Category: Pipelines

US President Barack Obama signs autographs after delivering the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 20, 2015 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Keystone XL, not mentioned by the president, looms large in rebuttals from his adversaries. Pool Photo by Mandel Ngan/UPI WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) — While touting oil independence during his State of the Union, it was the one word missing from the address, Keystone, that drew criticism for President Obama . "Let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline," is all the president said during his State of the Union address on a project at the center of the agenda for the newly-minted Republican-led Congress. At the start of the 114th Congress, Republican leaders placed Keystone XL at the top of its to-do list. The project meant formally to bring tar sands oil from Canada to […]

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Enbridge tapped to build pipeline system for Hess Corp. developments in the Gulf of Mexico. (UPI/Shutterstock/tcly) HOUSTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) — Midstream company Enbridge said it was working with its upstream partners at Hess Corp. to oversee pipeline developments from a Gulf of Mexico oil field. Enbridge said it will build, own and operate the $130 million project that will start in the deepwater Stampede project and terminate 16 miles away with a connection to a third-party pipeline system. "This project is an attractive investment opportunity for Enbridge and we are pleased to be working with Hess and the other producers on this development," Greg Harper, president of pipeline and processing systems for Enbridge, said in a Monday statement. Hess Corp. launched development plans for its deepwater Stampede project in the Gulf of Mexico in late October. The company said it expects to pull at most 80,000 barrels of […]

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Nebraska court, in default ruling, says law used to sanction state route of Keystone XL oil pipeline is valid. (courtesy TransCanada) OMAHA, Jan. 9 (UPI) — In a mixed decision, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday the legal premise used to sanction the route for Keystone XL was permissible. In a long awaited case on the route of the Keystone XL pipeline, the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared one of the remaining hurdles in a battle that began when TransCanada first applied to build the project more than six years ago. Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy in February ruled a state law granting power of eminent domain to former Gov. Dave Heineman was unconstitutional. State law LB 1161, passed in 2012, gave the governor authority over the Keystone XL route from Canada through the state instead of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. Environmental campaigners pressured pipeline planner TransCanada […]

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TransCanada Corp. (TRP) ’s Keystone XL pipeline faces one less hurdle after Nebraska ’s highest court cleared its path through the state, sending the matter back to Washington. The pipeline would funnel crude from Alberta’s oil sands to a network junction in southeast Nebraska, for transport to Gulf Coast refineries. While the ruling is a victory for energy independence proponents, the project’s fate remains uncertain. It now returns to President Barack Obama , who had put off a decision citing the pending lawsuit. Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would force approval of the pipeline. While four of the seven Nebraska Supreme Court judges held that they would block Keystone XL, five were needed to declare unconstitutional a law that allowed the governor to dictate its path. As a result, the route survived by default. Justice William Connolly, writing for the judges who wanted to block […]

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Alberta’s premier says he plans to visit Washington to make the case for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. UPI/Kevin Dietsch EDMONTON, Alberta, Jan. 7 (UPI) — Alberta’s premier said he was planning a trip to Washington to make the case that the Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the best interest of the region. "Alberta is committed to responsible energy development, which firmly positions us as a safe, secure and responsible energy supplier and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Keystone XL," Premier Jim Prentice said in a statement issued late Tuesday. Prentice served previously as the nation’s environment minister. As a minister, he said delays from Washington on the cross-border Keystone XL oil pipeline were regrettable, but should encourage the federal government to expand its export options to other markets like Asia. Republican leaders pushed legislation in favor of the pipeline to the top of their […]

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican senators kicked off the new U.S. Congress with legislation to approve the hotly disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the White House promptly threatened a veto. With Republicans assuming full control of Congress on Tuesday after their victories in the November election, they have put Keystone at the center of their legislative agenda and plan weeks of debate. They believe that the public spotlight on the issue will pressure President Barack Obama to eventually approve the project. If Obama vetoes the initial legislation, backers will attach it to a wider measure he could find harder to reject, such as a must-pass spending bill or steps to improve energy efficiency. The White House was adamant that Obama would not sign the Keystone legislation. "There is already a well-established process in place to consider whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in the best interest of […]

