Daily News Energy Headlines from September 22, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

PIPELINES
Enterprise Begins Service on Rancho II Pipeline - Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) (Houston, Texas) has begun service on its 88-mile Rancho II crude oil and condensate pipeline from Sealy, Texas, to the company's ECHO terminal in southeast Houston.

PRODUCTION
U.S. Offshore Gulf Rig Numbers Drop 46% Year over Year - The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the number of active offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico dropped 46% from August 2014 to August 2015. This compares to an average global offshore rig decline of close to 20%.

TERMINALS
Texas Boasts Nine of Top 10 Oil & Gas Terminal Kickoffs for Fourth-Quarter 2015 - Texas has bragging rights for nine of the top 10 U.S. oil & gas and petrochemical terminal-related projects that will kick off in fourth-quarter 2015. In all, Industrial Info is tracking 63 active U.S. terminal-related projects worth $2.88 billion that are slated for fourth-quarter 2015 kick-offs. This includes 16 grassroot projects. The Lone Star State could see more than $1.9 billion in kickoffs in the upcoming quarter, followed by California with $276 million, and Louisiana with $234 million.

NATURAL GAS
Regulators: Total Manipulated U.S. Gas Markets - U.S. regulators are accusing the U.S. arm of Total SA (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France) of illegally manipulating natural gas markets in the southwestern U.S. between 2009 and 2012.

FINANCIAL
Halliburton to Pay $18 Million in Overtime to Oil & Gas Workers - The U.S. Labor Department says Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) (Houston, Texas) will pay a total of $18.3 million in overtime pay to oil and gas workers that the department says were unfairly exempted from compensation by the company.

Bloomberg: ConocoPhillips Selling Western Canada Assets - Sources tell Bloomberg that ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas) is nearing a deal to sell assets in Western Canada that produce almost 35,000 barrels per day of oil and gas, and include a net working interest in 2.4 million acres for future drilling.

German Company Sues Baker Hughes Over Defective Valves - Germany company Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft Mbh is suing Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) (Houston, Texas) for supplying defective valves to a natural gas storage cavern in Germany.

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About IIR Energy
Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the trading, logistics and marketing communities. We are the number one source for information about electricity outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.