The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), Airlines for America (A4A), and the Liquids Shippers Group, which represents 11 large oil and gas companies, filed a petition April 20 asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for increased transparency related to reporting transportation costs and revenues on the nation’s petroleum products and natural gas liquids pipelines.
Alliance AutoGas, a provider of comprehensive propane autogas solutions to medium- and heavy-duty fleets, said April 28 that Huntertown, Ind.-based H&H Sales Co. Inc. and Ashby’s Inc./Crenshaw Corp. of Richmond, Va. have joined the alliance as authorized conversion centers. “As high volume conversion centers, H&H Sales Co. and Ashby’s/Crenshaw Corp.
Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) chairwoman Christi Craddick testified recently before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology in Washington, D.C. on local hydraulic fracturing bans. The hearing, titled “Hydraulic Fracturing: Banning Proven Technologies on Possibilities Instead of Probabilities,” raised concerns Texas and other states are facing relating to local bans of the oil and gas drilling technique, hydraulic fracturing.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP and Regency Energy Partners LP said April 28 that unit holders had approved a merger agreement between the two companies. Balloting was reported to have shown 99.6% of the units voted in favor of adopting the agreement. The merger therefore was expected to close on April 30.
The U.S. is at risk of losing economic opportunity and the ability to solidify its role as a global leader in energy production unless the government moves to approve LNG exports, Rob Franklin, president of ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Co., said April 20. “If policymakers don’t revisit and redress some significant legal and regulatory problems then the U.S.

 

The U.S. remained the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2014, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates. Hydrocarbon production continues to exceed that of both Russia and Saudi Arabia, the second- and third-largest producers, respectively. For the U.S. and Russia, total petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbon production, in energy content terms, is nearly evenly split between petroleum and natural gas.
Researchers at England’s University of Manchester say they have made a breakthrough in the development of synthetic pathways that will enable renewable biosynthesis of propane. The research is part of a university program aimed at developing the next generation of biofuels. Their findings were published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels.
The Rapid has introduced four new vehicles into its GO!Bus service. The buses will be fueled by clean-burning, domestically produced propane autogas. GO!Bus is available for seniors and those with disabilities who cannot use fixed-route services, and offers smaller cutaway vehicles for door-to-door trips.
New propane-powered buses will be transporting students in the Council Rock School District in Newtown, Pa. beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. The school district recently approved a new contract with First Student (Cincinnati, Ohio) to provide transportation services for the next seven years. As part of the agreement, the company will replace the district’s current fleet with 150 propane-fueled buses.
In comments filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the American Trucking Associations (ATA) again urged the agency to make a common sense change to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) safety measurement system—the removal of crashes trucking companies and their drivers did not cause.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recounts that a year ago, after 35 years of shipping propane from western Canada to the Upper Midwest, the Cochin pipeline was removed from propane service. Following the April 2014 closure, in July the line was reversed and repurposed to ship light petroleum liquids north from Illinois to western Canada.
Ninety-two propane-fueled Blue Bird school buses will be serving the youngest and largest green fleet of school vehicles in Colorado. Student Trans­portation of America Inc. (STA; Wall Township, N.J.) has been awarded a new $6-million annual contract with Mesa County Valley School District 51 in Grand Junction, Colo. to provide school transportation services.
Enterprise Products Partners LP (Houston) said March 30 that Michael A. Creel, CEO of Enter­prise’s general partner, intends to retire as of Dec. 31. A.J. (Jim) Teague, COO, has been elected to suc­ceed Creel upon his retirement. Teague has served as a director of Enterprise’s general partner since 2008 and as COO since 2010. He joined Enterprise in 1999 and is a retiree of Dow Chemical Co. following a 23-year career.
MFA Oil Co. (Columbia, Mo.) has acquired Cunningham Propane, a family-owned propane retailer based in West Helena, Ark. Details of the transaction were not released. The purchase is MFA Oil’s fifth acquisition of its fiscal year that began Sept. 1, 2014 and the tenth in the last 12 months.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule imposes new costs and delays on energy development without improving on exist­ing state and federal regulations, asserts the American Petroleum Institute (API). The agency on March 20 released its final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing activities on U.S. public and tribal lands.
Building on earlier research, a new supply chain study by the consultancy IHS asserts that lifting the U.S. crude oil export ban would result in increased economic activity that would benefit every state and nearly every congressional district—even those far removed from the oil patch. The study maintains that for every job created in oil production, three jobs would be created in the supply chain and six more in the broader economy.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell March 20 released the final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing activities on U.S. public and tribal lands. The rule will take effect in 90 days. Jewell noted there are more than 100,000 oil and gas wells on federally managed lands. Of wells currently being drilled, more than 90% are hydrauli­cally fractured.
U.S. propane stocks jumped by 2.4 MMbbl the week ended March 27 to stand at 57.4 MMbbl, accord­ing to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its April 1 “This Week in Petroleum” report. As of then, volumes were 30.8 MMbbl, or 115.9%, higher than a year ago. Gulf Coast supplies increased by 1.4 MMbbbl and the Midwest by 1 MMbbl. East Coast inventories fell 0.2 MMbbl, while the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region was unchanged.
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is strongly opposing legislative or regulatory mandates designed to force a 50% reduction in the amount of petroleum products California consumers and businesses use by 2030. “Legislative mandates to force reduction in gasoline use are not climate change policies. They are an attack on an important industry in California designed to create conflict and contro­versy,” said WSPA president Catherine Reheis-Boyd.
Wyoming March 27 took action against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) effort to regu­late hydraulic fracturing. At Gov. Matt Mead’s direc­tion, the state attorney general, Peter K. Michael, filed a petition for review of final agency action in federal court.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Western Energy Alliance have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), challenging the issuance of regulations related to hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands.