US CFTC fines energy traders
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA on August 27 to pay a fine of $48 million for alleged gasoline price manipulation. Ian McGinley, CFTC Director of Enforcement, said that the CFTC had "guarded the integrity of the market in numerous cases during the past 20 years" by detecting these benchmark-related scheme and prosecuting them. The U.S. regulator has fined several companies for what they call oil and gas market malpractice. Here are some examples.
U.S. LPG Exports Grow by 22%: Dorian LPG
U.S. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports have grown year-over-year by 22% to 22.5 million tons year-to-date (YTD) and Middle East exports have grown on the same basis 3.5% to 22.6 million tons, said Dorian LPG.For the first time, U.S. and Middle East volumes were equal, said the owner and operator of modern very large gas carriers (VLGCs)."Our expectation is that the U.S. exports will grow faster than those from the Middle East. U.S.
ETP Plans Permian Express 3, Dakota Access Oil Pipeline Expansions
Energy Transfer Partners LP on Thursday said it expects to expand its Permian Express oil pipeline system further by upto 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is mulling boosting capacity on its Dakota Access crude pipeline.Flows on the Dakota Access pipeline, that runs from North Dakota to Illinois, have averaged just over 500,000 bpd recently and the company could expand by another 100,000 bpd, an executive said on its second quarter earnings call.Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York
ETP finds Philadelphia-area Pipeline is Source of Gasoline Leak
Energy Transfer Partners LP has found that its 12-inch, Philadelphia-area pipeline was the source of a gasoline leak discovered last month in a nearby creek, the company told Reuters on Tuesday. ETP on June 22 shut the 12-inch pipeline, in addition to an eight-inch pipeline in the area, as a precaution. The lines help carry refined products from the region's refineries to New York Harbor and Western Pennsylvania.
ETP Reopens one of two Philadelphia Area Product Pipelines
Energy Transfer Partners LP reopened the smaller of two Philadelphia area pipelines that help carry refined products from the region's refineries to the New York Harbor and Western Pennsylvania but the larger of the two remained shut, the company said in a customer notice seen by Reuters. The two lines, 8-inch and 12-inch in size, were shut on Friday as a precaution after gasoline was discovered in a creek outside of Philadelphia.
ETP to Build Pipeline from Permian to Nederland, Texas
Energy Transfer Partners said on Thursday it plans to build a crude pipeline from the Permian basin in Texas to the Houston Ship Channel and Nederland, Texas, which will have an initial capacity of up to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).The pipeline will be "easily expandable" to 1 million bpd and is likely to come online by 2020, the company said during a first quarter earnings conference call.Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York
ETP Eyes New Crude Pipeline from Permian Basin to Nederland, Texas
Energy Transfer Partners LP is considering constructing a new crude oil pipeline from the Permian basin in Texas to Nederland, Texas, a company executive said on a fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday. The company said it was "aggressively pursuing a larger project" without giving specific details. Energy Transfer Partners said it brought Phase 1 of its Permian Express 3 pipeline online in the fourth quarter, with additional volumes expected to come online later this year.
US Natgas Production Dips After Pipeline Fire in Ohio
U.S. natural gas production was expected to decline by about 2 percent on Thursday from earlier in the week due in part to an unexpected shutdown of a couple of pipelines in Ohio after a fire early Wednesday, according to Reuters data. The fire and gas release occurred on Tallgrass Energy Partners LP's Seneca Lateral pipe in Noble County in southeast Ohio. There were no injuries or evacuations. The damaged Seneca Lateral…
Oil Producers Want New Hearing on Impact of Magellan Proposal
Oil and gas producers WPX Energy and Chevron have asked a U.S. regulator for a new hearing on the broad industry impact of Magellan Midstream Partners' request to launch a marketing arm, signaling concerns about the effect it could have on shipping oil in the United States. The two firms late on Tuesday became the latest energy companies, including Plains All American's Plains Marketing LP and Energy Transfer Partners, to raise questions after Magellan requested another hearing on the marketing arm issue.
