Shale Daily

Spectra Energy Partners LP’s Texas Eastern Transmission LP has filed a certificate application at FERC for its 650,000 Dth/d Gulf Markets Expansion Project, which would provide capacity to move gas from the Marcellus/Utica shales in Appalachia and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas to the Gulf Coast through the addition of bi-directional capability.

A freight train operated by the BNSF Railway Co. and loaded with crude oil from the Bakken Shale derailed and caught fire near Galena, IL, on Thursday. There were no injuries.

North Dakota said a pipeline transporting wastewater from oil and natural gas drilling was damaged and leaked nearly 19,000 gallons of brine in Divide County.

The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation that would allow operators drilling the Marcellus Shale and other shallower formations to pool landowners into units. HB 2688 passed the chamber 60-40 and now heads to the state Senate for consideration. Similar measures have failed for years over concerns about property rights. Currently, forced pooling is allowed for deep wells below the Marcellus, such as the Utica Shale. The legislation would require drillers to acquire or lease at least 80% of the net acreage in a proposed unit (see Shale Daily, Feb. 18). Pooling allows an operator to gather both consenting and nonconsenting landowners into a unit in which they share royalties and production costs.

In an attempt to preserve liquidity and maintain the momentum it has achieved since going public in June, Appalachian pure-play Eclipse Resources Corp. has cut its rig count in the Utica Shale, plans to further reduce capital spending this year and is hoping to attract more capital with a joint venture (JV) partner.

In a minority report, the recently concluded 21-member Colorado statewide task force looking at local control issues for oil and natural gas activities has left a wide array of unfinished business captured in 24 recommendations that failed to receive two-thirds votes. They are part of the final report, but not part of the nine recommendations being passed on for implementation.

California regulators moved Tuesday to close 12 oil and gas underground injection wells in Kern County and are reviewing others to ensure that the state’s drinking water is protected from contamination.

To some observers, ExxonMobil Corp. has been a plodder in North America’s onshore, but as low commodity prices shut the door to some operators, the supermajor is ready to roar, with plans to double output from three key U.S. plays through 2017.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed restoring most of his state’s share of funding to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which was cut by his Republican predecessor in a controversial move last year.