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US FERC approves pipeline to boost deliveries of gas to New England

Washington (Platts)–4Mar2015/431 am EST/931 GMT The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday approved a key natural gas pipeline aiming to boost deliveries into supply-strapped New England. Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Incremental Market project would expand Algonquin Gas Transmission’s pipeline system from an interconnection at Ramapo, New York, to supply up to 342,000 Dt/d of gas to local utilities in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The project is expected to be in service in November 2016. Proposed last year, the project would include 37.4 miles of gas pipeline and other facilities in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In addition, Algonquin would modify six compressor stations to add a total of 81,620 horsepower in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, and the company would abandon four compressor units with a total of 10,800 horsepower at a compressor station in New York. In February, FERC staff issued its final environmental impact statement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chesapeake’s $4-4.5 billion capex down 37% vs. last year

HOUSTON, Feb. 25 02/25/2015 Chesapeake Energy Corp. , Oklahoma City, is budgeting total capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, of $4-4.5 billion for 2015. Using the midpoint of the range, it represents a 26% reduction compared with the company’s 2014 capital expenditures before acquisitions of $5.8 billion, and a 37% reduction from the company’s 2014 total capital expenditures of $6.7 billion. Chesapeake for 2014 reported net income available to common stockholders of $1.273 billion. The primary component of this increase was unrealized gains on the company’s oil and natural gas commodity derivatives, partially offset by the redemption of all the outstanding preferred shares of a subsidiary. Adjusting for these items, full-year adjusted net income available to common stockholders was $957 million, compared with adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $965 million in 2013. Notably during the fourth quarter, the company received $5.1 billion of net proceeds from asset […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The hearty, hardy gas production of the US

It seems like only yesterday that big winter storms or other extreme weather events could curtail or shut natural gas production in the US. A winter storm and freezing temperatures in the Northeast or in the Southeast would prompt freeze-offs or shut-ins along pipelines. But perhaps no longer. When I joined Platts as a gas markets reporter in February 2011 — another abnormally cold winter (at least in Houston) — I would see cash markets bounce around as freeze-offs and other shut-ins shook up prices. In a testament to fast-growing natural gas production and infrastructure, though, particularly in the Northeast, Hurricane Sandy had a minimal impact to Marcellus gas production in 2012. Gas pipelines also fared well in the aftermath of the hurricane. A year ago, in a winter that is widely regarded as being insanely cold, things appeared to fall more in line with historical expectations.  Freeze-offs in the Northeast […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pakistan Close to Agreement With Qatar Over LNG Supplies for Power Plants

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan is close to striking a long-term deal worth potentially $22.5 billion or more to import liquefied natural gas to help fuel the country’s power stations and ease its crippling electricity crisis, Pakistan’s top energy official said. “We are negotiating with Qatar and a few other sources,” said Pakistani Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “The deal will be very competitive and very beneficial for Pakistan.” An agreement with Qatar is expected by early March, Pakistani officials say. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to office in May 2013 on a pledge to reduce the country’s electricity shortages, which see power regularly cut to homes and businesses for eight or more hours a day. Tackling the electricity deficit, however, has thus far largely eluded Mr. Sharif’s government. The government has promised to eradicate the electricity shutdowns, known as load shedding, by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chesapeake Energy Sues Ousted Founder

ENLARGE Aubrey McClendon, former chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, called the company’s lawsuit “baseless” and accused Chesapeake of trying to breach his severance agreement. Photo: Reuters Chesapeake Energy Corp. sued its ousted founder, Aubrey McClendon , claiming Tuesday that he stole sensitive data in the days before he left in 2013. The company alleges that Mr. McClendon, while still running the company, had his assistant print out maps and data about oil and gas prospects in Ohio and sent the same information to his personal email address. “Due to the concealed nature of McClendon’s conduct, Chesapeake did not discover McClendon’s misappropriation until long after he had separated from Chesapeake,” the company stated in a lawsuit filed in Oklahoma County District Court. Mr. McClendon, who founded rival American Energy Partners LP after leaving Chesapeake, called the lawsuit “baseless” and accused Chesapeake of trying to breach his severance agreement. American Energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ohio City Loses Fight for Control Over Oil and Gas Drilling

