PAA, Enterprise form pipeline venture

Plains All American Pipeline LP (Plains) and Enterprise Products Partners LP (Enterprise) have formed a crude oil pipeline joint venture to consolidate certain portions of projects servicing the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas, the companies announced.

According to the announcement, the joint venture will include a 140-mile crude oil and condensate line, as well as a new 35-mile pipeline segment, which will interconnect to EPD’s South Texas Crude Oil Pipeline.

Plains’ president and chief operating officer, Harry Prefanis, believes the new system will provide a wealth of shipping opportunities for those working in the Eagle Ford shale.

“The combined project will provide shippers with the option to deliver to Three Rivers, Corpus Christi, Houston and with dock capabilities at Corpus Christi to access other gulf-coast markets,” Prefanis said in a public statement.

The joint venture is supported by a commitment of 210,000 barrels (bbl.) per day and the system—according to the company— will have a targeted capacity of 350,000 bbl. per day. It will also include a marine terminal facility in Corpus Christi.

Plains will operate the system, which is expected to be in service by fourth quarter 2012.

Eagle Rock to acquire BP's Texas Panhandle midstream system

Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (Eagle Rock) announced August 10 that it has agreed to acquire BP America Production Company's Sunray and Hemphill processing plants and associated 2,500 mile gathering system serving the liquids-rich Texas Panhandle (BP Panhandle System) for $227.5 million in cash. In addition, Eagle Rock and BP will enter into at closing a 20-year, fixed-fee Gas Gathering and Processing Agreement whereby Eagle Rock will gather and process BP's natural gas production from the existing connected wells.

According to a company statement, BP Panhandle System gathering volumes in the first half of 2012 averaged approximately 180 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day, and Eagle Rock expects to grow the overall throughput from the Texas Panhandle area based on the drilling programs from BP and third-party producers active in the area.

Upon closing, which is anticipated to occur on October 1, Eagle Rock said it plans to integrate the BP Panhandle System with its existing system in the area, resulting in approximately 6,463 miles of combined gathering pipelines serving over 5,000 wells and more than 480 MMcf per day of combined processing capacity. An additional 60 MMcf per day of capacity is expected to come on-line in the first half of 2013 following the completion of Eagle Rock's previously announced Wheeler Plant.

Chesapeake changes name, ticker

Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP has changed its name to Access Midstream Partners LP. Announced in late July, the company’s New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol is now ACMP.

Chief Executive J. Mike Stice said the name change came after Global Infrastructure Partners bought Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s ownership in the partnership back in June.

“Now, as a fully independent publicly traded partnership, we are completing the ownership transition process by announcing our new Partnership name,” Stice said in a public statement.

“The board of directors and the management team believe the new name reflects the partnership’s ability to provide producers reliable access to quality downstream markets and to provide investors access to growth in distributions and superior total returns.”

The company’s new website can be found at accessmidstream.com.

Cheniere Energy receives $3.4 billion in loan commitments

Cheniere Energy Partners LP (Cheniere) has received firm financial commitments of about $3.4 billion to help fund the Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction project. Money will be invested in developing, constructing and placing into service the project’s first two liquefaction trains.

Cheniere received commitments for a Term Loan A from previously announced joint lead arranger banks and, as a result, upsized its credit facility and withdrew the previously announced syndication of a $1.25 billion Term Loan B facility. It will withdraw the syndication of a second, $750 million Term B Loan, too.

The company is working on commitments of another $200 million.

Cheniere anticipates postponing the purchase of the Creole Trail Pipeline from Cheniere Energy Inc. until after construction begins and financing for the purchase has been obtained.

Panda Power Funds to build Texas gas-fired plant

Panda Power Funds (Panda Power) and its affiliate Panda Temple Power LLC announced July 18 the financing and future construction of a 758-megawatt, gas-fueled power plant in Temple, Texas.

Panda Power has enlisted Bechtel and Siemens Energy Inc. to begin immediate construction of the facility. Commercial operations are expected to begin by late 2014. Panda Power and other financial institutions are funding the project.

The plant will utilize combustion turbine and emissions-control technology and will supply power to approximately 750,000 homes in the Central and North Texas regions. The plant is also expected to enhance the area’s economy with a possible contribution of up to $1.6 billion during construction and the plant’s first 10 years of operation, as well as the creation of 700-800 jobs.

Precision Pipeline receives state aid for job creation, development

Precision Pipeline Solutions LLC (Precision) has received financial aid from New York’s Economic Development Fund to assist in job development and training, the Empire State Development Corp. (ESD) said. The funding is part of the ESD’s approval of grants and loans totaling more than $9 million to create 1,220 new jobs and retain 731 existing jobs in New York State.

Precision, which offers design, operation, management and construction work for the natural gas pipeline industry, was awarded $391,500 to contribute to the construction of a facility. In addition, the grant aided in employee training that addresses the utilities industry’s requirement that employees receive operator qualifications and the resources will help to provide employees with classroom- and field-based training to work in the natural and electric utility industry

The assistance will allow for Precision to retain 125 jobs and create 109 more jobs in the area.

B.C. government outlines requirements for Northern Gateway project

British Columbia’s government has announced five minimum requirements that Enbridge must meet before the Canadian province considers support for its Northern Gateway Project.

“Our government is committed to economic development that is balanced with environmental protection,” B.C. Premier Christy Clark told reporters at a press conference.

The government asks that “British Columbia receives a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits of a proposed heavy oil project that reflects the level, degree and nature of the risk borne by the province, the environment and taxpayers.”

It also announced the project must first receive environmental approval, including a recommendation from the National Energy Board Joint Review. The company must then aid in improvements to marine and land oil spill response and recovery systems along the British Columbia coast.

“When we consider the prospect of a heavy oil pipeline, and of the increased oil tanker traffic that would result, it is clear that our spill prevention and response plans will require significant improvements,” provincial Environment Minister Terry Lake said during the press conference. “Our government has already initiated discussions with the federal government on improving our response plans and resources.”

The government also requested that aboriginal rights be taken into consideration, including full-disclosure of information and opportunities within the project.

After the announcement, Enbridge released a response statement. “We wish to reiterate our commitment to working with governments, including British Columbia, in determining what we can do to further address concerns and to engaging in a dialogue to ensure full understanding of the assessments of risk, the many safety and environmental protection measures in the plan as well as the benefits that would come with the project.”

Pennsylvania launches Marcellus Shale air-monitoring study

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced July 24 that it has begun a year-long air-monitoring study in the Marcellus Shale, in an attempt to determine air-quality impacts associated with the processing and transmission of unconventional natural gas.

According to the announcement, data from the study will allow DEP to assess potential long-term impact of air emissions from unconventional natural gas operations to nearby communities.

DEP said it will monitor for ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide and methane. The air will also be tested for more than 60 volatile organic compounds, including hazardous air pollutants, and meteorological data will be collected continuously.

DEP intends to collect at least one year of data and compare those results to national ambient air quality standards, then conduct a long-term risk analysis.

“There has been a documented downward trend in airborne pollutants across the state over the past 10 years,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said in the announcement. “Marcellus Shale development holds the promise of emissions benefits from the use of this cleaner-burning fuel in the transportation and electricity generation sectors.”

TransCanada receives final permit

for Gulf Coast project TransCanada Corp. (TransCanada) received the final of three key permits needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to advance the Gulf Coast project and is now in a position to start construction of the oil pipeline.

TransCanada received the final permit from the Fort Worth, Texas, Army Corps district and combined it with the other two permits from the Galveston, Texas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, districts. The 485-mile pipeline will transport crude oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast. The project is expected to cost approximately $2.3 billion and, according to the company, will be constructed in three separate sections.

Women, minorities in the pipeline industry

Women own about 10% of U.S. pipeline companies, according to a federal audit released by a Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Another 6% of U.S. pipeline companies are minority-owned, according to the GAO.

The GAO conducted the report after Congress passed the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory and Job Creation Act of 2011, which compelled the U.S. Comptroller to asses minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged- pipeline businesses.

Out of the more than 2,500 existing companies surveyed, 67% were non-minority or male-owned companies and produced 80% of the estimated share of receipts.

Another 19% of the total firms surveyed and 7% of receipts were classified as “other.” The GAO found that most of federal contract obligations were construction based and less than 16%—or $484 million of $3 billion—went to minority or womenowned businesses.

“About $246 million—or 8%—of federal contract obligations went to disadvantaged pipeline firms, which may be minorityowned or female-owned firms, from 2007 to 2011,” the report said.

The report noted that although the Department of Transportation does not provide programs to encourage the participation of minority and female-owned companies, it does aim to assist disadvantaged firms.

According to the report, women-owned firms represented about 30% of all U.S. firms classifiable by race and gender and generated about 11% of all receipts.

