-The southern leg of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline began delivering oil to customers in Nederland, Texas, on Wednesday. In a column for FuelFix, Consumer Energy Alliance President David Holt pointed out the “fundamental disconnect” between the approval processes of the operational pipeline and its proposed northern leg, which still awaits a "yea" or "nay" from the Obama Administration after five years.
-Meanwhile, Koch Pipeline Co. has scrapped its plans for a 250,000-bbl/d crude oil pipeline that would have stretched from the Bakken Shale to Illinois. Koch has not yet given a reason for the decision. A 45-day open season to gauge interest from shippers was to begin in July.
-An early-morning explosion at a northern Mississippi biodiesel plant Wednesday stoked a fire so hot authorities could not immediately fight it. All of the plant’s workers were accounted for several hours later, but it was too early to rule out any injuries. No injuries to the accounted-for workers were reported.
-CONSOL Energy hired Chesapeake Energy vice president Timothy C. Dugan as its new COO for exploration and production. CONSOL picked Dugan to help spearhead its anticipated natural gas production growth in the Marcellus and Utica shales. The company announced yesterday it would spend $1.1 billion on drilling and completion costs in those two regions in 2014. Dugan has managed operations in the Marcellus and Utica for Chesapeake since 2009.