Opening

New Brunswick could see C$13 million in development for every shale gas well drilled in the province, opening up opportunities for the province to prosper, according to an analysis by Deloitte. However, a recent poll found that critics of development are gaining support.

In the context of opening a United Nations (UN) environmental event in his city Wednesday, Portland, OR, Mayor Charlie Hales called for several Oregon state investment funds to purge themselves of holdings in fossil fuel companies. The state’s largest city already has taken that step, Hales said.

TravelCenters of America (TA) CEO Tom O’Brien is to deliver the opening keynote address June 25 at the 2013 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in the Washington, DC, convention center June 24-27. TA is making what the ACT sponsors called significant investments to provide its customers with alternative fuel options, including natural gas. TA and Royal Dutch Shell plc in April announced plans to build a network of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling lanes at existing TA locations nationwide (see Daily GPI, April 22). Shell has committed to creating a “U.S. network of LNG fueling centers for heavy duty road transport customers” stretching from coast to coast. O’Brien is expected to add more color to the ongoing push of commercial trucking fleets to use alternative fuels.

In the wake of a New York appellate court ruling that two local bans on oil and gas activities should be upheld, supporters of shale development in the Empire State worry that the damage may be done, regardless of how the bans fare through a possible appeal.

Strong natural gas prices are offering Devon Energy Corp. an opening into putting more gas rigs back to work later this year, CEO John Richels said Wednesday.

Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA) is opening its Eagle Ford Shale oil window wider with the acquisition of 40,600 gross acres (19,000 net) in Gonzales and Lavaca counties, TX, for $401 million from Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (MHR), which has set its sights, in part, on the Pearsall Shale.

German energy giant E.ON Group will be opening an office in Chicago later this year to trade in the U.S. physical natural gas and power markets.

DCP Midstream’s Sand Hills Pipeline has initiated natural gas liquids transport service from the Eagle Ford Shale. DCP is opening Sand Hills in phases, with this first segment in South Texas online. By the end of 2012, DCP will have completed Sand Hills to connect directly into Mont Belvieu, TX. “When finished, Sand Hills Pipeline will be a major link between the liquids-rich Eagle Ford and Permian producing regions and growing Gulf Coast markets,” said DCP CEO Tom O’Connor. Construction activities continue on the second phase of Sand Hills for Permian Basin service. This phase is expected to enter service by the second quarter of 2013. Sand Hills will consist of 720 miles of 20-inch diameter pipeline with an initial capacity of more than 200,000 b/d, which can grow to 350,000 b/d with the installation of additional pump stations (see Shale Daily, Aug. 19, 2011).

TransCanada Corp. has pulled back from opening a new front in regulatory duels with customers of its international family of pipelines. Nova Gas Transmission, the empire’s Alberta arm, has withdrawn an application to the National Energy Board (NEB) for approval of a contested scheme called NEXT, short for natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction (see Daily GPI, March 19).