Struck

NuStar Energy LP and Valero Energy Corp. have struck an agreement for NuStar to modify existing sections of its South Texas pipeline system and build new sections to transport Eagle Ford and other crude oils. NuStar will reverse an eight-inch diameter refined products pipeline that currently runs from Corpus Christi to Three Rivers and will convert it to crude service. The pipeline will provide capacity to transport Eagle Ford crude and condensate to Valero’s Corpus Christi refinery; the line is expected to be in full service by the end of September. NuStar will also construct 55 miles of new 12-inch diameter pipeline that will connect to existing pipeline segments to move crude from Corpus Christi to Valero’s Three Rivers refinery. This system is expected to be in service by the second quarter of 2012. “With the growing production from the Eagle Ford region, NuStar is in the unique position to provide Valero and our other customers with quick transportation solutions given the fact that we have hundreds of miles of existing pipeline running from that region into Corpus Christi, where it can be refined or transported to other locations,” said NuStar CEO Curt Anastasio.

Chevron Corp. said Tuesday it struck oil at its Moccasin prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Australia’s Buccaneer Energy Ltd. has struck a deal with Alaska utility Enstar Natural Gas Co. to supply it with gas from the state’s Cook Inlet. The gas will serve customers in gas-hungry Southcentral Alaska, where Enstar supplies the vast majority of residential and commercial customers.

The city of Morgantown, WV, made no moves to appeal to the state Supreme Court a judge’s ruling that struck down its ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It is instead considering its options to seek additional safety measures from Northeast Natural Energy (NNE).

A judge in West Virginia has struck down the city of Morgantown’s ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking), ruling that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has exclusive dominion over the regulation of natural gas drilling.

Australia’s Buccaneer Energy Ltd. has struck a deal with Alaska utility Enstar Natural Gas Co. to supply it with gas from the state’s Cook Inlet. The gas will serve customers in gas-hungry Southcentral Alaska, where Enstar supplies gas to the vast majority of residential and commercial customers.

SM Energy Co. and a unit of Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd. have struck a drilling carry agreement in the Eagle Ford Shale that is worth $680 million to the Denver-based producer and is part of its sell-down in the South Texas play. Mitsui, which already has a Marcellus Shale stake, recently announced a deal in Poland, where it said it plans to apply shale lessons learned in the United States.

DCP Midstream LLC and West Texas LPG Pipeline LP (WTLPG) have struck long-term agreements for natural gas liquids (NGL) gathering services for the DCP Midstream Sandhills Pipeline LLC through two new interconnects with WTLPG.

Marathon Oil Corp. has struck a deal with Japan’s Marubeni Corp. to sell close to a one-third stake in 180,000 net acres in the natural gas-rich Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin for $270 million, or about $5,000 an acre.