-Williams Partners and Crestwood Midstream Partners on Thursday announced the commissioning of a new gas processing facility in the Niobrara Shale. The 120-million-cubic-feet-per-day Bucking Horse facility — located in Converse County, Wyo. — is supported by a long-term fee-based agreement with Chesapeake Energy.
-State regulators shut down a wastewater injection well in Alfalfa County, Okla., after a series of earthquakes were recorded in the area. Via the Tulsa World, state regulations mandate injection wells to be placed under operating restrictions if they are located within a six-mile radius of a magnitude-4.0 earthquake. The state can shut down a well if additional earthquakes occur. A magnitude-4.1 earthquake was recorded last Friday. SandRidge Energy operates the well.
-Specialty chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace & Co. is splitting into two companies. Via Reuters, one new company will comprise businesses that make products for the refining, petrochemical, personal care and tire and rubber industries. The other will be made up of Grace’s specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials unit. Grace emerged in 2013 from a long bankruptcy spurred by asbestos-related lawsuits.
-Plains All American on Thursday said it has received permission from the federal government to export condensate. Via Reuters, company COO Harry Pefanis said the Department of Commerce confirmed late last year Plains could export condensate processed in its 80,000-barrels-per-day stabilizer in West Texas. The company has not yet exported any processed condensate.
-Canada’s Suncor Energy has stopped shipping crude oil by rail to the Gulf Coast due to low oil prices. Reuters reported earlier this week that East Coast refiners have recently resumed importing foreign oil because it is cheaper than shipping it by rail from domestic producers.
