Marcellus

Marcellus-Utica: The Juggernaut Continues

The Marcellus-Utica has an estimated quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas, but markets and infrastructure must be developed to leverage this potential.

FERC OK's New Atlantic Sunrise Operations

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authorized Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (Transco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williams Partners, to commence operations at modified compressor stations in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia associated with the $2.1 billion Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project, adding 150,000 Dth/d of incremental capacity and enabling bi-directional flow on Transco's existing system.

ETP Files Application to Restart Mariner East 1

Energy Transfer Partners files with Pennsylvania utility regulators to restart the Mariner East 1 natural gas liquids pipeline this week.

Buckeye to Proceed with Pipeline Reversal, Hub Expansion

Buckeye Partners is taking the necessary steps to provide bi-directional service along the Altoona-to-Pittsburgh, Pa., section of the refined fuels pipeline system operated by its operating subsidiary, Laurel Pipe Line Company. Once completed, all of Laurel’s existing Pennsylvania Public Utility C..

Pipeline Company Offers to Relocate Residents Affected by Sinkholes

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sunoco Pipeline LP has agreed to relocate five families whose backyards were damaged after sinkholes developed along a major natural gas pipeline in the Philadelphia suburbs. After sinkholes developed within 50 feet of homes and near an Amtrak rail line, the state Publi..

UGI Energy Begins Construction of Sunbury Pipeline

UGI Energy Services celebrated the start of construction on its Sunbury Pipeline with a groundbreaking ceremony in central Pennsylvania near the Panda Hummel Station power plant it will serve. The 35-mile-long pipeline will carry natural gas from the Transco interstate pipeline in eastern Lycoming ..

Marcellus Producer Asks Approval of Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline

Chief Oil & Gas LLC, one of the customers supporting Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC‘s proposed Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, said Marcellus producers are in desperate need and urged FERC to “promptly approve” the project. “The Atlantic Sunrise project is a critical pathway to connect Marcellus..

Growth in Domestic Natural Gas Production Leads to Development of LNG Export Terminals

The first export shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in the Lower 48 states on February 24 is a milestone reflecting a decade of natural gas production growth that has put the United States in a new position in worldwide energy trade. With the rapid growth of supply from shale gas reso..

Natural Gas Market Dynamics in the Northeast

Natural gas markets have gone topsy-turvy. Until recently, prices around the country were generally pretty similar, with gas costing a bit more in the Northeast, far from where it was produced on the Gulf of Mexico coast. But that reality has changed dramatically in the last few years.

With a Chill in the Air, Thoughts in New England Turn to Heating Bills

As winter approaches, the hot topic of conversation in the Northeast once again becomes the looming frigid temperatures and accompanying burdensome cost of heating homes and offices along with powering manufacturing plants. With this in mind, the Access Northeast project developers plan to upgrade existing pipeline facilities and market area storage assets in New England to deliver – on peak days – up to 1 Bcf/d of natural gas for electric-generation markets.

Partners Submit Application for 3-State Natural Gas Pipeline

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Four energy partners formally asked the federal government Friday for permission to build a 564-mile natural gas pipeline in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. The 348-page application was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline is intended to deliver cleaner burning natural gas to the Southeast as utilities move away from coal-burning power plants amid tighter federal rules on pollution that contributes to climate change.

Sunoco Logistics Holding Open Season for Mariner East 2 Expansion

Sunoco Logistics Partners has begun a binding open season for its Mariner East 2 Expansion Project, which will transport petroleum products, including natural gas liquids and condensate, from processing facilities built in the liquid-rich Marcellus and Utica shale areas to Sunoco Logistics’ Marcus Hook Industrial Complex on the Delaware River. The open season offers service for ethane, propane, butane, C3+, natural gasoline and condensate. Refined product movements will be considered if there is sufficient interest. The prjoect is expected to begin operations in 2017.

Editor's Notebook: Cheap Energy Brings Jobs Where There Were None

OK, I’m a sucker for natural gas. Maybe I’ve learned something these past 25 years that George Mitchell tried to explain: natural gas is the fuel of the future and can revitalize America. After I read this story off the Reuters news wire, can you blame me?

Fluor Wins Front-End Contract for Ohio Petrochemical Complex

PTT Global Chemical Public Company (PTTGC) selected a Fluor-led team to perform front-end engineering and design work for its proposed petrochemical complex in Belmont County, OH. The team includes Fluor, Technip and SK E&C. The project will encompass an ethane cracker and derivatives units by leveraging the availability of feedstock from gas taken from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in the region to create chemical products. Front-end activities are expected to be completed in 2016.

