Georgia

The BP plc-operated Shah Deniz consortium has launched its landmark natural gas development in Azerbaijan, laying the groundwork for Europe to avoid dependence on Russian gas.

While committing Atlanta-based Southern Company’s future tightly to its network of retail natural gas and electric utilities instead of traditional wholesale power operations, CEO Tom Fanning on Wednesday touted the benefits of federal tax reform.

Williams Partners LP and Southern Company Gas, a subsidiary of Southern Company, have successfully placed into service their Dalton Expansion Project, which was designed to add 448,000 Dth/d of capacity on the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco) mainline running from New Jersey to Mississippi.

Southern Company is acquiring a 50% equity interest in the Southern Natural Gas (SNG) pipeline system from Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI). The joint venture (JV) partners plan to “pursue specific growth opportunities” to develop natural gas infrastructure.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) has indefinitely suspended construction of its $1 billion Palmetto Pipeline after the Georgia General Assembly passed a moratorium on eminent domain, but the legislation is unlikely to impact natural gas projects in the state.

The Sabal Trail pipeline project scored a regulatory victory last Friday when an administrative law judge (ALJ) recommended that Florida regulators approve a permit for the pipeline over the objection of environmentalists.

Units of Kinder Morgan’s El Paso Pipeline Partners LP business said that during recent open seasons, plenty of customers stepped up for incremental long-term transportation capacity from the Marcellus Shale region to serve markets in Georgia, South Carolina and northern Florida.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said it estimates that five Mesozoic shale basins along the East Coast collectively hold a mean of nearly 3.9 Tcf in undiscovered natural gas and 135 million bbl of undiscovered natural gas liquids (NGLs), according to an abstract released Wednesday.

Inergy Midstream LP, UGI Energy Services Inc. and Capitol Energy Ventures Corp., a unit of WGL Holdings Inc., are conducting a non binding open season for shippers to transport natural gas volumes on the proposed Commonwealth Pipeline, which would carry Marcellus and Utica Shale production to market.