On May 22, 2013, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) released a guidance document entitled Recommended Practices: Pipeline Boring. Pipeline boring, also called horizontal directional drilling, is used when trenching is impractical or impossible, such as beneath highways, railroads, and bodies of water. In addition to providing best practices for planning and construction, the document guides operators through dealing with the inadvertent return of drilling fluid and necessary corrective actions. This document is the seventh in a series of guidance documents developed by MSC’s various subject-specific committees.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will present an Oil & Gas Workshop at the Charleston Civic Center on May 16th beginning at 8:00 a.m. Speakers will address a wide variety of topics of interest to operators, contractors, consultants and attorneys- including waste water issues, permitting, compliance, pipeline safety, and horizontal well issues. To attend the workshop, contact B. J. Chestnut at B.J.Chestnut@wv.gov by May 10, 2013.
Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners announced that they have entered into a letter of intent to form a joint venture to build new pipelines and upgrade existing ones to provide a pathway for natural gas liquids (NGLs) like ethane to move from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays to petrochemical and export facilities in the U.S. Gulf Coast and the Northeast U.S., the Post-Gazette reports. The proposed “Bluegrass Pipeline” would provide producers with 200,000 barrels per day of mixed NGLs take-away capacity in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and such capacity could be increased to 400,000 barrels per day to meet market demand. Williams and Boardwalk hope that by combining new construction with existing pipelines the Bluegrass Pipeline can be placed into service and begin serving customers by the second half of 2015. The plan requires approvals from the companies’ boards and from regulators, which Williams and Boardwalk hope to receive this year.
As a result of the booming gas market in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale, Columbia Gas Transmission Group submitted plans Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a $210 million expansion to its Philadelphia network, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Columbia’s plans include installing a 20-inch-diameter pipeline on a 7.5-mile route in Gloucester County and a 26-inch-diameter pipeline for 8.9 miles in Chester County. Columbia expects FERC approval of the East Side Expansion Project by June 2014.
The Scranton Times-Tribune is reporting that Houston-based Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, has filed a federal-court complaint seeking to block attempts by two environmental groups to interfere with the operator’s Northeast Upgrade Project. Specifically, Tennessee Gas seeks to preclude the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board from considering petitions and an appeal filed by the Delaware River Network and the Responsible Drilling Alliance. Tennessee Gas seeks to prevent the groups from delaying construction of the 41-mile pipeline project, which would travel across New Jersey and Northeast Pennsylvania. It argues that, because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved construction of the pipeline, the EHB is preempted from taking any action on the petitions and appeal, which are scheduled to be argued before the EHB on Jan. 14, 2013. Pursuant to its contractual obligations, Tennessee Gas must complete the project by Nov. 1, 2013.
In July 2011, PIOGA filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania seeking to hold the United States Forest Service in contempt of court for allegedly failing to adhere to the Court’s December 2009 preliminary injunction order in the Minard Run, et al. v. United States Forest Service, et al. litigation. That order prevented the Forest Service from requiring mineral owners to prepare a NEPA document before the development of oil and gas rights in the Allegheny Forest. It also required the parties to revert to a drilling proposal process that they had used from 1980 until the litigation began in 2009.
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