Purpose

U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar’s (R-IN) legislation to put America’s NATO allies on the same footing as free trade agreement (FTA) nations for the purpose of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports — the LNG for NATO Act — raises interesting talking points, even if its hopes are slim for this Congress, or even the next, analysts said.

TPC Group Inc. plans to produce on-purpose isobutylene with the refurbishment and restart of dehydrogenation assets at its Houston operations. The isobutylene feedstock will be used for the company’s performance products and fuels business, including methyl tertiary-butyl ether, polyisobutylene, high-purity isobutylene and diisobutylene. Start-up is planned for the second half of 2014. The facilities will produce up to 650 million pounds per year of isobutylene from isobutane, a natural gas liquids feedstock whose production volumes continue to increase as a result of U.S. shale gas development, TPC said. Total capital expenditure for the project is estimated at $265 million. TPC recently agreed to be taken private by First Reserve Corp. and SK Capital Partners in a cash-and-debt transaction valued at $850 million (see Shale Daily, Aug. 30).

Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission’s (KMIGT) proposal to sell a 432-mile segment of its Pony Express natural gas pipeline to an affiliate (Kinder Morgan Pony Express Pipeline LLC) for the purpose of converting it to transport crude oil from the Bakken and Denver-Julesburg/Niobrara shales has received a mixed reaction at FERC.

Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC’s (KMIGT) proposal to sell a 432-mile segment of its Pony Express natural gas pipeline to an affiliate (Kinder Morgan Pony Express Pipeline LLC) for the purpose of converting it to transport crude oil from the Bakken and Denver-Julesburg/Niobrara shales has received a mixed reaction at FERC.

Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC’s (KMIGT) proposal to sell a 432-mile segment of its Pony Express natural gas pipeline to an affiliate (Kinder Morgan Pony Express Pipeline LLC) for the purpose of converting it to transport crude oil from the Bakken and Denver-Julesburg/Niobrara shales has drawn protests from ethanol customers.

Neil Parsan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, will host the inaugural meeting of the Global Gas Council in Washington, DC, Oct. 24-25. The purpose of the council is to create a dialog among the leading economies and companies that produce and consume natural gas, Parsan said. The agenda includes a reception at the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago on the evening of Oct. 24 and a meeting at the Organization of American States 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Oct. 25, followed by a joint reception with the Americas-Africa Business Forum that evening. More than 30 of the largest gas producing and consuming nations have been invited to participate. While attendance is by invitation only, “there are opportunities for industry to participate,” according to Parsan. For more information contact Adanna Taylor at the Embassy by e-mail at ATaylor@ttembwash.com.

WPX Energy Inc. said it has determined through isotopic testing that four contaminated drinking water wells in Susquehanna County, PA, were fouled by naturally occurring methane and not by Marcellus Shale drilling.

A combination of fit-for-purpose technology with solid execution in drilling horizontal wells using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is giving Halliburton Co. confidence that it can deliver on its “frack-of-the-future” strategic initiatives, a company executive said Monday.

Commerce City, CO, has invoked a 30-day “time out” on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to give city officials time to further discuss their concerns with the oil and gas industry. City officials took the action late Monday in lieu of a proposed six-month ban on fracking.