Atmos Energy expects to sell its nonregulated gas marketing business, Atmos Energy Marketing LLC, to a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter of this year. The deal will include the transfer of about 800 delivered gas customers and Atmos Energy Marketing-related asset optimization business at an all-cash price of $40 million plus working capital at the date of closing. “Given our company’s long-term vision to become the nation’s safest regulated natural gas utility, and to further our strategy to grow organically by investing in our regulated infrastructure, now is the perfect time to move forward with this sale,” said Mike Haefner, president and chief operating officer of Atmos Energy Corp. “This transaction results in Atmos Energy becoming a fully regulated pure-play natural gas company.”
Developers are moving forward with the $1.6 billion Woodfibre liquefaction and export terminal near Squamish, British Columbia. It is poised to become the province’s first liquefied natural gas facility in operation. Byng Giraud, county manager for Woodfibre LNG, hailed the company’s funding approval as a final investment decision for the project, which is set to export 2.1 million tons of LNG annually to Asia beginning in 2020. Woodfibre LNG, which will be built on an old pulp mill site, could result in some 650 construction jobs and 100 permanent operating jobs. Construction will begin this year after authorization from parent company Pacific Oil & Gas Pty. Ltd.
For the second time in two years, Citizens Energy Group’s Diversity and Inclusion Team has earned national recognition for outstanding efforts in promoting diversity. The Employee Resource Group & Council Honors Award™ recognizes achievements of diversity teams nationwide in four categories: demonstrated program results, management commitment, measurement and accountability, and communication and education. In 2015, Citizens ranked 13th out of 538 applicants. This year, Citizens ranked fourth out of 1,279 applicants, earning a spot in the exclusive Leader’s Circle Network, which comprises the top 10 recipients. Jeffrey Harrison, president and CEO of Citizens, credited the accolade to Yvonne N. Perkins, former vice president of corporate communications, chief diversity officer and architect of the company’s diversity and inclusion strategic plan, who died Nov. 10, 2016.
TransCanada, the developer of the Keystone XL pipeline, is selling all of its electric power assets in New England to finance its acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group. The $10 billion deal will help TransCanada achieve its objective to become one of North America’s biggest natural gas suppliers. “There is no doubt that gaining a foothold in the Marcellus and Utica [shale] basins added a significant piece to the natural gas assets TransCanada has been operating for the past 65 years,” said Mark Cooper, company spokesman. “The Columbia acquisition creates one of North America’s largest regulated natural gas transmission companies with approximately 56,100 miles of natural gas pipelines connecting the continent’s most prolific supply basins to premium markets.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is proposing a tier-based pipeline user fee assessment and rate structure for underground natural gas storage facilities that would see larger operators paying a larger share. The Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 gives PHMSA the authority to impose operator user fees to fund an $8 million Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility Safety Account. According to PHMSA, the safety of underground natural gas storage facilities is one of its top priorities, and the proposed fee structure—in conjunction with an interim final rule for these facilities—will provide a consistent and sustainable safety framework for both interstate and intrastate facilities.
DTE Energy is increasing its support for its veterans with a newly launched employee resources group dedicated to those who have served in the military. The Veterans ERG, whose founding members represent many branches of the military, will serve the military community by recruiting, retaining and providing mentoring and support for DTE Energy veterans and their families. Last fall, Michael Cecero, a veteran and 30-year DTE Energy employee, attended the first Veterans in Energy National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., joining representatives from other energy companies and support organizations interested in hiring and retaining veterans. He came back excited to be part of a growing movement among energy companies to offer even more support and help to fellow veterans.
Four more companies have joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program, a voluntary effort to reduce emissions and showcase efforts to improve air quality. Kinder Morgan Inc., National Grid, Southern Co. Gas and Southwestern Energy Co. join some 40 other companies that have committed to submitting their emissions data annually to the EPA. Companies can join the Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program at any time. EPA launched the program with 41 founding partners in March 2016.
The U.S. Geological Survey says West Texas is the site of the largest continuous oil and gas deposit ever discovered in the United States. The area, known as the Wolfcamp Shale, contains 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is almost three times more petroleum than the agency found in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, one of the nation’s largest, in 2013. The United States is on a roll, having produced more oil and natural gas than any other country every year since 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Unhealthy and inefficient housing costs homeowners $82.4 billion each year, roughly 3 percent of total U.S. health care costs, according to the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. To address the problem, the Building Performance Institute and GHHI have launched the Healthy Home Evaluator certificate to help the nation’s healthy housing, weatherization and home performance workforce conduct assessments in homes to determine conditions that could harm health and safety. The certification includes a 50-question multiple-choice quiz that tests building professionals on key components of a healthy home, one of which is keeping it energy efficient.