Delek increases rail shipments to Arkansas refinery

Delek U.S. Holdings (Delek) has announced its efforts to increase crude oil rail delivery to its Arkansas refinery, in order to make up for long-standing outage of a supplier pipeline.

According to a Reuters report, a late April rupture caused Exxon Mobil Corp. to shut its North Line pipeline leaving Delek in search of other options. Delek executives told analysts that utilizing rail allowed the El Dorado refinery to operate at 64,000 bbl. per day in the second quarter and 70,000 bbl. per day in July, despite the outage.

The move also allowed Delek to access lower priced crude oil from Canada and the inland U.S., further decreasing its dependence on Gulf Coast crude, the report said.

As of mid-August, the refinery had received more than 9,000 bbl. per day from rail deliveries and the company, according to the report. That figure is expected to increase by another 6,000 bbl. per day.

New chief financial officer joins GTI team

Jim Ingold has joined Gas Technology Institute (GTI) as the company’s vice president of finance, treasurer and chief financial officer. The energy and environmental research and developmental organization announced the hire in July.

Ingold is now charged with optimizing GTI’s financial activities and managing its equity interests. As well, Ingold will help oversee investments and maintain a broad risk management program.

Copano Energy announces executive appointments

Copano Energy LLC (Copano) has expanded its management team with two executive additions. Bryan W. Neskora has been named chief operating officer of the company, and Susan B. Ortenstone has joined as chief administrative officer.

Neskora has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He most recently served as senior vice president of operations for El Paso Corp.'s Pipeline Group.

Ortenstone is a long-serving member of the energy industry with vast experience across diverse functional areas and business segments. Since 2003, Ortenstone divided her time at El Paso first serving as senior vice president and chief administrative officer and then as executive vice president.

NPL Construction’s new president named

Southwest Gas Corporation (Southwest) has appointed James P. Kane as president and chief executive of NPL Construction Co. (NPL), Southwest's wholly owned pipeline construction subsidiary. In connection with his new appointment, Kane has relinquished his position as president of Southwest and its utility operations. Southwest's current chief executive, Jeffrey W. Shaw, has assumed Kane's duties at Southwest.

Kane comes to NPL with a 40-year track record within the industry and will take on the task of making structural and transitional changes within the fast-growing company.

Chesapeake Energy picks Utica shale headquarters

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (Chesapeake) has pinpointed an area in Northeast Ohio for its future Utica Shale headquarters and has purchased the land for the upcoming development.

The 291 acres, which lie in the Cantonsuburb of Louisville, will house the company and its subsidiaries, which will oversee the operations of its 59 wells and 10 drilling rigs in the Ohio region.

Chesapeake’s future Ohio home is the site of the Beck Industrial Commercial Center and offers the Oklahoma City-based company a readily equipped industrial park. The area is largely undeveloped and, according to a company press release, offers Chesapeake the desired centralized location it needed for its growing operations.

Chesapeake has yet to release the estimated construction start and completion dates.

NGP Energy Capital Management announces promotions

NGP Energy Capital Management (NGP), a private equity firm in the natural resources industry, has announced the promotions of three of its top-level executives. Effective immediately, managing directors Tony R. Weber, Craig S. Glick and Christopher D. Ray will begin work as senior managing directors.

Weber joined the firm in 2004 as chief investment coordinator and has industry experience in the sourcing, structuring and executing of investments as well as capital markets transactions. Prior to his tenure at NGP, Weber was chief financial officer of Merit Energy Company and senior vice president of Union Bank of California’s Energy Division in Dallas.

Equipped with 26 years of legal and financial experience, Glick joined NGP in 2008 to take on the firm’s structuring and execution activities where he served as managing director and general counsel of NGP Midstream & Resources. Prior to joining NGP, Glick was a founding partner of Kosmos Energy Holdings and served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. His previous tenures include Hunt Resources and Hunt Oil Company, Gulf Canada Resources Ltd and Torch Energy Advisors. He has been a director of three publicly traded companies.

In addition to his new role as senior managing director, Ray will continue his function as the firm’s general counsel. Ray joined NGP in 2003 with natural resources experience and participates in the firm’s execution of transactions as well as decisions regarding capital allocation, monitoring and exits. Prior to joining NGP, Ray was a partner in the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP.

Jefferies strengthens midstream investment banking

Jefferies Group Inc. (Jefferies) has named Peter Bowden as a managing director and global head of Midstream Energy Investment Banking.

