From our friends at the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center. Glad we could support this year’s contest, and again congratulations to all the winners!

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (www.sgicc.org), has received a grant from the Benedum Foundation that will allow the 2013-2014 Innovation Competition to expand to include West Virginia.

“I want to thank the Benedum Foundation for providing us the support to expand the next competition to include innovators located in West Virginia. Applications for the 2013-2014 contest will be made available in November.”

The Shale Gas Innovation Contest has become a popular annual event. In May, 71 applicants participated from across Pennsylvania, vying for a total of $75,000 in prizes. The next contest will cover both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the SGICC has lined up three key partners to assist with marketing and helping identify applicants: TechConnectWV; INNOVA Commercialization Group; and the West Virginia University Office of Research & Economic Development.

Bill Hall, Director of SGICC, commented, “I want to thank the Benedum Foundation for providing us the support to expand the next competition to include innovators located in West Virginia. Applications for the 2013-2014 contest will be made available in November.”

Anne Barth, Executive Director of TechConnectWV noted, “We are really excited to partner with SGICC to make this contest a regional enterprise.”

Guy Peduto, Director of the INNOVA Commercialization Group, an initiative of the WV High Technology Consortium Foundation, also voiced his support. “I attended the recent Innovation Contest and was impressed by the technologies displayed. I know we have entrepreneurs in West Virginia exploring ideas that can impact the shale gas play, and INNOVA wants to help identify the opportunities and advance the most promising ones.”

Lindsay Emery, Business Development Manager at West Virginia University noted, “There are researchers at the University that have been exploring many aspects of the shale gas process. This contest may offer some of them an opportunity to have their ideas vetted.”

Sponsors are already lining up to support the 2013-2014 Contest including: Ben Franklin Technology Partners (http://www.benfranklin.org), Acorn Energy (http://acornenergy.com), CONSOL Energy (www.consolenergy.com), First National Bank (www.fnb-online.com), Little Pine Resources (http://littlepineresources.com), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (http://marcelluscoalition.org), and Praxair (www.praxair.com). SGICC welcomes the interest of other potential sponsors.

The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center is funded in part by the Department of Community & Economic Development and the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. SGICC supports and commercializes early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing this energy asset.

May 21, 201, ​Calgary – “…Several North American energy produces are planning to preview several natural-gas-powered vehicles later today at a Southern California Gas Co. facility. Among the vehicles being unveiled by America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a trade group representing two dozen North American oil and gas companies, include a BMW SUV and a Ford Mustang coupe retrofitted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), efforts to stimulate interest in the use of natural gas in passenger cars.

Converted vehicles from Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and four other manufacturers are expected to be part of the Alliance’s lineup. The gas-industry group said the demonstration is designed to generate both consumer and automakers’ interest in CNG-powered cars at a time when surging gas production has dramatically lowered prices.

“We hope the excitement created by these vehicles encourages policy makers to take notice,” said Anne Shen Smith, CEO of Southern California Gas.

Gas company officials said major automakers are noticing efforts towards natural gas vehicles and are readying models that may serve as trial balloons for future mass-market vehicles…”

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SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. – May 20, 2013 – Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) announces the use of Marcellus Shale natural gas to fracture wells via innovative dual fuel technology. This marks the first time “field” gas has been used in northeastern Pennsylvania for this purpose. The process of using clean-burning natural gas can displace up to 70 percent of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate fracturing equipment. This successful effort was a partnership with FTS International (FTSI) and Caterpillar Global Petroleum (NYSE: CAT).

Use of dual fuel technology, where the engines operate on a mixture of natural gas and a small portion of diesel, provides several benefits:

• Reduced air emissions for a cleaner environment, due to a reduction in diesel usage
• Reduced truck traffic when field gas at or near the well site is used due to a reduction in the transportation of diesel fuel to site
• Reduced costs, as natural gas can be a less expensive fuel option than diesel, providing potential cost savings for the industry and for energy consumers

“Cabot is continually searching for ways to utilize cutting-edge, environmentally friendly technology during our operations,” explained Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Cabot. “We are already converting our vehicle fleet and currently have a drilling rig using natural gas as well, so the next step is to utilize the technology on a hydraulic fracturing site.”

In order to operate using natural gas, FTSI’s mobile pressure pumping unit at the site was retrofitted with a Dynamic Gas Blending (DGB) kit from Caterpillar. The system enables substitution of diesel fuel with natural gas during high pressure pumping operations and is compatible with field gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

FTSI Chief Executive Officer Greg Lanham said, “This is a terrific example of the oil and gas industry working together to develop and implement innovative technologies that are both environmentally conscious and operationally efficient. FTSI has been evaluating dual fuel conversion technologies for the last year to identify the best solution for our well completion fleets. Our goal is to increase efficiencies for our customers while ensuring the safety and equipment reliability our customers expect from FTSI.”

