South Dakota weighing oil pipeline cleanup tax

PIERRE - An old idea of levying an environmental cleanup tax on oil pipelines in South Dakota took on new life on Feb. 22 in the Legislature.
The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 7-1 in favor of charging two cents per barrel on pipelines carrying more than 10,000 b/d.
The legislation now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
“I think it’s our responsibility to protect the state of South Dakota,” said Sen. Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls.
The legislation, SB 161, is opposed by TransCanada officials, who have completed their international pipeline known as Keystone down the James River Valley through South Dakota.
TransCanada plans to build a second one, known as Keystone XL, across western South Dakota.
Sen. Ryan Maher, D-Isabel, said he brought the latest legislation on behalf of some constituents who will be affected by the proposed XL pipeline through their areas.
Luke Temple, a lobbyist for Dakota Rural Action, said the purpose is to protect landowners and to protect South Dakota taxpayers in general.
The money would be placed in a special fund that would be capped at $30 million and would be available in case of an oil release.

U.S. gas producers considering pipeline exports to Ontario market

OTTAWA - Canadian pipeline companies are considering requests from U.S. producers to reverse the flow of their natural gas export lines to bring natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in the U.S. into Ontario, displacing some Alberta suppliers who have dominated the Central Canadian market for half a century.
TransCanada Corp. and Chatham, Ont.-based Union Gas Ltd. have issued “open season” calls to determine the interest of Marcellus producers in supplying natural gas to the Ontario market from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The companies, together with New York-based Empire Pipeline, would use existing pipelines that now move Western Canadian gas to Southern Ontario and the U.S. Northeast.
“The Marcellus shale is a game changer in terms of our markets and how we serve them,” said Andrea Stass, spokeswoman for Union Gas, a subsidiary of U.S. giant Spectra Energy Corp.
Union Gas's so-called “open season” will gauge interest among shippers to move gas from the border at the Niagara River, through a TransCanada line and then westward to its Dawn hub near Sarnia, where Union has major natural gas storage facilities.
TransCanada vice-president Steve Pohlod said the company is responding to requests from Marcellus producers that want to supply the Ontario market. But, he added, it is too early to say whether there is enough interest to justify reconfiguring the export pipeline.

Enbridge Energy Partners plans $141.8 million Texas pipelines expansion

HOUSTON - Enbridge Energy Partners LP is planning to expand its East Texas Gas Gathering System.
The partnership will construct three new lateral pipelines linking with the Haynesville Shale play. In addition, it is also planning to build a large diameter lateral from Shelby County to Carthage, Texas.
Total project cost is approximately $141.8 million, which includes approximately 50 miles of 16-inch to 24-inch diameter pipe as well as an additional 38-mile, 24-inch lateral pipeline.
The expansions will increase the partnership's takeaway capacity to 900 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d).

Enbridge blasts Suncor, allies in Alberta Clipper rhubarb

CALGARY, Alta. - Enbridge Inc. fired back at the critics of its Alberta Clipper pipeline on Feb. 20, accusing them of "inequitable and inexcusable conduct."
Enbridge is mired in a legal battle with oilsands producers who, led by Suncor Energy Inc., have sought to prevent Enbridge from raising its tariffs to pay for the U.S. portion of its new Clipper line.
Suncor argues that the Alberta Clipper pipeline is unnecessary, and Enbridge was imprudent to build it.
Enbridge, however, says it was hustled into building the line by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which negotiated on behalf of the Canadian oilsands industry.

South Dakota tax bill targets TransCanada’s Keystone XL oil pipeline

PIERRE, S.D. - The company planning to build an oil pipeline across western South Dakota said it would lose an estimated $38 million in tax incentives under a bill approved by state lawmakers on Feb. 18.
The bill would change state law so oil pipelines would no longer be exempt from sales and excise taxes. It would apply to the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, which will carry crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
Committee debate on the bill came just hours before the state Public Utilities Commission was to act on a construction permit for the $900 million pipeline project across seven South Dakota counties.
Bill sponsor Rep. Jason Frerichs, D-Wilmot, said once the pipeline is in the ground the state will get few benefits in terms of new jobs or other economic activity. He said incentives such as tax refunds should go to projects that bring long-lasting benefits, and that the tax revenue from the Keystone project would help the state balance its budget.
Dennis Duncan, a lobbyist for TransCanada, pointed out that the company would be paying $20 million in property taxes annually on the pipeline, and said the bill could damage the state's image as pro-business and tax friendly.
"It's clearly dangerous to change the rules in midstream after you've attracted businesses to the state," Duncan said.

National Fuel Gas to expand gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania

BUFFALO, N.Y. - National Fuel Gas Co. executives said on Feb. 6 they are moving ahead with three pipeline projects designed to capitalize on the Marcellus Shale region of western Pennsylvania.
The projects, valued at $74 million in all, would extend National Fuel's Empire Connector pipeline by 16 miles to the south, running from its current end point in Corning to Jackson Township in northwestern Pennsylvania.
NFG would also build a separate pipeline linking the southwestern end of its pipeline system with the Texas Eastern pipeline.
NFG is building a new compressor station in Lamont, Pa., to increase the capacity of an existing line that links with the Tennessee Gas pipeline.
The Amherst energy company also is working on the second phase of its project to build a gathering pipeline system to connect new wells in the Marcellus region with existing pipelines.

Magellan holds public meeting on Wisconsin gasoline spill

KRONENWETTER, Wis. - Magellan Pipeline hosted a public meeting at the Kronenwetter municipal center on Feb. 17 to inform local residents on its 35,000-gallon gasoline leak from a pipeline that runs through Kronenwetter. The public meeting about the spill and cleanup efforts was also attended by officials from the county health department and the state department of natural resources.
Magellan discovered the leak when it checked its inventory in December 2009.
Company officials have assured the village that they have replaced the
damaged pipeline and contained the spill to groundwater at their terminal property.
They've also begun cleanup efforts which include vacuuming up the gasoline to prevent the plume from spreading further underground.
Kronenwetter has hired an independent consultant to monitor the cleanup
and make sure that Magellan doesn't have any more problems that may
impact residents, village administrator Blaine Oborn said.