Supports

Elected officials in Ft. Collins, CO, the university town about 57 miles north of Denver, have passed a ban on oil and natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within the city limits. The measure still must pass on a second reading in early March.

Citing a recent U.S. Department of Energy-commissioned study that supports export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States (see Daily GPI, Dec. 6), Teekay LNG Partners LP said it has entered into an agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) of South Korea for the construction of two 173,400-cubic meter LNG tankers, with options to order up to three additional vessels. The partnership said it intends to secure long-term contract employment for both vessels prior to their delivery in the first half of 2016. “The delivery of these vessels is timed to coincide with the next wave of increased demand for LNG carriers, which is expected when a large number of new LNG export projects come on-stream commencing from late-2015,” said Teekay GP LLC CEO Peter Evensen. “They are also among the largest LNG carriers that will be able to transit the Panama Canal after its expansion project is complete, which makes them ideal for U.S. LNG exports.”

A landowners group in central New York that supports natural gas development has established a legal fund to fight local bans and moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

After a tepid company response saying it was “disappointed” in a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored study that supports export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Dow Chemical Co. CEO Andrew Liveris unloaded on the report and its findings in a statement of his own.

A coalition of New York landowners that supports natural gas development has endorsed a slate of candidates — all of them Republicans — for election to state office.

FERC Wednesday approved the requests of three western natural gas pipelines for temporary waivers of capacity-release regulations, clearing the way for the permanent release of off-system capacity held on the Wyoming Interstate Co. (WIC) pipeline to certain shippers.

A coalition of New York landowners that supports natural gas development are blasting the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo for what may be additional delays in promulgating rules governing drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the state.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell recently said in Philadelphia he believes hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be done safely, but said he supports the de facto moratorium on drilling in the Delaware River Basin and would back a genuine one.

South Jersey Energy has bought the retail marketing book of Pennsylvania customers from CenterPoint Energy Services, acquiring “a strong book of business that fits well with its northeast footprint,” South Jersey said. The more than 1,000 commercial and industrial customers acquired are primarily retail natural gas sales within the utility service areas of UGI, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, PECO Energy and Equitable.”This sale was made possible by significant changes in Pennsylvania’s competitive landscape,” South Jersey said. “Natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale has expanded dramatically, and the state’s electricity market is fully deregulated. This market supports [parent company South Jersey’s Industries’] existing wholesale gas sales efforts in the Marcellus Shale.”