“Caterpillar is pleased that the Cat Dynamic Gas Blend system has performed exceptionally well and met FTSI and Cabot’s expectations,” Bart Myers Caterpillar Global Petroleum product director commented.  ”The Cat well stimulation DGB system makes no compromise with performance, safety, and reliability while burning a mixture of diesel and natural gas fuels. User feedback has been very positive regarding engine performance, and the integrated safety features of the Cat DGB system.”

“We congratulate Cabot on this remarkable accomplishment of using clean and abundant natural gas from the production process for an extensive hydraulic fracturing operation,” said America’s Natural Gas Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Marty Durbin. “Cabot’s commitment to using natural gas to power its own operations is another in a long list of cost-effective and smart decisions ANGA members all over this country are making to use their own natural gas resources to save money, contribute to air quality improvements, and put an American fuel to work.”

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading independent natural gas producer, with its entire resource base located in the continental United States. For additional information, visit the Company’s Internet homepage at www.cabotog.com.

FTS International (www.ftsi.com) is a leading provider of well completion services for the oil and gas industry. Exploration and production companies use FTSI’s products and services primarily to enhance their recovery rates from oil and gas wells. FTSI’s integration provides a competitive edge, as the company custom manufactures, assembles and produces many key components used in its operations, including high-pressure hydraulic pumps and mobile pressure pumping units. FTSI also offers wireline services and water management services, and owns and operates sand mines and facilities for producing proppants.

Caterpillar Global Petroleum, Caterpillar Inc.’s oil and gas division with headquarters in Houston, Texas, consolidates all the sales and service activities for Cat oil and gas power solutions. Since the 1930s, Caterpillar has manufactured engines for the oilfield and today provides premier power solutions with outputs from 31 to 16,000 kW.  The sales and service network includes more than 2,100 dealer locations world-wide dedicated to support customers in the drilling, production, well service and gas compression segments. More information is available at: http://www.catoilandgasinfo.com

Governor Tom Corbett today awarded more than $6.7 million in Act 13 funding to 18 companies and organizations making the switch to natural gas for their heavy-duty fleet vehicles.

From Here & Now, featuring:

• Bradley Olson, energy reporter for Bloomberg News. He tweets @bradnews.
• Irma Vargas, Los Angeles realtor who drives a natural gas car and provides them for her employees.

“More drivers are turning to natural gas vehicles because the fuel is half as expensive as gasoline is at the pumps right now.”

A recap of America’s Natural Gas Alliance’s natural gas utilization panel from Energy Day on May 2nd.

Summary from Energy In Depth

by Rachael Colley

Energy Day took place last week in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), the Associated Petroleum Industries of PA (American Petroleum Institute, API), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA). The event was attended by over 300 individuals and representatives of 13 different Chambers of Commerce. We will be highlighting information from the event in a series of posts.

Natural gas has helped Pennsylvania’s economy tremendously, as we demonstrated in our previous post highlighting the state of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.  Natural gas usage has also been increasing dramatically throughout the region because its both clean and inexpensive. From consumers looking to heat their homes more efficiently to owners of motor vehicles and, especially, commercial truck fleets, the potential for increased usage is amazing.  We’ve only begun to take advantage of the resource and one of the Energy Day panels on Natural Gas Usage focused on just this point.

Paul Smith of ANGA began the panel discussion by reviewing the expansion of the pipeline system used to distribute natural gas in our region.  Why do we need more pipelines? There is a higher demand for natural gas across the country as its availability has increased and the economic and environmental benefits have become more widely known.  Conversions to natural gas power generation in our country are taking place at an astounding rate.

Tony Cox of UGI Energy spoke next.  UGI is the largest natural gas and electric distribution company in Pennsylvania.  Cox discussed combine heat power.  Combine heat power is a thermal electrical process that can be used in commercial applications.  It is a boiler powered by natural gas to create steam, spin a turbine, and create power.  This process has been around for a very long time and is becoming more efficient ; however, there’s still more efficiency to be gained.  That said, the process is the most efficient form of energy production utilized on a wide-scale.

Many colleges have CHP systems. For example, Penn State and Bucknell both have these systems in place.  Hospitals throughout Pennsylvania have begun transitioning to use CHP as well.

