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After scoring a streak of revenue gains on exports to the United States that account for a majority of their natural gas output, Canadian producers are drilling at a brisk pace and building a big inventory of fresh targets for further field development.

If pipeline and storage infrastructure keep pace, natural gas produced from U.S. shale basins is expected to account for 18% of Lower 48 supply by 2015, which is well ahead of the 8% of supply that shale gas accounted for in 2007, according to EnCana Corp. The Calgary-based producer, whose leaseholds are spread across unconventional gas basins in the United States and Canada, is shooting to be the leader of the pack, executives said Thursday.

If pipeline and storage infrastructure can keep pace, natural gas produced from U.S. shale basins is expected to account for 18% of Lower 48 supply by 2015 — compared with the 8% of supply that shale gas accounted for in 2007, according to EnCana Corp. The Calgary-based producer, whose leaseholds are spread across unconventional gas basins in the United States and Canada, is shooting to be the leader of the pack, executives said Thursday.

Even taking into account the 17% rise in oil prices in the first three months of the year, BP plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc still managed to deliver higher quarterly profits than energy analysts had forecast, sending both companies’ share prices up last week. Chevron Corp., which issued its earnings report Friday, saw its net income up 9.6%, and it nearly doubled its production profits.

Even taking into account the 17% rise in oil prices in the first three months of the year, BP plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc still managed to deliver higher quarterly profits than energy analysts had forecast, sending both companies’ share prices up on Tuesday.

Chevron Corp.’s worldwide natural gas production is expected to account for close to 40% of its net output by 2020 — up from 32% in 2007, company officials said last week.

Chevron Corp.’s worldwide natural gas production is expected to account for close to 40% of its net output by 2020 — up from 32% in 2007, company officials said Tuesday.

Columbia Gas said Tuesday that until further notice there is zero nonfirm receipt capacity for gas entering lines BM-39 in Martin County, KY; BM-19 in Lawrence County, KY, and Wayne County, WV; and PM-117 in Martin County, KY, and any pipelines feeding into these lines. This is for the purpose of making capacity available for firm services, Columbia said. See the bulletin board for a list of affected meters.

Natural gas and wind power will carry the future operations of Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities for its 115,000 customers in north Idaho, although gas will account for a bigger share of the load, the utility stressed in its latest integrated resource plan (IRP) filed with state regulators. Those two sources will provide the added 272 average megawatts (aMW) that Avista estimates it will need by 2017.