Liquids

Gastar Exploration Ltd. has agreed to sell its East Texas assets to Cubic Energy Inc. for $46 million and will redeploy capital to higher-return projects in the Marcellus Shale and Hunton Limestone. Meanwhile, Cubic views its acquisition as an entry point to the oil-rich Eagle Ford and Woodbine formations.

Enterprise Products Partners is considering repurposing a portion of its 1,373-mile Seminole pipeline, which currently transports natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Hobbs hub and the Permian Basin to markets in south Texas, including the Enterprise NGL fractionation facility in Mont Belvieu, TX.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly evaluate unconventional natural gas and associated liquids resources in North America, as well as global opportunities for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

LyondellBasell has contracted with TexStar MidStream Services LP for TexStar to install two natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation units next to affiliate Equistar Chemicals LP’s Corpus Christi, TX, plant. The units will process NGLs from the Eagle Ford Shale.

Almost every week projects to build or expand natural gas pipelines and natural gas liquids (NGL) midstream infrastructure is unveiled, and most of the news has one thing in common: the Marcellus Shale, something that’s not likely to change anytime soon, according to industry executives.

Canadian midstream operator Keyera Corp. has agreed to transport and process the Wapiti Montney condensate-rich natural gas production of NuVista Energy Ltd.

While oversupply and pricing issues continue to be problematic, it is premature to write off natural gas liquids (NGL) with the prospect that increased U.S. natural gas exports would help bolster NGL trade, an equity research team at Wells Fargo Securities LLC said after meeting with two Houston-based NGL companies.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) has contracted with Methanex Corp. to support the construction of methanol storage capacity near its Geismar Liquids Terminal (GLT) in Geismar, LA, and will embark on a $58 million expansion of its chemical storage. KMP said it will invest about $58 million to build, own and operate the storage tanks and related infrastructure, including improvements to its existing dock at GLT. The assets will provide marine, rail and truck access in support of a 1 million tonne per year methanol production plant being relocated by Methanex from Chile. The terminal infrastructure is expected to be in service during the second half of 2014, coinciding with the anticipated startup of the relocated plant. Separately, KMP has also acquired Quality Carriers Inc.’s 26-acre terminal located in Chester, SC. The 19-tank facility currently provides storage for a single customer of 35,000 bbl and receives product by rail and distributes by truck.

While oversupply and pricing issues continue to be problematic, it is premature to write off natural gas liquids (NGL) with the prospect that increased U.S. natural gas exports would help bolster NGL trade, an equity research team at Wells Fargo Securities LLC said after meeting with two Houston-based NGL companies.