Transportation

Crestwood Niobrara LLC is buying a 50% interest in Jackalope Gas Gathering Services LLC from RKI Exploration & Production LLC for $108 million, parent Crestwood Midstream Partners LP said Monday.

As part of its continuing investigation into the rupture of a Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline in West Virginia in December, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made more than 1,400 pages of documents on the pipeline explosion available to the public.

Total combined natural gas purchase and sales volumes were 123,868 TBtu (Bcf) in 2012, a 0.7% decline compared with 124,752 TBtu in 2011, according to an analysis by NGI’s Shale Daily of 2012 Form 552 buyer and seller filings with FERC.

TravelCenters of America (TA) CEO Tom O’Brien is to deliver the opening keynote address June 25 at the 2013 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in the Washington, DC, convention center June 24-27. TA is making what the ACT sponsors called significant investments to provide its customers with alternative fuel options, including natural gas. TA and Royal Dutch Shell plc in April announced plans to build a network of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling lanes at existing TA locations nationwide (see Daily GPI, April 22). Shell has committed to creating a “U.S. network of LNG fueling centers for heavy duty road transport customers” stretching from coast to coast. O’Brien is expected to add more color to the ongoing push of commercial trucking fleets to use alternative fuels.

A group of about 89 landowners in western New York state filed a lawsuit in a U.S. bankruptcy court against Norse Energy Corp. USA on Friday after the company declared a force majeure and extended its oil and gas leases.

While natural gas prices have recovered to nearly $4/MMBtu, the National Energy Board (NEB) said Thursday that Canadian natural gas producers are undertaking minimal natural gas drilling as current prices do not cover the full costs of developing most natural gas prospects and U.S. shale development continues to displace Canadian gas exports.

Natural gas for transportation continues to branch out, with developments in both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) options.

A unit of privately held Beaumont, TX-based Stabilis Energy LLC sees a growth market for the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in transportation in U.S. oilfields.

Alternative transportation fueling, including natural gas variations and biodiesel, is making strides across the country, taking technology to advanced levels.