Northeastern

Officials from one of two Colorado cities to halt hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within its boundaries, Commerce City, heard from a panel of experts that a permanent ban against the oil/gas industry drilling technology is not possible, and besides, the state already closely regulates the practice.

Pennsylvania regulators say “improper” construction at Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. wells in northeastern Pennsylvania led to contamination at nearby private water wells.

A well used to dispose of fracking-related fluids in the northeastern corner of Ohio is believed to have been responsible for about a dozen minor earthquakes in the town of Youngstown over the past year, with the latest one coming on New Year’s Eve, according to state regulators.

SandRidge Energy Inc. has eliminated some funding issues hanging over its development plans after securing a $1 billion joint venture (JV) in a key onshore play with Spain’s Repsol YPF SA.

Nexen Inc. has made good on a promise to find a joint venture (JV) partner by the end of this year for its extensive shale acreage in northeastern British Columbia (BC) after agreeing to sell a 40% stake for C$700 million to a consortium led by Japan’s Inpex Corp.

Merchant Energy Holdings LLC’s East Cheyenne Gas Storage LLC began pad gas injections at its facility in northeastern Colorado. The independent natural gas storage facility is interconnected with Kinder Morgan’s (KM) Trailblazer Pipeline in Logan County, CO with plans to interconnect to KM’s Rockies Express Pipeline in the future. East Cheyenne’s backers tout it as the first operational independent gas storage facility in the Rocky Mountain region, and through its interconnect with Trailblazer they contend it will be able to serve customers in Colorado’s Front Range along with shippers on other pipelines in the area. Initial withdrawal capabilities are scheduled for the first quarter. At an industry conference in Los Angeles last month, Merchant Energy Holdings CEO Andy Lang said the project will eventually have 14-20 Bcf of total capacity by 2015 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 14).

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP has agreed to acquire Tristate Sabine LLC from affiliates of Energy Spectrum Capital, Zwolle Pipeline LLC and Tristate management for $65 million in cash at closing plus a deferred payment of $8 million one year later. The entities to be acquired own and operate 52 miles of gas gathering pipelines in Sabine Parish, LA, known as the Tristate System, which serves Haynesville and Bossier shale production from the Toledo Bend South field area for delivery to Gulf South Pipeline and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Contracts dedicate about 20,000 acres under long-term, fixed-fee arrangements, and capacity is being expanded to 100 MMcf/d for gathering and 80 MMcf/d for treating. The acquisition is expected to close on Nov. 1 and will be financed with borrowings under Crestwood’s credit facility.

A proposal in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would establish a mandatory training and certification program for any worker on an unconventional well site in the state.

Shortly after several families in northeastern Pennsylvania sued each other over plans by Chief Oil & Gas LLC to build a natural gas transmission pipeline through their neighborhood, the Dallas-based company joined the fray with its own lawsuit in federal court.