natural gas

More than three years after ruptured natural gas pipeline killed eight people and destroyed a neighborhood in San Bruno, CA, officials again are challenging state regulators and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) by filing a lawsuit alleging they failed to produce public documents related to the tragedy.

The window is closing on the opportunity to export liquefied U.S. natural gas to world markets and the U.S. Department of Energy should approve all remaining export license applications by the end of the year, the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a report released Tuesday.

Hydraulic fracturing is safe; it’s a key component of the country’s quickening pace toward energy independence, and the industry and government need to do more to educate citizens about the practice to dispel their fears, former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar told a Houston audience Wednesday.

Appalachian heavyweight Range Resources Corp. increased its proved reserves last year by 26%, driven largely by improved well performance across its 955,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale, where it has focused on completing wells with longer laterals and more hydraulic fracture (frack) stages.

Last year was a significant one for Spectra Energy Corp., which opened a series of projects, including the New Jersey-New York Expansion Project on its Texas Eastern Transmission Co. and Algonquin Gas Transmission systems, and the Houston-based company has no intention of resting on its laurels.

Proppant consumption is increasing rapidly in the Anadarko and Denver-Julesburg basins, and the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales, as operators look to punch up reserves from horizontal well completions, PacWest Consulting Partners said in a new report.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has concluded an investigation launched last year looking at Bakken Shale crude rail shipments and said fines may be assessed against three shippers for allegedly not properly testing and classifying the crude.

Physical gas prices for Thursday delivery nationwide continued to bound higher in Wednesday’s trading as intense cold, ice and snow dominated headlines, pipelines restricted deliveries and concerns surrounding end-of-season storage levels intensified (see related story).

FERC said it has received an application from four subsidiaries of KKR Financial Holdings LLC to acquire, operate and maintain the Index 301 Pipeline from Gulf South Pipeline LP [Docket No. CP14-51-000]. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) also said KKR requested a Part 157, Subpart F blanket certificate. According to FERC, the 5.917-mile 16-inch diameter pipeline traverses Mississippi’s Simpson and Smith counties. The agency has 90 days to complete an environmental assessment or issue a notice of schedule for environmental review for the request.