In this Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2011 file photo, a brine injection well in Youngstown, Ohio. (Bloomberg) — An Ohio city lost a battle for control over oil and gas drilling permits within its borders with the Ohio Supreme Court saying the authority belongs to the state. The ruling on Tuesday runs counter to decisions issued by New York’s top court last year and the highest Pennsylvania court in 2013 as local municipalities concerned over the effects of hydraulic fracturing seek to limit the practice. More than 400 measures to prevent or control fracking have been passed by U.S. cities and counties according to Food & Water Watch, a Washington-based environmental advocacy group. The process, which involves the injection of water, chemicals and sand below ground to extract oil and gas from shale formations, has been criticized as environmentally dangerous, even as its use has driven U.S. natural gas production […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU gas security at risk, commissioner says

European markets need a more diverse supply of natural gas to reduce risks posed by Russia, commissioner says. UPI/Hamid Forotan. European markets get about 20 percent of their natural gas needs met by Russia, though most of that gas runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Simmering conflict, despite a recent cease-fire agreement, and ongoing debt rows between Kiev and Moscow expose a layer of vulnerability in the European economy. EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete said energy diversity means energy security for member states. "Without swift and decisive action, member states will remain dependent on a single supplier that views the sale of gas not simply as a commercial matter, but as a political weapon," he said in an address to policymakers in Brussels. Contractual rows between Kiev and Moscow resulted in gas supply disruptions for Europe in 2006 and 2009. In response, member […]

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Exxon moves ahead with Alaska LNG project

Exxon submits draft reports on Alaska gas facility after Gov. Bill Walker drops lawsuit related to Point Thomson field development. Photo courtesy Gov. Bill Walker’s office Exxon Mobil said it submitted a draft environmental report to federal regulators for a $500 million liquefied natural gas project in Alaska. A preliminary engineering and design phase for the Alaska LNG project is under way. Steve Butt, Exxon’s project executive, said submitting a draft report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sets the permitting process in motion. "These draft documents, known as resource reports, allow Alaska stakeholders to engage early in the regulatory process, so potential environmental and socioeconomic issues and opportunities can be proactively identified and managed," he said in a Wednesday statement. The Alaska LNG project has foundations in production from Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson fields in the state, which combine for an average 3.5 billion cubic feet of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale industry irked by Pennsylvania tax proposal

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is making few friends in the shale natural gas industry with early-term policies. Photo courtesy Commonwealth of Pennsylvania HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 12 (UPI) — The state’s governor said gas taxes will help schools, but an energy coalition working in Pennsylvania said it will discourage capital spending plans in shale. Arguing schools have suffered from $1 billion in funding cuts, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a severance tax on gas extraction in the state to help right the state’s economic ship. The state hosts the Marcellus shale natural gas formation, which accounts for almost 40 percent of all shale gas produced in the United States. The governor’s proposal, dubbed the Pennsylvania Education Reinvestment Act, calls for a 5 percent tax plus 4.7 cents per thousand feet of gas extracted. The governor said the proposal is modeled after severance tax plans in other states in the region, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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London pressed to ban fracking

British government out of step with regional trends to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. UPI/Kevin Dietsch LONDON, Feb. 5 (UPI) — An environmental advocacy group said it’s time for the British government to follow its peers and enact a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The Welsh parliament voted in favor of a measure proposed by Liberal Democrat assemblyman Aled Roberts to ban the shale drilling practice known commonly as fracking. The measure calls on the Welsh government to prevent fracking operations "unless it is proven to be safe for the environment and public health." Donna Hume, a campaigner with the regional Friends of the Earth, said the British government needs to follow suit . "It’s time the government stopped trying to get this damaging and unpopular industry off the ground and started prioritizing energy efficiency and renewable energy," she said in a statement Wednesday. The Scottish government in late […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple