Natural gas in the Northeast trades at premium prices compared to the rest of the United States due to pipeline constraints during periods of high demand in the winter. Liquefied natural gas has met over 25% of New England’s average daily natural gas demand since November 2010.
More at Energy Information Administration.
The Energy Information Administration reports that about 1/3 of the natural gas produced from the Bakken Formation of North Dakota is flared instead of marketed because natural gas pipelines are not present in the production area or they can not accept…
More at Energy Information Administration.
The Energy Information Administration has an interactive map that displays energy infrastructure features in the Gulf of Mexico region. It includes power plants, transmission lines, LNG terminals, natural gas hubs, pipelines, oil ports, refineries, ac…
More at Energy Information Administration.
A natural gas pipeline in California ruptured during a pressure test, triggering a landslide that blocked part of I-280.
More at Palo Alto Online.
Now that thousands of wells have been drilled into the Marcellus Shale and other gas plays in the United States the job of getting the gas to market becomes urgent. This has triggered debates about right of way acquisition and eminent domain.
More at PennLive.com.
Russia has opened the Nord Stream Baltic gas pipeline that will transport natural gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
More at BBC.
The news is full of articles about decaying US infrastructure and natural gas pipeline leaks and explosions. However, when PG&E proposed a major pipeline modernization plan it was met with angry consumers.
More at Mercury News.
About three billion cubic feet of natural gas is being produced every day from the Marcellus Shale, an amount that is expected to grow significantly as more wells are drilled. Moving that gas to market will require thousands of miles of new pipelines,…
More at Business Week.
In some parts of Pennsylvania and other states high densities of natural gas wells have been drilled in the past two or three years. Today’s problem is building the many miles of gathering system and transmission system pipelines needed to move the gas to market. Most of these pipelines must cross many parcels of private property and the right to cross them must be carefully negotiated and paid for.
More at Reuters.
The Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University has published a report titled: “Shale Gas and U.S. National Security”. “This study assesses the impact of U.S. domestic shale gas development on energy security and U.S. national security, with emphasis on the geopolitical consequences of rising supplies of U.S. natural gas from shale and the implications for U.S. foreign policy.” Quoted from the report summary.
“Through January of this winter, spot natural gas prices at Atlantic Coast trading points are up $0.90-1.20 per million British thermal units compared to the same period last winter – although prices are lower at Henry Hub and in other traditional consumption areas like the Midwest and western Pennsylvania. The main reason is congestion on pipelines into the Northeast.” Quoted from the EIA website.
Even in Texas, a state that is producing natural gas in many areas, the extremely cold weather has stressed natural gas supplies. Similar conditions are being seen in many parts of the United States according to the Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Transportation Update.
An article on the WBOY.com website explores some issues related to out-of-state workers who have jobs in the new shale gas plays. The article seems to be written from the understandable perspective of an unemployed person who lives in the gas play rather than a gas industry manager who needs to get wells or pipeline completed as rapidly as possible.
The American Right of Way Associates will hold an Eagle Ford Shale Training Class on Saturday, January 29th in San Antonio, Texas. The class is titled “Right of Way Acquisitions & Land Title Training Program”. It teaches the skills necessary for right of way agents and title agents to serve the various oil and gas companies working in the Eagle Ford Shale play. More at PR.com.
In a competitive rush to lease natural gas properties a pattern of drilling is established. Then pipelines to transport the gas to market must be built to service that pattern with companies still competing instead of cooperating. An editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram calls for a pipeline master plan.