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AP Photo/Susan Walsh Politics Video Buy AP Photo Reprints WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto the first piece of legislation introduced in the Republican-controlled Senate, a bill approving the much-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline, in what was expected to be the first of many confrontations over energy and environmental policy. Hours after supporters of the bipartisan bill, which is sponsored by all 54 Senate Republicans and six Democrats, announced its introduction, the White House said for the first time that President Barack Obama would veto it. "If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign" it, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday, saying legislation shouldn’t undermine the review process underway at the State Department or circumvent a pending lawsuit in Nebraska over its route. It’s "premature to evaluate the project before something as basic as the route of the pipeline has been […]

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President Barack Obama is likely to veto legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline. UPI/Kevin Dietsch WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) — A sign from the White House that bills meant to approve Keystone XL would be met with a veto is disappointing, the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest affirmed signals from the president’s desk that Keystone XL might not get moved through normal vetting procedures despite a bill introduced Tuesday by the newly-minted GOP leadership on Capitol Hill. With Republican leaders taking their seat Tuesday for the first session of the 114th Congress, API President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Gerard rolled out the industry’s State of American Energy platform from Washington D.C. The agenda describes Keystone XL as "vital infrastructure" for the North American energy sector. Gerard said the project would support thousands of jobs, while bringing 830,000 barrels of oil per day across […]

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New York (Platts)–30Dec2014/259 pm EST/1959 GMT It may be too soon to assess the total impact of falling global crude oil prices on the US oil patch, but the lower price will likely slow the recent fast pace of pipeline buildouts and focus attention on regions where the production plays are most economic. Many oil industry analysts expect to see a slowdown in new midstream projects as production begins to wane, which is expected by the middle of 2015 as drilling slows and many of the hedges producers put in place to manage price risk expire. "In the midstream, in general, there will be some slowdown," said John Hill, CEO of First Reserve, a global private equity investment firm exclusively focused on energy. Reductions in producer capital spending point to slowed drilling going forward, he said. But he notes there will be an "awful lot of Bakken" coming online […]

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ENLARGE Pipes lie ready to become part of the Keystone XL pipeline near Cushing, Okla. President Obama has voiced skepticism over the project. Associated Press Prospects for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline are dimming amid two recent developments: lower gasoline prices and increased skepticism from President Barack Obama, whose administration has been reviewing the proposed pipeline for more than six years. Mr. Obama last week said he had doubts the pipeline would benefit the U.S., buttressing remarks he has made publicly at least three other times since early November. He said it wouldn’t create many permanent jobs or cut gas prices, as the project’s supporters have argued “It’s very good for Canadian oil companies, and it’s good for the Canadian oil industry, but it’s not going to be a huge benefit to U.S. consumers,” Mr. Obama said. Many analysts say falling U.S. gas prices boost the argument of […]

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Memo sent to White House says Keystone XL fails a series of key tests necessary to sanction the project. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Pipeline company TransCanada submitted the application to the U.S. federal government necessary to build Keystone XL across the U.S.-Canadian border more than six years ago. The project has faced stiff opposition from climate groups worried about the effects the heavier grade of Canadian crude oil would have on the environment. A memo sent to President Barack Obama from seven environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oil Change International, argues the pipeline would add to the development of Canadian crude oil and subsequently add millions of tons of carbon pollution to the atmosphere. "Market forces and the latest climate science make it clear Keystone XL shouldn’t be approved because it would drive up carbon pollution, making climate change worse and jeopardizing our future," Anthony Swift, […]

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AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared Tuesday that approving the Keystone XL pipeline will top the Senate agenda in January, potentially setting up an early veto confrontation with President Barack Obama. Congressional Republicans have been pushing for approval of the pipeline for years. Obama has resisted because of environmental concerns. "People want jobs and this project will create well-paying high-wage jobs for our people," McConnell told reporters. "We’re optimistic we can pass it and put it on the president’s desk." The $8 billion pipeline would carry oil from Canada into the United States and eventually to the Texas Gulf Coast. It has become a symbol for divisions over the country’s energy and environmental policy. Environmentalists say the issue is a significant test of Obama’s commitment to address climate change. Republicans and other supporters say the project would create jobs and promote energy […]

