Infrastructure

Tensions eased in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Thursday, with shut-in numbers declining and workers preparing to head back to platforms, as Hermine, upgraded to hurricane status, made its long-awaited move toward the Florida coast.

A developer is offering capacity in a new western region natural gas storage project at the same time projects in the Gulf Coast region — the traditional gas supply area — have struggled and storage capacity there has beenunderutilized.

The Aug. 17 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling that invalidated contracts on the Access Northeast pipeline expansion has set off a new round of debate as the project’s backers vie for FERC approval of a crucial tariff revision.

Texas Eastern Transmission LP (Tetco) said in a notice posted last week that it has completed a quarter of the work necessary to restore its Penn-Jersey system to full capacity after it was damaged in an explosion and fire in Westmoreland County, PA, earlier this year.

The Labors’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) and a newly created activist group, Bold Iowa, are bumping heads over the four-state, nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Access oil pipeline that is now under construction.

Three environmental organizations have asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to extend the public comment period on water quality permits for National Fuel Supply Corp.’s Northern Access 2016 pipeline project and related permits for Seneca Resources Corp. shale development.

North Dakota officials recently approved in-state pipelines to move Bakken crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) to market.

FERC has granted a certificate for Dominion Transmission Inc.’s (DTI) Leidy South Project, which would serve new and existing power generation facilities with natural gas traveling from the Leidy Interconnect in Clinton, PA, to points in Loudoun County, VA.

A heavy equipment operator working on the four-state, nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Accessoil pipelinein North Dakota died at a hospital in Minot, ND, Friday following head injuries sustained on the job. The man, whose identity has not been released, was working as a subcontractor for the $3.7 billion Energy Transfer Partners’ pipeline project being built by Dakota Access Pipeline LLC. The incident occurred nearly 200 miles north and west of ongoing protests against the project by the Standing Rock Sioux Native American Tribe and some environmental groups near the South Dakota border. The man apparently was working alone and was found by co-workers.