Will Freeman with Chesapeake Energy spoke after Cox.  He discussed natural gas vehicles (NGV) and Chesapeake Energy.  Natural gas vehicles are growing as part of the nation’s vehicle fleet.  Natural gas utilization in vehicle fleets has increased steadily over the year with that latest example being United Parcel Service’s significant expansion of their NGV fleet.  While NGV expansion is growing significantly among fleet vehicles it has a ways to go to penetrate the personal vehicle market. The main problem in this regard being a lack of publicly available  fueling stations.  However, companies like Clean Energy Fuels, Chesapeake Energy, Royal Dutch Shell and others are continuing to expand the infrastructure for NGV’s which is helping lead to greater utilization of this technology.

Natural gas vehicles are becoming more popular and have fewer environmental impacts, but is natural gas as efficient as regular fuel?  Natural gas is actually more efficient than gasoline and it’s much cheaper. Learn about this and more in Freeman’s presentation below.

George Stark from Cabot Oil and Gas wrapped up the section of natural gas usage. He discussed what’s going on in the natural gas industry and he mixed gas use and the supply chain of natural gas throughout his presentation. Stark talked about Cabot’s successful program and their decision to locate their Marcellus development in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Cabot Oil and Gas uses natural gas in their drilling rigs and vehicles and the equipment is local!

By David Falchek

“Beer distributor LT Verrastro Inc. hopes to take advantage of the underground ocean of natural gas in Pennsylvania to run its fleet of trucks and cars less expensively – and more cleanly.

LT Verrastro is proud to serve Lackawanna, Luzerne, Carbon, Wayne, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Monroe and Pike Counties.

The company will receive a $217,399 state grant to defray the costs of constructing a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station at its headquarters at 700 Moosic Road, Old Forge, and make it open to the public on a limited basis. The station will be the first in Lackawanna County, and make CNG-powered vehicles a viable option locally.

Work on the station could begin this year and vehicles should be fueling up by 2014, said Leonard Verrastro, LT Verrastro vice president.

“This is a commitment, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

The grant will cover 20 to 30 percent of the filling station costs, then Verrastro will have to swap out older vehicles for CNG-ready vehicles, which cost about $50,000 more than conventional trucks…”

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“…The Marcus Hook refinery, which has five deepwater berths, will become the anchor for Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East project, which will transport natural-gas liquids like propane and butane through an existing pipeline from Western Pennsylvania for loading onto oceangoing vessels in Marcus Hook.

The former refinery site already has substantial storage tanks, but the company plans to build some large refrigerated aboveground tanks for storing ethane, which must be supercooled to remain liquid. Most of the materials being shipped through Marcus Hook are destined for export as ingredients in chemical manufacturing.

The Mariner East project is scheduled to go on line in late 2014, but Sunoco Logistics is already bringing propane by truck and rail to Marcus Hook, Hennigan said.

“The Marcellus liquids today are finding their way to the coast and we’re loading ships as we speak,” he said.

Demand is so high for outlets to move fuels out of the Marcellus region that the company is planning to expand the Mariner East project, whose capacity is constrained by the size of the 8-inch-diameter pipeline…”

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More favorable fuel price splits could increase the market potential, but automobiles will struggle to tap cheap shale gas, Lux Research says.

“BOSTON — Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) on the road in the world’s seven largest automobile markets will reach only 7.5 million as the industry struggles to capitalize on cheap shale-driven natural gas, Lux Research said.

“Cheap natural gas is disrupting the electricity, chemical, and heating industries, but the impact on the transportation market has been minimal,” said Andrew Soare, Lux Research Senior Analyst and the lead author of the report titled, “Shale Takes on Automotive: The Future of Natural Gas Vehicles.” “Technical and economic challenges mean that’s likely to remain true – even if fuel splits widen.”

Lux Research analysts built a market forecast model to predict NGV sales in the seven key auto markets that account for 75% of vehicles on the road today: the U.S., Europe, China, India, Brazil, Russia, and Japan…”

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From the Tribune Review. Raymond L. Richman, professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, is president of Ideal Taxes Association.

“…The invention of horizontal drilling and fracking made it possible to exploit vast new deposits of petroleum and natural gas in shale. The resulting increased output of natural gas and oil is leading our recovery from the Great Recession.

Raymond L. Richman (left), President Ideal Taxes Association

It is creating many permanent jobs not only in exploration and drilling but in transportation. Natural gas is a clean source of electricity generation and a clean fuel for powering trucks, buses and other motor vehicles. New pipelines are being developed. It is worth noting that the federal government has impeded the building of the pipeline from Canada to Texas at the instigation of its reactionary, anti-private-enterprise environmental supporters…”