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Environmental activists are shown as they march through midtown protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, in New York. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images ROBERT RAPIER: Crude oil and natural gas are both already transported all over the U.S. in enormous volumes. There is a 2.5 million-mile pipeline network underneath our feet that moves oil and gas all over the country. That is more than 50 times the length of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. These pipelines cross through national parks, rivers, underneath cities and above the nation’s aquifers—and there are pipelines crossing the U.S. border to the north and south. In addition to that, crude-oil volumes shipped by rail have increased rapidly in recent years. While protesters were trying to stop the 830,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Keystone XL Pipeline that would connect the oil sands in Alberta and the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, […]

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TransCanada says Keystone XL a means to protect North American oil markets. (courtesy TransCanada) CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 18 (UPI) — The equivalent of eight Keystone XL oil pipelines have been built in the United States since an application was submitted, planner TransCanada said Tuesday. Members of a lame-duck Senate vote Tuesday on a bill that would authorize the construction of the cross-border Keystone XL oil pipeline. A similar bill passed through the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer at TransCanada, said he was "very pleased" with the level of support on Capitol Hill for the controversial pipeline. It’s been more than six years since Girling’s company submitted an application to build the pipeline across the U.S.-Canadian border. In a statement Tuesday, Girling said it was disappointing that the equivalent of eight Keystone XL pipelines have been built in the United States since […]

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Pipeline Construction | Click to Enlarge The Senate will vote today on a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, after the House voted to approve it last Friday. The controversial pipeline would carry heavy oil sands crude from Canada and lighter Bakken crude to the Gulf Coast refining market. In 2013, The Congressional Research Service released a report that stated 12% of the Keystone XL Pipeline’s 830,000 b/d ultimate capacity has been set aside for the transport of Bakken Crude. The report further said the Keystone XL pipeline project would include a lateral pipeline, called the Bakken Marketlink, to carry oil from Baker, MT, to the bub in Cushing, OK. Although the Keystone XL Pipeline would play a role in the Bakken, its’ significance in the region has diminished slightly over time. Despite a still lacking midstream infrastructure in the Bakken, several pipeline projects have advanced as the political thunderstorm has […]

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bill to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline failed in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, sparing President Barack Obama from an expected veto of legislation that several fellow Democrats supported. The measure fell just short of the 60 votes needed for passage, despite frantic last-minute lobbying by supporters, especially Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who faces a runoff election on Dec. 6. She has staked her hopes of winning a fourth Senate term on the Keystone gambit. The tally was 59 to 41 on TransCanada Corp’s $8 billion project, with all 45 Republicans supporting the bill. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who will become Senate Majority Leader in January after his party made big gains in this month’s midterm elections, said after the vote that consideration of a Keystone bill would be "very early up" in the next congress.   Obama opposed the Keystone […]

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Print Back to story President Barack Obama offered his clearest critique of the case for the Keystone XL pipeline, signaling a confrontation with Republicans as they try to force approval of the project starting today. “Understand what this project is: It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land down to the Gulf where it will be sold everywhere else,” the president said today during a visit to Yangon, Myanmar. “It doesn’t have an impact on U.S. gas prices.” The statement repeats a main point used by opponents of the project, including former hedge fund manager and now Democratic fundraiser Tom Steyer. He and other critics have argued the heavy crude from Alberta ’s oil sands that will be carried by Keystone is destined for overseas markets. Related: House Passes Bill to Approve Keystone Over Objections From Obama Keystone Left Behind as […]

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Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is shown in North Dakota. (courtesy TransCanada) WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) — The outcome of the U.S. midterm elections means there may be enough votes in the full Senate to force a vote on Keystone XL legislation, results show. A shift in control in the Senate from Democrats to Republicans means there may now be at least 60 votes in favor of the pipeline, overcoming the majority needed to break a filibuster. In states from West Virginia to Colorado, Republicans took the place of Democrats long opposed to the controversial pipeline planned to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. "I think you’re going to see us bring up energy legislation right away and Keystone will be one of the first things we pass," Sen. John Hoeven , R-N.D., said late Tuesday. Hoeven and Sen. Mary Landrieu , D-La., chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, introduced […]

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URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/135745/TransCanada_Boosts_Keystone_XL_Cost_Nearly_50_To_702B Hess To Form MLP For North Dakota Oil, Gas Transport Assets TransCanada raises estimated capital costs for its controversial Keystone XL project citing lengthy delays. Nov 4 (Reuters) – TransCanada Corp, Canada’s No.2 pipeline company, on Tuesday raised estimated capital costs for its controversial Keystone XL project to C$8 billion ($7.02 billion) from an initial projection of C$5.4 billion, citing lengthy delays. Keystone XL, which would carry as much as 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has been awaiting U.S. presidential permit for more than six years amid bitter opposition from environmental groups. However, with Republicans expected to make major gains and possibly even recapture the Senate in U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday, there may be an opportunity for lawmakers in favor of the 830,000 barrel-per-day pipeline to force President Barack Obama to make a call. TransCanada Chief Executive […]

