Gulfport Energy Corp.’s growing natural gas volumes from three eastern Ohio counties between now and 2014. The partners also are expanding one Utica Shale midstream facility and building a new plant to ensure producers have enough fractionation services available.

State of New York Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who manages the New York State Common Retirement Fund, joined other large investor groups on Tuesday and urged Chesapeake Energy Corp. shareholders to not support the reelection of board members Richard Davidson and V. Burns Hargis, the only two up for reelection.

Wyoming has set aside $750,000 to help fund cistern systems for Pavillion homeowners whose groundwater may have been contaminated by natural gas drilling, and affected residents will be able to take advantage of that offer, Gov. Matt Mead told reporters last Wednesday.

Wyoming has set aside $750,000 to help fund cistern systems for Pavillion homeowners whose groundwater may have been contaminated by natural gas drilling, and affected residents will be able to take advantage of that offer, Gov. Matt Mead told reporters last Wednesday.

Warburg Pincus LLC is leading a group of investors to fund up to $1.125 billion in a new Gulf of Mexico (GOM) deepwater explorer helmed by a former Nexen Inc. executive.

In another move to fund its Sabine Pass LNG liquefaction project in Louisiana, Cheniere Energy Partners LP has agreed to sell $1.5 billion in newly issued CQP Class B units to investment funds managed by Blackstone Energy Partners LP and Blackstone Capital Partners VI LP, the Houston-based company said last week.

British Columbia’s (BC) largest gas distributor has taken a lead position in a program allowing utilities and their customers to fund incentives for natural gas vehicle (NGV) use, thereby boosting the market for the province’s production.