Unit

Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey K. McClendon over the past three years has taken out more than $1 billion in personal loans to finance his stakes in company wells and their operations, news that led some disapproving investors on Wednesday to head for the exit.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) unit said Tuesday it has signed commercial development agreements with Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to develop and construct Sempra’s proposed $6 billion liquefaction facilities at its Cameron LNG import terminal site in Hackberry, LA. Under the deal, Sempra would negotiate tolling agreements with the two Japanese giants for two-thirds of the facility’s projected capacity.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and EQT Corp. marketing unit EQT Energy LLC have stepped up to be anchor shippers on Texas Eastern Transmission LP’s Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market (TEAM) 2014 expansion, Spectra Energy Corp.’s Texas Eastern said last week. The project is intended to deliver more Appalachian shale gas to markets in the Northeast, Midwest and southern United States.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and EQT Corp. marketing unit EQT Energy LLC have stepped up to be anchor shippers on Texas Eastern Transmission LP’s Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market (TEAM) 2014 expansion, Spectra Energy Corp.’s Texas Eastern said Thursday. The project is intended to deliver more Appalachian shale gas to markets in the Northeast, Midwest and southern United States.

Legal action by the exploration and production unit of Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) against companies accused of trafficking in stolen natural gas condensate got bigger Tuesday when the company filed another lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston that added defendants Pemex had unsuccessfully sought to add to an existing lawsuit.

The natural gas marketing unit of Delaware-based Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (CUC) and Wise Gas Inc. said Wednesday they plan to jointly develop a series of compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in Florida and along the East Coast to serve both municipal and private-sector fleets.

Representatives from a unit of BP plc began signing agreements with landowners in Trumbull County, OH, as the company readies to begin exploring its Utica/Point Pleasant Shale leasehold in 2013. In March BP completed an agreement with the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley to lease close to 84,000 acres in an unexplored area of the county, which is in the northeastern part of the state (see Shale Daily, March 28). With the agreements now in place, BP is executing individual terms with landowners, which may take up to six months. BP’s Ohio shale purchase moved it into ninth place among Utica/Point Pleasant leaseholders, according to data compiled from company reports by NGI’s Shale Daily. The top leaseholder is Chesapeake Energy Corp., which has an estimated 1.2 million net acres, followed by EnerVest and EV Energy Partners, which together lease an estimated 760,000 net acres. Chevron Corp. follows with 600,000 net acres.

A reworked 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment contract between Sempra Energy’s LNG business and a unit of BP plc indicates that more than 90% of the cargoes may be diverted by the Indonesian supplier, according to reports.

A unit of Willbros Group Inc.’s oil and gas business has been awarded a contract by Energy Transfer Partners LP to construct a portion of the Red River Gathering Pipeline (RRG). Work is to include construction of 97 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline from Ardmore, OK to Denton, TX. Construction is scheduled to begin in early April. The project is part of an agreement for Energy Transfer to provide gas gathering, processing and transportation services in the Woodford and Barnett shales for XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp. (see Shale Daily, Oct. 24, 2011). “The significant growth in the midstream market is driving additional opportunities for our strategy to offer comprehensive services to project developments in the liquid-rich drilling plays such as the Woodford shale,” said Willbros CEO Randy Harl.