U.S. Tax Overhaul Could Spur Refining, Pipeline CapEx
U.S. refiners and pipeline companies are likely to embark on a capital spending spree in the next year, fueled by a provision in the recently-passed U.S. tax bill that rewards investment in new projects, said energy industry lobbyists and analysts. On Wednesday, Congress gave final approval to the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years, the first major legislative victory for President Donald Trump since he took office.
Judge Orders Oil-spill Response Plan for Dakota Access Pipeline
A federal judge on Monday ordered Energy Transfer Partners to coordinate with tribes to create an oil-spill response plan for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline by April 1, 2018. The ruling from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg came nearly six months after he ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers’ review of the project, which transports oil from North Dakota near Native American reservations to Illinois, was inadequate before it granted necessary federal permits.
U.S. DoJ to Prosecute Energy Activist Vandals
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday pledged to prosecute protesters who damage energy infrastructure in a move that could escalate tensions between climate activists and the administration of President Donald Trump. The DOJ said it was committed to vigorously prosecuting those who damage "critical energy infrastructure in violation of federal law." Attempts to "damage or shut down" pipelines deprive communities of services…
ETP: U.S. Approves Drilling Along Rover Gas Pipeline
Oil and gas pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Tuesday it received approval from U.S. energy regulators to resume drilling along its $4.2 billion Rover pipeline project. The Rover project from Pennsylvania to Ontario is the biggest gas pipeline under construction in the United States. ETP said operations on nine locations for horizontal directional drilling approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are expected to begin within the week.
ETP: U.S. Drilling Ban Won't Delay Ohio Gasline
Completion of the Rover pipeline, the biggest natural gas pipe under construction in the United States, is not expected to be delayed by a U.S. federal order to stop new drilling to install pipe, Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Thursday. The company spilled more than 2 million gallons of drilling fluid - mostly water and clay - in Ohio wetlands in April during construction of Rover, prompting regulators to halt drilling in certain areas.
Spills Prompt U.S. to Stop ETP's Drill Work on Rover Pipeline
U.S. regulators on Wednesday prohibited Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) LP from new drilling to install pipe along the route of its Rover natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to Ontario following drilling fluid spills in a wetland area in Ohio. Concern that the ban was coming helped lift natural gas futures prices on Wednesday, traders said. The drilling ban will remain in place until the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff authorizes the company to start again.
A Great Lakes Pipeline Stirs New Protest
The growing protest movement against U.S. oil and gas pipelines has so far focused on stopping or delaying new construction, with some high-profile successes. Now, in Michigan, a broad coalition of opponents is entering a new frontier: Pushing to rip out and reroute an existing pipeline - Enbridge Inc.'s aging Line 5, which crosses the Straits of Mackinac. They fear the pipeline will leak into the Great Lakes…
E. Coast Refiners Shun Bakken Rail Deliveries
Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc, the largest refiner on the U.S. East Coast, will not be taking any rail deliveries of North Dakota's Bakken crude oil in June, a source familiar with delivery schedules said on Tuesday - a sign that the impending start of the Dakota Access Pipeline is upending trade flows. At its peak, PES would have routinely taken about 3 miles' worth of trains filled with Bakken oil each day.
New US Pipelines to Drive Natural Gas Boom as Exports Surge
U.S. energy firms are scrambling to finish a slew of pipelines that will unleash rich reserves of shale gas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio as the nation prepares to become one of the world’s top natural gas exporters. The pipelines are expected to boost output from shale fields in the three states by giving producers access to new domestic and international markets. Those states could supply about a third of all U.S.
North Dakota Output to Rise as DAPL Opens
North Dakota oil production will get a shot in the arm next month as a pipeline comes online despite opposition by environmental groups and Native Americans, allowing the energy industry to save at least $540 million in annual shipping costs. The Dakota Access Pipeline gives the state's producers cheaper access to refineries and other customers on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Market players said they expect this will…
Dakota Access Pipeline 99% Complete
Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Thursday that 99 percent of its controversial Dakota Access Pipeline is complete after receiving all federal authorizations necessary earlier this month. The crude pipeline will begin or continue line fill in late March or early April, according to executives on its fourth-quarter earnings call. It will then begin "demand charges" on subscribed volumes by June 1. Native…
