A coalition of environmental groups led by the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club has called on FERC to reject Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s (Transco) Leidy Southeast Expansion project, saying there is no homegrown demand for it.
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Sinopec Claims Half-Stake in Chesapeake’s Mississippian Lime
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has begun operating its 850,000 net acre leasehold in the Mississippian Lime jointly with China’s Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration Corp. after the duo completed a $1 billion-plus joint venture (JV) agreement.
Marcellus Gas Wells — Dry or Wet — Competing with Bakken Economics
Given current commodity prices, natural gas wells drilled in the Marcellus Shale — wet or dry — compete favorably with marginal Bakken Shale oil wells, but that’s the only gas play in the U.S. onshore that today can compete with Bakken oil well economics, according to an analysis by Barclays Capital.
Distribution System Would Bring Marcellus Gas to Susquehanna County
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.
Natural Resource Partners Enters Bakken with Abraxas Deal
Natural Resource Partners LP (NRP) is buying nonoperated working interests in Bakken/Three Forks producing oil and gas properties from Abraxas Petroleum Corp. for $35.3 million in cash, marking its entry into the Bakken Shale.
Industry Brief
CN, Canada’s national railway, said it plans to accelerate work on a US$33 million project to upgrade a 74-mile section of the Whitehall Subdivision line in Wisconsin. The upgrade between the towns of Wisconsin Rapids and Blair would allow increased car-loading capacity and train velocity for hydraulic fracture (frack) sand suppliers Badger Mining Corp., Preferred Sands of Wisconsin LLC, Atlas Resin Proppants LLC and Taylor Frac LLC. After the upgrade, CN would be able to transport heavier freight cars loaded with frack sand, up to a maximum of 286,000 pounds. CN, which began the work in 2012, plans to complete the project by December 2014, a year ahead of time.
Pioneer Beat 1Q Production Guidance With Liquids-Rich Trio
Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s Eagle Ford Shale play is “hitting on all cylinders,” and in the liquids-rich Barnett Shale combo play, well costs are declining, COO Timothy Dove said during an earnings conference call.
Industry Briefs
Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP announced two projects in Freeport, TX, for its Gulf Coast pipeline and hydrogen/syngas businesses. The first project went on-line in March and has increased the supply of hydrogen purification and compression capacity to Air Liquide’s hydrogen pipeline system. The second project is expected to go online in 2014 and involves the construction of a new liquid oxygen storage and vaporization facility at the Freeport air separation unit complex to supply oxygen to the Gulf Coast pipeline network. This new installation represents an increase of nearly 25% over current storage and vaporization capacities on the networkd. Hydrogen gas is used by refiners to produce cleaner burning fuels, among other industrial uses. Government regulations calling for reductions in fuel emissions have increased demand for hydrogen. Growth in industrial gas demand is also anticipated as a result of the cost advantages resulting from low-priced natural gas, the company said.
Shale Gas, Liquids Growth Reality Impacting Global Balances
The “reality and potential” of expanding natural gas and liquids from shale continues to have a dramatic impact on the regional and global balances for both economies, PIRA Energy Group said Monday in a new report.
Ultra CEO: 2012 ‘A Train Wreck’
Darrell Royal, the revered former head coach for the University of Texas football team, used to explain his team’s success by paraphrasing a line from a 1920s song, “You dance with the one that brung ya.” Ultra Petroleum Corp., which has stuck with natural gas while others have moved along, is discovering that gas can be one expensive date.