Bowden comes to Jefferies from Morgan Stanley, where he served as its managing director and head of midstream-energy investment banking.

Bowden spent 14 years working in the energy industry and began his midstream career at Andrew Kurth LLP. He has experience in master limited partnerships (MLP) and midstream negotiations.

According to Jefferies, Bowden’s appointment has allowed the company to “firmly establish ourselves in the $300 billion midstream energy sector and in MLP equity issuance.”

CenterPoint Energy names new chief operating officer

CenterPoint Energy Inc. (CenterPoint) named Scott M. Prochazka as executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, Prochazka will be responsible for the company's five business units and certain corporate functions.

“During his tenure with the company, Scott has demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic vision,” said David M. McClanahan, president and chief executive of CenterPoint, in a public statement. “He has helped us achieve strong financial and operational performance in our largest business, Houston Electric, and is equally well versed in our natural gas delivery business. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Prochazka joined CenterPoint in 2001 and has held many key leadership positions within the company. Since February 2009, he has been responsible for the company's electric transmission and distribution utility department serving more than 2.1 million consumers in the Houston area.

Prior to joining CenterPoint, Prochazka worked for Dow Chemical from 1989 to 2001 in a variety of roles.

Oneok Partners announce management changes

Oneok Partners LP (Oneok) announced a series of senior management changes including the retirement of Senior Vice President of Administrative Services David E. Roth.

Assuming Roth’s responsibilities for human resources, information technology and corporate services will be Dandridge L. Harrison, who will become senior vice president of administrative services as well as corporate relations.

After spending 33 years with Oneok, Roth will retire on September 30, 2012. Roth was a human resources executive with Western Resources and joined ONEOK when it acquired Kansas Gas Service from Western in 1997.

“David Roth's contributions to our company are immeasurable. We will miss his steady hand, sound judgment and intellectual curiosity,” John W. Gibson, Oneok’s chairman and chief executive, said in an announcement.

Among other key management changes announced by Oneok were the promotions of Charles M. Kelley, David R. Scharf and Michael A. Fitzgibbons. Kelly, senior vice president, will now lead Oneok's energy services business, replacing Patrick J. McDonie.

Scharf, who was president of Oneok’s natural gas gathering and processing business, becomes vice president of strategic planning. Fitzgibbons has been promoted to vice president of Oneok’s natural gas gathering and processing business.

Meritage Midstream expands senior leadership team

Meritage Midstream Services II LLC (Meritage) announced three new appointments to its senior leadership team. The company’s new executives will serve critical roles at Meritage, which recently secured a $500 million private equity commitment from Riverstone Holdings LLC.

Nicholas Aretakis and Richard J. Gognat join Meritage from High Sierra Energy LP. Each brings more than 30 years of energy-sector experience. Aretakis will serve as senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Gognat will oversee all legal and land matters as senior vice president and general counsel. As well, Terry Herauf has been appointed director of operations. Herauf joins Meritage with 31 years experience in the natural gas business, having most recently served as general manager with Copano Pipelines/Rocky Mountains LLC.

The appointments came in addition to other strategic changes in Meritage’s leadership team. Meritage president and chief executive Steven Huckaby will serve as chairman and chief executive, while former vice president for business development Nick Thomas assumes the role of president.

Alberta College offers pipeline training program

Students living in Alberta, Canada, can now take advantage of the province’s first pipeline training program.

According to local reports, this fall, Portage College will begin offering specialized courses geared toward the maintenance, operation and construction of pipelines and — with its proximity to the Fort McMurray oil sands — will offer students direct access to the oil and gas and pipeline industries. The school has already begun construction on a mock work camp, where qualified students have the chance to experience the daily life of an industry worker.

“We’ve designed this course in collaboration with industry, with a number of pipeline companies. We’ve done the research and saw that there was no concise pipeline course in Western Canada available,” Stuart Leitch, director of community and industry training initiatives at Portage College, told Fort McMurray Today. “We plan on covering everything they could encounter after listening to the needs of industry.”

One of those industry needs the program is placing the utmost importance on is safety.

“The pipeline industry is incredibly important to Alberta’s economy, and students have to be prepared for anything that could go wrong,” Leitch said in the report. “Safety will be a huge feature of the course.”

The course is expected to be 20 to 24 weeks long, and the school expects to have a full program by fall 2013.