Maintenance

Feed gas deliveries to U.S. export facilities have slipped to their lowest point in weeks as maintenance has cut flows to the Sabine Pass and Cameron terminals in Louisiana.

Natural gas deliveries to power plants in the PJM Interconnection have dropped by around 1.3 Bcf/d over the last two weeks due to spring maintenance outages, according to natural gas analytics firm Genscape.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Encana Corp. have the highest maintenance capital costs and debt in their peer group, while EOG Resources Inc., Range Resources Corp., and EQT Corp. may be among those best positioned, enabling them more easily to replace forecasted production this year with cash flow, according to IHS Inc.

Shares/units of Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) were dinged Wednesday by a 26-year-old financial analyst in a report that blasted the company for allegedly short-changing maintenance spending in order to support shares/units. Management said such criticisms were raised and put to bed 10 years ago and that it is “one of the most transparent companies in America.”

Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC has filed its long-awaited application with FERC seeking approval to construct a pipeline to carry natural gas from northern Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale to Northeast markets, the company said Friday, and Iroquois Gas Transmission has filed an application to build a key interconnect project.

Natural gas production in the Lower 48 and Other States categories, which include some of the nation’s most prolific shale plays, was up in February compared with January and with February 2012, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Monthly Natural Gas Gross Production Report.

Unlike many producers today, Vanguard Natural Resources LLC is not necessarily focused on oil and natural gas liquids (NGL)-rich acquisitions. The company has done recent deals for both liquids and dry gas assets, instead focusing on margin and how the properties fit into its structure, CEO Scott Smith said Monday.

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has developed a Internet-based mapping tool to help community officials plan for road maintenance, dust control and other traffic-related problems that accompany expanded oil and natural gas development in the Bakken Shale and adjacent formations. The enhanced mapping includes information and locations for “permit status before spud” to provide the pre-drilling status for newly permitted well sites. It provides a new layer to the DMR oil/gas division’s GIS mapping system, enabling planners to identify where truck traffic could be most concentrated for a given period. “Users will be able to identify the operator of the rig and or well, as well as possible time frames when permits could be drilled,” said Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. The GIS map server is available at the DMR website as part of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas).

The Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) has fined QEP Resources $1.2 million for “knowing or willful maintenance” of inaccurate oil and natural gas royalty and/or production reports on ONRR’s financial system.