State Says Ohio Oil, Natural Gas Production at Historic High

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources says historic amounts of oil and natural gas are being produced by Ohio shale wells. Statistics released by the department Thursday show more than 10 MMbbls of oil and 405 Bcf of natural gas were produced during the second quarter of the year. The department says those amounts were more than in any previous three-month reporting period. During the same period in 2014, the state's wells produced about 4.4 MMbbls of oil and 156 Bcf of natural gas.

MarkWest Energy Expanding Dry Gas Gathering Capabilities in Utica Shale

MarkWest Energy Partners and the Energy & Minerals Group announced the development of a new, large-scale dry gas gathering system to strategically expand the parties’ leading midstream position in the Utica Shale. The extensive system will be underpinned by a long-term, fee-based contract with Ascent Resources-Utica, a subsidiary of Ascent Resources. Ascent is one of the largest pure-play Appalachian E&P companies with about 280,000 net acres in the prolific Utica and Marcellus shale plays.

New Ethane Blending Facility Provides Flexibility for Natural Gas vs. Ethane Spreads

Enterprise Product Partners’ recently opened Ethane Blending Facility in Natchitoches, LA provides an unprecedented option for U.S. Northeast ethane rejection by blending ethane moved on the company’s 125,000 bpd ATEX pipeline into the U.S. Gulf Coast natural gas stream.

In the News: NiSource, Columbia Pipeline Group Now Separate Companies

NiSource Inc. and Columbia Pipeline Group announced July 2 separation of the two companies was completed through a distribution of all the common stock of CPG held by NiSource to its shareholders. NiSource, based in Merrillville, IN, is one of the largest natural gas utility companies in the United States with over 3.5 million customers in seven states under the Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The company also provides electric distribution, generation and transmission services for 500,000 NIPSCO customers in northern Indiana.

Marcellus, Utica Provide 85% of U.S. shale Gas Growth Since 2012

The productivity of natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale and the neighboring Utica Shale is steadily increasing because of ongoing improvements in precision and efficiency of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing occurring in those regions. Since January 2012, natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica regions has accounted for 85% of the increase in natural gas production reported in EIA's Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) and has driven recent growth in total U.S. natural gas production.

Effectively Using New Data Technologies for Pipeline Routing

Oil and gas companies are using information technologies and resources now accessible on desktops for planning new pipeline routes. Technologies and resources include geographic information systems (GIS), mobile information technology, satellite imagery, topographic maps, environmental data and tax data.

Declining Rig Count in U.S. Tight Formations

The count for both horizontal and vertical rigs in U.S tight formations has declining drastically from October 2014. This article discuss the declining rig count in the seven major Energy Information Administration (EIA) U.S. oil and natural gas regions.

Summer Gas Prices in the Northeast: Why So Low? Why So Unpredictable?

As summer approaches, there are two things to know about natural gas prices in the New York/New England area. First, it is a difficult time to predict gas price movements in the Northeast. But in general, prices are down – and are likely to stay that way for this summer. It’s hard to predict prices because there are a lot of new and unpredictable supply-and-demand dynamics across the country that are particularly pronounced in the Northeast. For instance, the explosion of shale gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions.

Sunoco Logistics Plans Pipeline to Marcus Hook

Sunoco Logistics Partners announced June 4 plans to build an additional pipeline to deliver Marcellus Shale products to Marcus Hook, reflecting a growing market for liquid fuels derived from the region's shale drilling. <em>The Philadelphia Inquirer reported</em> Sunoco Logistics said it intends to build two pipelines simultaneously as part of its Mariner East 2 project. The project, announced in November, is the second phase of a plan to move materials including propane, butane, and ethane from Appalachian shale-gas fields to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex southwest of Philadelphia.

Energy Transfer Partners Building 100 Miles of Rich Gas Pipeline

Energy Transfer Partners has entered into long-term gas gathering, processing, and fractionation agreements with EdgeMarc Energy. To facilitate these agreements, ETP has purchased 20 miles of high-pressure pipeline from EdgeMarc and will build a new cryogenic gas processing plant, a new fractionator and additional gas gathering pipelines.

Transco Seeks Regulatory Approval for Dalton Expansion Project

Williams announced that Transco has filed an application with FERC for its Dalton Expansion project, which would support providing Marcellus gas to the Southeast for electricity generation and local natural gas distribution.

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.

XTO Proves Unconventional Growth Machine for ExxonMobil

In summer 2011, executives at super-major ExxonMobil were telling financial analysts during a quarterly earnings conference call about an amazing 70% boost in a year’s time of the energy giant’s unconventional natural gas-weighted portfolio to 76 Tcfe. The reason was simple, according to David Rosenthal, the current controller at ExxonMobil and at the time its investor relations chief. He summed it up in three letters, X-T-O.

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.

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.

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.