Pipeline

The shale revolution — first in natural gas and then in oil — has placed the United States at the beginning of an energy system turnaround in the 21st century; however, if the country is to benefit from its new-found energy wealth, government will have to get out of the way, John Hofmeister, founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy, told a Houston audience Wednesday.

An estimated 56 million barrels of water are produced as a result of onshore oil and natural gas development everyday, and while the quality is poor, most of the contaminants occur naturally, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Only some of the contaminants are added through drilling, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and pumping oil and gas.

An expansion is planned for the Discovery natural gas gathering pipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to gather more than 400 MMcf/d from the deepwater Keathley Canyon (KC), Walker Ridge and Green Canyon blocks, according to Williams Partners LP and DCP Midstream Partners LP.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Kern River Gas Transmission Co.’s application to construct 8.6 miles of eight-inch diameter pipeline lateral and a meter station to provide natural gas service to Molycorp Minerals LLC in San Bernadino County, CA. The Mountain Pass Lateral would deliver the gas necessary for Molycorp to generate electricity for its mining and processing operations. The Molycorp facility currently uses electricity from the local grid. The lateral would have a design capacity of 24,270 Dth/d, according to Kern River, which estimated the cost of the project at $15.7 million.

Supported by abundant unconventional natural gas and oil reserves, the United States and Canada will become “almost totally energy self-sufficient” by 2030, according to a new forecast by BP plc.

The Obama administration on Wednesday denied the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal on the recommendation of the U.S. State Department, saying at this time it is not in the U.S. national interest to build the 1,700-mile link from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

FERC Wednesday issued a favorable environmental assessment (EA) of National Fuel Gas Supply Corp.’s Line N 2012 expansion project that would increase the takeaway capacity from the Marcellus Shale basin to serve Northeast markets.

Although Ruby Pipeline operator El Paso Corp. had indicated Tuesday that a systemwide shutdown might be ended as early as Wednesday, the in-service date has been shifted to sometime between Saturday and next Wednesday. Ruby said a full assessment of the scope of necessary repairs has been completed, and the longest lead item is for replacement of the 42-inch block valve. The restoration of service depends on the time required to secure and install the replacement valve.

The shale gas revolution has improved global energy security and has helped a “mature industry be reborn through technology,” ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said this week in Qatar.