-Williams Companies has agreed to acquire all of natural gas infrastructure firm Williams Partners. Via the Wall Street Journal, Williams merged William Partners — of which it currently owns a 58% stake — into Access Midstream Partners in February. The buyout of Williams Partners would create one of the largest companies in the energy sector, with EBITDA of about $5.4 billion.
-Shell Midstream Partners agreed to buy additional interests in Zydeco Pipeline Co. and Colonial Pipeline Co. from Shell Pipeline Co. for $448 million. It is Shell Midstream Partners’ first asset acquisition. The Zydeco pipeline carries crude oil from the Houston to Louisiana. The Colonial Pipeline is the largest refined products pipeline in the U.S., stretching from the Gulf Coast region to the East Coast.
-A Louisiana-based oil company is set to drill near the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Associated Press reports. LLOG Exploration Offshore received a permit last month from the federal government to drill into the Macondo reservoir near the area where BP’s well blew out.
-A bipartisan group of senators today unveiled legislation that would end the decades-old U.S. ban on crude oil exports. Via FuelFix, the bill has a broader reach than similar legislation floated in the House. The Senate bill would give a standardized definition to condensate. It would also authorize the sharing of more data between the U.S., Canada and Mexico about cross-border handling of oil, gas and electricity and would give the DOE the lead role in coordinating cross-border infrastructure work.
-Two new nuclear reactors being built at Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle in Georgia could be delayed more than the three years announced in January. According to a report by the Associated Press, state utility regulators said the three-year delay might represent a best-case scenario. Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power acknowledged in a recent statement that its contractors had missed numerous deadlines, but said they would get back on schedule. Westinghouse and Chicago Bridge & Iron are designing and building the plant.
