March Newsreel: Boomerang Tube Funds Texas Plant; Oil & Gas Execs Predict More 2010 Employment and more

Emerging LNG import markets put further pressure on global LNG supply when new regasification terminals begin operations by the 2013 timeframe. Potential LNG supply is expected exceed 50 Bcf/d by 2020, with over 10 Bcf/d of LNG supply added by 2014 from a dozen projects.

Energy Companies Retire Leases In Montana
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) announced that five energy companies will relinquish oil and gas leases on nearly 29,000 acres in Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front adjacent to Glacier National Park. Baucus said this “will help preclude oil and gas development and preserve fish and wildlife habitat in this unique area, which is important to citizens of Montana and the rest of the country.”

The oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area of the Lewis and Clark National Forest were returned to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and cannot be leased again because they are located in an area withdrawn from future leasing under a law that Baucus helped enact in 2006.

Collectively, Occidental Petroleum, Williams Cos., Rosewood Resources, XTO Energy Inc., and BP are voluntarily relinquishing leases on 28,730 acres. The companies did not receive any consideration for their actions.

CenterPoint Unit Acquires East Texas Gathering Assets
Martin Midstream Partners L.P. said its Waskom Gas Processing Company joint venture completed acquisition of the East Texas natural gas gathering and processing assets of the Crosstex Energy companies. WGPC's general partners are CenterPoint Energy Gas Processing Company, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

"We are pleased to add these gathering assets to our Waskom joint venture with CenterPoint Energy. Additional earnings will come primarily from fee-based contracts which are not directly affected by changes in commodity prices," said Ruben Martin, president/CEO of Martin Midstream GP LLC, MMLP's general partner.

"The East Texas system is located near the Waskom gas processing facility which will provide the opportunity to capture additional volumes by integrating the gathering system with the plant," he said.

Inaugural Tulsa Pipe Equipment Expo Deemed A Success
Tulsa, OK has long been an important base for oil and gas pipeline manufacturers, contractors and energy companies. While much of the industry has consolidated in Houston, Tulsa remains a key manufacturing and service hub for the pipeline market. Last fall, several local companies decided to re-acquaint the market with the many products and services based in the area. The first-ever Tulsa Pipe Equipment Expo was held Nov. 19-20 and declared a success by attendees and sponsors.

The concept for the pipe expo began with an idea from Shawn Lowman, director of sales and marketing for Vacuworx International, when he was planning an open house for the company.

“I wondered how we were going to get anyone to come to our open house in Tulsa when the economy was in the gutter,” Lowman recalled. “When a contractor comes to Tulsa for business, they almost always set up meetings with other manufacturers. We had a good relationship with key manufacturers – and did not compete with each other. I approached Midwestern Manufacturing, Darby Equipment Company and McElroy Manufacturing.”