Times

Spanish and Chinese sponsors stepped forward Wednesday with two fresh entries into the lineup to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada, increasing the number of terminal projects on both sides of the country to 25.

Utility developers planning combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) projects in the Marcellus and Utica shales are looking for a “power price appreciation” from excess natural gas, not growing demand, to ensure a fair return on their investments, according to an analysis by Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Inc. (TPH).

A bill that would allow companies to classify as trade secrets chemicals and concentrations used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids passed the muster of a key committee on Tuesday, and is nearing final passage in the West Virginia Legislature.

The dismal days of 2009 are behind the chemical industry, and while the global recession isn’t completely gone, there are brighter times ahead. Much of that is because of the revolution in shale natural gas and oil, speakers at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference said Wednesday in Houston.

Ryckman Creek Resources LLC, a unit of Peregrine Midstream Partners LLC, said it received bids for three and a half times the capacity offered during a recent open season for firm gas storage service at its high-deliverability, multi-cycle Ryckman Creek Gas Storage facility in Uinta County, WY. The offer of 8 Bcf of capacity available April 1 received market-priced bids from 23 companies, the company said. The facility began commercial operations last August (see Daily GPI, Aug. 22). “We will now begin working with the top bidders to finalize new firm service agreements that will commence next spring with our initial firm service agreements that we entered into after our first open season two years ago,” said Peregrine COO Jeff Foutch.

Tapping all of the potential in U.S. shale natural gas isn’t a given; it requires changes to, and investment in, basic energy infrastructure, including an expansion of the U.S. pipeline and storage network, according to KKR & Co. LP.

Marcellus Shale ethane is a long way from the Mont Belvieu, TX, market center, making it the most likely supply to be rejected in times of surplus. But Marcellus producer Range Resources Corp. has an alternative — and a contract — to deliver some of its ethane to Philadelphia for sale to a European petrochemical producer.

Marcellus Shale ethane is a long way from the Mont Belvieu, TX, market center, making it the most likely supply to be rejected in times of surplus. But Marcellus producer Range Resources Corp. has an alternative — and a contract — to deliver some of its ethane to Philadelphia for sale to a European petrochemical producer.

Noting that the cost of storage is probably three times cheaper today than five years ago, an energy trading firm executive made a pitch for a new marketing process for gas storage capacity at the LDC Gas Forum Midcontinent conference Tuesday in Chicago.