-Regency Energy Partners will build a $260 million cryogenic processing plant and NGL pipeline at its Dubberly facility in North Louisiana. The project, which is expected to be complete in mid-2015, will include 200 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity and 160 miles of pipeline.
-Enbridge today said its Flanagan South and Seaway expansion projects, which are intended to more than double capacity to Gulf Coast refineries, would begin operating within the next few months. The newly constructed Flanagan South will stretch from Pontiac, Ill., to Cushing, Okla. Enbridge is boosting capacity for the Seaway line, which runs from Cushing to Freeport, Texas, from 400,000 barrels per day to 850,000 barrels per day.
-Flint Hills Resources is planning to retrofit its Beatrice, Neb., biodiesel plant to use a new technology known as ENSEL. Developed through a joint venture with Benefuel Inc., the new technology enables the use of lower cost feedstocks such as animal tallow, unrefined oils and others. The Beatrice plant will ultimately produce 50 million gallons of biodiesel each year.
-The Department of Transportation has recommended that crude oil shippers discontinue use of DOT-111 model tank cars. DOT-111 cars have come under criticism for their vulnerability to puncture and have been involved in a number of derailments that have led to oil spills, explosions and fires. Canada’s transportation regulatory body recently mandated a three-year phase-out of older tank cars.
-Encana Oil & Gas agreed to acquire $3.1 billion in Eagle Ford shale acreage from Freeport-McMoRan. The acreage, located in south Texas counties Karnes, Wilson and Atascosa, produced about 53,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter of this year. The move is part of Encana’s strategic shift toward oil and liquids production and away from natural gas.
