Ground

A study published in Groundwater, a scientific journal for groundwater hydrogeologists published by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), said Marcellus Shale gas drilling did not cause methane contamination in private water wells in Dimock Township, PA.

Linde North America has broken ground for an air separation unit (ASU) plant in La Porte, TX, part of a $200 million investment that is to include a gasification train and supporting facilities. The German-based The Linde Group unit, set to begin operations in 1Q2015, would be the largest single site investment in plant and equipment to date in the United States. Oxygen and nitrogen produced by the ASU would supply gasification assets at the Texas site, converting natural gas into syngas and constituent products such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which are used to produce methanol, downstream chemicals and cleaner transportation fuels (see related story). The syngas products would be served by pipeline to a “key” customer, the company said. “Coupled with our unique portfolio of industrial gas and hydrocarbons technology, engineering and operations capabilities, the new plants will allow Linde to better serve the petrochemicals industry that is being driven to new heights by the shale gas revolution,” said Linde North America President Pat Murphy.

The oil and natural gas industry will have access to the same kind of risk-management practices used by astronauts and the technicians on the ground who support them through an alliance formed by Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions and the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Leatherstocking Gas Co., a 50-50 joint venture between Corning Natural Gas Corp. and Mirabito Holdings Inc., recently broke ground on a natural gas distribution system in Susquehanna County, PA, the latest step in its “local gas for local people” effort to supply Marcellus Shale gas to customers living in the area.

The Bowland-Hodder Shale of northern England has between 822 and 2,281 Tcf of natural gas in place, according to a new study that is the first to integrate all existing seismic data, geological analyses and well samples from the shale, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said Thursday. The assessment is higher than earlier estimates.

Leatherstocking Gas Co., a 50-50 joint venture between Corning Natural Gas Corp. and Mirabito Holdings Inc., recently broke ground on a natural gas distribution system in Susquehanna County, PA, the latest step in its “local gas for local people” effort to supply Marcellus Shale gas to customers living in the area.

While the United States has undergone a “tectonic shift” underground with the shale revolution, that shift has failed to translate to attitudes above-ground, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) she told a crowd of more than 900 from around the world attending the Energy Information Administration Energy Conference in Washington, DC.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett defended the decision to enact an impact fee, rather than a severance tax, on oil and gas drilling, and he said there was nothing new to report on a proposed ethane cracker in the western part of the state.

The U.S. natural gas markets likely face demand growth of more than 14 Bcf/d between now and 2020, and while there appears to a surplus of gas still in the ground, demand may be capped by operators’ ability to deliver supply, Barclays Capital analysts said Monday.