Needed

Atlanta-based AGL Resources and Naperville, IL-based Nicor Inc. received approval of their merger from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the final regulatory nod needed to create a natural gas distribution behemoth operating in seven states.

Pennsylvanians believe that the benefits of natural gas drilling in the state’s shale plays outweigh any potential problems, but want the state to impose an extraction tax and require the disclosure of chemicals used by drillers, according to the results of a survey by the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion and the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy.

A Pennsylvania state Senate committee passed amended impact fee legislation on Monday that returned an impact fee to the bill, added environmental safeguards and changed the way the bill would govern local ordinances over oil and gas drilling.

Energy banker First Reserve Corp. on Tuesday said it has created a joint venture (JV) with Appalachian operator Energy Corp. of America (ECA) initially to build natural gas gathering systems in the Marcellus Shale.

Midstream natural gas processing services offered by MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources LLC in northwestern West Virginia continue to expand after the operator on Wednesday secured long-term agreements with pipeline subsidiaries of Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.

Exploration and production companies have heeded the call to improve transparency and institute better practices, but there’s more to do to address the concerns of stakeholders in the shale plays, a Range Resources Corp. executive said last week.

Acknowledging that long-term improvements are needed, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) formally filed with state regulators Friday its multi-year plan to upgrade its natural gas pipeline infrastructure and operations to make them “one of the safest in the country.”

Some sort of universal disclosure is needed throughout the oil and gas industry regarding hydraulic fracturing (fracking), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently told an energy conference.

A pair of investment deals announced Wednesday would provide approximately $470 million for much-needed midstream infrastructure in North American shale plays.