Metering

Iroquois Gas Transmission System said it will pursue development of the Wright Interconnect Project (WIP), an expansion of its existing compression and metering facilities in Wright, NY. Last week Constitution Pipeline Co. said that a finalized route it will propose for a Marcellus pipeline included an agreement with Iroquois to expand the compressor station, which would eliminate the need for Constitution to build a 32,0000-hp compressor facility in Schoharie County, NY (see Shale Daily, Jan. 22). The WIP project will enable delivery of up to 650,000 Dth/d of natural gas from the terminus of the proposed Constitution Pipeline in Schoharie County into both Iroquois and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline under a 15 year capacity lease agreement with Constitution, Iroquois said. WIP is targeted for an in-service date of March 2015 to coincide with the startup of the Constitution Pipeline.

California continues to deal with vocal dissenters opposing the widespread switch among energy utility customers — gas and electric — to advanced metering systems. While a growing number of small suburbs in the San Francisco Bay area are trying to make themselves smart meter-free zones, objective studies have verified the safety of the meters, which depend on radio frequency-emitting devices similar to — but less powerful than — cell phones. The Los Angeles Times on Sunday editorialized in favor of the new meters, noting particularly that on the electric side that they “have the potential to change the delivery of electricity as profoundly as the Internet changed the delivery of information.” Utilities save money by eliminating the decentralized house-by-house meter reading function and customers can save by being able to take advantage of time-of-use pricing and smart appliances. With at least four Northern California towns passing moratoriums against the meters, the Times said Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has “rightly ignored the nonsensical bans,” noting that it is regulated by the state, not local governments.

As state regulators weigh its plan to allow customers to opt out of using advanced metering systems for health reasons, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) said Monday it is dealing with a small number of defective smart meters that overcharged about 1,600 electric utility customers throughout its territory. The problem did not arise in the smart natural gas meters the combination utility has installed.

Enterprise Products Partners LP said it plans to build an 80-mile extension of its 350,000 b/d Eagle Ford Shale crude oil pipeline, which would allow the partnership to serve production in the southwestern portion of the play. The Phase II project would originate in Wilson County, TX, at the terminus of the previously announced 140-mile Phase I segment, and extend to near Gardendale, TX, in La Salle County, where a new central delivery point is planned that would feature 500,000 bbl of storage. Phase I is on schedule to begin service by the second quarter of 2012 with Phase II set to commence operations in the first quarter of 2013. When completed, the approximately 220-mile crude oil pipeline system would provide Eagle Ford producers with access to the Texas Gulf Coast refining complex through Enterprise’s network. The Phase II extension, which is being designed with a capacity of 200,000 b/d, is anchored by a 10-year agreement with Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc., which has committed to 100,000 b/d of firm capacity.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline received regulatory approval Monday to use its facilities to export Marcellus Shale gas through its facilities at the U.S.-Canada border.

Prompted by the booming natural gas drilling industry in his district, Pennsylvania state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) said he will introduce a series of bills that address issues related to the growing Marcellus Shale industry. Yaw’s district includes Bradford, Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, which are some of Pennsylvania’s top Marcellus producing areas.

One New York county in the midst of the Marcellus Shale may be looking to promote natural gas drilling in an effort to regain jobs that have left the area since the Empire State instituted a de facto moratorium on drilling two years ago.

Investigators believe the partial destruction of a metering shed at a wellhead site near the community of Tomslake, BC, was caused by a deliberate explosion and is the latest in a recent series of minor explosions in the area directed at Encana Corp. gas facilities, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said last week.

Investigators believe the partial destruction of a metering shed at a wellhead site near the community of Tomslake, BC, was caused by a deliberate explosion and is the latest in a recent series of minor explosions in the area directed at Encana Corp. gas facilities, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Monday.