Ngls

Kinder Morgan Inc. on Wednesday launched a binding open season to solicit support for the proposed Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline, a $4 billion project that would carry natural gas liquids to the Texas Gulf Coast.

As the oil and natural gas industry sheds workers in the headwinds of low commodities prices, the CEO of Targa Resources Partners LP (NGLS) said his company could be on the verge of doing the opposite once it completes its acquisition of two midstream units of Atlas Energy LP later this month.

Share prices for Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP) and Targa Resources Partners LP (NGLS) took a roller coaster ride late Thursday and into Friday on rumors of their possible purchase by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE), but talks with ETE have ended and no deal is on the table, the midstream energy giants said.

The question of whether the high natural gas liquids (NGL) content of Bakken Shale light crude oil in North Dakota should be addressed in efforts to beef up the safety of crude rail shipments is surfacing in various industry and government venues. Members of Congress and energy executives have been quoted on the robust new source of NGL-rich oil.

While natural gas prices and production languish in Western Canada, demand for liquid byproducts has made drilling and building extraction plant and pipeline capacity into a growth specialty.

Vanguard Natural Resources LLC is laying down $581 million for natural gas-weighted properties in southwestern Wyoming, marking a change in strategy to compete for more mature production and proven undeveloped acreage.

A SaskEnergy subsidiary and Calgary-based Mistral Midstream Inc. have formed a joint venture (JV) to build a facility in southeast Saskatchewan to extract ethane and other hydrocarbons from natural gas from the Bakken formation being transported on the SaskEnergy system.

Crosstex NGL Pipeline LP is holding a binding open season through June 21 for capacity on a new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline system (the Crosstex NGL Pipeline) to transport unfractionated NGLs produced in the Permian Basin, Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and other areas from the Mont Belvieu, TX, area to NGL fractionation facilities in Acadia and Ascension Parishes, LA, for about one year and to NGL fractionation facilities in Acadia and Iberville Parishes, LA, thereafter. The pipeline is expected to have a preliminary design capacity to Acadia Parish of 77,000 b/d for the first year and is expected to reach 132,000 b/d thereafter. For information, contact Terry Brown at (214) 953-9510, or terry.brown@crosstexenergy.com.

Strong liquids and oil growth from the Greater Wattenberg Field in Colorado, and stronger-than-expected natural gas output from the Marcellus Shale, contributed to record volumes in the first quarter by Anadarko Petroleum Corp.