Lines

Oil and gas companies operating in North Dakota could soon be required to report the location of thousands of miles of underground gathering lines to state regulators.

The opening of the Mariner West I ethane pipeline and new processing plants should provide some relief to current wet gas constraints in the Marcellus and Utica shales, and the plays should be largely de-bottlenecked by the end of next year, according to analysts at Barclays.

Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP are partnering on a pipeline project to carry mixed (y-grade) natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the U.S. Gulf Coast as well as the petrochemical market in the Northeast.

As producers’ interest in the Permian Basin’s Cline Shale oil play continues to grow, Occidental Petroleum Corp. unit Centurion Pipeline LP is reactivating and expanding an existing pipeline system overlying the Cline, the company said.

The cash market eased nearly 3 cents on average Thursday as Midwest points on the front lines of a major cold incursion saw gains and other locations experienced small losses.

WBI Energy Transmission Inc. is seeking FERC authorization to expand the northern portion of its natural gas pipeline system to meet increased demand in western North Dakota.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued its first two nonbinding advisory opinions on local drilling ordinances, part of its new responsibilities to ensure that localities are in compliance with Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

As another indicator that declining natural gas liquids (NGL) prices are dragging down some bottom lines in the midstream sector, Enbridge Energy Partners LP said Tuesday it is lowering its full-year earnings projections to the $440-470 million range from earlier guidance of $510-$550 million.

An investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) has revealed that a political assistant to New Brunswick’s energy minister asked the province’s electric utility, NB Power, to remove anti-shale signs from its utility poles last summer.