Ship

FERC on Thursday rejected BP America Inc.’s motion to dismiss allegations that it gamed the physical and financial markets at the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) in 2008, voting instead to send the issue to an administrative law judge (ALJ) for hearing.

A fleet of oil-retrieving skimmers and other vessels, as well as close to 400 people, were working Monday in parts of the Houston Ship Channel to contain up to 400 bbl (168,000 gallons) of heavy oil that spilled following a collision Saturday between an oil barge and cargo ship. The ship channel, one of the world's busiest waterways to move petrochemicals, could be closed partially to import and export traffic for a week or more.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has signed a long-term contract to support the expansion of its Sweeny Lateral pipeline, which it is building from the Kinder Morgan Crude Condensate pipeline to Phillip 66’s Sweeny Refinery in Brazoria County, TX. The expansion will increase the capacity on the 27-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral from an initial 30,000 b/d to 100,000 b/d. Kinder Morgan will add new pumps and an additional 120,000 bbl storage tank at its Wharton Pump Station in Wharton County, TX, and increase the truck offload capabilities at its DeWitt Station in DeWitt, County, TX. “We are pleased to provide Phillips 66 with a flexible option to move more crude and condensate out of the Eagle Ford Shale to their refinery in Sweeny,” said KMP Products Pipelines President Ron McClain. Kinder Morgan’s crude/condensate pipeline, which went into service last June, transports crude/condensate from the Eagle Ford to the Houston Ship Channel.

Operations have begun at Enterprise Products Partners LP’s expanded liquid propane gas (LPG) export facility on the Houston Ship Channel, and another one could be in the works as demand for U.S. propane continues to increase, the partnership said.

Operations have begun at Enterprise Products Partners LP’s expanded liquid propane gas (LPG) export facility on the Houston Ship Channel, and another one could be in the works as demand for U.S. propane continues to increase, the partnership said.

Gasco Energy Inc. will submit a plan of compliance next month to NYSE MKT to address how it intends to right its financial ship and avoid being delisted by the exchange, the Denver-based company said Wednesday.

The U.S. Commerce Department has granted Valero Energy Corp. a one-year authorization to ship crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to a company-owned refinery in Quebec, Canada.

The Marcellus Shale is a “solidly economic” shale play that could play a big role in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Europe and Asia, but regulatory hurdles, stiff competition and market forces are all significant obstacles, according to two energy industry experts.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) and Harvest Pipeline Co. have tentatively agreed to develop the capability to ship Utica Shale production from eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania by barge on the Ohio River.