Gathering

Opportunities Burning Bright for Natural Gas, AGA Chairman Says

At least for his new role as 2015 chairman of the American Gas Association Terry D. McCallister doesn’t have far to travel. The 59-year-old natural gas executive who is chairman and CEO of WGL Holdings and Washington Gas Light Co., the 165-year-old utility company that services the Potomac region, has plenty on his plate these days, as this interview found, so time is at a premium.

In The News: Obama Gives Final Approval to Cove Point LNG Terminal

The Obama administration on May 7 granted final approval to a $3.8 billion natural gas export facility in Calvert County, MD – the first gas export site on the East Coast. Environmentalists sued within hours to stop the project.

The Shale Gas Revolution and Effects on the Northeast Gas Market

Without a doubt, the biggest factor impacting the U.S. gas market is the development of shale gas in the Marcellus Shale play, located in northern Appalachia and the Alleghenies. The shale gas revolution in the U.S. – specifically in Pennsylvania and West Virginia – is nothing short of a revolution for the entire country.

Making the Best of Evolving Midstream Infrastructure

The changing oil production and consumption landscape in North America has led to new developments in the infrastructure that brings oil to market – the pipelines, gathering systems, storage facilities, rail networks and marine-based transport networks that comprise the industry’s midstream oil infrastructure.

Notebook: Hey, Gov. Cuomo, Fracking Ban Not Working For Rest of State

Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Get your butt out of Albany and go see how the rest of your state lives. Or you might not have much of a state left. One memory that stands out from my 1970s tenure as a reporter in New York’s Southern Tier is that of an economy stuck in reverse. Broome County centers around Binghamton, a city of 47,000 that has lost nearly half its population since the 1950s.

Can Shale Formations Enable U.S. to Become Oil Exporter?

In recent years, the technological advances in recovering hydrocarbons trapped in tight formations, like shale, using unconventional drilling methods (horizontal drilling in conjunction with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing) have made U.S. oil production grow dramatically.

Wood Mackenzie: Oil Market Concerns Inescapable in 2015

Global consulting company Wood Mackenzie has drawn on the knowledge and expertise of senior analysts in compiling a new report, Horizons: What To Look For In 2015. In discussing the report, Paul McConnell, principal analyst for Global Trends at Wood Mackenzie, pointed out that oil market concerns will be inescapable in 2015. “With no sign that OPEC is reconsidering its decision to leave production targets unchanged, the impetus falls on non-OPEC producers to limit supply growth and bring the market back into balance,” he said.

Ohio River Valley Plans Condensate Pipeline In Ohio

Ohio River Valley Pipeline, LLC, an affiliate of the EnLink Midstream companies, EnLink Midstream Partners, LP and EnLink Midstream, LLC (the general partner), held a binding open season for volume commitments for interstate common carrier transportation service on the ORV Condensate Pipeline.

Editor's Notebook: Local Updates

I hope the industry is paying attention to some regionalized developments that could hamper activity, at least in the short term.

Gas Gathering/Processing System For Oklahomas STACK Play

Tall Oak Midstream, LLC has early natural gas gathering operations underway on the Tall Oak STACK System. The gathering and processing system will serve producers in Oklahoma’s STACK play. STACK is an acronym for the Sooner Trend, Anadarko Basin and Oklahoma’s Canadian and Kingfisher counties. It is northwest of Oklahoma City and targets the Woodford and Mississippian-age shales.

U.S.-China Carbon Pact: Promising Start Or Path To Nowhere?

In November, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised the world by agreeing in principle to targets for carbon dioxide emissions in a symbolic effort to address climate change. This is a pact of historic magnitude that recognizes a need for the world’s two largest emitters – both longstanding antagonists – to reduce future release of greenhouse gas. But aside from a handshake and a promise, what will actually come from this mutual recognition?

Constitution Gains Key Permit; Northeast Braces For Cold

A federal approval for construction of a major natural gas pipeline that will ship supplies from the Marcellus to underserved New England and the Northeast markets closed out 2014 with a reminder to the industry of good things to come.

Sacagawea Pipeline Plans North Dakota Crude Line

Sacagawea Pipeline Company, an affiliate of Paradigm Energy Partners, completed an extended open season on Dec. 15. As planned, the pipeline will deliver crude oil from various points south of Lake Sacagawea in and around Johnson’s Corner and Keene, in McKenzie County, ND to destinations with takeaway options for both rail and pipe in Palermo and Stanley, ND.

Battleground for Anti-Oil/Gas Efforts Increasingly Local

As the 2014 mid-term elections faded from view, one cogent footnote of the political power change was the significant shift in the money and manner of spending it in the national environmental movement. Even some of their harshest critics were noting a higher level of professionalism and use of legitimate spokespersons as they attempted to spend their growing cash infusion more strategically.

