Shale Daily

The Colcom Foundation of Pittsburgh, PA, has launched the $1 million Marcellus Environmental Fund to distribute grants to nonprofit organizations “to address the accelerating environmental impact of shale drilling in western Pennsylvania through public education, community engagement, best practices, baseline data collection, ongoing monitoring, land owner guidance and collaborative projects.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a plan by National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. to relocate and increase the capacity of its Line N pipeline, which runs north from an interconnection with Texas Eastern Transmission in Greene County, PA, through Washington, Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties, and terminates near Slippery Rock in Butler County, PA. National Fuel will relocate parts of the 20-inch diameter line that have been subject to repeated disruptions by subsidence caused by long-wall coal mining in the area. The project calls for the replacement of about 30 miles of pipeline and the installation of a new 4,740 hp compressor station, which will boost capacity on the line running through prime Marcellus Shale territory. National Fuel said it has a precedent agreement with a producer for 150,000 Dth/d of firm transportation through the line. FERC also approved the company’s plan to leave the deactivated sections of Line N in place, since they could be needed in the future once mining operations are concluded to handle increased Marcellus production expected in the area.

A trio of Bayer AG-owned sites in West Virginia totaling about 1,480 acres would be ideal locations for thermal crackers to process ethane from the state’s Marcellus Shale area, the company said.

EXCO Resources Inc. plans to add to its Marcellus Shale portfolio under a $459.4 million agreement with Chief Oil & Gas LLC.

Williams Cos. and separately, Williams Partners LP, on Tuesday completed acquisitions that build their portfolios in the Marcellus and Bakken shales.

Quebec’s environmental bureau has been granted a brief extension to complete a report on the impact that increased Utica Shale development would have on the province.

Targa Resources Partners has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for development of a pipeline to transport y-grade natural gas liquids (NGL) from processing facilities in the Eagle Ford Shale to Mont Belvieu, TX, and a new fractionation train at the Targa-operated Cedar Bayou fractionation facility (CBF).

Las Vegas, NV-based local distribution company (LDC) Southwest Gas Corp. is sitting pretty this winter and for the foreseeable future in terms of adequate natural gas supplies. The gas-only utility’s three-state service area divides into three regions, each with a different set of supply basins, and the shale gas boom affects two of those operating areas.

Billionaire Carl Icahn, known for investing in what he considers underperforming companies and helping them to achieve a better value, has become Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s second-largest shareholder, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).