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Hurdles remain for Cheniere US LNG export project

26 May — Houston-based Cheniere Energy has secured approval from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to export domestically produced natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico Sabine Pass LNG terminal. This is an important milestone for the company, but critics remain sceptical about its chances of success as a number of hurdles need to be cleared before the LNG exports can begin.

The approval allows Cheniere Energy Partners, a master limited partnership set up by Cheniere Energy, to export up to 22.74 bcm/y of LNG to any country that complies with US federal export guidelines, and has import capacity. However, the DOE approval is conditional upon the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) final approval and exports starting within seven years. The authorisation is a first step, but now the hard work begins to secure supply contracts for the exports and to raise finance for the project. Cheniere plans to build up to four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 4 mtpa (14 MMcm/d), and storage capacity of 0.478 bcm equivalent…

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Petronas buys stake in Canadian shale gas plays

3 June — Malaysia’s Petronas has, this week, bought half of three Canadian shale gas plays for C$1.07 billion ($1.09 billion) from Calgary-based Progress Energy Resources and will discuss development of LNG export facilities in British Columbia. The deal involves…

Marathon Oil doubles its Eagle Ford shale holdings

2 June — Marathon Oil Corporation has agreed to buy $3.5 billion worth of Eagle Ford shale assets from Hilcorp Resources Holdings. Combined with other acquisitions due to close by the end of 2011, Marathon’s Eagle Ford acreage position is expected…

New York State sues US government on gas drilling ban

1 June — New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, filed a lawsuit against the United States federal government to prevent the Delaware River Basin Commission from creating natural gas drilling laws or guidelines until a review is completed.

Hydraulic…

El Paso Corporation to spin off E&P business

25 May — Houston-based El Paso Corporation announced, on 24 May, that its Board of Directors has approved a plan to divide the company into two publicly traded businesses by the end of 2011.

After the spin-off, El Paso…

US government panel to issue gas drilling rules

19 May — A US government panel set up by the Department of Energy (DoE) earlier this year to review and improve hydraulic fracturing used in horizontal drilling to access shale gas, is to publish its recommendations by August 2011. The…

Enerplus sells off Marcellus assets

18 May — Calgary-based Enerplus Corporation has agreed to sell a portion of its Marcellus natural gas interests in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia for $575 million.

The interests include around 91,000 net acres, primarily non-operated, in southwest and…