Southwestern

A state-of-the-art terminal in northwestern Alberta to provide sand for unconventional drilling operations is set to open this November, Edmonton-based Di-Corp said Wednesday.

Citing a lack of market, the developers of a new coal mine in southwestern Wyoming on Thursday said they were suspending development after a year of work. The actions underscore concerns expressed in Wyoming and elsewhere about the state of the U.S. coal industry.

Canadian Pan Ocean Ltd., funded by Asian investors, has put together an operating company in the liquids-rich Duvernay Shale in southwestern Alberta, executing a binding term sheet for a farm-out agreement with Canadian producer Mako Hydrocarbons Ltd. for the producer’s 50% working interest in its Alberta Joint Venture (AJV).

Piedmont Natural Gas, a major natural gas distributor based in Charlotte, NC, has signed a 15-year contract with Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to purchase a “meaningful portion” of its natural gas supplies from the Marcellus Shale beginning in December 2015.

DTE Pipeline Co. began Tuesday began operation of its Bluestone Gathering pipeline system in Susquehanna County, PA. The southern portion of the pipeline connects gas production of Southwestern Energy to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Lenox Township, PA (see Shale Daily, July 6, 2011). The pipeline has a capacity of 275 million cubic feet per day. The remaining 32 miles of pipeline will interconnect with the Millennium Pipeline in Sanford, NY and should be completed in January, DTE said. Bluestone Gathering is being developed as the Bluestone Pipeline Co. of Pennsylvania LLC, Bluestone Gas Corp. of New York Inc. and Susquehanna Gathering Co. I LLC, all of which are subsidiaries of DTE Pipeline, an affiliate of DTE Energy. Bluestone is DTE’s first natural gas gathering project outside Michigan. DTE Pipeline also is a 40% owner of the Vector Pipeline, 26.25% owner of the Millennium Pipeline and 33% owner of the recently announced Nexus Gas Transmission System.

An infrastructure development slowdown across the Marcellus Shale region over the next 12 months will sharply reduce the rate of production growth, to 1.3 Bcf/d from growth of 2.3 Bcf/d in the last 12 months, according to FBR Capital Markets.

Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC said Friday it would work with Leatherstocking Gas Co. LLC, a New York-based natural gas supplier, to pursue agreements to design, build and operate delivery interconnects along the natural gas pipeline’s proposed 121-mile route, essentially converting it to an “open access pipeline.”

Tundra Energy Marketing Ltd. and CN, Canada’s national railway company, have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a crude oil car loading terminal in southwestern Manitoba, near the border with Saskatchewan, to serve Bakken oil producers in the two provinces, the companies said Thursday.

Barclays Capital has lifted its natural gas price forecast for the final three months of this year to $3.35/MMBtu, up from $3.00. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) last week also raised its 2013 gas price forecast.