Majority

As the final meeting for polishing recommendations approaches, Colorado’s oil and gas stakeholder task force, which is examining local control issues, has received broadened guidelines from Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Up to 40 Bcf/d of firm capacity contracts on pipelines is expected to expire by 2015, which would affect the “vast majority” of pipelines that transport natural gas to the Northeast, said an executive with Massachusetts-based Skipping Stone.

Moving to make the majority of its fleet of tractor-trailer trucks run on natural gas, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division drew national attention Thursday to Beloit, WI, with its newly opened compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station The company also intends to break ground on seven other public CNG stations this year.

The House of Representatives Thursday passed by an overwhelming majority legislation that would limit the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) jurisdiction over cross-border swap transactions.

Plains Exploration & Production Co. will become part of mining conglomerate Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. after a majority of shareholders voted to approve the $6.6 billion merger. Freeport, based in Phoenix, in December offered close to $9 billion total to buy Plains, as well as to bring back into the fold McMoRan Exploration Co., which it had spun off in 1994 (see NGI, Dec. 10, 2012). McMoRan shareholders are scheduled to vote June 3 on the merger, comprised of about $2.4 billion cash and a share of future royalties on some assets. The approval came after Freeport and Plains agreed to give Plains shareholders $3.00/share in a one-time special cash dividend and another $1.00 for each Freeport share when the merger is completed. The one-time dividend will cost Freeport an estimated $1 billion. Assuming the merger is completed as scheduled by Friday (May 31), Freeport plans to also complete $1.5 billion in asset sales from the combined company as a way to reduce capital spending. Freeport claims that it would become the fifth-largest U.S.-based natural resource company by enterprise value once the mergers are complete, trailing ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Houston-based Plains Exploration & Production Co. will become part of mining conglomerate Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. after a majority of shareholders voted to approve the $6.6 billion merger.

China National Oil Corp. (CNOOC) has agreed with BG Group to take an additional stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project in Australia for A$1.93 billion. CNOOC also agreed to take an additional 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG from BG Group. The deal will make BG Group the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, the company said.

Physical natural gas prices on average for weekend and Monday delivery added a couple of pennies Friday as gains throughout a majority of the country overcame some losses in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast. Seesawing weather conditions were expected to result in Monday temperatures slightly to much above normal in the Midwest.

The Obama administration’s final decision on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is yet to be revealed, but a significant majority of Americans favor its construction, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.