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WINNER, S.D. — Pipelines break. They don’t break often, but when they do, the result can be catastrophic. That’s what worries John Harter, a rancher who grew up in this rural, poor and conservative area of southern South Dakota. Harter, 51, still lives here, and owns land that the Keystone XL pipeline would cross if it’s ever approved. Harter points to the 2010 spill of 860,000 gallons of tar sand oil from a pipeline crossing the Kalamazoo River in Michigan when people ask what he’s fighting against. Enbridge, the company which owned the pipeline, just finished cleaning up that spill this summer. A similar amount of that same kind of oil could be flowing at high pressure past Harter’s ranch each day if TransCanada’s Keystone XL is built. But over the last six years, as Harter voiced his concerns about the Keystone to the ranchers surrounding him, he found […]

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Pipeline Construction | Click to Enlarge Dallas, TX-based Energy Transfer Partners announced a joint venture with Houston-based Phillips 66 at the end of October, 2014, to build two pipelines that will move crude oil out of North Dakota’s Bakken Shale field. Energy Transfer Partners will have a 75% interest in the pipelines. Phillips 66 will have a 25% interest, and will pay a proportionate cost of the construction. Both the “Dakota Access Pipeline” and “Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline” are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. “We look forward to working with Phillips 66 to build this much-needed pipeline infrastructure to link rapidly growing supplies of domestically produced light crude oil in the Bakken and Three Forks play to refineries throughout the country,” said Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren. According to Energy Transfer Partners, the Dakota Access Pipeline is expected to deliver in excess of 450,000 b/d of crude […]

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BRADSHAW, Neb. — The only sign of the six-year fight over the 400 acres of land that belong to Shannon and Kevin Graves is a wooden stick on the edge of a cornfield across from their modest home, located down a dirt road about an hour west of Lincoln. The stick marks where a section of the Keystone XL pipeline may one day be laid. Each day, as their nephew Daniel tends their cornfields, Kevin and Shannon Graves drive about 15 minutes away to their store, Tradition Hardware, located in the one-street town of Polk. Over the years, that daily drive past the stick has morphed into a reminder that, even as the battle over the Keystone XL has ignited a renewed environmental movement that sways state, national and international politics, at the end of the day, the pipeline fight is a local one. “It’s not a political issue […]

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OTTAWA, Oct 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday during a visit to Canada that he would like to make a decision soon on TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. TransCanada has waited more than six years for the Obama administration to make a decision on the line, which would take as much as 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta tar sands crude to refineries on Texas’ Gulf Coast. The State Department is now awaiting the results of a court challenge on the line’s routing through Nebraska and completing its own study on the need for the line before it makes a final recommendation to President Barack Obama on whether to grant the project a presidential permit. The permit would allow the line, which faces critcism from environmentalists, to cross from Canada into the United States. While Kerry said he would like a […]

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Falling oil prices have energized opponents of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. U.S. benchmark crude has tumbled 10 percent this month, closing at $81.01 a barrel in New York trading last week, and further declines are forecast. At $75, a government analysis said producers may be discouraged from developing Canada ’s oil sands without pipelines like Keystone. “It changes the narrative quite a bit,” Anthony Swift, an international lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington , said of the tumble in crude prices. The pace of oil-sands production is key in the debate over Keystone, a Canada-to-U.S. line TransCanada Corp. (TRP) proposed in September 2008 when oil was more than $100 a barrel. Environmentalists oppose developing oil sands because the process releases more greenhouse gases than other types of crude. President Barack Obama has said he won’t approve the $10 billion project if it would significantly exacerbate […]

