FERC Thursday vacated certificates — a Section 3 authorization and a presidential permit — for AES Ocean Express LLC to build the U.S. leg of a pipeline to import natural gas from the company’s proposed $800 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import project in the Bahamas.
Section
Articles from Section
Sanchez Doubling Production With Eagle Ford Acquisition
Houston-based Sanchez Energy Corp. is buying producing acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale for $265 million that will more than double current company-wide production and increase proved reserves by 63%.
Explorers Target San Joaquin Basin
East West Petroleum Corp. and Lani LLC on Monday said they jointly plan to explore two prospective areas in California’s San Joaquin Basin, the Tejon Extension and Tejon Main.
Point Thomson Project Advances on Corps Approval
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week issued a record of decision (ROD) and Section 404 wetlands permit that were needed for the Point Thomson liquid condensate project led by ExxonMobil Corp., to begin construction this winter on Alaska’s North Slope.
Industry Brief
Kinder Morgan Pony Express Pipeline LLC and Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. are holding an open season through June 20 for crude oil transportation from a point near Baker, MT, to delivery points at Ponca City and Cushing, OK. Pony Express and Belle Fourche anticipate the ability to transport 100,000 or more b/d beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014. The companies have secured a long-term anchor shipper commitment for a minimum of 30,000 b/d. For more information, contact John Eagleton at (303) 914-4702, Mike Smith at (303) 763-3484, Bob Mishler at (303) 914-7762, Tad True at (307) 237-9301 or Bob Stamp at (307) 266-0345. In separate open seasons, Pony Express will offer single pipeline (local) oil transportation service from the Guernsey, WY, area and from the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Last year Kinder Morgan proposed converting a 635-mile Wyoming to Missouri section of its former Pony Express Pipeline from natural gas service back to its original function of carrying crude oil (see Daily GPI, Aug. 8, 2011).
Illinois Looks at Fracking, Possible Shale Development
Shale talk and action are both picking up in Illinois as oil/gas exploration and production (E&P) companies and state officials are getting more involved in the fields and in the state capital in Springfield. As the energy companies seek more leases from farmers, the lawmakers have a proposed state law (SB 3280) covering hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Canadian Regulators Approve Enbridge’s Bakken Pipe Project
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved Enbridge Bakken Pipeline Co. Inc.’s plans to build the 77-mile Bakken Pipeline Project Canada, which would connect to the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (EPI) Mainline and carry crude oil from the Bakken Shale to North American refinery markets.
Empire Seeks OK to Start Service on Tioga County Extension
Empire Pipeline Inc. has asked FERC to approve its request by Oct. 28 to begin service on its Tioga County Extension to transport Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania to the U.S.-Canadian border [CP10-493].
Industry Brief
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Friday vacated the Section 3 authorization and certificate authorization for Port Arthur LNG LP to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Port Arthur, TX, and for Port Arthur Pipeline LP to construct two takeaway natural gas pipelines from the outlet of the proposed terminal. The projects were to be built in two phases. “Neither Port Arthur LNG nor Port Arthur Pipeline has begun Phase I construction of the authorized facilities, nor requested further extension of the [in-service] deadline, which expired two months ago. Therefore, we are vacating their authorizations,” the order said [CP05-83, CP05-84]. Under Phase I, the terminal would have had a sendout capacity of 1.5 Bcf/d. The capacity would have doubled in Phase II (see Daily GPI, Nov. 21, 2006).
Back to the Future with the Pony Express Pipeline
It’s deja vu all over again as Kinder Morgan floats a proposal to convert a 635-mile Wyoming to Missouri section of its former Pony Express Pipeline from natural gas back to its original function of carrying crude oil. Chalk it up to the booming oil development in the Bakken and the Denver-Julesburg/Niobrara shales and a shrinking demand for Rockies gas in the East.