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Thanks to Lower 48 shale gas supply growth, it’s too late for a pipeline to carry Alaska North Slope gas to market — but it may be able to catch a boat out of the frozen tundra to hotter markets in Asia, Credit Suisse analyst Teri Viswanath said in a note Tuesday.

Although no Northeast locations were able to breach the $10 average level a day earlier, they did so with a vengeance Thursday as further spikes carried them solidly into quadruple-digit territory. As it often is, Transco Zone 6’s New York pool was king of the price hill with the day’s top quote of $15 and top average of $14.31.

Northeast citygates and a few other locations, mostly in the West, were able to get a price boost from the severe cold expected to be occupying most of Canada and the U.S. by the start of this week. The rest of the market appeared to pay little attention as losses of less than a dime dominated.

Natural Gas producers may be able to upload their data on fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in a day or two to www.hydraulicfracturingdisclosure.org, provided that they have created a login, said Mike Nickolaus, special projects director for the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC).

Onshore natural gas plays that are able to generate profits even when gas prices are below $4/Mcf, including the Marcellus Shale, should see rig activity up by 18% in 2011 over this year, according to analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Nearly a week after a bill that would temporarily block hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Empire State landed on his desk, New York Gov. David Paterson has not decided if he will sign or veto the legislation.

Even after exploring lower price levels in early Friday trade, January natural gas futures were able to finish on a positive note as traders appeared unable to move past the fact that much of the eastern U.S. is starting to resemble the conditions found inside an icebox. The prompt-month contract tacked on six-tenths of a cent Friday to close at $4.349, which is down 3.9 cents from the previous Wednesday’s close.

Members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Wednesday raised doubts about whether the agency will be able to meet deadlines for imposing position limits as required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

Less than two months after gaining a financially able partner to develop some of its Marcellus Shale acreage, Gastar Exploration Ltd. on Wednesday said it would buy another 59,000 net acres in the WestVirginia portion of the play.