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Kinder Morgan considers expanding pipeline network to take on more shale natural gas. (UPI/Shutterstock/tcly) HOUSTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) — Expanding a gas system in the U.S. Midwest will facilitate the utilization of shale gas from the Utica and Marcellus plays, pipeline company Kinder Morgan said. Kinder Morgan operates and owns a 20 percent interest in systems for Natural Gas Pipeline Co. It said it was soliciting industry interest in the possible expansion of a pipeline system in Illinois to carry another 430 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. "This project will enable Chicago-area markets to diversify their gas supply portfolios and access additional prolific gas production from the Utica and Marcellus shale areas," Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Pipelines Central Region President David Devine said in a statement Thursday. Total production from Utica shale should increase from 155 million cubic feet per day in January 2012 to an […]

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Enbridge offers assurances to Michigan authorities about integrity of northern oil pipelines. UPI/Brian Kersey LANSING, Mich., Oct. 7 (UPI) — Michigan authorities said Canadian pipeline company Enbridge offered assurances two oil pipelines running under the Mackinac Straits are secured. Line 5 of the Lakehead pipeline system splits into two 20-inch pipelines that carry the heavier grade of crude oil beneath the straits separating the Upper and Lower Michigan Peninsulas. They were installed in 1953. Since an oil spill from Line 6b of the system in 2010, Enbridge has faced scrutiny about the integrity of the pipeline system. That spill was one of the worst onshore incidents of its kind in U.S. history. The Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force said it met with Enbridge officials to discuss Line 5 integrity . A presentation delivered to the task force says pipeline sections are nearly an inch thick and are designed to […]

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Enbridge expects delays on construction of Sandpiper oil pipeline because of regulatory issues in Minnesota. UPI/Hamid Forotan HOUSTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) — The Sandpiper pipeline designed to carry oil from the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota through Minnesota is delayed, Enbridge Energy Partners said. Enbridge Chief Executive Al Manaco said regulators in Minnesota decided to vet the planned 616-mile Sandpiper oil pipeline separately on routing and capacity. As a result, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission the pipeline likely won’t start delivering North Dakota crude until 2017, a year later than expected . Sandpiper would ship up to 225,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day through Minnesota. It would then transfer oil to other pipelines for delivery to the U.S. and Canadian refinery markets. Enbridge in June received backing from state legislators in North Dakota to build Sandpiper. Enbridge attorney Christina […]

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WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Republicans plan to put approval of the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline on a fast track early next year if they win a U.S. Senate majority in November, finally forcing President Barack Obama to make a tough call on the controversial plan. The $10 billion Keystone project to connect Canadian oil sands with U.S. refineries will top the list of Republican energy priorities if they gain control of the Senate after the Nov. 4 midterm elections. It could come as a stand-alone measure or attached to must-pass legislation such as a government spending or transportation bill, according to senators and congressional aides. Republicans, along with some Democrats, have for years pushed for a bill that would allow Congress to approve Keystone, and reduce the role of the administration. However, with Democrats in control, the closest they have gotten in the Senate was a symbolic […]

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Texas shale reaching Houston through new pipeline project led by Magellan and Oxy. UPI/Gary C. Caskey HOUSTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) — An oil pipeline designed to transport as much as 300,000 barrels per day from the Permian shale basin in Texas is now in service, operators announced. Magellan Midstream Partners and Occidental Petroleum Corp. said its BridgeTex pipeline connecting the Permian basin to Houston refinery markets started commercial service. Construction of the pipeline began in November 2012. "Initial flow rates are expected to ramp up over time, as the BridgeTex Pipeline is capable of transporting up to 300,000 barrels per day of Permian Basin crude oil," the companies said in a Monday statement. Occidental, known by its stock ticker symbol Oxy, said in its second quarter financial statement Permian shale helped boost its oil production to 278,000 bpd, up more than 8 percent from second quarter 2013. The new […]

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NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Logic dictates that the United States will one day approve the northern leg of TransCanada Corp’s controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told an audience of executives in New York on Wednesday. "I’m not going to speculate on timelines other than to say the obvious benefits and merits of the project…. mean that the logic is it will be approved at some point in the future," he said. "I think its eventual approval under the right circumstances is inevitable." Harper also said that while increased U.S. oil production has changed the economics of the industry, the need for the pipeline has not vanished. "Obviously there’s been a great growth in United States energy production capacity. We view that as a good thing but … American self-sufficiency is a long way off," he said. The debate in the United […]

