Intended

Proposed federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) violate the spirit of an earlier order by President Obama that called for the “least burdensome” regulations to be applied to allow for predictability and certainty, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead told U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in a letter last Thursday.

Small pipeline projects intended to achieve big increases in Canadian imports of shale gas from the United States were launched last Tuesday in Ontario by Union Gas Ltd. and Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc.

Small pipeline projects intended to achieve big increases in Canadian imports of shale gas from the United States were launched Tuesday in Ontario by Union Gas Ltd. and Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc.

California’s recently streamlined oil/gas drilling permits process has been achieved after warnings about the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) were stifled and two top state officials were fired by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to a front-page report in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.

It was brief and caused no injuries or damage, but the accident set off alarms among regulators, production companies and field contractors

Enbridge Inc. has acquired another 13.3% stake in the Cabin Gas Plant development east of Fort Nelson, BC, which would give it a 71% stake in the project intended to serve growing natural gas output from the Horn River Basin. In October Enbridge paid Encana Corp., the project’s operator, C$220 million to acquire a 57.7% majority stake in the Cabin project. Details of the latest acquisition weren’t disclosed but Enbridge said the transaction was “on the same terms” as the one with Encana. The plant, which has been sanctioned by producers and received regulatory approval, is under construction and expected to be in-service in late 2012. Phase 1 is to have 400 MMcf/d of processing capacity. Phase 2, expected to be ready for service in the second half of 2014, would add an additional 400 MMcf/d of capacity.

Enbridge Inc. on Thursday acquired another 13.3% stake in the Cabin Gas Plant development east of Fort Nelson, BC, which would give it a 71% stake in the project intended to serve growing natural gas output from the Horn River Basin.

ConocoPhillips on Wednesday said it intended to file required paperwork in early November to spin off its downstream unit from its exploration and production (E&P) business, which when completed would create the biggest pure-play independent in North America.

El Paso Corp.’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (TGP) has struck two long-term contracts for service on its MPP project, which is intended to improve takeaway capacity from the Marcellus Shale through expansion of TGP’s 300 Line in Pennsylvania.