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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.”

Dow Chemical Co. has taken the next step forward to build a planned world-class ethylene facility in Freeport, TX, and is seeking a federal air emissions permit for the proposed plant.

Natural gas supplies from Nova Scotia are dwindling, but the province of New Brunswick could join the shale gas renaissance sweeping much of North America, provided its shales can be exploited without harming the environment, New Brunswick Energy and Mines Minister Craig Leonard said Wednesday.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.’s Bakken Hunter LLC is buying existing wells and about 20,000 net Williston Basin lease acres in Divide County, ND, from Samson Resources Co. for $30 million in cash.

The Marcellus Shale is a “solidly economic” shale play that could play a big role in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States to Europe and Asia, but regulatory hurdles, stiff competition and market forces are all significant obstacles, according to two energy industry experts.

Three-quarters of oil and natural gas professionals, with on average 20 years of experience, believe the United States is headed toward natural gas independence within a decade, but it still will rely on foreign oil, according to a new Deloitte LLP survey.

Three-quarters of oil and natural gas professionals, with on average 20 years of experience, believe the United States is headed toward natural gas independence within a decade, but it still will rely on foreign oil, according to a new Deloitte LLP survey.

Inergy Midstream LP announced Monday that it plans to purchase Rangeland Energy LLC — which owns and operates the Colt crude oil rail terminal, storage and pipeline facilities near Epping, ND, in the Bakken and Three Forks shale — in a cash and stock deal valued at $425 million.

Higher rig counts and new infrastructure contributed to record production from the Permian and Anadarko basin operations, Apache Corp. said last week.