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A TransCanada Keystone Pipeline pump station operates outside Steele City, Neb., in this March 2014 file photo. Reuters WASHINGTON— TransCanada Corp.’s chief executive said the cost to build the Keystone XL pipeline, currently estimated at $5.4 billion, is expected to double by the time the U.S. government completes its review of the largest part of the project. Russ Girling, chief executive of the Calgary, Alberta,-based company, in an interview this week said he expects the project’s cost could increase to a "number that gets you into the high single digits to a 10 number." He was hesitant to say the project’s cost could double. "I was actually trying to avoid saying those words," Mr. Girling said. "Obviously, the costs have increased significantly." The pipeline, which would send Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, has faced delays and has become a political flash point in the nation’s debate over […]

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LINCOLN, Nebraska, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Nebraska’s Supreme Court heard arguments on Friday about whether Governor Dave Heineman acted properly when he blessed a route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and the court’s decision could weigh on the controversial project. A lawyer for landowners who may be in the pipeline’s path hoped to persuade the seven-member panel that Heineman overreached and that a decision on the route should be left to an independent state agency. The 30-minute hearing played out in the court’s somber wood-paneled chamber. Keystone opponents who watched the proceedings from an adjacent room, were not so subdued. "It just makes sense, how can they not see that," said Shannon Graves, a Nebraska landowner who opposes the plan and was in the viewing room. At issue was a 2012 law that gave Heineman authority to approve a route for TransCanada Corp’s proposed $5.4 billion pipeline. The […]

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Columbia Gas Transmission (CGT), part of NiSource Inc.’s Columbia Pipeline Group , will build a 160-mile natural gas pipeline , Leach XPress, in Ohio and West Virginia, supporting gas supply development in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. Long-term firm service agreements with Range Resources Appalachia LLC, Noble Energy Inc., Kaiser Marketing Appalachian LLC, and American Energy-Utica LLC (AEU), support the project. CGT describes the 1.5-bcfd pipeline as providing access to multiple Marcellus and Utica receipt points and establishing a new header system serving the Appalachian supply basin. It will interconnect with NiSource’s Columbia Gulf Transmission pipeline in Leach, Ky. The same four shippers are also underpinning Columbia Gulf’s Rayne XPress project, which will boost the line’s capacity by 1 bcfd through additional compression. AEU recently completed acquisition of 27,000 net acres in Monroe County, Ohio ( OGJ Online, Aug. 5, 2014 ). CGT has begun outreach […]

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The Supreme Court of Nebraska plans to hear arguments the first week of September in the state’s appeal of a property rights case that could block the Keystone XL pipeline, which will likely push any White House decision on Keystone’s approval until after the mid-term elections, according to people familiar with the case. But the forthcoming September arguments, first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post , could move the court’s decision forward according to attorneys close to the issue. If the justices grant the appeal, which would approved the pipeline’s route through Nebraska, before the date of the elections, it could be an unwanted October surprise for President Barack Obama . The president has been under increasing pressure this year to approve Keystone from the energy industry,  Republicans, and most importantly, incumbent Democratic Senators including Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Warner of Virginia who are running […]

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While bipartisan leaders in a Senate committee passed a bill in support of Keystone XL, Sen. warned against overselling the win. Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sens. Mary Landrieu , D-La., and John Hoeven , R-N.D., moved their bill in support of the pipeline through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with a 12-10 vote. "I am pleased to move the issue of the Keystone XL pipeline forward, but I think we need to be cautious not to oversell it," Murkowski said in a statement Wednesday. The measure is nearly identical to similar efforts to push Keystone XL past President Obama ‘s desk. Murkowski said her counterparts in the House have already passed similar legislation, but noted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., has largely ignored the issue on the Senate floor. Pipeline planner TransCanada issued a permit request for the pipeline more than five years […]

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As he announced his support for it, US Sen. John A. Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s vote on Chairwoman Mary L. Landrieu’s (D-La.) bill to bypass the White House and approve the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline “seems more like a cheerleading exercise than a meaningful effort to get Keystone built.” Barrasso said he thinks it’s unlikely Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) would bring Landrieu’s bill to the floor despite the committee’s approving it by 12 to 10 votes, and Landrieu and Ranking Minority Member Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alas.) statements they would press him to do so. “The undeniable fact is there is already a bill on the Senate Calendar which would approve the Keystone XL pipeline,” Barrasso said, noting that a similar measure by another member of the committee, John Hoeven (R-ND), has 55 Republican and Democratic cosponsors, and has been pending on […]

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