American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2022 - 23

IndustryDigest
In further support of the LEG
project, Williams has signed a
memorandum of understanding with
Quantum to form a joint venture that
will enable Quantum to become an
equity investor and partner in the
project.
" Williams continues to increase scale
and connectivity in the best and most
efficient natural gas basins, and these
transactions with Trace, Rockcliff and
Quantum represent an important
extension of our natural gas-focused
strategy, " relates Alan Armstrong,
Williams' president and chief executive
officer. " We are excited for the
opportunity to help Rockcliff continue its
success and connect it to growing
markets, with Quantum as our new
partner in LEG. Importantly, this is going
to be the flagship of our low carbon
wellhead to water venture, proving what
an important role natural gas can play in
reducing emissions, lowering costs and
providing secure reliable energy here and
around the world. "
" We are proud of the team and the
business we have built at Trace, and we
are grateful to see its success continue
with Williams, " says Trace CEO Josh
Weber. " Over the past four years, we
have positioned ourselves in one of the
most prolific resource plays in the
country to transport responsibly sourced
natural gas to premium markets along
the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Our safe, reliable and competitive
midstream services are what our
producer customers have come to
expect, and we are confident Williams
will continue to be a good steward of
these assets. "
Williams says it expects the
transaction to close in the second
quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
❒
DOE Raises Export Cap
For Two LNG Facilities
WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Department of Energy in March issued
two long-term orders authorizing
liquefied natural gas exports from two
of Cheniere Energy Inc.'s operating
LNG export facilities, Sabine Pass in
Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.
According to the department, the
orders allow the terminals additional
flexibility to export the equivalent of
720 million cubic feet a day of LNG to
any country with which the U.S. does
not have a free trade agreement,
including all of Europe.
The issuances give every operating
U.S. LNG export project full DOE
approval to export its full capacity to
any country where not prohibited by
U.S. law or policy, DOE mentions.
The United States has become the
world's top global LNG exporter, DOE
notes, adding that exports are on pace to
grow 20% by the end of this year as
additional capacity comes on line. In
January 2022, U.S. LNG supplied more
than half of Europe's LNG imports for
the month.
" With the expected rise in LNG
exports, DOE is particularly focused
on driving down methane emissions in
the oil and gas sector both
domestically and abroad, leveraging
the deep technical expertise of the
department, " DOE says. " U.S. LNG
remains an important component to
global energy security, and DOE
remains committed to finding ways to
help our allies and trading partners
with the energy supplies they need
while continuing to work to mitigate
the impact of climate change. " ❒
BOEM Raises Penalties
To Account For Inflation
WASHINGTON-The Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management has
announced a Final Rule that implements
the 2022 inflation adjustments for the
maximum daily civil monetary penalties
contained in BOEM regulations in
accordance with federal law.
According to BOEM, the Federal
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Act (FCPIAA) Improvements Act of
2015 requires federal agencies to
adjust monetary penalties for inflation
each year.
Under FCPIAA, the rule adjusts the
maximum daily civil monetary
penalties for each violation to $48,862
for violations under the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act and to
$51,796 for violations under the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990.
The final rule was published in the
March 18 Federal Register and took
effect immediately. ❒
Gas Storage Volumes
Almost 15% Below
Five-Year Averages
WASHINGTON-Underground
natural gas storage in the United States
stood at 1.415 trillion cubic feet on
March 25, 14.7% below the five-year
average, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration. That was
down 228 billion cubic feet from the
1.643 Tcf in storage on Feb. 25, which
was 13.4% below the five-year average.
The March 25 storage number was 144
Bcf lower than a year ago, when gas
storage stood at 1.559 Tcf.
Gas storage in the East Region was
268 Bcf on March 25, 6.0% below the
five-year average, and 90 Bcf less than
on Feb. 25, when storage stood at 358
Bcf, 9.8% below the five-year average.
East Region gas storage on March 25 fell
121 Bcf from a year ago, EIA reports.
In the Midwest, gas storage stood at
317 Bcf on March 25, 16.1% beneath
the five-year average and 87 Bcf less
than the 404 Bcf in storage on Feb. 25,
which was 16.0% below the five-year
average. March 25 Midwest gas storage
was 154 Bcf less than a year ago.
In the Mountain Region, EIA
continues, gas storage was 89 Bcf on
March 25, 10.1% below the five-year
average and 7 Bcf less than the 96 Bcf
stored on Feb. 25, which was 11.9%
below the five-year average. Gas storage
in the Mountain Region was 29 Bcf less
than a year ago.
The Pacific Region's gas in storage
was 161 Bcf on March 25, 8.0% below
the five-year average and 3 Bcf less than
the 164 Bcf stored on Feb. 25, which
was 10.4% below the five-year average.
Pacific Region gas storage on March 25
was down 50 Bcf from a year ago.
In the South-Central Region, gas
storage levels on March 25 were 581
Bcf, 19.4% below the five-year average
and 39 Bcf less than the 620 Bcf in
storage on Feb. 25, which was 13.4%
below the five-year average. The March
25 gas storage level for the SouthCentral
Region was down 89 Bcf from a
year ago. ❒
View the industry's latest
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www.aogr.com!
APRIL 2022 23
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2022

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