Known

The trio of senators crafting energy and climate change legislation has signaled that language barring federal regulation of the production technique known as hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) will not be included in the measure, the head of the American Gas Association (AGA) said Tuesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Thursday said it will study the potential risks of a technique used to stimulate production of shale gas — known as hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) — on water quality and public health. Producers say they are confident that the study — if conducted objectively — will show hydrofracing to be safe.

The 11 member countries of what has come to be known as a natural gas version of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) appear to be better organized as evidenced by last Wednesday’s election of Russia’s Leonid Bokhanovsky as the Gas Exporting Countries Forum’s (GECF) first secretary general.

The 11 member countries of what has come to be known as a natural gas version of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) appear to be better organized as evidenced by the Wednesday election of Russia’s Leonid Bokhanovsky as the Gas Exporting Countries Forum’s (GECF) first secretary general.

The proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, better known as the Waxman-Markey climate bill, is economically sound and may have benefits worth twice as much as the cost to implement it, an analysis has found.

BG Group plc, better known for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, is the latest European energy company to stake a claim in North American gas shale in a $1.3 billion deal that gives it a half-stake in EXCO Resources Inc.’s holdings in Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale and the Deep Bossier Sands of East Texas.

BG Group plc, better known for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, is the latest European energy company to stake a claim in North American gas shale in a $1.3 billion deal that gives it a half-stake in EXCO Resources Inc.’s holdings in Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale and the Deep Bossier Sands of East Texas.

DCP Midstream LLC and its master limited partnership DCP Midstream Partners LP restored operations at their gas processing complex and residue gas delivery system, known as the Carthage Hub, in East Texas, following a Feb. 11 explosion and fire resulting from a third-party pipeline rupture. Production was temporarily shut in at the processing complex and the residue gas delivery system following the incident (see NGI, Feb. 16), which occurred just outside DCP Midstream’s property. The aboveground residue delivery system was damaged in the fire and remained partially shut in as a result of the 16-inch pipeline rupture, the company said last month (see NGI, March 2). The complex consists of five gas processing plants with capacity of approximately 780 MMcf/d. The Carthage Hub has approximately 1.5 Bcf/d of delivery capacity. The East Texas joint venture facilities are operated by DCP Midstream and owned 75% by DCP Midstream and 25% by DCP Midstream Partners. As previously announced, DCP Midstream Partners has agreed to acquire an additional 25.1% interest in the East Texas joint venture from DCP Midstream in a transaction expected to close in April.

BP America Inc. has discovered oil and gas at its Freedom Prospect, also known as the Gunflint prospect, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The well, located 70 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast in Mississippi Canyon Block 948, is in about 6,100 feet (1,860 meters) of water. The Freedom well was drilled to a total depth of 29,280 feet (8,927 meters) and encountered more than 550 net feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands in Middle and Lower Miocene reservoirs. Appraisal will be required to determine the size and commerciality of the discovery. The Freedom well is BP’s third discovery in this part of the deepwater GOM following its Tubular Bells and Kodiak discoveries. The well is operated by BP Exploration & Production Inc., a subsidiary of BP America Inc., which has a 25% working interest, and includes co-owners Noble Energy Inc., with a 37.5% working interest, Samson Offshore Co., with a 25% stake, and Marathon Oil Co., which has a 12.5% stake. The lease was acquired by Noble Energy and Samson Offshore in March 2006.