Systems

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to improve air emissions data for the oil and natural gas production sector, according to a report issued by the agency’s Inspector General.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has added a high-tech laser scanning device to its safety tool box for its pipeline systems. EXAscan, which is produced by Creaform in Quebec, may be placed a few inches above a section of pipe to produce 3-D views. It is said to be accurate within 40 microns (0.0016 of an inch) to detect potential corrosion, dents or warping. PG&E is able to capture information electronically for an entire pipeline section within minutes, a spokesperson said.

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.

NuStar Energy LP is expanding its South Texas Crude Oil Pipeline System with the support of a long-term pipeline and terminal services agreement recently struck with ConocoPhillips, the partnership said Thursday.

Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. said Tuesday it has secured one of the three major pipeline systems that move western Canadian crude oil to refineries in the Rockies and Midwest, agreeing to purchase the entire ownership interest in the 1,717-mile Express-Platte Pipeline System. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013.

Crestwood Marcellus Midstream LLC (CMM) is adding more bolt-on natural gas compression and dehydration assets in West Virginia’s Harrison and Doddridge counties that provide services to a unit of Antero Resources through a $95 million acquisition from Enerven Compression LLC.

Alternative fuel vehicle technologies firm Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide plans to expand its manufacturing capacity for lightweight, polymer-lined onboard natural gas vehicle (NGV) fuel storage tanks. The carbon composite tanks used in compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles are needed for increased demand from North American original equipment manufacturers of NGVs, the Lake Forest, CA-based tank maker said. Quantum plans to double its production capacity. It will establish manufacturing lines in a 60,000-square-foot building adjacent to its existing 30,000-square-foot factory.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) Zone 4 cash basis will remain weak for a while, although it will see an uplift of about 50 cents at the end of the year when the pipeline’s Northeast Supply Diversification project and National Fuel’s Northern Access expansion come online, Bentek Energy LLC said in a recent market note.

Most of the Dimock Township, PA, residents who filed a lawsuit against Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., alleging the company contaminated their water wells, have agreed to an undisclosed settlement, according to documents filed in federal court on Monday.