Global Energy News Briefs for the Fourth Week of April

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) over the past week.

LNG
FERC Sets Final Approval Dates for Leucadia's Oregon LNG Project - The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set the date of Feb. 12, 2016, as the deadline for the issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Oregon LNG's (a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK)) bidirectional LNG terminal in Oregon and May 12 as the 90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline.

Japan's Toho Gas Increases Purchase from Cameron LNG Project - Japan's Toho Gas Co. has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Corp. to purchase 200,000 tonnes per year of LNG from the Cameron LNG project in Louisiana. This is in addition to a previous agreement with Mitsui & Co. to purchase 300,000 tonnes per year. The Cameron LNG Project is majority owned by Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), and Mitsui and Mitsubishi both have stakes of 16.6%.

Total Targets 2021 to Ship First LNG from Papua New Guinea - Sources tell Reuters that France's Total SA (NYSE:TOT) is targeting 2021 for first shipments of LNG from a 6.8 million-tonne-per-year liquefied natural gas plant in Papua New Guinea.

PIPELINES
TransCanada Applies for U.S.-to-Canada Pipeline Permit - TransCanada Corp. (NYSE:TRP) is asking the Obama administration permission to construct its planned Upland Pipeline, which would deliver oil produced in North Dakota across the U.S.-Canada border to meet the company's planned Energy East Pipeline.

COAL
Lower Earnings for Coal Producers and Rail Carriers - Coal producers Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) and Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) both reported continued quarterly losses last week due to lower prices and demand. Rail companies such as Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UPC) have also been hurt by lower volumes of coal shipments, due to both lower demand from power plants as natural gas remains inexpensive and a lack of coal exports due to a strong dollar.

REFINING
U.S. Refiners Lower Throughput Rates - The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude reserves rose 5.32 million barrels to 489 million barrels last week. Refiners reduced crude runs by about 230,000 BBL/d to 15.98 million BBL/d, which is level with a year ago.

POWER
Energy Reforms Could Bring Canadian Hydropower to New England - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (Washington, D.C.) recently approved reforms that could bring Canadian hydroelectric power into the New England region, including ISO New England and the New England Power Pool, the entities that oversee the regional electrical grid.

Europe Approves 20 German Offshore Windfarms - The European Commission has approved Germany's financial support for 20 new offshore windfarms. After investigation, the Commission concluded that the government's subsidies for the projects are in line with European Union state aid rules, concluding that the projects would boost Europe's energy and environmental objectives without "unduly distorting competition" in the Single Market.

Japan Court Upholds Restart of Nuclear Reactor - A Japanese court ruled that the country's Sendai nuclear plant could reopen, removing a primary hurdle for what would be the first nuclear reactor to restart in Japan after all reactors were brought offline following the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear disaster. In the fiscal year ending March 31, Japan imported $65 billion of LNG, and the restart of its nuclear sector would be a key means of reducing the cost of fossil fuel imports.

France-Spain Power Link Nears Completion" target="_blank"> - The drive to connect the grids of European nations continued this month as work progressed on a link that will double the energy exchange between France and Spain. Project developer Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) has begun commissioning the converter stations for the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link between both countries, which is expected to start operations this summer.

OTHER NEWS
ExxonMobil to Pay $5 Million for Pegasus Pipeline Rupture - Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XMO) has agreed to pay $5.07 million in connection with the March 2013 rupture of its Pegasus Pipeline, which spilled more than 3,000 barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas.

Suppliers to Oil & Gas Industry Share Pain of Drilling Slowdown - The collapse of crude-oil prices over the last nine months has taken its toll on critical suppliers to the Oil & Gas Industry, such as steel pipe mills and proppant providers. In recent years, those suppliers grew dramatically, in lockstep with soaring domestic crude-oil production. But in recent months, their fortunes have fallen along with crude-oil prices.

Chesapeake Agrees to $25 Million Fund with Michigan for Fraud and Racketeering - Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) has agreed to set up a $25 million compensation fund as part of a settlement in a case accusing the company and rival Encana Corp. (NYSE:ECA) of colluding to lower lease payments to residents of the state for potential natural gas production.

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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.