American Gas - August/September 2013 - (Page 11)

digest total generation while cutting CO2 emissions rates by 41 percent. Southern Company added 14,000 MW of gas capacity during the same period, lifting generation by 8 percent while slashing SO2 emissions by 63 percent. Among states, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, and North Dakota had the highest CO2 emissions per megawatt hour of power produced. Idaho, Vermont, Washington, Oregon, and Maine had the lowest. States with the highest CO2 emissions rates relied on coal for a substantial proportion of their power generation. The report, “Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States,” is the ninth in an annual or biennial series examining environmental performance in the nation’s electric power sector. The study was based on generation and emissions data gathered by the Energy Information Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The document was sponsored by Entergy, Exelon, PG&E, PSE&G, Tenaska, Ceres, the NRDC, and Bank of America. —Eric Schoeniger issues Explorations have a capacity of 20 MMcfd. Between 1931 and 1941, La Goleta Field produced 15.3 Bcf of natural gas, and in 1941 the Southern Counties Gas Co. began using the depleted reservoirs for natural gas storage. SoCalGas uses the natural gas that’s stored at the site to supplement its pipeline system. King said the company’s pipeline has the capacity to receive 3.7 Bcf per day, but demand on cold winter days from its 5.8 million customers can exceed 5 Bcf per day. It’s estimated that renewed drilling at the 150-acre site will bring in revenue of between $20 million and $25 million, though King said it could be significantly more if the exploratory wells find additional native gas. Under state regulations, that revenue will be split evenly with ratepayers. Revenue from the sale of the additional storage capacity created will also be used to offset rates, she said. Residents of a nearby mobile home park opposed the expansion, siting noise, traffic, and safety concerns. An independent analysis conducted by Santa Barbara County found the safety risks of the project to be “less than significant,” and SoCalGas is implementing the county’s recommended sound-proofing, noise-monitoring, and traffic-management measures. King said the company expects to break ground on the project between April and August 2014. —Jennifer Pilla Taylor New drilling, storage could offset rates in Southern California t he Southern California Gas Co. has received approval from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to expand its 21.5 Bcf La Goleta storage facility. The $16.9 million project, which has been in the works since 2006, includes two new production wells, two exploratory wells, a new dehydration facility, and 2,800 additional feet of pipeline, SoCalGas spokeswoman Denise King told American Gas. The company estimates there is 3 Bcf to 5 Bcf of recoverable natural gas, which, once withdrawn, would increase the facility’s storage capacity by 1 Bcf to 3 Bcf. Currently, there are 19 injection wells and two observation wells on the site, as well as a dehydration facility with a capacity of 420 MMcfd. The new dehydration facility would neeD to know Fossil-free fuel Scientist contends gas and oil may not come from ancient biomass t he Earth may hold an inexhaustible supply of oil and natural gas, if a theory being explored by a leading Russian researcher proves true. The theory, reported in a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “We May Live on a Natural Gas Machine,” contends that rather than being finite resources formed solely through the decay of ancient biomass in an unrepeatable biological process, natural gas and oil continue to be Continued from page 10 the U.s. gas supply to be reliable and robust, and recommended that military sites “consider installation of natural gas generation or cogeneration plants to increase their energy security from the typical three days using diesel supplies to weeks-to-months using natural gas generation.” Greyrock energy is offering new technology that allows micro gas-to-liquids plants to convert low-value natural gas to premium diesel fuel. The approach enables production of diesel direct from syngas, avoiding traditional refining. The goal is to support distributed fuel production from natural gas, natural gas liquids, stranded gas, and associated gas that might otherwise be flared. The company says it expects plants to begin operation in 2014. Ge is investing $110 million in a hydraulic fracturing research lab in Oklahoma city. The site will field up to 125 scientists and engineers with the goal of making hydraulic fracturing safer and cheaper. Ge has invested $15 billion in the oil and gas industry in recent years, according to the company, with $11 billion in acquisitions in 2011 alone. The segment is Ge’s fastest growing. The West Virginia community and Technical college system is opening a technology center to give students hands-on experience in the oil and gas industry. The Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training center, in Fairmont, W.Va., will offer certificate and associate degrees in petroleum technology, as well as customized training programs. Continued on page 12 august/september 2013 AmericAn GAs 11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - August/September 2013

American Gas - August/September 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Dual-Fuel CNG Beauties
Digest
Issues
Issues
Issues
Need to Know
By the Numbers
Places
In Las Vegas, Another Man-Made Wonder
State House
State House
Elm Street
Main Street
A Matter of Trust
Profile
Here Comes the Grid
Marketing
Jobs
Vendor News
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - August/September 2013