Howard

Howard Energy Partners (HEP) and NextEra Energy Partners (NEP) on Wednesday said they plan to develop more natural gas transportation projects in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas with an eye on export markets, including Mexico.

The mantra for a San Antonio, TX-based midstream operator, whose portfolio is increasingly weighted to southern destinations, could well be what’s good for Texas is good for Mexico.

Howard Energy Partners (HEP) cited a variety of reasons Wednesday for a delay in starting up the Nueva Era pipeline, which would transport natural gas produced in the Eagle Ford Shale to markets in northern Mexico.

The Port of Corpus Christi in South Texas, where a building boom is underway from oil and natural gas growth fueled by the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, is readying for another big expansion designed to transport energy to Mexico.

Alberta government investment arm Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) has agreed to acquire a 28% stake in Howard Energy Partners (HEP) from EnLink Midstream Partners LP. Meanwhile, EnLink said it is investing more in the Oklahoma’s STACK play, the Sooner Trend of the Anadarko Basin, mostly in Canadian and Kingfisher counties.

Despite a downturn in oil and natural gas prices and the drop in drilling activity across the country, midstream companies both large and small are still committed to entering or building their positions in the Appalachian Basin given the need to push natural gas supplies from the region.

Despite a downturn in oil and natural gas prices and the drop in drilling activity across the country, midstream companies both large and small are still committed to entering or building their positions in the Appalachian Basin given the need to push natural gas supplies from the region.

Southwestern Energy Co. is selling its natural gas gathering assets in northeast Pennsylvania’s Bradford and Lycoming counties for $500 million to Texas-based newcomer Howard Midstream Energy Partners LLC., the company said Thursday.

Natural gas demand for U.S. electricity generation this winter is likely to look a lot like it did this past winter, 2.5-2.6 Tcf, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Deputy Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said at the LDC Gas Forum in Chicago. In addition, a lot of coal-fired generation will still be around, but how much capacity gets used will depend on natural gas prices. “We’re again expecting the power burn to run between 2.5 Tcf and 2.6 Tcf of gas for the period of December this year through March 2013…There is about 500 Bcf going to generation that could switch back to coal should natural gas prices start to rise above our expectations.” Gruenspecht said earlier this year the power burn was running more than 24 Bcf/d of gas to generate electricity. “We’re now expecting over the course of this year for the Henry Hub natural gas price to average about $2.65 and the average to move up to $3.34 next year. There is a lot of uncertainty about natural gas prices, in September we are looking at a future contract price ranges from $2.30/MMBtu to almost $4.70/MMBtu.”