Iran Aims At Unlocking Massive Oil, Gas Reserves In Wake Of Nuclear Deal

The six world powers - China, France, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany - are continuing efforts to persuade a reluctant Iran to scale back its nuclear program with hopes the long-time standoff can be settled.

Study Finds Fracking Not At Fault For Water Contamination

A study has pinpointed the likely source of most natural gas contamination in drinking-water wells associated with hydraulic fracturing, and it’s not the source many people may have feared. What’s more, the problem may be fixable: improved construction standards for cement well linings and casings at hydraulic fracturing sites.

Mother Earth: At The Center Of The Shale Revolution

When global business consulting giant Accenture finished a recent treatise on shale oil and natural gas development, it identified eight key factors needed to make exploitation of shale viable, and the first three are found in abundance in successful U.S. shale plays from North Dakota’s Bakken to Texas’ Eagle Ford. They are geology, land considerations and the existence of an unconventional energy resource service sector.

Oil Boom In North Dakota: Putting On A Happy Face

As part of a record-setting industry meeting in May at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in North Dakota, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple offered a keynote speech with one superlative after another about his sparsely populated, but energy- and agriculture-rich state. It seems his state is leading the nation in a number of categories these days, including having the happiest residents.

Editor's Notebook: North Dakota Making News

I’ve never been to North Dakota; in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from that state. Now, one of the great oil discoveries of recent years, the immense Bakken Shale, has put the upper Plains state on the map for all to see.

Pipeline Planned To Connect Marcellus/Utica Gas Supply To Southeast

EQT Corp. and NextEra US Gas Assets, held a non-binding open season for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project which would connect Marcellus and Utica natural gas supply to markets in the Southeast. The companies signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to construct and own the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Sharing Challenges In The Eagle Ford Shale

Like most stories about Texas, the one that’s being written in the Eagle Ford shale is full of big dreams, big dollars, and big results. The play itself is huge, covering an area of 20,000 square miles, it spans 25 south-central Texas counties and is roughly the size of Croatia. Capital expenditures there by energy companies are sky-high, reaching $28 billion through the end of 2013, if predictions by global consultants Wood Mackenzie held true.

Shale Boom: Early 21st Century Industrial Growth Engine

“…the United States has become ‘a job magnet’ for manufacturing, which is really the first time in decades this has happened...” --Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

Douglas-Westwoods Outlook For UK And Norwegian North Sea Production

According to a Douglas-Westwood report, Western Europe will continue to rely on imported Russian gas into the 2020s as mature offshore provinces struggle for growth, while large-scale shale gas extraction looks increasingly unlikely in the medium term. Following Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine and the resulting strained diplomatic ties with the West, it is unclear if North Sea production can support any drop in gas flow from Russia.

North American Production Still Accelerating, ICF Says

An ICF report determined shipping oil overseas would spur the U.S. economy, lowering gasoline prices in the process.

Wet Gas Testing Using Custom Liquids, Magnetically Driven Centrifugal Pumps

Wet gas meter calibrations are usually done using natural gas, kerosene and water. Increasingly, gas producers are questioning a meter’s ability to measure wet gas entrained with the unique liquids found on platforms and wellheads (viscous hydrocarbons, paraffin based/high-wax liquids, sea water, brine solutions, MEG and other custom liquids).

Workforce Housing For Pipeliners, Planet And Profit

Well-organized workforce housing can be a valuable partner for companies pursuing their sustainable development goals, as well as a component of long-term profitability.

Global M&A Markets Appear Poised For Rebound

PLS Inc., a leading Houston-based research, transaction and advisory firm, in conjunction with its international partner Derrick Petroleum Services, reports global upstream oil and gas M&A activity for Q1 2014 of $40.7 billion spread across 192 transactions (including 133 with deal value disclosed).

Economist Schools Public And Industry On Vital Role Of Communication

While the energy industry’s share of the economy is on the upswing, the business is in many ways still a specialty field, with innumerable complex issues at play between companies, regulators and the public when it comes to development, conservation and jobs. Few people understand the interplay well enough to provide context to those not in the midst of it, and those in the middle can lose sight of the big picture. Bernard “Bud” Weinstein, Ph.D., is applying his considerable talents to bridging those gaps.

TGP Finalizes 790,000 Dth/d Precedent Agreement With Antero Resources

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. announced that KMP’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP) has awarded Antero Resources 100% of the capacity offered in TGP’s binding open season for its proposed Broad Run Flexibility and Broad Run expansion projects.

What the Oil Boom Means And Doesnt Mean For Energy Security

When we graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968, the American oil industry was in the midst of a boom. Domestic crude production had increased every year for nearly a decade, and Texas was the world’s swing oil producer, providing our nation with important strategic flexibility.